Shout! Factory in November

from "Let's Scare Julie" (Jud Cremata, 2019)

It's the last big release month of 2020 for the folks at Shout! Factory, with 16 titles coming out in November. The schedule has shifted a lot over the past few months, with "Event Horizon" in particular seeing its street date move multiple times. It's not a huge deal, though; there's some good stuff coming out in time for the stuffing of stockings and whatnot. Let's take a peek, shall we?

November 3

Well, I guess I'm a week late on this post, which makes me a real bum-ass. GKids has reissued a trio of their classic animation catalog on Blu-ray, a welcome return after each of these went out of print in the recent past. 2009's "The Secret of Kells", and 2010's "Chico & Rita" and "A Cat In Paris" all received Oscar noms for Best Animated Feature, and set GKids up as a strong home for progressive animation. Each of these came out under their prior distributor; "The Secret of Kells" never got a Blu-ray release in the States. While there aren't any new additions to these releases, it's great to get to revisit each of these acclaimed features without having to track down a copy in the secondary market.

Jud Cremata's debut, "Let's Scare Julie", came out in October via video-on-demand, and came out a month late via this Scream Factory release. The conceit is that a bunch of teenaged girls pull a prank on their neighbor, which has terrible results. I'm always down for a well-choreographed single-take movie, and the cast, a lot of whom we've already seen via streaming releases, makes this look like a potential fountain of new talent. With a cheap price point, this is definitely a title I'll end up getting; whether I order it now, or wait a few weeks until it's $10 or less at Walmart, is the only question.

"Misbehaviour" is one of those films that I'll see a trailer for in a 25-minute compilation on YouTube, say, "Hey, that looks like a larf!", then promptly forget about. That's not a mark of its quality; it's more an indictment of the current theatrical distribution and marketing models. Phillipa Lowthorpe's second feature, in the midst of an acclaimed career in television, looks to be the kind of film that Miramax and Lionsgate made their names on 20 years ago, and the sort that Shout! Studios is building a strong catalog out of. Set during the 1970 Miss World Pageant, "Misbehaviour" is a collision of race, gender, and culture, starring the likes of Kiera Knightly, Suki Waterhouse, and Greg Kinnear. I'm down to give it a look.

November 10

Stop: Hammer time! Here's another in Scream Factory's long series of Hammer Films reissues. This time, it's 1960's "The Brides of Dracula", the sequel to 1958's "(Horror of) Dracula", directed again by Terrance Fisher and starring Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. Yeah! This has been available as a standalone British release for years, and as part of Universal's 2016 "Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection", but has received a really nice release via Scream Factory. The print has received a 2K scan, and is viewable in both a 1.85:1 and a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. There are also new features highlighting Fisher, D.P. Jack Asher, and score composer Malcolm Williamson. Add a new commentary track, carry-over features from the earlier UK releases, and a killer cover, and this Collector's Edition is on my wishlist!

I'm definitely interested in GKids' release of the 2019 French animated feature "Marona's Fantastic Tale" ("L'extraordinaire Voyage de Marona"). Ya like dags? Well, Marona is a dog what ping-pongs from name to name and owner to owner, in a tale of blind love. This got a bit of theatrical play before COVID-19, and while the story seems a bit sad (it's all told in retrospect after MARONA WAS HIT BY A CAR!!!!), the blend of animation styles looks fantastic.

"How To Make A Monster" reads like a 50s meta-thriller; a master make-up artist is fired by the new owners of American International Pictures and creates monsters to seek revenge. It's a Arkoff/Nicholson presentation, starring Henry from "Valley Of The Dolls"! It has both a teenage werewolf AND a teenage Frankenstein! It's a B-movie freakout! You get a 2K fine grain scan, two commentary tracks, a featurette on director Herman Cohen, an interview with both teenage monsters (hopefully in character), and the trailer to the movie.

It's been a minute since there have been any "Sesame Street" releases, and, normally, yeah, you'd say "Who cares?" if you don't have kids. But these first two "Old School" releases, covering 1969 to 1974 and 1974 to 1979 should be fairly interesting to collectors who follow classic television. Each volumes has five complete season premieres, along with an archival release (the pitch film on Volume 1, the pilot episode on Volume 2). It should be of no small interest to also see the entertainers featured from those first ten seasons: everyone from Jackie Robinson to Richard Pryor to Lena Horne all make appearances over these two volumes. This is the era of "Sesame Street" I was raised on; I'm really excited to introduce my niece to this huge influence.

Colonel Glenn Manning (one of the pseudonyms I travel under) returns disfigured, brain damaged, starving, and still 70 ft. tall after falling off the Hoover Dam in "War of the Colossal Beast", the 1958 sequel to the previous year's "The Amazing Colossal Man". This quickly-assembled AIP B feature has recycled footage, a mentally disabled antagonist, and some dogshit FX. Of course it got the MST3K treatment. This Blu-ray debut gets a 2K scan, commentary from film historian C. Courtney Joyner, filmmaker Donald F. Glut and monster historian Eric Hoffman, a featurete on director Bert I. Gordon, and the alternate 16mm ending originally created for syndication. It's a bit weird to see this come out before Scream releases "The Amazing Colossal Man". But what do I know?

November 17

GKids released some really nice editions of "Weathering With You" back in September. But the Collector's Edition coming out in November looks to be the definitive version. It's a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo, and includes Radwimps' soundtrack from the film. The set also includes a feature-length making-of documentary, a 108-page art book, a mini poster and a decal, along with all the extras that appeared on the previous GKids releases. If you've been holding off on snagging a copy, and/or have a UHD player, this is the version to buy.

One can make an argument that the definitive television version of Las Vegas appeared via the 1994 NBC Friday Night Mystery movies "MacShayne: Winner Takes All" and "MacShayne: Final Roll Of The Dice". One can make that argument, but they'd probably be wrong. You, however, can determine it for yourself, via this first-ever home video release. Starring the Gambler himself, Kenny Rogers, as a small-time hustler fresh out of the clink, these got your Nana all worked up back when you were in middle school.

