Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[Bad Sandwich]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Would Scream Factory ever be able to have access to The Hitcher (1986)?

I'd much rather Synapse get their hands on it, but at this point any half decent distributor will do. Seriously, what is the hold up on this one? The fact that HBO's indescribably shitty dvd remains in print nearly 15 years later suggests sales have been decent, so I don't think economic feasibility is the issue.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

I'd much rather Synapse get their hands on it

I think that can be said about every potential BD release, although the inevitable wait can be frustrating. At least in their case you know that the final product will always be well worth the delay(s).

[The Great Owl]

I'm hugely impressed with the two Synapse discs that I own (Twins of Evil, Prom Night).

For some reason, The Hitcher seems more like Scream Factory fare, but I'd also just like to see it get a decent high definition release from somewhere.

[Bad Sandwich]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I think that can be said about every potential BD release, although the inevitable wait can be frustrating. At least in their case you know that the final product will always be well worth the delay(s).

Very true. Anyway I think Hitcher '86 is either that irritating scenario where the rights holder has no interest in an in-house release yet has an insane price tag on rights, or someone (hopefully named Don May) has something special planned for the impending 30th anniversary. Hopefully the latter, though 2016 is still an excruciating wait.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm hugely impressed with the two Synapse discs that I own (Twins of Evil, Prom Night).

If you enjoyed the Hammer you should check out Synapse's Countess Dracula, Hands of the Ripper, and, to a lesser extent, Vampire Circus. I also have soft spots for Intruder, Street Trash and Dorm That Dripped Blood, and their epic 4-hour 42nd St Forever disc is of course essential and endlessly rewatchable.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

If you enjoyed the Hammer you should check out Synapse's Countess Dracula, Hands of the Ripper, and, to a lesser extent, Vampire Circus. I also have soft spots for Intruder, Street Trash and Dorm That Dripped Blood, and their epic 4-hour 42nd St Forever disc is of course essential and endlessly rewatchable.

Countess Dracula is on my list of possibles. I prefer the earlier Hammer films, but Twins of Evil is a real trip, and I'd like to see more from that era.

I've been saving my Scream Factory disc of The Vampire Lovers for October, but I'll probably cave in and watch it sometime this week.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

Very true. Anyway I think Hitcher '86 is either that irritating scenario where the rights holder has no interest in an in-house release yet has an insane price tag on rights, or someone (hopefully named Don May) has something special planned for the impending 30th anniversary. Hopefully the latter, though 2016 is still an excruciating wait.

Probably the former. I think HBO / Warner Brothers still holds US distribution rights for the film. They rereleased the film as an MOD DVD-R last year.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Bad Sandwich

I'd much rather Synapse get their hands on it, but at this point any half decent distributor will do. Seriously, what is the hold up on this one? The fact that HBO's indescribably shitty dvd remains in print nearly 15 years later suggests sales have been decent, so I don't think economic feasibility is the issue.

true... bought that many years ago and couldn't even sit through it... awful!

[Bad Sandwich]

Originally Posted by zbinks

Probably the former. I think HBO / Warner Brothers still holds US distribution rights for the film. They rereleased the film as an MOD DVD-R last year.

Oh, so that's what that is. I noticed the amazon listing awhile back with same old cover art and release date of April 2013 and just assumed it was a reprint of the same hbo disc. Still, the pressed version was around for a looong time, possibly over 10 years. Anyway I fear that scenario is true but Im trying to keep the faith.

Originally Posted by AKORIS

true... bought that many years ago and couldn't even sit through it... awful!

Although things clear up somewhat later on, the first 20 minutes or so is among the worst I've seen on the format. Needless to say I reach for the 2-disc UK special edition when I want to revisit this.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by zbinks

Probably the former. I think HBO / Warner Brothers still holds US distribution rights for the film. They rereleased the film as an MOD DVD-R last year.

The really frustrating thing about that movie is that there is a really great special edition DVD in the UK with a ton of bonus features, and we here in NTSC land just have had that same barebones pile of junk release all this time. You'd think if there was the interest in producing a lavish special edition on DVD that they'd have released it on bluray, but...nope. I feel stupid buying equipment to gain the ability to play PAL content when it's so largely gone the way of the dodo, but if time keeps going on with no announcement in sight for that movie I might have to!

There usually seems to be an unwritten rule that any horror movie that had a crummy hollywood remake in the last 15 years has the original available on bluray, but The Hitcher is an exception. It's doubly sad cause unlike something like Prom Night or My Bloody Valentine or Piranha or The Hills Have Eyes, it's actually a bonafide classic of the genre. Not that I don't love Piranha, but The Hitcher is real nightmare fuel. It's one of the most atmospheric, creepy movies I've ever seen. I do think it seems like perfect Scream Factory material, and would certainly think it would sell much higher than the comparatively obscure likes of Without Warning or Squirm or whatever. Darn rights issues! I really hope someone can get it away from WB before they release a half-ass barebones version (or worse, never release it at all).

