Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[aspberger]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I find the hatred of "The Babadook" in this thread to be a little heartbreaking.

I genuinely enjoyed it and found it to be one of the spookier films i've seen in years.

This attitude is actually how I felt about "House of the Devil", to be honest.

I despised The Babadook but loved the hell out of House of the Devil

[javy]

The Babadook is cool, I dig it. But for a indy Scream release I prefer The Hallow. That's a cool little fairy tale horror film. My only complaint with it though is that very last shot. But that's no biggie.

House of the Devil is beautiful.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Puffy

I need help deciding on Escape from New York. I've seen bso many complaints about the transfer, and more than one aspect of it being less than stellar. I have the two disc collector's DVD from back in the day, pre-screan factory. I'm happy with that.

From a layman's perspective, is the transfer really that bad?

It's not bad really, it's just contrast boosted and has some aliasing. The MGM is perhaps too dark, so neither is perfect. They're up on caps-a-holic and you can compare them. I would assume either beats the DVD easily.

[ROSS.T.G.]

Originally Posted by Puffy

I need help deciding on Escape from New York. I've seen bso many complaints about the transfer, and more than one aspect of it being less than stellar. I have the two disc collector's DVD from back in the day, pre-screan factory. I'm happy with that.

From a layman's perspective, is the transfer really that bad?

I own both and much prefer SF. It's a very dark film to begin with so expectations should be lowered.

[WesReviews]

I wonder why Scream Factory hasn't revisited THE EVIL or TWICE DEAD for a Blu-ray release? I had almost forgotten that they released these on DVD.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I find the hatred of "The Babadook" in this thread to be a little heartbreaking.

I genuinely enjoyed it and found it to be one of the spookier films i've seen in years.

This attitude is actually how I felt about "House of the Devil", to be honest.

I haven't seen House of the Devil but as for The Babadook I just found it boring. With some changes it could've been a better horror film IMO. I had the same problem with the extremely boring The Witch & to a lessor extent It Follows. Although between all 3 the only one I'd probably rewatch anytime is It Follows.

[C.mcbraggins]

Originally Posted by WesReviews

I wonder why Scream Factory hasn't revisited THE EVIL or TWICE DEAD for a Blu-ray release? I had almost forgotten that they released these on DVD.

Ether poor DVD sales, or they cannot get proper film elements for HD masters.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I find the hatred of "The Babadook" in this thread to be a little heartbreaking.

I genuinely enjoyed it and found it to be one of the spookier films i've seen in years.

This attitude is actually how I felt about "House of the Devil", to be honest.

House of the Devil just did not register with me at all. The final few minutes are decent enough, and I certainly appreciate the 80's aesthetic, but I never really felt that film was deserving of the praise folks have heaped it's way. I enjoyed the Babadook, but do not consider it any kind of masterpiece, however I do find it significantly more entertaining.

House of the Devil is a weird film for me... it has so many individual parts which I appreciate and/or like but the sum of these parts still don't add up to what I consider a good film to be. I found it dreadfully boring at times despite a few viewings and my attitude really hasn't changed much since my initial impression.

I will say however that it is a film that I'm happy has it's fans, and one I can appreciate even if I don't like it much... I'd take House of the Devil any day of the week over Scream, or much of the late 90's horror offerings.

[Kap6289]

Originally Posted by zbinks

Sonar Entertainment.

It was released on DVD as a double feature with a film called Phantom Racer, but it looks like it has gone OOP.

Thank you for the reply! I missed out on the DVD, apparently. Lol. Hopefully Scream or another label can give this the HD treatment some day. I always dug this movie.

[javy]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

I haven't seen House of the Devil but as for The Babadook I just found it boring. With some changes it could've been a better horror film IMO. I had the same problem with the extremely boring The Witch & to a lessor extent It Follows. Although between all 3 the only one I'd probably rewatch anytime is It Follows.

It Follows and The Witch are two films that people praise to the high heavens. I gotta get in on that. It Follows is great. It's a beautiful supernatural tale. But what I really love with all my heart is The Witch. I get it man, I understand this movie.

