Arrow Video have unveiled their line-up of releases for October.
October means Halloween, so it’s only fitting that Arrow Video celebrate with an extra big helping of scares and sleaze throughout the month.
They get things kicked off in beautifully spooky style with Vamp - an iconic horror-comedy starring the equally iconic Grace Jones - before heading into darker territory with the release of two horror classics from opposite sides of the world.
One of the pinnacles of the 1980s slasher genre, The Burning, gets a glorious high definition, limited edition SteelBook release that’s a must for collectors and horror fans alike. Moving into J-horror territory, October also sees the Dual Format release of Hideo Nakata’s follow-up to his Ring films, Dark Water, a gorgeously shot ghost story with more than a few spine-tingling frights. Continuing the haunted house theme, Burnt Offerings is also given a Dual Format release, bringing this classic slice of American Gothic, starring Oliver Reed, to the fore.
If tales of sleaze and corruption are up your street, you can also catch John Frankenheimer’s collaboration with Cannon Films, 52 Pick-Up, which sees Roy Scheider delve into the murky world of drugs, sleaze, pornography and snuff.
Get loved up with some undead carnage in Brian Yuzna’s gruesome horror, Bride Of Re-Animator. Herbert West returns with a twisted plan to construct the perfect woman from his collection of severed human scraps. Forget ‘Netflix and Chill’ - it’s time to ‘Date, Mate and Re-Animate’ with a cult classic that will rip your heart right out of your chest!
The jewel in Arrow Video’s crown this October though is their phenomenal limited edition release of the works of H.G. Lewis. Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis will be limited to just 500 copies and comes with a host of special features as well as nine Blu-Ray world debuts of some of the Godfather of Gore’s classic works. Another version of this set, The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast, will be limited to 2,500 copies and is released the same day.
Each of Arrow Video’s October releases comes with a host of extras - enough to satisfy even the most hardcore film fan.
Vamp - on Blu-Ray and DVD on 3 October
THE FIRST KISS COULD BE YOUR LAST!
Two fraternity pledges head to a seedy part of town to find some entertainment for their college friends but are faced with bloodthirsty vampires!
Keith (Chris Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Robert Rusler, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge) want to make the right impression at college and so they devise a plan to get them into the best frathouse on campus. They head to the After Dark Club where they want to find a stripper for a party their friends won’t forget, instead they find themselves among vampires led by Kinky Katrina (Grace Jones, A View to a Kill)!
Almost certainly an influence on From Dusk til Dawn, Vamp is superbly designed by many of Grace Jones’ own award-winning collaborators and features stunning effects by four-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom (The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Delivering laughs and scares in equal measure, with the added bonus of vampy sex appeal, Vamp is a comedy horror romp with real bite!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition digital transfer
Original mono audio
Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
One of those Nights: The Making of Vamp - a brand new documentary featuring interviews with director Richard Wenk, stars Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gedde Watanabe
Behind-the-scenes rehearsals
Blooper Reel
Image gallery
Dracula Bites the Big Apple (1979) - Richard Wenk’s celebrated short film
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil
First pressing only: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Cullen Gallagher
The Burning - on Limited Edition Dual-Format Blu-ray + DVD SteelBook on 10 October
GATHER AROUND THE CAMPFIRE TO DIE!
Of all the many slice-and-dice films that emerged in the early ’80s, few remain as gruesomely effective as The Burning – the notorious “video nasty” now finally unleashed on Blu-ray!
When an ill-advised prank misfires, summer camp caretaker Cropsy is committed to hospital with severe burns. Released after five years, hospital officials warn him not to blame the young campers who caused his hideous disfigurement. But no sooner is Cropsy back on the streets than he’s headed back to camp with a rusty pair of shears in hand, determined to exact his bloody revenge…
With standout gore effects courtesy of FX legend Tom Savini, The Burning proved too shocking for UK censors upon its original video release. Now, fully uncut and in High Definition, The Burning is ready to reclaim its place as the ultimate summer camp nightmare.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Limited Edition SteelBook packaging (4000 copies)
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Tony Maylam and critic Alan Jones
Audio commentary with stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski
Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
Blood ‘n’ Fire Memories – a detailed look at the creation of the film's make-up effects with special effects artist Tom Savini
Slash & Cut – an interview with editor Jack Sholder
Cropsy Speaks – an interview with actor Lou David
Summer Camp Nightmare – an interview with actress Leah Ayres
Brand new interview with composer Rick Wakeman
Behind-the-Scenes Footage
Theatrical Trailer
Make-Up Effects Still Gallery
Poster & Still Gallery
First pressing only: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Justin Kerswell
Dark Water - on Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD on 10 October
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common theme of the “dead wet girl” to new heights of suspense and drama.
Based upon on a short story by Ring author Koji Suzuki, Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question, and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko, but perhaps their lives as well.