These last two are releases I've actually been looking forward to. I've read a ton of good reviews of this year's "Relic", an IFC Films release that I think would have gotten a lot more publicity had COVID-19 not squashed its theatrical run. Produced by the Russo Brothers and Jake Gyllenhall, Natalie Erika James's first feature is a meditation of family and infirmity, wrapped within a haunted house story. The recaps I've read so far tell me this is a slow burn that really blows up in the third act. As with "Let's Scare Julie", I'll be keeping an eye out for an inexpensive copy of this over the next few months.

I have a ton of fond memories of "Twins" when I was a kid. I actually experienced Arnold Schwarzeneggar first in comedic roles like this; I wasn't going to get to go see "Red Heat" or "Commando", but I could go see this and "Kindergarten Cop" with my parents. It was also my first exposure to comedy legend Danny Devito, and the first time I'd seen an Ivan Reitman film. So, you know...fond memories. There are a pair of new featurettes on this Blu-ray debut, along with the theatrical trailer. But you ain't buying it for all that; you're looking for the mismatched antics of the Terminator meeting the Penguin. And this movie delivers twice as many antics as you can handle!!!

from "Brides Of Dracula" (Terence Fisher, 1960)

There are a lot of titles in November, but not a ton of must-haves. "Twins" probably tops that list for me, with the two new horror releases also ranking up there. Had I not already bought a copy, I'd probably queue up for that "Weathering For You" Collector's Edition as well. There are a few noteworthy releases coming in December: a new pair of Studio Ghibli steelbooks, Dave Franco's "The Rental", and another Kenny Rogers TV movie collection. I'm back in less than 30 to tell you all about them!

Shout! Factory in September

from "Weathering With You"

I've felt a bit underwhelmed in the past few months by Shout! Factory's releases, due in great part to the shipping issues they've experienced at their fulfillment facility. There are a great many titles that have come out recently that, in the past, I would have preordered direct from SF. But knowing they might arrive two or three weeks after the release date has really dampened my excitement. The last straw? I ordered a couple of steelbooks in their sale a couple weeks ago, both of which were in stock. The order's been sitting in pre-shipment for over a week. I'm sympathetic that COVID-19 has screwed everything up, but this sort of thing keeps me from spending money on anything other than that limited edition must have. Speaking of which...

ShoutFactory.com Exclusives

I don't recall seeing any sort of announcement on this program, and it's not like Shout! has put me on their media list yet, but at some point in July, listings for a pair of ShoutFactory.com exclusives popped up on the website. Limited to just 1,000 pieces, they've announced some pretty cool titles so far. July saw a Double Feature Blu-ray of "Caged Heat!" and "Jackson County Jail", along with a Blu-ray of 1985's "Streetwalkin'", featuring a young Melissa Leo. August brings a pair of Roger Corman exploitation Blu-rays in 1957's "Attack of the Crab Monsters" and 1978's "Deathsport". None of these are bare-bones releases; each Blu-ray features a commentary track as well as behind the scenes featurettes, trailers, etc. I'm all for driving traffic to the website, and all but the most specialist retailers would probably skip stocking these, so I'm in favor of the program. It looks like these release the last Friday of each month, so keep your eyes peeled.

September 1

Now let's dive in the ninth month with last year's "Children of the Sea" ("海獣の子供"). Based on the manga by Daisuke Igarashi, "Children of the Sea" sounds like a pretty decent fantasy adventure film: a girl and two mysterious boys meet in an aquarium and try to solve the mystery of the world's missing fish. If watching the trailer says anything to me, it's "whimsy". Longtime Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi wrote his first non-Ghibli score in 30 years for "Children...", so that's another mark in the plus column. GKids is awful about listing extras for their releases, but I'd assume we'd get Japanese and international trailers on the disc.

The first Scream Factory release in September is "Baba Yaga: Terror of the Dark Forest" ("Яга. Кошмар тёмного леса"), a Russian demon flick that came out just before COVID-19 went wide. Writer/director Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy's last film, 2018's "Mermaid: Lake of the Dead", had some really clever moments, and Slavic monster folklore always interests me. Whether it's rusalkas or the zmey or Baba Yaga, I'm willing to give anything covering this world a bit of my time. And, at a $19.99 list price, one isn't spending a lot to take a wag.

I have to assume that you, kind reader, are probably not the target audience for "Monster Hits: Rock & Rhyme With Elmo". That's cool; I'm still going to cover it. You get two - that's right, two! - hours of sing-along fun with Elmo and his crew. For folks with young kids and without HBO Max, this release is going to be a pandemic godsend. Just park the wee ones in front of the TV with this and let them sing until they can't sing anymore. No word yet on whether these come with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for Mommy's quiet time.

September 4

It's the rare Friday release! It's concert footage of the classic lineup of the B-52s! It's the US Festival! It's only available on DVD!  "The B-52s: Live at US Festival" captures the Athens quintet at the tail end of their (arguably) best era, playing on the Saturday before Labor Day, 1982, in San Bernadino, CA. Shout!'s been releasing sets from US Festival for almost a decade now, and they've always been pretty well produced. If you want to nerd out, think about seeing the lineup from New Wave Day, 1982:

• The Police: I hate them, but they're at the tale end of the "Ghost in the Machine" tour, and they had the horn section from Sugarhill Records backing them
• Talking Heads: on hiatus, but had started recording "Speaking in Tongues" earlier in the summer
• The B-52s: had been touring behind the David Byrne-produced "Mesopotamia" all summer
• Oingo Boingo: "Nothing To Fear" had come out earlier in the summer, and they'd been opening for the Police
• The (English) Beat: "Special Beat Service" marked their 3rd album in five years, and the end of their classic lineup. Shout! put out a release in 2012 of the Beat's 1982 & 1983 sets at US Festival that's worth checking out
• Ramones: were the Ramones ever bad live? I could take or leave the "Subterranean Jungle"-era Ramones, but I dunno if they even played anything off that record, which they wouldn't start recording until December
• Gang of Four: "Songs of the Free" was their first record with Sara Bell on bass...I'm a fan

September 8

I've been hyped for "True History of the Kelly Gang" since seeing the trailer last year. Of course, it got released here in April, which meant I was not going to see it until the Blu-ray came out. This is a more-fictionalized version of the Ned Kelly story, told by Kelly to his (fictional) daughter. Ned Kelly was the subject of the first featuring length film, "The Story of the Kelly Gang" (1906), as well as a Mick Jagger feature AND a Yahoo Serious comedy that I saw in the theatre. The cast is top notch, starring George MacKay from "1917", and featuring the likes of Russell Crowe (fighting 'round the world), Essie Davis ("Mrs. Fisher's Murder Mysteries"), Nicholas Hoult ("About a Boy"), and Charlie Hunnam ("Undeclared"). There's some great Australian history at play, a great Aussie cast, and I hear the action scenes are really well executed. Sign me up for some bush ranging!

