Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by NeonStreetMelt

Well as a fan of 80s movies like Beastmaster I look forward to getting the 4k. I grew up with an HBO recording on VHS, there was a US DVD released way back in 2001 that had been long out of print and going for scalper prices, so for decades people were starved of any kind of quality presentation. Don't recall liking it as much as Beastmaster or Krull but I'm sure it'll look worlds better than my old cable recording.

It's not as good as Krull or Beastmaster, IMO, but it had a bigger box office than both of them... combined... by a fairly wide margin.

[Member-222782]

I still haven't watched my copy of Krull. Maybe after I get done limping through S&S I'll pop it in. Who knows - maybe it'll even best Master of Beasts. It's gotta at least be better than S&S.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I still haven't watched my copy of Krull. Maybe after I get done limping through S&S I'll pop it in. Who knows - maybe it'll even best Master of Beasts. It's gotta at least be better than S&S.

You've never seen Krull?? What are you waiting for?

[TripleHBK]

From time to time I end up posting something like this and that time has once again come...

Can I just say Thank You to Scream Factory for the outstanding work that they did on "The Exorcist III"? I just finished up The Exorcist Novel 1.5 weeks ago, and then the "Legion" novel yesterday and so last night I dove back into both films for a re-viewing to see how they compared to the novels. I have watched both films countless times over the years, but this was my first ever read of both novels and so I was very interested in the similarities and differences presented when comparing the novels to the films.

Without Shout Factory, Cliff, and Jeff, we undoubtedly would have never been gifted The Legion cut of the film. Having seen the Theatrical edition of Exorcist III so many times I sprung for Legion last night to see how close of a film they could get it as I believe I had only watched that particular cut one time before, upon release of the Blu Ray.

Everything about that Blu Ray release screamed quality. Not just the inclusion of both cuts of the film, but also the decision to use Red Shirt Pictures to produce the special features, a production company who I still feel stands head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to the quality of there materials. They consistently manage to make one man interviews/talking heads more interesting by use of their editing and production quality and it really shows with this release. I know a few days ago a user asked for 4k's of Exorcist III and Exorcist 2 stating that we needed those, to which I replied "Do We?" I'm still not entirely convinced that that either film truly needs a 4k release (particularly because of how great both Scream Factory Blu Ray editions are), however I'd have a hard time ignoring a 4k of Exorcist III if I'm being honest. (After watching the Exorcist itself last night I do believe that that film does in fact need a 4k restoration/release as that particular film is showing it's age and I feel that the directors cut could be improved by correcting some of the overzealous CGI moments and color grading while retaining the additional story sequences, but that's a post for another day)

For the last several years I just haven't felt that same level of passion from many of Scream Factory's releases. Be it that the movie just isn't as good/interesting, the stories behind the films or casts are lacking or unable to provide much in the way of new/interesting information, or whatever the reason may be... this release shines as a beacon of excellence on why so many of us have loved Scream Factory for so long and why I feel like it is worth saying from time to time. I know Cliff lurks from time to time, and so I hope he see's this and passes my thanks on the Jeff and everyone else involved as well, but Thank you for just an outstanding presentation and product for movie fans.

As an aside... seeing Transmutations announced this morning by Kino was fantastic. I was the happiest I've been for a movie announcement thus far in 2022 and possibly for a long time as well. After that initial excitement wore off however I started to ask myself... why wasn't something like this being released by Scream Factory? Say what you will about current releases, but they clearly haven't been generating nearly as much buzz as they once did in my opinion. Arguably things haven't been the same since the Friday the 13th set years ago. Yes, getting 4k editions of these films is nice an all, but it pales in comparison to the announcement of a video Store staple mostly forgotten from all those years ago getting it's debut on Blu Ray and I hope and wish that Scream Factory eventually goes back to that well to find and release these 80's video store gems once, but I digress.

If you haven't yet picked up The Exorcist III, It is very much worth doing so.

[fred25_Ca]

Well, they did just just release the fantastic 4k/ blu ray of Alligator, a great horror movie that had never been release on blu ray before (plus Alligator 2 too!). I'd say that's definitely an 80's gem, much more in demand than Transmutation. I don't know, after all of the Universal horrors (6 volumes!), something like 30 Hammer movies (my poor wallet), little gems like Graveyard shift or Silver Bullet and on top of that 4k upgrades of classics like The Howling and Candyman, it's really hard for me to complain. Heck, we're finally getting The ghost and the darkness. Scream factory are definitely still kicking ass, imo.

