Empire Pictures releases

[joltman]

After looking over at the Full Moon thread, I thought it'd be cool to have a list of all the Empire Pictures films and figure out which ones are on BD. So I figured I'd go ahead and do it!

For now at least, this list only includes US releases. Out of 43 movies, 29 movies have been, or are scheduled to be, released.

• The Alchemist (1983) -
• The Dungeonmaster (1984) - Shout Factory (double feature with Eliminators)
• Walking the Edge (1985) - Fun City
• Ghoulies (1985) - Shout Factory (double feature with Ghoulies II), MVD 4K
• Re-Animator (1985) - Image, Arrow LE
• Savage Island (1985) -
• Trancers (1985) - Full Moon, Full Moon 4K
• Underworld (1985) - Kino 4K
• Zone Troopers (1985) - Kino
• Breeders (1986) - Olive
• Crawlspace (1986) - Shout Factory
• Dreamaniac (1986) - N/A
• Eliminators (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The Dungeonmaster)
• From Beyond (1986) - Shout Factory, Vinegar Syndrome 4K
• Ghost Warrior (aka Swordkill) (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The House Where Evil Dwells), Kino
• Rawhead Rex (1986) - Kino, Kino 4K
• Robot Holocaust (1986) - Scorpion Releasing
• Troll (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with Troll II)
• TerrorVision (1986) - Shout Factory (double feature with The Video Dead)
• Buy & Cell (1987) - N/A
• The Caller (1987) - Vinegar Syndrome
• Creepozoids (1987) - Full Moon
• Dolls (1987) - Shout Factory
• Enemy Territory (1987) - N/A
• Mutant Hunt (1987) - Vinegar Syndrome
• Necropolis (1987) - N/A
• The Princess Academy (1987) - N/A
• Valet Girls (1987) - N/A
• Vicious Lips (1987) - Shout Factory
• Assault of the Killer Bimbos (1988) - N/A
• Catacombs (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Cellar Dweller)
• Cellar Dweller (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Catacombs)
• Ghost Town (1988) - Shout Factory
• Ghoulies II (1988) - Shout Factory (double feature with Ghoulies), MVD 4K
• Prison (1988) - Shout Factory
• Pulse Pounders (1988) - N/A
• Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988) - Full Moon
• Transformations (1988) - Kino
• Arena (1989) -
• Deadly Weapon (1989) - N/A
• Intruder (1989) - Synapse
• Robot Jox (1990) - Shout Factory
• Spellcaster (1992) - Vinegar Syndrome

- Included in the Empire Pictures Blu-ray Collection; The set also includes Arena on DVD and the Charles Band Productions film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
- Included in Enter The Video Store: Empire Of Screams
- Included in Full Moon Legacy Volume 2

See also:
Charles Band Productions releases, the predecessor of Empire Pictures
Full Moon Features Blu-ray Discussion Thread, the successor to Empire Pictures

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Pretty amazing that The Dungeonmaster and Eliminators are getting a Blu-Ray release. Hope Arena gets one too. Have Robot Jox on DVD and will probably upgrade to Blu.

There seemed to be much more care and imagination put into their Empire Pictures films than was put into their Full Moon product. Just look at the difference between Band's Trancers and his Trancers 2.

Need Trancers on Blu as well. Anybody here have it? How's the picture quality? I know it must blow away their crappy DVD, but does it look great?

[Dvd Aficionado]

Trancers has been available in the UK: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Trancers-Blu-ray/100420/ and so will Ghost Warrior: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghost...lu-ray/134747/

Just get a region free blu-ray player

[Clark Kent]

Scream Factory did a great job with Ghost Town.

[joltman]

Just added Ghost Warrior, which is coming out on a double feature by Shout Factory.

[deltatauhobbit]

Very nice list! I own a good chunk of the titles released so far and plan on picking up most of the ones I don't have yet. These films definitely bring me back to my childhood years of going down the video store isles and picking out some scary films to stay up to on the weekends.

I had just posted this over in the Full Moon forum but it definitely fits this thread better. There's a documentary kickstarter campaign about Band's Empire Pictures, Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland, covers the rise and downfall of this interesting film studio.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi

There seemed to be much more care and imagination put into their Empire Pictures films than was put into their Full Moon product. Just look at the difference between Band's Trancers and his Trancers 2.

The budgets for Full Moon films were lower though.

Trancers 2 actually looks much better on blu-ray than it did on video. On video it looked like a badly shot cheap piece of crap, but on blu-ray it looks a lot better. It's certainly no great cinematic work, but at least you can tell there some attention was paid to framing when watching the film in its correct aspect ratio

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

The budgets for Full Moon films were lower though.