September 15

Much like the rest of the world, I really liked 2016's "Your Name" ("君の名は。"). "Your Name" became the highest-grossed anime film of all time, topping "Spirited Away" by $4 million. Writer/director Makoto Shinkai followed that success up with last year's "Weathering With You" ("天気の子"). It looks like it has a lot of the same sort of mood as "Your Name", and is set in the same world and time period as the previous film. So, based on nothing more than reviews at this point, I'd say, if you liked "Your Name", you'll probably like "Weathering With You". GKids is going full out on this release: you can choose from a DVD, a Blu-ray/DVD combo, or a limited edition steelbook Blu-ray/DVD combo. That steelbook also comes with a lithograph of the cover, which is nice. You'll get both the Japanese v.o. and the US dub, which features Lee Pace, Alison Brie, and Riz Ahmed, as well as trailers, interviews with Shinkai, and an overview of his ouevre. All in all, this should be one of the big releases this month.

I have no recollection of "The TV Set" coming out in 2006. While it wasn't a big budget film, it had a director whose work I followed (Jake Kasdan), a cast of people who I've always liked (Sigourney Weaver, David Duchovny, Judy Greer), the involvement of Judd Apatwo, and a plot about creating a TV show. It also came out the year before "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story", one of my favorite comedies of the past twenty years. So why didn't I hear about this until now, when it hits a lot of my sweet spots? Probably because it was put out by TH!NKfilm, the now-defunct NYC distributor also responsible for "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" and "Encounters at the End of the World". I recall them having really shitty reach; I had to go to DC to see "Encounters", and waited to see "Devil" until it was on DVD. At any rate, this is the reason Shout Select exists: an under-seen movie comes to Blu-ray, with the kind of extras that contextualize the film and give it new life.

September 22

I've lost track of where things lie with GKids reissuing the Studio Ghibli catalog through Shout! Factory. For example, I really thought they'd already put out 2013's "The Wind Rises" ("風立ちぬ"), the film billed as Hayao Miyazaki's retirement film. But I must have confused it with the earlier Disney release. Meh, it happens. At first blush, it looks like a fairly straight-forward reissue of the 2014 Disney release. This Blu-ray/DVD combo comes with the "Behind the Microphone" featurette, feature-length storyboards, trailers and TV spots. Added to this reissue is a new insert, and an episode from the documentary series "Hayao Miyazaki: 10 Years with the Master". The DVD reissue is missing those new extras, so I'd suggest going combo pack for this one.

Speaking of reissues: the first volume of "The Vincent Price Collection" is back! Originally released in 2013, this collected six of Price's American International films on Blu-ray for the first time. Having gone out of print a few years back, the secondary market for this collection has gotten nuts; I've seen it go for anywhere from $135.00 to $350.00. That's just wild. So it's nice to have it available again. The only change is the removal of the Vincent Price introductions from each film; a nice touch, to be sure, but hardly a deal-breaker. Additionally, 1964's "The Masque of the Red Death", previously only available in this set, is now available as a stand-alone Blu-ray. As before, "Masque" comes in both its theatrical version and extended version. Here's hoping that this means we might see additional stand-alone reissues!

September 29

Has it been 20 years since "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" came out in the cinema? It feels like it was only yesterday that we saw Mara Wilson take her final, glorious stroll across the silver screen, opposite the likes of Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, and Didi Conn. What a shame that director/creator Britt Allcroft wasn't able to present her original vision. We're now a step closer to realizing that vision, with this wonderful 20th anniversary edition. It's our first chance to see the deleted storylines, to listen to the actors and composer, to relive the glory of the summer of 2000. Were we ever so young?

Shout! Factory released a complete collection of "The Bob Newhart Show" back in 2014; I think I gave it to my then-girlfriend. Now all 142 episodes are being reissued, in all their mid-70s glory. I love listening to Newhart's standup from the early 60's (rediscovered as a result of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), and I prefer Bob as innkeeper in "Newhart" over Bob as psychologist in "The Bob Newhart Show". But, as far as sitcoms from this era go, it's pretty good...up there with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".

We end September with the Scream Factory collector's edition of 2002's "Ghost Ship", or, as I never fail to call it, "Ghost Shit". I saw a matinee of this back then, hungover from work the night before and in between a morning and a night class. Everything about this movie feels like a off-brand version of another movie, from the obvious plot influence of "Event Horizon", to the poster almost completely copied from 1980's "Death Ship". The best part of "Ghost Shit" is the totally brutal opening scene; it's all downhill from there, with a cast borrowed from TV casts (AND Gabriel Byrne!). Of course, only Scream Factory could make this worth purchasing, with better extras than a film of this ilk deserves. Having now seen the "Thirteen Ghosts" release from July, I can better understand why Scream brought director Steve Beck's second and final film to Blu-ray.

What have we learned this month? Well, it's to appreciate that they can't ALL be winners. There's an audience for everything here, and it's ok that I'm not it. I'll be grabbing "Weathering With You" and "The History of the Kelly Gang" this month; any of the others can probably wait until a sale or a full-time job. We're back in 30 for more Ghibli steelbooks, Charlie Kaufman's "Adaptation" on Blu-ray, and the long-awaited "Friday the 13th" collection. Be there; aloha.

