DEAD again in 2007

Prize Closet

By Brian Thomas     August 22, 2006

During a recent (well, back in June) discussion in this column about DVD Special Editions, reader mckracken shut up everybody by reminding us that Anchor Bay is the king of reissues with their many new & improved, temporarily ultimate editions of THE EVIL DEAD and its sequels. Well, if you're expecting them to stop, you can just forget it. As long as these DVDs continue to sell, they'll keep on finding new stuff to put on them for new editions. Ellen Sandweiss, who costarred with Bruce Campbell in Sam Raimi's debut feature and is on our list this week in SATAN'S PLAYGROUND, has been making the rounds of the convention circuit this summer, and according to her there's another SE scheduled for next spring. It seems Ellen and the other "Ladies of EVIL DEAD" (Sarah York and Betsy Baker) have been collecting footage of their travels together all along and have put it together into a documentary, which will be available on the new disc along with a couple of other bits. So make room on your DVD shelves, horror fans.

Or not. Here's where a lot of you will jump up on your hind legs to rail against the greedy bastards at Anchor Bay for milking the fans. Some of you will probably want to curse George Lucas, too, if for no other reason than it's the top of the hour and your Star Wars Compulsive Disorder (SWCD) makes you need to rant about "Sith Lords" or "John Williams bootlegs" at least every sixty minutes. Be that as it may, you still have a choice. If you've never seen EVIL DEAD and want to check it out, you'll have one more edition on DVD to choose from. If you're a rabid Deadite-Head with a drive to own each and every item connected to Raimi's horror trilogy in your collection... you still have a choice as to whether or not you get this one.

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We've got copies in our Prize Closet of THE BILL COSBY SHOW Season 1, courtesy of Shout Factory. To enter the giveaway, send an email to psycho@psychotronic.info containing your name and address, and put "COS" in the email subject.

We also have a copy of DOUBLE INDEMNITY to give away, courtesy of Universal. For this one make the subject "DOUBLE-I".

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

This week, our spotlight falls on something flawed but spooky.

(O) SILENT HILL (Sony) Visually thrilling adaptation of the hit video game in which mom Radha Mitchell pursues her troubled daughter into a nightmare dimension. Widescreen and fullscreen editions include commentrak, production diary, deleted footage and more.

NEW RELEASES

(O) ANGEL OF VENGEANCE (Image) 1993 knock-off of the ANGEL Hong Kong action series with Alex Fong, Yukari Oshima, Alexander Lo Rei and Fat Chung. Includes t-