Trancers 2 actually looks much better on blu-ray than it did on video. On video it looked like a badly shot cheap piece of crap, but on blu-ray it looks a lot better. It's certainly no great cinematic work, but at least you can tell there some attention was paid to framing when watching the film in its correct aspect ratio

I did like that opening shot. Starting like the original Trancers, out of focus over the opening credits, then revealing the covertible with Jack behind the wheel and Lena by his side. All in slo-mo, the camera comes from the headlights up along the side of the car to Jack, with Deth's cool narration catching us up. That was a cool shot and opening. Unfortunately, the rest of it came across just as you described. Good to hear it seems much better on Blu, thanks for that info.

I still need to get the first on Blu, I'll probably get the second one down the line as well.

[deathcab6366]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kenobi

I did like that opening shot. Starting like the original Trancers, out of focus over the opening credits, then revealing the covertible with Jack behind the wheel and Lena by his side. All in slo-mo, the camera comes from the headlights up along the side of the car to Jack, with Deth's cool narration catching us up. That was a cool shot and opening. Unfortunately, the rest of it came across just as you described. Good to hear it seems much better on Blu, thanks for that info.

I still need to get the first on Blu, I'll probably get the second one down the line as well.

I see what you did there!

[acantho]

I love Empire films and even some of the Full Moon stuff that came afterwards.

I grew up on their stuff and they shaped me into the person I am today.... maybe even more so than my parents

[joltman]

Added the Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama release from Full Moon, we're now past the half-way point with 22 of 43 films available on Blu-ray!
I was thinking about making a list of the Charles Band Productions (Band's company before Empire) films, would it make sense to just add that to this thread, or should I make a separate one?

[starsteam]

Scream Factory and Full Moon are teaming up to release the Ultimate Empire Blu-ray collection.

http://www.comingsoon.net/horror/new...tion-is-coming

METALSTORM

METALSTORM (3-D version)

THE DUNGEONMASTER

GHOULIES

TRANCERS

ELIMINATORS

CRAWLSPACE

FROM BEYOND

TERRORVISION

TROLL

DOLLS

PRISON

CELLAR DWELLER

CATACOMBS

GHOST TOWN

GHOULIES 2

ROBOT JOX

ARENA

[Denny Haynes]

Creepozoids hits the shelves 11th April.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Creep...lu-ray/175168/

[Denny Haynes]

Rawhead Rex (1986) coming from Kino

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=21229

[joltman]

Added Rawhead Rex and Vicious Lips (funny that Shout announced this just as the box set is being released). I also noted which films are in the box set and added the Arrow link for Re-Animator.

[Denny Haynes]

Spellcaster 29th September 2020 https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Spell...lu-ray/274833/

[Echoes Beta]

The Caller is also coming out on the 29th https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-C...lu-ray/274808/

[joltman]

Somehow missed the last couple comments and a few recent releases.
Walking the Edge, Robot Holocaust, The Caller and Spellcaster have been added.

Worst part is Spellcaster was sold out by the time I learned about it

[PT Ryan]

Originally Posted by joltman

Somehow missed the last couple comments and a few recent releases.
Walking the Edge, Robot Holocaust, The Caller and Spellcaster have been added.

Worst part is Spellcaster was sold out by the time I learned about it

It sold out during the last Black Friday sale. Hopefully another label picks it up. It'd be nice if the version on Tubi was updated with that new transfer, because the current transfer is an old 4:3 video master. It's not as awful looking as what they currently have for Necropolis, Mutant Hunt and especially Dreamaniac (so bad that you can't make out faces at times), though.

I have a weird compulsion to own all of Empire's films in hi-def, though I suspect in some cases - like Arena, whose film elements, last I heard, are missing - that may not be possible. From what David DeCoteau has said, Dreamaniac was edited on tape, so that's another headache from a remastering standpoint.

[joltman]

Originally Posted by PT Ryan

It sold out during the last Black Friday sale. Hopefully another label picks it up. It'd be nice if the version on Tubi was updated with that new transfer, because the current transfer is an old 4:3 video master. It's not as awful looking as what they currently have for Necropolis, Mutant Hunt and especially Dreamaniac (so bad that you can't make out faces at times), though.

I have a weird compulsion to own all of Empire's films in hi-def, though I suspect in some cases - like Arena, whose film elements, last I heard, are missing - that may not be possible. From what David DeCoteau has said, Dreamaniac was edited on tape, so that's another headache from a remastering standpoint.

Yea I'm the same way, I buy any Empire release I can. Even though I'm mostly a horror guy and some of the stuff isn't horror. No guarantee I'll ever watch it, but I need to own it haha.