Shout! Factory in August

It was this time last month when I said to myself, "You know, I could save myself a little pain if I started the Shout! Factory post early this month." Did I follow my own advice? No, other Barry, I did not. With a whopping 12 releases in August, there's a lot to go through. So let's begin, shall we?

August 4

Let's kick off with the newest volume of the "When the Heart Calls" series. June saw the release of the first and second episodes from Season 7; "Family Matters & In Perfect Unity" brings home episodes three through six which originally aired in spring 2020 on the Hallmark Channel. I'll personally be holding out for the steelbook collected Season 7 on Blu-ray, due to release in December at a Hallmark store exclusive (with bonus Erin Krakow Christmas ornament!).

I've been super stoked to check out "Swallow", the debut from writer/director Carlo Mirabella-Davis, since I saw a trailer earlier this year, and I'm thrilled to see it get the IFC/Shout! Factory treatment. This story of a housewife developing pica to process the stresses of marriage and familial expectations should be relatable to...well, any of us. If the reviews I've read are any indication, this is one whose reputation is bound to grow as more folks get hip to it. Sadly, like most of the IFC releases via Shout! Factory, the extras are completely bare bones. We get an audio descriptive track and trailer, and that's that.

There have been more and more cinema from South Africa that I've been enjoying, whether it's been arthouse or grindhouse. Harold Hölscher's theatrical debut, 2019's "The Soul Collector", looks to have more in common with the latter, although the trailer shows enough touches of the former to make this a really interesting pickup. The themes of loss and family bely a deeper meaning behind the scary "demon baby" A-story. No word on any extras with this one, but as a Shout Studios release, I hope we'll get trailers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, commentary, and the like.

I've really been trying not to limit my war movie viewing to Anglo-American directors. So when I read the synopsis of "The Resistance Fighter" (Kurier), from Polish writer/director Wladyslaw Pasikowski, I got interested. "The Resistance Fighter" is a biopic about Polish patriot Jan Nowak-Jeziorański who helped report on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and later fought in the Powstanie Warszawskie in the summer of 1944. Pasikowski directed a movie in 2012 called "Aftermath" about the consequence of Polish participation in a pogrom in World War II that really stuck with me, and I'll watch any story that serves as a "fuck you" to Nazis. This one's available as either a Blu-ray or DVD, so choose your pleasure.

Director Masaaki Yuasa has worked on some great anime over the years. His direction of the "Devilman Crybaby" OVA led to what is regarded as Netflix's best anime pickup, and all the work coming from his studio Science Saru has been top notch since being founded in 2013. "Ride Your Wave" (きみと、波にのれたら) came out in 2019, and while it seems to missing some of the whimsy and weirdness of Yuasa's other films, it's been really well reviewed. This supernatural romance revolves around a relationship formed by rescue and water, and serves as Yuasa's swan song as president at Science Saru. This combo pack comes with a detailed booklet, trailers, featurettes, and a brand new cover.

I had originally planned to grab the steelbook release of "Promare" when it released in May. But when I learned that GKids had planned a Collector's Edition release, I decided to hold off. I'm glad I did. In addition to a Blu-ray of what's already being called the best release of the year, the Collector's Edition comes with the soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano ("Attack on Titan", "Kill la Kill"), an English translation of the script, a bonus behind-the-scenes booklet, a decal, and a mini poster. It's all housed inside a handsome looking slipcover. Yeah, it's pricier than the steelbook...but the content! The content!!!

August 11

If you have to pick one Shout! release from the second week of August to buy, make it the Collector's Edition of "The Phantom of the Opera"! I saw this on TV when I was a kid, and it scared the shit out of me. Herbert Lom plays a creepy-ass Phantom in this 1962 Hammer Horror release. Honestly, this looks like one I want simply for the extras. There's an Anthony Hinds featurette, highlighting the "Quartermass Xperiment" screenwriter and Hammer scion. Academy Award-winner Brian Johnson stops by to discuss his special effects work on "Phantom". There are also interviews with authors David Huckvale and C. Courtney Joyner, as well as the now-customary presentations of this Hammer classic in both theatrical (1.85:1) and television (1.66:1) aspect ratios. I never cease to be impressed in the work Scream Factory does on these under-seen Hammer films, introducing them to a new generation of fans. It also looks like you can still get an 18"x24" poster of the new cover with a preorder at Shout! Factory.

August 18

If you have to pick one Shout! release from the third week of August to buy, make it this Blu-ray reissue of 1974's "Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell"! Even though this has been available for a while as a Region B/2 combo pack, it's the first time it's been available domestically uncensored. It's the last film in Hammer's "Frankenstein" series, as well as one of the final films of the Hammer Horror era. It has a pretty great performance from Peter Cushing, who returned to the Baron Victor Frankenstein role he originated back in 1957. David Prowse also returns as Frankenstein's monster. Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr provide an all-new commentary track for this Scream Factory release. There's also a second archival commentary track featuring Prowse , actress Madeline Smith, and author Jonathan Sothcott. Like the previous week's "Phantom" release, SF provides another "The Men Who Made Hammer" featurette, this time examining producer Roy Skeggs. I'm not super familiar with the late-period Hammer titles, so I'm stoked to give this one a whirl.

August 25

Shout! continues to revisit the Universal horror catalog with this Blu-ray release, "Universal Horror Collection: Vol. 6". As with previous volumes, there's always at least one movie in each release that I definitely want to see. This time, it's 1955's "Cult of the Cobra", featuring David Janssen in an early role. It covers a lot of the same thematic ground as the Tourneur/Lewton classic "Cat People", one of my all-time favorites. Also included are 1952's "The Black Castle", 1958's "The Thing That Wouldn't Die", and a pretty cool Hammer rarity in 1961's "The Shadow of the Cat". All four films receive a 2K restoration and fresh, new commentaries. Add in some pretty cool sounding featurettes, and this is a surprisingly-robust archival release in this series.