Beautifully shot by the same cinematographer as Ring and Pulse, and featuring an especially unnerving sound design, Dark Water successfully merges spine-tingling tension with a family’s heart-wrenching emotional struggle, creating one of the very finest and most unsettling contemporary Japanese horror films.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition digital transfer
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD on the Blu-ray)
Brand new interview with director Hideo Nakata
Brand new interview with novelist Koji Suzuki
Brand new interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi
Archive interview with actress Asami Mizukawa
Original ‘Making of’ documentary
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
First pressing only: illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing by David Kalat, author of J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond, and an examination of the American remake by writer and editor Michael Gingold
Bride of Re-Animator - on Dual-Format Blu-ray & DVD on 17 October
The success of Stuart Gordon’s hit horror-comedy Re-animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead III) – would prove that there was a good deal more life (and death) left in the story of Dr Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits.
It has been eight months since the bloody massacre at the Miskatonic medical school. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan’s dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong?
With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous “shunting” sequence of Society) on hand to contribute a host of characteristically weird and wonderful creations, Bride of Re-animator is a more than worthy successor to Stuart Gordon’s original cult classic.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restoration of the Unrated version, approved by director Brian Yuzna
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with Brian Yuzna
Audio Commentary with Brian Yuzna, star Jeffrey Combs, visual effects supervisor Tom Rainone and the effects team including John Buechler, Mike Deak, Robert Kurtzman, Howard Berger and Screaming Mad George
Audio Commentary with stars Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott
Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-animator – brand new featurette in which the director looks back at the making of the first Re-animator sequel
Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-animator – brand new FX featurette with a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Robert Kurtzman of KNB, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin and John Buechler
Getting Ahead in Horror – archive making-of featurette
Deleted Scenes
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
Burnt Offerings - on Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD on 17 October
When college lecturer Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed - The Brood, The Devils) and his family rent a remote country mansion at a bargain price, they believe they’re in for an uneventful summer.
Little do they realise that they’ve just moved into a veritable house of horrors! As the malevolent force that dwells within its walls exerts its dark influence on the minds of its new inhabitants, and the sinister occurrences begin to mount up, it grows increasingly clear that this is a holiday they’ll never forget... provided any of them live to tell of it.
Also starring Karen Black (The Day of the Locust) and Bette Davis (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?), Burnt Offerings provides a unique and chilling portrait of a modern family in meltdown. Presented in high definition for the first time in the UK, there has never been a better time to revisit – or discover for the first time – this unforgettable slice of American Gothic.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
Acting His Face, an interview with actor Anthony James
Blood Ties, an interview with actor Lee Montgomery
From the Ashes, an interview with screenwriter William F. Nolan
Portraits of Fear, an animated gallery of promotional materials and behind-the-scenes stills
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love
First pressing only: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Kat Ellinger
52 Pick-Up - on Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD on 17 October
HIS WIFE. HIS MISTRESS. HIS CAREER. A DEADLY TRAP.
In 1986, John Frankenheimer – the director of The Manchurian Candidate, Seconds and French Connection II – made the unlikely career move of working with schlockmeisters Cannon Films. Adapting Elmore Leonard’s novel of the same name, 52 Pick-Up’s union brought about the perfect blend of high calibre thrills and Cannon-grade trash.
Roy Scheider (Jaws, Cohen and Tate) plays a successful businessman whose life quickly falls apart when a compromising videotape of him and his mistress (Kelly Preston) becomes a tool for blackmail. Unable to go to the police without compromising the political career of his wife (Ann-Margret), he must take things into his own hands – and delve into a world of drugs, sleaze, pornography and snuff.
Co-starring Prince protégé Vanity and John Glover (who was described as “the best, most reprehensible villain of the year” by Roger Ebert), and featuring a host of cameos from the stars of the ‘Silver Age of Porn’, 52 Pick-Up has been described by Leonard as his favourite big-screen adaptation of his works.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
Original Stereo 2.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by critics Glenn Kenny and Doug Brod recorded exclusively for this release
Hardcore Cameos, a guide to the many cameo appearances by pornographic actors in 52 Pick-Up
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist
First pressing only: Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by the Badlands Collective
Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis - on Limited Edition Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD on 24 October
Limited to just 500 copies, this astounding box set is only available from boxofgore.com. Featuring 14 of H.G. Lewis’s classic films (including nine world Blu-Ray debuts), this set also features an array of exclusive extras such as a fully-illustrated 92 page artbook and a 7” vinyl single of selected tracks from the Blood Feast score.
The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast - on Limited Edition Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD on 24 October
This phenomenal set is limited to just 2500 copies and features a huge range of special features alongside 14 of Herschell Gordon Lewis’s schlock classics on Dual Format Blu-Ray and DVD. Available exclusively through amazon.co.uk.