And yeah, The exorcist 3 is one of the greatest horror movie of all time and much better than the book, imo. Blatty did such an incredible job with the movie, I still get chill just thinking about that hallway scene!

[jmilo61]

Originally Posted by fred25_Ca

Alligator 2 too!

I was hoping the internet could give me an actual visual of the image in my mind. Wasn't disappointed.

[Show spoiler]

Yeah, I think that's a crocodile, but close enough.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by fred25_Ca

Well, they did just just release the fantastic 4k/ blu ray of Alligator, a great horror movie that had never been release on blu ray before (plus Alligator 2 too!). I'd say that's definitely an 80's gem, much more in demand than Transmutation. I don't know, after all of the Universal horrors (6 volumes!), something like 30 Hammer movies (my poor wallet), little gems like Graveyard shift or Silver Bullet and on top of that 4k upgrades of classics like The Howling and Candyman, it's really hard for me to complain. Heck, we're finally getting The ghost and the darkness. Scream factory are definitely still kicking ass, imo.

And yeah, The exorcist 3 is one of the greatest horror movie of all time and much better than the book, imo. Blatty did such an incredible job with the movie, I still get chill just thinking about that hallway scene!

I wasn't necessarily intending my comments to be a complaint, but more so an observation that the titles that had fans talking and brought folks to this thread (and in turn generated sales) were titles of a similar vein to Transmutation (and Alligator, Graveyard shift, etc) and less all of which you pointed out. 4k upgrades can be fine, Hammer Horror and Universal Horror in moderation was fine, but we can all agree that the company wouldn't have seen nearly the success it has had if it had focused on those titles earlier in the lifecycle of the line instead of the titles we got, but it feels like it's been years since we had a series of announcements that actually surprised folks. Quality not withstanding, the announcement of Transmutations is/was surprising and it's that sense of surprise I miss most. I know that the list of titles without release has shrunken considerably and so it's that much harder to drop a title that our sleuths here haven't already predicted is within grasp, but I sure do miss the days of random releases out of left field.

Shifting gears, on the topic of 4k upgrades, I'm a bit surprised that neither Warner nor Scream Factory ever got back around to releasing the theatrical cut of Nightbreed. I was fortunate to grab that initial set with both cuts included, but if Scream Factory is/was ever able to release a 4k edition of Nightbreed, I'd hope that they can once again include both cuts of the film.

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

I wasn't necessarily intending my comments to be a complaint, but more so an observation that the titles that had fans talking and brought folks to this thread (and in turn generated sales) were titles of a similar vein to Transmutation (and Alligator, Graveyard shift, etc) and less all of which you pointed out. 4k upgrades can be fine, Hammer Horror and Universal Horror in moderation was fine, but we can all agree that the company wouldn't have seen nearly the success it has had if it had focused on those titles earlier in the lifecycle of the line instead of the titles we got, but it feels like it's been years since we had a series of announcements that actually surprised folks. Quality not withstanding, the announcement of Transmutations is/was surprising and it's that sense of surprise I miss most. I know that the list of titles without release has shrunken considerably and so it's that much harder to drop a title that our sleuths here haven't already predicted is within grasp, but I sure do miss the days of random releases out of left field.

Shifting gears, on the topic of 4k upgrades, I'm a bit surprised that neither Warner nor Scream Factory ever got back around to releasing the theatrical cut of Nightbreed. I was fortunate to grab that initial set with both cuts included, but if Scream Factory is/was ever able to release a 4k edition of Nightbreed, I'd hope that they can once again include both cuts of the film.

I'm afraid, it's a little hard to swallow the notion that "we can all agree" that Scream Factory would have been better off in the long run focusing on C-grade Horror films such as Transmutations as opposed to the quality Horror films produced by Universal Studios & Hammer films. There's a reason why Scream has had a greater focus on the Hammer Films and Universal Studios films in recent years (much to your chagrin, I'm sure), and that's clearly because there's a greater demand and interest in those films as opposed to something like Transmutations.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

As an aside... seeing Transmutations announced this morning by Kino was fantastic. I was the happiest I've been for a movie announcement thus far in 2022 and possibly for a long time as well. After that initial excitement wore off however I started to ask myself... why wasn't something like this being released by Scream Factory? Say what you will about current releases, but they clearly haven't been generating nearly as much buzz as they once did in my opinion. Arguably things haven't been the same since the Friday the 13th set years ago. Yes, getting 4k editions of these films is nice an all, but it pales in comparison to the announcement of a video Store staple mostly forgotten from all those years ago getting it's debut on Blu Ray and I hope and wish that Scream Factory eventually goes back to that well to find and release these 80's video store gems once, but I digress.

