Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by MJD64

Certainly agree on this one (though my decent Japanese import of Kong '76 will hold me until a domestic release and I'm afraid Michael Mann himself will keep The Keep buried) and that would include such Paramount offerings as The Elephant Man, The Bad News Bears, Gallipoli, Dragonslayer and numerous others.

I have a legit question: as Paramount seems unwilling to offer their extensive catalog on Blu, why on earth don't they license them out? There's money to be made in such a decision and God knows there'd be interest in these titles. It's starting to feel like some sort of crazy spite...is there some sort of actual reason why they don't do it? I can't believe it's about some astronomical amount of money being asked for; every major studio has worked out licensing to boutique labels for certain titles or released such titles themselves.

Does Paramount have an aversion to money or is there something else entirely at work here? This is like the riddle of The Sphinx at this point...

Is there worthwhile money to be made? Remember, you have to think outside of message boards like this one, that largely caters to niche fans.
With that said, I’m guessing Paramount has been keeping an eye on what the other studios are doing and have concluded they can handle it themselves as resources permit. As it does take money to make money, it’s not like these big studios just hand over the key to the film vault and say “Have at it!”. They have to set up set up an internal section to liaise with the interested party, get legal involved and have a lot of back/forth before the finished product hits the shelves. With physical media, and especially back catalog media, losing ground to streaming every day...one has to wonder how long before other studios opt to follow Paramounts lead?
Again, all just a guess on my part.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by MJD64

Certainly agree on this one (though my decent Japanese import of Kong '76 will hold me until a domestic release and I'm afraid Michael Mann himself will keep The Keep buried) and that would include such Paramount offerings as The Elephant Man, The Bad News Bears, Gallipoli, Dragonslayer and numerous others.

I have a legit question: as Paramount seems unwilling to offer their extensive catalog on Blu, why on earth don't they license them out? There's money to be made in such a decision and God knows there'd be interest in these titles. It's starting to feel like some sort of crazy spite...is there some sort of actual reason why they don't do it? I can't believe it's about some astronomical amount of money being asked for; every major studio has worked out licensing to boutique labels for certain titles or released such titles themselves.

Does Paramount have an aversion to money or is there something else entirely at work here? This is like the riddle of The Sphinx at this point...

Paramount's catalog has been mined a bit in other countries, but for some reason a lot of their films have never been released in the U.S. "Gallipoli", "The Ghost and the Darkness", "The Dead Zone", "The Elephant Man" are a few mentioned on this page that have been released outside the U.S. Paramount is certainly the least prolific of the major studios in the U.S. as far as BD releases and they're sitting on so many titles. "The Bad News Bears" is one of the most glaring omissions on the Blu-Ray format.

[MJD64]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Is there worthwhile money to be made? Remember, you have to think outside of message boards like this one, that largely caters to niche fans.
With that said, I’m guessing Paramount has been keeping an eye on what the other studios are doing and have concluded they can handle it themselves as resources permit. As it does take money to make money, it’s not like these big studios just hand over the key to the film vault and say “Have at it!”. They have to set up set up an internal section to liaise with the interested party, get legal involved and have a lot of back/forth before the finished product hits the shelves. With physical media, and especially back catalog media, losing ground to streaming every day...one has to wonder how long before other studios opt to follow Paramounts lead?
Again, all just a guess on my part.

I take your point but still feel even some money has to be better than no money. Nearly all of the studios have licensed to boutique labels (virtually all the majors to Criterion at some point, Universal and MGM to Shout/Scream, Fox to Kino, and so on) and certainly must have worked out something in a manner that profits them. Paramount does license to Olive, but only titles that have never been released on DVD. I agree Paramount may very well believe physical media is on the way out and their disinterest in releasing their catalog titles may speak to that belief, but there are undoubtedly boutique labels that must be clamoring for a large number of their titles, and again, some financial gain in licensing has to be better than nothing at all.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by MJD64

I have a legit question: as Paramount seems unwilling to offer their extensive catalog on Blu, why on earth don't they license them out? There's money to be made in such a decision and God knows there'd be interest in these titles. It's starting to feel like some sort of crazy spite...is there some sort of actual reason why they don't do it? I can't believe it's about some astronomical amount of money being asked for; every major studio has worked out licensing to boutique labels for certain titles or released such titles themselves.