[Show spoiler] Their own fear of imperfection brought in what they feared most, The Wicked One. The Evil was in the woods either way, but would he have had access to their minds if they had been more open-minded? Maybe not.

The ending is epic, the film is a masterpiece. I love The Witch. I love Black Phillip.

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by aspberger

I despised The Babadook but loved the hell out of House of the Devil

Same. House of the Devil is a masterpiece, Ti West's other film The Innkeepers is also really good.


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[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

House of the Devil just did not register with me at all. The final few minutes are decent enough, and I certainly appreciate the 80's aesthetic, but I never really felt that film was deserving of the praise folks have heaped it's way. I enjoyed the Babadook, but do not consider it any kind of masterpiece, however I do find it significantly more entertaining.

House of the Devil is a weird film for me... it has so many individual parts which I appreciate and/or like but the sum of these parts still don't add up to what I consider a good film to be. I found it dreadfully boring at times despite a few viewings and my attitude really hasn't changed much since my initial impression.

I will say however that it is a film that I'm happy has it's fans, and one I can appreciate even if I don't like it much... I'd take House of the Devil any day of the week over Scream, or much of the late 90's horror offerings.

I never thought 80s when watching House of the Devil, it's a 70s looking horror film all the way and that includes its slow pace. If you're not a fan of some of those cult 70s horrors that are more about atmosphere than action or a fast moving plot then I can understand why you may not have liked it, it's an acquired taste I suppose.

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[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

I never thought 80s when watching House of the Devil, it's a 70s looking horror film all the way and that includes its slow pace. If you're not a fan of some of those cult 70s horrors that are more about atmosphere than action or a fast moving plot then I can understand why you may not have liked it, it's an acquired taste I suppose.

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The film is set during an eclipse in 1983. The extended walkman sequences was one of the key pieces meant to cue the viewer into when the film took place. I do agree with your consensus that the slow burn nature of the film is more similar to a mid 70's film than one set in the 80's, however everything about House of the Devil was meant to be an homage to the 1980's and the films that were created during the first portion of that decade.

[splintersan]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

The film is set during an eclipse in 1983. The extended walkman sequences was one of the key pieces meant to cue the viewer into when the film took place. I do agree with your consensus that the slow burn nature of the film is more similar to a mid 70's film than one set in the 80's, however everything about House of the Devil was meant to be an homage to the 1980's and the films that were created during the first portion of that decade.

Yeah but most films of the early 80's were still using aesthetics from the 70's which is what I felt Ti was going for. Either way, we are all kind of saying the same thing. I love House of the Devil, I completely get when some one says it doesn't connect with them though. It's not a film for everyone and it definitely seemed to get way more praise than I ever imagined it would. I'm a big fan of Ti and enjoy every single film he's put out, he's one of my favorite current film makers working today.

The Witch hate has always confused me when it comes from horror fans. I understand the general public hate, it was a film that was marketed as the "savior of horror" which it wasn't (horror never needed to be saved, it's still running strong). It's a beautiful, terrifying period piece that actually makes witches scary again.

[The Great Owl]

Double-posting from the dedicated thread for this box set...

I just finished watching Horror Rises from the Tomb from the Scream Factory Blu-ray set, The Paul Naschy Collection.



In 15th century France, a black magic practitioner, Alaric de Marnac (Paul Naschy), and his mistress, Mabille De Lancré (Helga Liné), are executed for witchcraft. Fast forward to the 1970s, where a contemporary skeptic, Hugo (also played by Paul Naschy), attends a seance with his friends, and ends up summoning the spirit of de Marnac. They travel to a remote countryside villa, where they locate the severed head of de Marnac, which possesses villagers and turns them into grisly undead servants. Gory killings, gratuitous nudity, and zombie attacks ensue.

Horror Rises from the Tomb is the first of many Paul Naschy films that I'll be watching in the days of come. Naschy, an actor, writer, and director, was sort of the Spanish equivalent of Vincent Price, and he graced a great many atmospheric and spooky films, mostly from the 1970s and 1980s. I've only seen two other Naschy films, Count Dracula's Great Love (1973) and The People Who Own the Dark (1976). If these three movies that I've seen so far are any indication, then I've got a lot of awesome supernatural horror and beautiful Spanish ladies waiting for me in the days to come.