I have a feeling Kino's been sitting on worldwide rights since 2017; they may even own the film outright. It almost certainly came from the same rightsholder as Rawhead Rex (Sidenote: Arrow's UK release of Rawhead Rex was licensed from Kino). While Rawhead is easily the better-known title, I can't imagine that four labels would've been bidding solely on Rawhead, while none were bidding on Transmutations.

[fred25_Ca]

Plus, I don't think Scream factory is that different from a few years ago. Sure, we're getting some 4k upgrades but back then we were also getting upgrades too. From Return of the living dead, to The Exorcist 3, The Blob, Trick or treat, Misery, all the Friday the 13th, etc. these were all movies already released on blu ray, getting only a slight upgrade in A/V quality compared to their much cheaper studio releases.

I don't know, I see Scream factory the same way as I always have, still giving us some great upgrades alongside some new releases (both Alligators, The Ghost and the darkness, etc.).
The only difference is now we're finally getting the original posters on some of those 4k upgrades, which is so much better than any artwork they usually commission.
Plus, i'll take Alligator 2 any days over Transmutation, let alone the first Alligator. Those were huge announcements, with pages and pages of excitement from fans, unlike Transmutation's post that can barely get any replies. :P

[BarnDoor]

I've always felt that Scream Factory's strength lies in getting the major studio titles out there. This certainly isn't getting any easier with the MGM, StudioCanal and Universal vaults near exhausted now in regard to SF-type fare, and Fox out of bounds. But in other ways this strength seems all the more acute now, given that, Criterion aside, they're the only US label able to wrestle titles from Warner Bros and Paramount. I appreciate people want UHD upgrades, but my chief desire will always be new to Blu-ray titles, and I'm grateful for whatever Scream can give us from the Warner Bros and Paramount vaults. I hope we continue to see more of those kinds of releases going forward, as well as a few more Sony titles (and of course the odd significant independent deal, like the one that gave us the Alligators and Sword and the Sorcerer).

[Member-222782]

I've been critical of Shout in the past, unfairly so, I admit, but if I were to tally the number of titles I own that are either longtime personal favorites or new favorites, Shout would come out on top. In hindsight, I shouldn't have opined that Shout focused "too much" on Hammer films or "Golden Age" sci-fi because, in reality, they didn't. They decided to branch out and offer fans a wider range of content and that is, frankly, commendable. Apparently they were successful with those films (well, maybe not so much with some of the Val Lewton stuff) because they're still going after them and, as long as fans keep buying, they'll keep licensing.

Shout has satisfied a LOT of personal wishlists since their inception, myself included. If I had one "caveat", it's that I wished they released more complete series TV shows on DVD or Blu-ray if possible.

[guccipunkstar]

Shout definitely gets the most mainstream horror titles out of any label, and for that reason I have the most releases from them than anyone else. I’d still say Arrow is my favorite though.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

[Show spoiler]From time to time I end up posting something like this and that time has once again come...

Can I just say Thank You to Scream Factory for the outstanding work that they did on "The Exorcist III"? I just finished up The Exorcist Novel 1.5 weeks ago, and then the "Legion" novel yesterday and so last night I dove back into both films for a re-viewing to see how they compared to the novels. I have watched both films countless times over the years, but this was my first ever read of both novels and so I was very interested in the similarities and differences presented when comparing the novels to the films.

Without Shout Factory, Cliff, and Jeff, we undoubtedly would have never been gifted The Legion cut of the film. Having seen the Theatrical edition of Exorcist III so many times I sprung for Legion last night to see how close of a film they could get it as I believe I had only watched that particular cut one time before, upon release of the Blu Ray.