Does Paramount have an aversion to money or is there something else entirely at work here? This is like the riddle of The Sphinx at this point...

You know how supermodels are sometimes quoted for how much money it takes for them to get out of bed in the morning? Studios have the same mindset, but higher dollar thresholds.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Vandal Savage

My great wish is that Scream Factory could get access to the Paramount library: The Dead Zone, Pet Sematary, Fire in the Sky, King Kong '76, The Keep, Prophecy...

Paramount need to start licensing in general, so much stuff we don't have because they're not doing it and don't have the capital or time to release them on their own.

[Strapped4Cash]

Originally Posted by zbinks

You know how supermodels are sometimes quoted for how much money it takes for them to get out of bed in the morning? Studios have the same mindset, but higher dollar thresholds.

Well said.

I heard this again recently from someone who was trying to license a property from WB. He explained that 90%+ of their revenues came from 4 properties, or families of properties, and so their mindset was to train all their relevant employees and lawyers in those. If anyone wanted to license anything else it just didn't make sense for them, unless it was for a really large deal.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by Strapped4Cash

Well said.

I heard this again recently from someone who was trying to license a property from WB. He explained that 90%+ of their revenues came from 4 properties, or families of properties, and so their mindset was to train all their relevant employees and lawyers in those. If anyone wanted to license anything else it just didn't make sense for them, unless it was for a really large deal.

Someone needs to convince them (and Paramount) that "Horror" is just a single property so they start paying attention to the market and either increase their own output or license anything/everything that could be considered "horror".

[classicmaterial]

Originally Posted by italy12

I wish Scream or even Shout, possibly Shout Select, would release Judgment Night (93) or Surviving the Game (94). With them releasing Trespass, I have some hope...but I'm not sure who has the rights to these other films.

I'm all for Surviving the Game getting a blu ray release as I absolutely love that movie. Not sure why since the concept has been done 100 times but I like that one the best. Plus Ice-T and Gary Busey is always gonna get me on board

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

Someone needs to convince them (and Paramount) that "Horror" is just a single property so they start paying attention to the market and either increase their own output or license anything/everything that could be considered "horror".

They were supposedly shocked and surprised by how well Body Snatchers did from Warner Archive, which might have led to releases like The Hidden. Every purchase or non-purchase is a vote, and I urge people to support Warner Archive releases of movies they want as close to release day as possible.

Also, I'm pretty sure Warner Archive releases are all part of a restoration process Warner is doing to scan all their old movies and make new 2k digital masters for them, so at some point it's just a waiting game for your desired movie to cross the finish line.

[redrunner97]

Is Scream Factory releasing the new Chiller Films title DEMENTIA 13? I'm a HUGE fan of the original and this one has actually been getting some good buzz, so I'm interested for sure.

Dementia 13 | Official Trailer [HD] | Chiller Films (2017) - YouTube

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

Is Scream Factory releasing the new Chiller Films title DEMENTIA 13? I'm a HUGE fan of the original and this one has actually been getting some good buzz, so I'm interested for sure.

They haven't announced it, yet, as an upcoming release.

[Member-222782]

Orca and Silver Bullet are about to be released in Australia. Maybe if everybody imported these Paramount would see there's a market. It really is all about numbers.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Cinema74

Orca and Silver Bullet are about to be released in Australia. Maybe if everybody imported these Paramount would see there's a market. It really is all about numbers.

Are they going to be region free? If so id definitely import Silver Bullet.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

Is Scream Factory releasing the new Chiller Films title DEMENTIA 13? I'm a HUGE fan of the original and this one has actually been getting some good buzz, so I'm interested for sure.

Dementia 13 | Official Trailer [HD] | Chiller Films (2017) - YouTube

That does look interesting. Maybe they'll release it sooner or later. They released Fender Bender which was also a Chiller Films title.

[redrunner97]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

That does look interesting. Maybe they'll release it sooner or later. They released Fender Bender which was also a Chiller Films title.