It's time for a new set of Studio Ghibli steelbooks. Shout!s second wave of Miyazaki reissues includes "Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind" and "Kiki's Delivery Service". If you already own the 2017 reissue of "Nausicaä", or the old Disney version, you're all set; the only new thing you'll get is the steelbook. HOWEVER, Shout! has never reissued "Kiki" on Blu-ray, so if you don't own the 2014 Disney release, here's a chance to grab a copy. I've never really noticed much difference between the Disney releases and the Shout! reissues (they're missing the digital downloads), but each of these is chock full of archival material for a body of work that stands amongst the finest not just in animation, but in filmmaking as a whole.

Last, but certainly not least this month, is the Scream Factory Collector's Edition of 1990's "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie". This movie has it all: gargoyles, Christian Slater, cat assassins, witches, George Romero, mummies, Julianne Moore, laughs, screams, and JAMES REMAR! I was a bit too young to see this in the theatre, but this, along with its predecessors "Creepshow" and "Creepshow 2", were go-to VHS pickups for movie nights and sleepovers throughout high school. There are some solid extras on this release: trailers, commentary, the EPK from the theatrical release. But the big get has gotta be the addition of the new documentary "Tales Behind the Darkside: The Making of Four Ghoulish Fables". A ton of the film's principles appear and comment, among them director John Harrison, the SFX team of Nicotero, Kurtzman, and Berger, DP Robert Draper, and man-in-suit Michael Deak. In spite of cruddy reviews at the time of release, this anthology has a bunch of fans who now run the industry. It's great to revisit this 30 years after its debut.

I've already grabbed a preorder on "Promare" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", and I'll probably grab the rest of these over the next couple of months. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I've really been drawn to the Hammer catalog throughout quarantine, so if there's a sale coming up, I'll grab "Phantom", "Frankenstein", and July's "Kiss of the Vampire". September has some great releases coming, including reissue sof the long out-of-print Vincent Price Collection and "Bob Newhart Show" sets, first-time home video releases of "Weathering With You" and "True History of the Kelly Gang", and a 20th anniversary release of the "Thomas and the Magic Railroad". Be there in 30. Aloha.

Shout! Factory in July

July looks like the proverbial calm before the storm for Shout! Factory. There are a lighter-than-usual number of releases this month, and while there are a couple of Blu-rays coming that I'm excited for, there's no triple-A, must haves dropping. That doesn't mean we're not going to chop it up right here, right now.

July 7

Here's one of those Shout! Factory releases that looks like nothing on the surface, but, with a bit of digging, you get why it was picked up. "Proximity" is a direct-to-video release from 2020 that's billed as in the vein of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". OK, I'm quite fond of "Close Encounters", but I need a little more. This is director/writer/producer Eric Demeusy's first full-length. "Who's that?", you might be asking. Demuesy's background is in digital effects. IMDb says he created the opening sequence for the first two seasons of "Stranger Things". He directed a "Star Wars" short, and a short film called "Video" that I liked. NOW I'm interested in what's going on here. It has a value price point of $20, and nothing else is releasing this week. If you're into suspenseful sci-fi, then this looks to be in your sweet spot.

July 14

Hell, yeah! It's time for a Hammer vampire movie! And not just any ol' Hammer vampire movie; it's a SEXY Hammer vampire movie! 1963's "Kiss of the Vampire" was released as a Region B Blu-ray a few years back, but this Collector's Edition is stuffed to the gills with hot vampire/newlywed action. I watched a dubbed VHS of this a million years ago, and saw a lot of similarities between this and "Rocky Horror Picture Show"...minus the song and dance, obviously. The end of the movie is kind of nuts, featuring a swarm of bats from Hell. Like last year's "Lust for a Vampire" release, you get both a 1.66:1 and a 1.85:1 2K restoration of the film, along with separate commentaries on each aspect ratio, and the TV cut ("Kiss of Evil") which also gets its own commentary. The new cover art looks slick, and a preorder via SF gets an 18"x24" poster of the cover. Approved!

Shout Select has a reissue of Ron Howard's mystery/Western from 2003 "The Missing" coming out on the 14th. I don't remember this having any impact on me when it came out in theatres, and there hasn't been a Ron Howard movie I've been happy with since..."Parenthood"? But there's one reason why I'm interested in checking this out eventually. There's an extra on the SF page entitled "The Short Films of Ron Howard". I WILL cosign his early films; everything up through "Parenthood" is rewatchable and has a great sense of fun. So I'm intrigued by what that feature is.

For those of you interested, "The Missing" comes in two versions on this edition: the theatrical release, and an extended cut with 17 minutes of extra footage and commentary by Howard. Hell, any movie with Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, Rachel Evan Wood, and Val Kilmer can't be that bad. Right?

July 21

Did you know Marcel Marceau, before becoming synonymous with mime, fought the Nazis as a member of the French Resistance in World War II? It sounds made up, but it's true. And now there's a movie about it. In "Resistance", Jesse Eisenberg plays Marceau, Ed Harris plays George S. Patton, Matthias Schweighöfer plays Klaus Barbie. I watched the trailer for this a while back, and was a little underwhelmed. I'm a sucker for any Jewish resistance movie: historical, exploitation, whatever. So I'll probably check this out in the future. It's another in the series of IFC/Shout! Factory releases, which leads to a bare-bones physical release. Just about every sentence I've typed in this paragraph feels super weird and unbelievable, like a fever dream, or macrodosing.

From the ridiculous to the sublime: Shout! Factory is finally releasing a complete series box set of "Northern Exposure". Back in the day, CBS actually aired shows that were quirky and appealed to people outside the 55+ demographic. "Northern Exposure" was my favorite. It's a show about misfits and fish out of water and the embracing of eccentricity, all set in a fictional town in Alaska. The first woman I ever dated regularly and I would call each other and watch this in our respective bedrooms. It was a sweet and innocent time for me, long before I became Ape Mummy. This was a good-ass show, winning the Emmy for Best Dramatic Series in 1992, and keeping me on the lookout for cheap copies since 2000.

Now, you may say, "But, Ape. I see this all the time at thrift stores for $4. Why should I pick this up?" If you look closer, you'll notice that you see a lot of Season 1 and 2, but none of Seasons 5 & 6. How are you supposed to know how things turn out for Dr. Joel Fleischman? I imagine the extras remain the same from the single season releases; the standard deleted scenes, gag reels, and what not. It also doesn't look like this is available to stream anywhere, so, yeah, give it a go. If you haven't seen it, you won't regret watching it.