Everything about that Blu Ray release screamed quality. Not just the inclusion of both cuts of the film, but also the decision to use Red Shirt Pictures to produce the special features, a production company who I still feel stands head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to the quality of there materials. They consistently manage to make one man interviews/talking heads more interesting by use of their editing and production quality and it really shows with this release. I know a few days ago a user asked for 4k's of Exorcist III and Exorcist 2 stating that we needed those, to which I replied "Do We?" I'm still not entirely convinced that that either film truly needs a 4k release (particularly because of how great both Scream Factory Blu Ray editions are), however I'd have a hard time ignoring a 4k of Exorcist III if I'm being honest. (After watching the Exorcist itself last night I do believe that that film does in fact need a 4k restoration/release as that particular film is showing it's age and I feel that the directors cut could be improved by correcting some of the overzealous CGI moments and color grading while retaining the additional story sequences, but that's a post for another day)

For the last several years I just haven't felt that same level of passion from many of Scream Factory's releases. Be it that the movie just isn't as good/interesting, the stories behind the films or casts are lacking or unable to provide much in the way of new/interesting information, or whatever the reason may be... this release shines as a beacon of excellence on why so many of us have loved Scream Factory for so long and why I feel like it is worth saying from time to time. I know Cliff lurks from time to time, and so I hope he see's this and passes my thanks on the Jeff and everyone else involved as well, but Thank you for just an outstanding presentation and product for movie fans.

As an aside... seeing Transmutations announced this morning by Kino was fantastic. I was the happiest I've been for a movie announcement thus far in 2022 and possibly for a long time as well. After that initial excitement wore off however I started to ask myself... why wasn't something like this being released by Scream Factory? Say what you will about current releases, but they clearly haven't been generating nearly as much buzz as they once did in my opinion. Arguably things haven't been the same since the Friday the 13th set years ago. Yes, getting 4k editions of these films is nice an all, but it pales in comparison to the announcement of a video Store staple mostly forgotten from all those years ago getting it's debut on Blu Ray and I hope and wish that Scream Factory eventually goes back to that well to find and release these 80's video store gems once, but I digress.

If you haven't yet picked up The Exorcist III, It is very much worth doing so.

I've only watched Legion (I refuse to call it The Exorcist III, just as I won't acknowledge Season of the Witch as Halloween III) twice, in both its theatrical and director's cut presentations, and eh...I'd like to think of myself as a fairly astute movie viewer, but each time I had no idea what the the hell was going on in this movie and still don't. Not a lick of it makes sense to me. I'll need to read an in-depth plot summary before sitting down with it again.

I haven't delved into any of the special features (and I largely stopped doing that since my early days of collecting), but I have no doubt that Shout has assembled an extensive package.

As for the overall lack of excitement on newer releases, it's a cliched response but it bears repeating...between all of these boutique labels the past decade, the well has been bled dry. There are always those halo releases mired in rights hell, but what we have is mostly it.

[Hammerlover]

Any thoughts on what the next Hammer titles might be after NIGHT CREATURES? Personally, I'm hoping for SHE, HYSTERIA, CRESCENDO, and MOON ZERO TWO...assuming Warner Archive isn't planning to release them, of course. All would be first time releases on Blu-ray.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

I've only watched Legion (I refuse to call it The Exorcist III, just as I won't acknowledge Season of the Witch as Halloween III) twice, in both its theatrical and director's cut presentations, and eh...I'd like to think of myself as a fairly astute movie viewer, but each time I had no idea what the the hell was going on in this movie and still don't. Not a lick of it makes sense to me. I'll need to read an in-depth plot summary before sitting down with it again.

I haven't delved into any of the special features (and I largely stopped doing that since my early days of collecting), but I have no doubt that Shout has assembled an extensive package.

As for the overall lack of excitement on newer releases, it's a cliched response but it bears repeating...between all of these boutique labels the past decade, the well has been bled dry. There are always those halo releases mired in rights hell, but what we have is mostly it.

I hear ya on the confusion part. The change between Douriff and Miller is a bit jarring and left me scratching my head years ago as well on initial viewings. Perhaps some background will help a subsequent viewing...