They've done several Chiller Films titles, and even co-produced Fender Bender with them, which gives me hope.
I was just wondering if it was announced yet (thanks for the answer zbinks ).

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

They've done several Chiller Films titles, and even co-produced Fender Bender with them, which gives me hope.
I was just wondering if it was announced yet (thanks for the answer zbinks ).

I know Fender Bender aired on ChillerTV, but I don't think they were involved in any sort of a co-production capacity on the film.

[redrunner97]

Originally Posted by zbinks

I know Fender Bender aired on ChillerTV, but I don't think they were involved in any sort of a co-production capacity on the film.

You're right. I don't believe they financed the film itself. But Wikipedia (not the best source, I know) listed them both as co-producers. That, combined with the previous post inferring that they were behind the film, made me jump to that assumption.

Regardless, I still would like to see Shout! Factory release Dementia 13.

[The Great Owl]

A young doctor and his beautiful girlfriend travel to a remote wilderness area for a romantic vacation, set up their tent at an idyllic riverside beach, and are only slightly disappointed to find that other people, who are nowhere to be seen, have already put up a campsite nearby. A family, consisting of a couple, their teenage daughter, and their toddler son, camp overnight with plans to hike up the river to see a waterfall. Two unkempt men with a caged dog in the back of their truck sit in a store parking lot and leer at females.

These three stories merge together in a terrifyingly sadistic way in the 2016 Australian survival thriller, Killing Ground. This movie utilizes a non-linear narrative for its leisurely-paced setup, and, while most viewers who are schooled in horror cinema will realize from the beginning where the plot is headed, the unconventional storytelling techniques are hugely effective with regard to the foreshadowing and the slow burn buildup of suspense during the first hour. Director Damien Power spools out a series of increasingly unnerving elements by way of remarkable cinematography and beautiful nature images that belie the brutal ugliness that is to come. Every corner of the frame demands attention during the first half of the film, because certain surprises come up out of nowhere. The eeriest sequence involves a distant figure approaching from behind an unsuspecting woman as she makes her way on a trail from a campsite back to a vehicle.

Killing Ground takes its cues from previous Australian horror features, combining the savage grittiness of films like Wolf Creek (2005) with the haunting natural majesty of films like Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) or Long Weekend (1978). I have always loved movies that take place in the Australian Outback, because the fantastical elements of the nature landscapes always seem to come across as characters all their own. This is a highly disturbing film, complete with scenes of torture and implied rape, and it's not an enjoyable endeavor in any real sense of the word, but the blending of the uncanny story framework, the wilderness locale, and the genuinely impressive characterization of both the protagonists and the villains places the end result a few notches above most other horror releases.

The villains, German and Chook, are two of the most vile, cold-blooded, and barbaric individuals that I have seen in my decades as a horror fan. The scariest thing about these two is that, unlike vampires, ghosts, or zombies, they are realistically-portrayed feral backcountry redneck types of the sort that we read about in real-life news stories from time to time. While films like The Devil's Rejects (2005) or The Last House on the Left (1972) dealt with similarly feral antagonists, the characters in those films at least had a cinematic charisma of sorts, but the two men in Killing Ground lack any such thing. The worst deeds of these two villains are thankfully implied instead of being shown outright, so the film never veers entirely into exploitation territory, but the implications and the glimpses are more than enough to leave a mark on the viewer.

Killing Ground is not an easy movie to watch, and it is decidedly unoriginal, but the storytelling and the cinematography are oddly affecting.

This Scream Factory/IFC Blu-ray does not include any special features, and that's too bad, because I would like to have listened to a commentary where the filmmakers discuss how and why they decided to have certain characters make certain decisions. The film itself, which looks and sounds great in the format, is its own bleakly disturbing reward.

[therealjondoe]

Is Walmart carrying killing ground in stores?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by therealjondoe

Is Walmart carrying killing ground in stores?

I'm not sure. I received my Blu-ray of Killing Ground from Amazon yesterday, and I was so fired up to see it that I sat down to watch it without even changing out of my work clothes.


Bro tip: If any of you have seen the 2008 movie, Eden Lake, then you are probably ready to see Killing Ground. Probably...