July 28

There's a trio of horror coming to wrap up July. First up is a Collector's Edition of 2001's "Thirteen Ghosts", or "Thir13en Ghosts", if you're in a nu-metal band or a Silver Pictures marketing maven. Look, I didn't give a shit about this in 2001; I don't care about it now. I'd much rather go back to the original William Castle movie from 1959, or revisit "House on Haunted Hill", released by the same production team two years before. This release has a number of new extras that weren't available on the previous Warner Home Video release. Director Steve Beck recorded a brand-new commentary track, and there's an interview with Shannon Elizabeth, who I thought had retired from acting to play poker competitively. You're either already super hyped for this release, or you're like me. Thankfully, I've done the hard introspection for all of us, and now you don't have to overthink not getting this. That is a dope looking cover, tho.

Thankfully, there's a Blu-ray release of Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" to check out this week. It's the final film in his "Apartment Trilogy", as well as the last film he made before permanently leaving the United States for Europe. Based on the book by French polymath Roland Topor, this is a Kafkaesque psychological horror film that's grown in stature over time, despite Polanski's fugitive status and decline in public appreciation. This movie is dark and paranoid in a way that too few films are. When I first saw it, I observed a number of similarities in tone to "The Shining". It blurs reality, fantasy, madness, and the supernatural for its characters. As you'd expect, there are a wealth of special features here, including an interview with Polanski himself, an archival featurette with Topor, and a commentary track featuring critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. If you pick one new release up this month, make it this one. This is a prime film nerd title.

Last, but not least, is a reissue of 1990's "Graveyard Shift". When it was initially announced, I wondered why I'd never seen this, especially in light of my opinion of the source material. It's one of my favorite Stephen King short stories. The film, however, came out in that weird time when I was just starting to get into horror, but my parents wouldn't let me watch anything R-rated. Add to that a very culty cast, and a director making his first and only film, and I guess it makes sense why this fell below my radar. Anyway, if you're bummed out by rats, I guessing this isn't going to be your cuppa. The extras on this release are relatively bare bones: you get a few interviews with the cast and director. If you're a King adaptation completist (and I know you exist out there), then this will be a welcome addition in hi-def.

So what did we learn today? Well, I think I'm just going to snag "The Tenant" as a preorder. I can hold off on the "Northern Exposure" complete series and "Kiss of the Vampire" for now; they're both perfect sale titles. August has a lot more of what I'm looking for, including the first release of "Swallow", a pair of Miyazaki steelbooks, more Hammer horror, and the latest Universal Horror collection. See you back here in 30.

Shout! Factory in June

Hey, hey! We're back with another month o' fun from the folks at Shout! Factory. Did you grab anything in May worth talking about? I decided to combine my order with a title from early June and ship it all at once, so I'll hang tight talking about the "Danger: Diabolik" and "Exorcism at 60,000 Feet" discs until they land. Let's get into it!

June 2
There are a ton of titles releasing the first Tuesday of June. I'm most excited for the Shout Select Collector's Edition Blu-ray of "Glengarry Glen Ross". Without hyperbole, this is one of the greatest movies of the 1990s; a classic David Mamet script (adapted from his play) featuring an incredible cast. Pacino, Lemmon, Arkin, Harris, Baldwin, Spacey, Pryce: every single actor turns in an amazing performance. I've been watching my Artisan DVD for almost 20 years, and I'm quite excited to see how this new 4K transfer looks in comparison. There's a new interview with director James Foley, and an interview with actor Joe Mantegna, who originated Ricky Roma onstage in Chicago. There's also a new cubist-style cover, inspired by Alec Baldwin's monologue in the film. If you haven't seen it before, you've almost certainly heard a reference. Always - be - closing, y'all.

Shout! Factory started reissuing Satoshi Kon's film catalog last year, with outstanding Blu-Rays of "Perfect Blue" and "Millennium Actress". The late Japanese director's third film, 2003's "Tokyo Godfathers"(東京ゴッドファーザーズ), gets the hi-def treatment this month. "Tokyo Godfathers" gets a 4K scan and a brand new English-language dub for this release, as well as a wealth of extras on this 2-disc combo pack. As of this writing, if you order direct from Shout! Factory, you'll also receive an 18"x24" lithograph of the cover art, which is always a nice little treat. I only know Kon's work from reputation; all four of his films were out-of-print by the time I became familiar with him. So it's nice to have someone new to discover and dive into.

The latest film in the "Sound! Euphonium" (響け! ユーフォニアム) anime series, "Our Promise: A Brand New Day" also drops this week. The series tells the tale of a Japanese high school concert band and their growth with the arrival of a new faculty advisor. Protagonist Kumiko has entered her second year of high school, and has to juggle playing in the band, building a relationship with long-time friend Shūichi, AND mentoring the new Year One band members. What's a girl to do? This is definitely not in my wheelhouse, but if you're a fan of YA fiction, or have been following the anime and following films, this is a gotta have.

At this point, you're either already sold on the "When Calls The Heart" series, or you're not at all interested. I live in a house that is a sucker for Hallmark Channel productions, so I've seen a few of these over the years. The greatest surprise for me? This has now run seven seasons and five movies! That's longevity, people! These folks are still going strong, despite the loss of Lori Laughlin after season five. If prairie romance with strong family values is your thing, and you're not already into this, then get on board here with "When Calls The Heart: Finding Home & A Moving Picture". This double feature includes the Season 7 premiere and 2019's Christmas episode.