[dsman71]

I cant recall this- but who has the rights to Fade to Black and Hell Night at this point ?

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I cant recall this- but who has the rights to Fade to Black and Hell Night at this point ?

I think the rightsholder(s) to these two films is currently unknown.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Countess Dracula is on my list of possibles. I prefer the earlier Hammer films, but Twins of Evil is a real trip, and I'd like to see more from that era.

I've been saving my Scream Factory disc of The Vampire Lovers for October, but I'll probably cave in and watch it sometime this week.

Countess Dracula is very stale and boring compared to the ludicrous Twins of Evil, which I'd rank as my very favorite Hammer horror movie. The fact Ingrid Pitt is dubbed through the entire movie was incredibly distracting after enjoying her so much in The Vampire Lovers, but the movie has plenty of issues besides that.

The Vampire Lovers is a lot closer to Twins of Evil in tone than Countess Dracula is, but it's not nearly as nuts, and the shout disc isn't as nice as the Synapse ones. It's fun, though, and I am glad I bought it. Hands of the Ripper is very good, and Vampire Circus is also pretty good. Vampire Circus has a very weird atmosphere, it's kind of a pied piper of hamelin story interspersed with a lot of weird imagery and upfront sexuality and it fully lives up to its title. Again, it's nowhere near as fun as Twins of Evil, but it's good and it's very unique. Most of the good hammer flicks are not available on bluray in this country (and many of them aren't available in any other country either, for that matter). Frankenstein Created Women is pretty decent, but again the bluray isn't really anything special. I'm hoping we get some more released in this country, but I know we probably won't get much...many of the movies aren't even available on DVD.

If you just want to see the movies, my other recommended later period hammer movies are Scars of Dracula, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde. I know Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is on Amazon prime and Scars of Dracula has had several DVD releases in this country, but Sister Hyde is pretty difficult unless you get lucky and see it on TV or something.

For tangentally related horror flicks, I'd say Daughters of Darkness and Vampyres are both classics of 70s horror and both are available on bluray from Blue Underground. They're both european movies with lesbian vampires, they're both much artier than Twins of Evil. Neither is as much fun, but Daughters of Darkness at least I'd highly recommend. It stars Delphine Seyrig, of Last Year at Marienbad fame. Vampyres has got a lot more explicit sexuality.

Twins of Evil also has the Peter Cushing as Witchfinder General thing going for it, which gives it an edge which is kind of surprising given it seems to have been initially conceived as an excuse to put those playboy centerfolds on the screen as topless vampires. Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw are the two huge classics of those few years with the British "folk-horror" thing. Blood on Satan's Claw has a pretty nice region free bluray from the UK, and I'm guessing you're familiar with Witchfinder General already from the Vincent Price collection!

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I cant recall this- but who has the rights to Fade to Black and Hell Night at this point ?

I'm going to make DVR-R copies of Hell Night and attempt to sell them on Amazon. I guess when I get a cease-and-desist letter from Frank Yablans/Compass International, we'll know who the rights holder is. Wait a second....

[Stormyyy]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Stay away from the U.S. release of Motel Hell: http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...less=1#auswahl

What's wrong with it? I just bought it.. should I return it or something?

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by cine74

I'm going to make DVR-R copies of Hell Night and attempt to sell them on Amazon. I guess when I get a cease-and-desist letter from Frank Yablans/Compass International, we'll know who the rights holder is. Wait a second....

Try to do the same with Fade to Black, Cemetery Man, and Fright Night Part 2.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Try to do the same with Fade to Black, Cemetery Man, and Fright Night Part 2.

The Italian mob probably owns Cemetery Man so I won't go there

Fright Night Part II, well, I still think it's Lionsgate despite their claiming they don't have the rights. The studio gobbled up the production company when they acquired IVE (then LIVE). Besides, Lionsgate owns the Artisan library. Artisan released the crappy fullscreen DVD.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Most of the good hammer flicks are not available on bluray in this country (and many of them aren't available in any other country either, for that matter).

Of the Hammer films that I've seen, These Are the Damned is my favorite.

I don't know if it will ever surface on Blu-ray, so I'm holding tightly to my Hammer: Icons of Suspense DVD set.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Of the Hammer films that I've seen, These Are the Damned is my favorite.

I don't know if it will ever surface on Blu-ray, so I'm holding tightly to my Hammer: Icons of Suspense DVD set.

Oh, yeah, that's a great one. I had forgotten it was a hammer movie. Another atypical one, Quatermass and the Pit, seems to top a lot of lists, too; I haven't seen it yet unfortunately.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by dsman71

I cant recall this- but who has the rights to Fade to Black and Hell Night at this point ?

used to be Anchor Bay but not sure now...