shirt!
(O) THE BILL COSBY SHOW Season 1 (Shout Factory) No, not that one. This is Cosby's low key 1969 sitcom in which he plays a high school coach. 26 episodes on 4 discs, plus interview. Delayed from last month, but we've got giveaways above.
(O) BLUE THUNDER Complete Series (Sony) James Farentino and Dana Carvey star in the TV adaptation of the hit movie.
(O) BODYGUARD KIBA (Media Blasters) Takashi Miike's 1993 direct-to-video yakuza thriller about a top bodyguard protecting the Soryukai family from all comers. Delayed from earlier this month.
(O) CRIPTA DEL TERROR: CEMENTERIO DEL TERROR / LADRONES DE TUMBAS (Brentwood)
(O) CRIPTA DEL TERROR: LA HORRIPILANTE BESTIA HUMANIA / MUNELOS INFERNALES (Brentwood) Brentwood's Crypt of Terror double features in Spanish packages.
(O) DEPORTED WOMEN OF THE SS SPECIAL SECTION / ESCAPE FROM WOMEN'S PRISON (Brentwood) 1970s WIP double bill.
(O) DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Universal) Special "Legacy" edition of Billy Wilder's film noir classic of greed, lies, and insurance starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson. Includes two commentraks, featurettes and more.
(O) DRUNKEN DRAGON (BCI Eclipse) A 1985 "Rarescope" old school kung fu comedy epic (aka EXCITING DRAGON) with Philip Ko and Leung Kar-yan.
(O) EASTERN HORRORS 4-pack (Deimos/BCI Eclipse)
(O) END OF THE NIGHT (TLA) Seemingly Argento inspired Spanish chiller about a reporter researching a murder rampage who feels she may have seen a clue to solving the crime.
(O) FILM GEEK (First Run) Indie comedy about a movie nerd. With outtakes, featurettes and bonus short.
(O) GALAXINA (Crown) 1980 sci-fi B-movie with the ill-fated Dorothy Stratton as an android who develops a soul.
(O) H6: DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER (Tartan) Spanish slasher in which a psycho killer inherits a brothel and sets up his own chamber of horrors.
(O) HOUSE Season 2 (Universal) Recently my wife was watching this medical drama while I was in the next room, and I swear it sounded like Jack Webb was guest starring on an episode of STAR TREK. All 24 episodes on 6 discs, plus commentraks, bloopers and more.
(O) INVASION Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) I found this series about an alien infiltration of Florida too derivative and the characters too annoying to get hooked. With featurettes and missing scenes.
(O) JUST MY LUCK (Fox) When lucky Lindsay Lohan kisses unlucky Chris Pine, she gets unlucky and he gets lucky. With featurettes and deleted footage.
(O) KICKING AND SCREAMING (Criterion) Subtly charming 1995 slacker comedy about spoiled, overeducated ivy leaguers unwilling to grow up. Includes interviews, deleted footage and bonus short.
(O) ONE TAKE ONLY (Tartan) An urban Thai romantic crime drama that marked Oxide Pang's debut as a director without his brother's help.
(O) POSEIDON (Warner Bros.) Wolfgang Petersen's pumped up remake of POSEIDON ADVENTURE lacks the original's star power but entertains by making the sinking boat into a sort of slasher. Guess who'll get killed next! Widescreen & "fullscreen" editions include Making-Of. Special 2-disc edition adds on two featurettes and a Discovery Channel documentary on rogue waves.
(O) SATAN'S PLAYGROUND (Anchor Bay) Dante Tomaselli's latest horror in which a family is terrorized by a supernatural force in New Jersey's Pine Barrens and seeks shelter in the home of a deranged backwoods clan. The cast includes Felissa Rose, Ellen Sandweiss, Edwin Neal, Irma St. Paulie and Ron Milkie, which ABE's press release refers to as "a veritable who's who of independent horror film veterans", but you may refer to as "Who?" Includes commentrak, behind-the-scenes and more.
(O) SCREAM QUEEN (Indican) Star of myriad B-horrors tries to break out as a serious actress in this indie comedy.
(O) SEA OF FEAR (Lionsgate) Seven people on a sailboat cruise, And then there were six, etc. Is one of them a killer?
(O) SNAKES ON A TRAIN (Asylum) The Asylum slapped this together so quickly that it snaked into video outlets last week without any promotion. Includes commentrak, Making-Of, bloopers and more.
(O) SONNY CHIBA ACTION PACK (Brentwood) Unlike other Chiba sets, this one doesn't include any STREET FIGHTER movies, but the lesser known VIRUS, GOLGO 13 and BULLET TRAIN.
(O) STARLITE ACTION THEATER: HUSTLER SQUAD / WILD RIDERS (Crown/BCI Eclipse)
(O) STARLITE ACTION THEATER: MALIBU HIGH / VIRGIN QUEEN OF ST. FRANCIS HIGH (Crown/BCI Eclipse) More vintage drive-in schlock.
(O) THEM! / THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (Warner Bros.) A rerelease of KING KONG and H-bomb tests inspired both of these landmark giant monster movies.
(O) TWISTED SISTERS (MTI) Destitute girl gets revenge on her spoiled twin and anyone who stands in her way. Includes Making-Of and more.
(O) THE UNBORN (Media Blasters) Asian horror.
(O) THE UNINVITED GUEST (HBO) Spanish home invader thriller.
(O) VERONICA MARS Complete Second Season (Warner Bros.) 22 episodes of solving mysteries, plus two featurettes, deleted footage and gag reel. Also available bundled with season 1.
(O) THE WICKER MAN (Anchor Bay) Original US theatrical version of the 1978 UK horror classic starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt and Britt Ekland. With interviews and more.

BLU-RAY DISC CORNER

(O) THE DEVIL'S REJECTS (Lionsgate)
(O) SILENT HILL (Sony) editions include commentrak, production diary, deleted footage and more.
(O) STARGATE (Lionsgate)
(O) STIR OF ECHOES (Lionsgate)
(O) TOTAL RECALL (Lionsgate)

HD-DVD CORNER

(O) THE BONE COLLECTOR (Universal) Includes commentrak and more.
(O) CADDYSHACK (Warner Bros.) Includes featurettes, interviews and outtakes.
(O) SPY GAME (Universal) With 3 commentraks, featurettes, deleted footage and more.

UMD CORNER

(O) SILENT HILL (Sony)

And be sure to check back next weekand every weekfor CINESCAPE's DVD Shopping List! And don't forget Anime Avalanche every Saturday!

DVD Shopping List (© 2006 Brian Thomas) is our weekly DVD column. Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at DVDShoppingList@cinescape.com.