Hey, let's check out some new Russian sci-fi! Last year's "The Blackout" (Аванпост) had a great tag line: "SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IS PLUNGING HUMANITY INTO DARKNESS ..." I caught the trailer on YouTube a few weeks ago, and some of the visuals were striking. I'll always give a "humanity's last stand"-type movie a shot, and this low-budget (around $4 million) foreign release looks pretty promising. This is the first of two films, with a sequel due out this year. I'm rooting for this to be a "Night Watch"-style word-of-mouth release.
Normally, I'd totally overlook a film like "Witches In The Woods". The IMDb reviews are not great, and the whole "college kids get trapped in the snow and flip out" plot seems like something I've seen before. BUT! I see that writer Christopher Borrelli also wrote 2015's "The Vatican Tapes", which I thought was a perfectly cromulent late night watch. I'm also a big fan of shithead college kids getting their comeuppance in horror movies. I think there's a fair chance what you get here. Do you need to own this? Probably not, but I wouldn't complain if someone whipped this out for movie night in the next few weeks.
June 9

Do you like whimsy? Hell yeah you do! I'm pretty certain, unless you stayed home and watched HBO in the mid-90s, that you've never seen 1994's "Princess Caraboo". Based on a true story from the 19th century, this story tells the story of a woman who impersonates an exotic princess and enraptures British society. It's Phoebe Cates' final lead role, and a cast including real-life husband Kevin Kline, Jim Broadbent, John Lithgow, and Stephen Rea leads you to wonder why more people don't know about this. It's one of those movies that Miramax did really well with in the 90s; sadly, TriStar distributed it to theaters, which probably lead to the DVD going out of print fairly quickly. All that makes this a perfect Shout! Select release this week.
June 16
My boss 10 years ago highly recommended "The Hills Run Red" over and over again, and, at the time, I took a pass. It looked like some shitty, direct-to-video, aughts slasher b.s. I'll fully admit that I was wrong. It's not shitty, it's not b.s., it's pretty good, especially with the benefit of 11 years of hindsight. The writing is solid, the plot is meta enough to hold my interest, and William Sadler plays a reclusive director. "The Hills Run Red" has gotten a lot of love over the past decade, and gets honored with a massive amount of extras on this first-ever Blu-ray release from Scream Factory.
Jon Avent's "Three Christs" gets a combo pack release after a reduced theatrical and VOD release earlier this year. This one sat on the shelf for three years after being shot in 2017, despite a cast including Richard Gere, Walton Goggins, and Peter Dinklage. The story of the Three Christs of Ypsilanti is a pretty fascinating chapter in the story of modern psychiatry, and this seems like the kind of dark comedy that'll be a perfect Sunday afternoon watch in my house.
Scream! Factory has been reissuing Paramount's and Universal's back catalog of horror films since last year, and the fifth volume of the "Universal Horror Collection" comes out this week. In most cases, these films have never been available on Blu-ray, and have been receiving 2K restorations and full film commentaries from historians. These were all B-features, the direct-to-video releases of their day, and most of them are rarely explored by casual fans. Of the four films in this collection, I'm most interested to check out 1943's "Captive Wild Woman", a pre-blacklist sci-fi/horror movie from director Edward Dmytryk. Also included here are 1944's "Jungle Woman", and 1945's "Jungle Captive", the sequels to "Captive Wild Woman", and 1941's "The Woman And The Girl".
June 23

I'm grateful that I grew up during the last time in broadcast history when you could watch a wide range of genre film on over-the-air TV. Alongside Shaw Brothers kung fu and Toho tokasatsu, I watched a ton of Bert Gordon's super-sized monsters on WVEU, WTBS, and WATL as a kid. Scream Factory has returned to releasing Blu-ray reissues with a Blu-ray of 1958's "Earth Vs. The Spider". It's a fun AIP mockbuster, having been re-titled "The Spider" before release to capitalize off the success of "The Fly". You get the Season 3 episode of MST3K on this release, new commentary, behind the scenes images, and a new 2K scan of the film.
The final Shout! Select release for June is 1994's "The Road To Wellville", which adapts a T.C. Boyle novel, which is based on the life and beliefs of John Harvey Kellogg, who helped popularize corn flakes, and thus cereal, as a breakfast food. Did you follow all that? All I remember about the theatrical release is that Hannibal Lecter and Lloyd Dobler were involved in giving Ferris Bueller an enema and teaching Janet Livermore how to masturbate. That, and that it totally tanked at the box office. Now, as a more enlightened ad-dult, I can tell you that this a super bawdy retelling of health and wellness at the turn of the 20th century, directed and written by the director of "Bugsy Malone", "Midnight Express", and "The Commitments". I've come to discover Alan Parker as a master storyteller, and I'm looking forward to rediscovering this one.
June 30

Scream Factory saved the best release of the month for last. I was obsessed with "Orca" as a kid; I saw it on late night TV at my grandparent's sometime in the early 80s, and I wasn't allowed to see "Jaws" until I was in my teens. So I drew a ton of man-eating killer sharks in the margins of my notes and all over my notebooks in elementary school. It's a totally insane animal revenge flick: Richard Harris "accidentally" harpoons a pregnant killer whale and murders it, the whale's mate spends the rest of the movie trying to murder Richard Harris. In the interim, Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, and Robert Carradine all buy the farm in impressively gruesome ways. Charlotte Rampling is the only survivor. This was Dino de Laurentiis' only production in 1977, and it definitely stands out as one of his better late 70s releases. I remember this being kind of campy, in the same, pleasant, earth-toned way as de Laurentiis's "King Kong". This Blu-ray looks to be a little light on extras, but this has never been released in hi-def here in the States, so I'm looking forward to snagging a copy.

And that's it for June. For the record, "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Orca" are my two must-haves for the month. As always, if you don't have a local spot to buy these from, order direct from shoutfactory.com. Everything releasing in June currently shows some discount, and my experience has been that you get your new release by the Tuesday it's in stores. Don't be surprised if Shout! Factory does some sort of big sale towards the end of the month; with San Diego ComicCon cancelled this year, they'll need to replace that promotion with something new and different.

Shout! Factory in May

One of the reasons I started writing again is because I miss the opportunity to turn people's attention to new things. I, unlike the earlier iteration of Primitive Offerings, didn't want to limit myself to just music, mostly because it's not the only thing I love.

I LOVE movies.

I LOVE physical media.

I LOVE the forgotten and the obscure, the weird and the dismissed.

So it's natural that I have a long running love affair with Shout! Factory and their staggering catalog of Blu-ray and DVD releases. Like my favorite record labels, and my favorite publishers, Shout! Factory puts great care into bringing under-exposed films and television to life for collectors and fans. They've got some pretty awesome releases in May that you should probably know about.