Initially Douriff was cast to play Father Karas/The Gemini Killer and filmed the entire film in that role. This original "Legion" cut of the film more closely followed the book. Upon completion of the initial scripted draft of the film, the Studio stepped in and decided to rework the ending, bring back Jason Miller so that he could resume his role as Father Karas, and the re-edited bits and pieces throughout to accommodate the changes to the ending. (In my opinion it also didn't help that Lieutenant Kinderman and Father Dyer were each replaced as well with new actors (that look nothing like their previous counterparts last seen in The Exorcist) as the connection to who these people were in the original film wasn't nearly as apparent as it should have been despite both George C. Scott and Ed Flanders giving all around excellent performances).

In the Theatrical cut we all have seen, Douriff is the Gemini Killer's soul, inhabiting Father Karas' (Jason Miller) body while Jason Miller has resumed his role as Father Karas. In the Legion cut of the film Douriff is playing both Karas and The Gemini Killer and so the transition between the two characters isn't as clearly defined. Recasting Miller for Douriff has always been a bit odd to me since the two look nothing alike and Douriff in no way resembles a boxer (though Douriff's performance is outstanding).

As the studio decided to move away from the "Legion" source material in an effort to make a more commercially viable film, (including using The Exorcist III branding) they felt that an Exorcism scene was needed and so we ended up with a very different end than what was intended.

Essentially Blatty's novel is an investigative thriller with a bit of supernatural phenomena and some questions regarding faith and the nature of evil thrown in as it follows up the events of "The Exorcist" novel 12 years later. The film is more of a straight horror effort that doesn't seek to do much more than Entertain. I was pretty taken aback at how little the contents of the film actually follow the Novel. I'd wager that of the 300 or so pages in the Novel, maybe 75 to 100 or so are what ended up being made into The Exorcist III film.

That's not to say that a straight production of the novel would have worked, as it wouldn't. Kinderman hem's and Ha's through incredibly long winded sequences in the novel that tested my patience at times let alone that of the general publics had such sequences been filmed. There were more than a few occasions where I just wanted to say "Get on with it!" as I read. This hemming and hawing however was true to the character of Kinderman as last seen in The Exorcist. The version of the character we got in Exorcist III as played by Mr. C. Scott doesn't feel in any way like the character we had last seen or that was written about.

One interesting tidbit that was quickly glossed over in the Special features for this film was the mention that Blatty had written a sequel to the exorcist but that all the studio's passed on it. After a bit of time this original screenplay idea was then taken and turned into the full Novel "Legion" which eventually the studio's picked up and became the film we know in 1990. It would be interesting to read that initial screenplay as the novel was clearly written with the intent of the story being in written form and so I would be curious to know how much of it was changed from that failed screenplay to Novel. If I am remembering correctly I believe that Blatty's original sequel idea preceded The Heretic and so it's anyone's guess as to why the Studio felt that Blatty's "Legion" idea was somehow less viable commercially than the abomination that was The Heretic.

[starsteam]

To be completely honest I'm not even expecting any more Hammer titles from SF. It would be nice if they could get the ones Warner own but you'd think at least one would be out by now.

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by starsteam

To be completely honest I'm not even expecting any more Hammer titles from SF. It would be nice if they could get the ones Warner own but you'd think at least one would be out by now.

Maybe they don't want to compete with the Universal titles, who knows?

[iamnoone]

Originally Posted by starsteam

To be completely honest I'm not even expecting any more Hammer titles from SF. It would be nice if they could get the ones Warner own but you'd think at least one would be out by now.

I'm trying to think of the remaining Anchor Bay 'Hammer Collection' DVD's that didn't make the jump to Blu. "Prehistoric Women", "The Viking Queen", and "The Four-Sided Triangle" come to mind as I believe they were all Studio Canal and would have been available to Shout, but I doubt any of those would sell that well (outside of PW). There was also "The Anniversary", but that is Fox, so no way now. Plus, "The Nanny" is Fox, although that wasn't released in the Anchor Bay line. Another AB DVD was the noir "Hell is a City", another that would probably have very little sales potential.

I'd love to see the Warner owned ones get released from Scream or WAC.

[Chie Satonaka]

I wish they would release Hammer House of Horror. It's gotten a Blu ray elsewhere so he elements exist. I've seen an episode on Pluto (I think it was even on Shout Factory TV) and liked the show. Seems strange it has yet to release. I also don't see Waneer giving up their hammers. We'd be more likely to see a deluxe re-release of the Mummy and Horror of Dracula in the vein of Curse of Frankenstein from the archive themselves.