As far as the nudity is concerned, we've got the amazing Helga Liné, whom I've seen before in Nightmare Castle (1965), we've got Cristina Suriani, we've got Betsabé Ruiz, and we've got a few other ladies whom I'm too lazy to look up on the Internet Movie Database. Best of all, however, we've got the gorgeous Emma Cohen, whom I enjoyed watching in the Spanish "spaghetti western", Cut-Throats Nine (1972). One look at Emma Cohen makes it easy to understand why Alaric de Marnac completely loses his head over her.

This is a solid eye candy movie across the board, not only because of the females, but also because of the picturesque rural Spanish film locations, which have the perfect gothic vibe for this feature. If you're familiar with the British horror films from Hammer Studios, then these Spanish movies are along the same lines, although they're a little more over-the-top.

This Scream Factory Blu-ray sports an impressive video presentation with a naturally filmic look. The audio presentation is good enough, although, watching the foreign language track with the subtitle option like I do, I tend not to notice audio imperfections right off the bat. Overall, though, I'll stick my neck out and say that it's a great disc.

The commentary track by Naschy experts, Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn, is slam-packed with a lot of information and anecdotes. I should be listening to it with undivided attention, instead of posting this review as I listen, and I'll probably do that later tonight.

This disc also features Alternate Clothed Sequences of five minutes of footage from the movie. I'm normally a thick-skinned guy who does not get offended by things, because I'm mature enough to understand that the world does not revolve around me and my sensibilities. That said, I'm dumbfounded, angered, and offended by the presence of this particular supplement, which I consider to be an affront not only to my values, but to decency in general. It's beneath me to get on a soapbox when I'm writing reviews here, but I'm so dismayed by this special feature that I want to encourage the rest of you not to support this outrage and to let Scream Factory know, by email or phone, that immoral defacements of cinema like this will not be tolerated or supported in the future.

An Alternate End Sequence is beneficial to the viewer because it shows more of Emma Cohen. I can get behind this particular extra.

Onward to the other flicks in this Naschy set!

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

This disc also features Alternate Clothed Sequences of five minutes of footage from the movie. I'm normally a thick-skinned guy who does not get offended by things, because I'm mature enough to understand that the world does not revolve around me and my sensibilities. That said, I'm dumbfounded, angered, and offended by the presence of this particular supplement, which I consider to be an affront not only to my values, but to decency in general. It's beneath me to get on a soapbox when I'm writing reviews here, but I'm so dismayed by this special feature that I want to encourage the rest of you not to support this outrage and to let Scream Factory know, by email or phone, that immoral defacements of cinema like this will not be tolerated or supported in the future.

I'm intrigued by this... are these re-shoots where the actresses wear clothing, or are they something more akin to this...





The digital bra tv edits from showgirls?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

I'm intrigued by this... are these re-shoots where the actresses where clothing, or are they something more akin to this...

They are reshoots and clipped scenes with the actresses clothed for certain scenes so that they could be shown in Spain. Some of the scenes are abbreviated, but some were reshot altogether with the actresses wearing clothing.

Don't support this travesty of a supplement.

[Michael24]

It's just a bonus feature, not incorporated into the film itself, so I don't see the big deal. I liked seeing the censored-for-TV footage of Scarface that was included on the Blu-ray just as an amusing curiosity.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Michael24

It's just a bonus feature, not incorporated into the film itself, so I don't see the big deal. I liked seeing the censored-for-TV footage of Scarface that was included on the Blu-ray just as an amusing curiosity.

My comments about the Alternate Clothed Sequences supplement are tongue-in-cheek. It really isn't a big deal.

[Phobics]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

They are reshoots and clipped scenes with the actresses clothed for certain scenes so that they could be shown in Spain. Some of the scenes are abbreviated, but some were reshot altogether with the actresses wearing clothing.

Don't support this travesty of a supplement.

I agree it's lame but a feature, not like it was the only way to view the film. Now stuff like what was done with fate of the furious where one whole cut is only for online viewing and not on disc that's something that should not be tolerated.

Btw, I had no idea showgirls had fake bras put in that's so lame. Why even have it on tv....