May 5
This week's slate focuses on a pair of World War II titles, just in time for the anniversary of D-Day. Lancaster Skies is a British indie film from 2019, telling the tale of a fighter ace who joins a bomber crew. I expect this will be some serious plane porn, considering the producer scratch built the entire bomber interior so it could be easily shot.
Next up is a 4K/Blu-ray release of D-Day: Normandy 1944 [75th Anniversary Edition]. This originally came out in 2014, and despite the narration of Tom Brokaw (easily my least favorite news anchor of all time), it was a really good watch with tons of footage I'd never seen before. It should look incredible with the new 4K scan.
Last, but definitely not least, is the Scream Factory release Exorcism at 60,000 Feet, a direct-to-video banger that looks fucking incredible. The plot reads like a golf course joke: a priest, a rabbi, and the crew of an transcontinental airliner join forces to fight a planeload of demonic possessions. The cast includes Adrienne Barbeau, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Moseley, and it's a mash-up of disaster movie & horror. Director Chad Ferrin has a pretty decent track record for tongue-in-cheek horror; I'd probably watch this at least twice.
May 12

If you've never bought anything from Shout! Factory, here's a good opportunity to jump onboard. As the North American distributor for Studio Ghibli, Shout! is the home for all of Miyazaki's Blu-ray and DVD releases. They're reissuing their combo packs for Ponyo and Howl's Moving Castle in limited edition steelbooks. I know folks who exclusively collect this packaging format, and the previous steelbook releases from Shout! always look great, so Bob's your uncle.
There was no way I was ever going to see Idle Hands when it came out in 1999; it looked like a total teeny bopper stoner horror comedy. I was a fucking idiot; it pretty gory, and has a really strong cast. So I expect I'll probably cop this Scream Factory Collector's Edition and trade out my old DVD. It looks like they got every lead except Jessica Alba back for the commentary, too.
I like a number of the films that have been distributed under the Shout! Studios banner. The Tiger Hunter, Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town, the Rabid remake: all of these have hit my sweet spot, and I think it's great that these smaller films have gotten picked up and (hopefully) benefit from Shout!s strong distribution. I laughed a few times during the trailer for Lazy Susan, but I can't lie: I'm not sure how Sean Hayes playing a woman for 90 minutes is going to be. I get the feeling this could be real hit or miss, but I also know Mrs. Ape Mummy has requested a copy, so I'm watching it regardless.
May 19

What can I say about The Good Place that hasn't already been said better by someone who gets paid for the pleasure? If you need a copy of the final season on DVD, or the complete series on Blu-ray, they come out on the 19th. Much like Parks & Recreation, this is something I'll want to have on hand for when the Internet goes out, or I want to lend it out to my mom to binge. The Blu-ray looks like it has some solid extras on it, including gag reels and extended episodes.
I know very little about Promare, save for the pedigree of the production team. But Kill la Kill was a good watch, the reviews on AnimeNewsNetwork are positive, and apparently it involves firefighting. Shout! is releasing a standard combo pack and a handsome-looking limited edition steenbok.
I've really gotten into Hammer Films over the past year; I'd never had access or friends who were desperate to show me some of the master works, so it's been a joy to discover these. 1964's The Evil of Frankenstein was the first collaboration between director Freddie Francis and star Peter Cushing, and this Collector's Edition from Scream Factory looks like a pretty incredible release. You get a 4K restoration of the film, a TV cut from a 16mm print, a featurette on Freddie Francis, and Hammer's 1958 pilot episode of Tales of Frankenstein. Apparently, if you preorder this through the Shout! website, you'll also get an 18" x 24" poster of the new artwork. Nice get.
I can't remember when I first saw Danger: Diabolik; it must have been the mid-90s, at a buddy's house on the Maryland/Pennsylvania border, but it grabbed my attention like little else at the time. I saw it again as the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (pre-revival), which led me down a rabbit hole of Euro-spy films. So I'm jazzed to see a Blu-ray edition come out here in the States. This is not a good movie, but it IS a fun one.
May 26

Shout! Select has a trio of releases rounding out May, starting with a Blu-ray edition of 1992's A Midnight Clear. Shout! Select focuses on slept-on films, and I think this is a great example. Directed and written by Keith Gordon, it is a killer anti-war movie with a really strong, really 90s cast (Gary Sinise! Ethan Hawke! John C. McGinley! Kevin Dillon!). I don't think I've ever seen a home video copy out in the wild; I'll look to grab a copy of this at release.
I'm not a fan of The Deer Hunter, which is weird, because I celebrate John Cazale's entire catalog. It's just a huge bummer to me; I'm sure that's the intent, and, yeah, I know, Vietnam War films are typically not at all uplifting. BUT I'm into giving this 4K/Blu-ray a shot - wait, it's 183 minutes long? Jesus, that's gotta be the reason I'm not a fan. Who did you think you are, Michael Cimino? Francis Ford Copolla? Erich von Stroheim? Fuck off, pal.
On the other hand, I'm a HUGE fan of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. It's a rad late-period Sidney Lumet movie. It might be my favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman performance, and the cast is super deep - Michael Shannon is, like, seventh billed. I think it got slept on due to cruddy distribution by THINKfilm; I'm fairly certain it only played Baltimore for a week, if at all. The extras on this Blu-ray haven't been announced yet, but regardless, this is a must watch.
Finally, I think Scream Factory has finally run out of John Carpenter movies to reissue. And while it's low on my list of must-haves, I'll still end up with this Collector's Edition of Escape From L.A. Lots of fun features on this release, including a Bruce Campbell interview. The one I'm looking forward to is the interview with visual effects artist David Jones; I'm looking forward to some face palming over the first generation CG that most people bitch about. It's going to be boss watching this 4K restoration on a big screen.

Ugh, so many words. And it's late. If you don't have a place locally to buy movies from, you can hit up the Shout! Factory website to cop any or all of these. It's worth signing up for their e-mail list; they regularly have sales on their website.