Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

you defend SF like you have stock in the company or something. Look, I like SF and their releases as much as anyone on this site, I own more of their titles then you do & I own more from them then I do any other label. But what they've been doing isn't right plain & simple & they deserve to be called out on it.

I don't know what's worse - Shout/Screams BS or the excuses and rationale of those few folks who defend them (in the face of all the evidence that's been documented here) or who attempt to explain it away.

The right thing to do is call out Shout/Scream on their nonsense.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Well. This is the hardest thing I've had to do since being a collector but I cancelled my preorder for SF's release for 8MM (a title I have wanted for so long now) and will NOT be purchasing anymore SF titles until they get their sh*t together.

BTW SF, I used the money I put down for my preorder for 8MM towards Arrow's release for Deep Red.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Cry me a river. This is the exact attitude that has lead us to where we are today... to many people blindly looking the other way due to blind loyalty. Too many make excuses for poor performance or issues with releases which only encourages SF to not correct the errors of their ways. Well, we're now seeing the results of that behavior. This was foreseen years ago.

As has the standard, "That cost too much, I'm waiting until it's $10 to $15! They're screwing us over."

Thus inventory becomes stagnant, media sales plummet, plants close, and then we have replication capacity issues.

Be grateful we're getting anything at this point and that specialty labels are actually keeping physical media alive.

fitprod

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by fitprod

As has the standard, "That cost too much, I'm waiting until it's $10 to $15! They're screwing us over."

Not really. It's...kinda complicated.

Some titles (like Creepshow and the Critters box set) definitely work at the $25-$30+ price range, but Get Shorty? That should be around the $12-$15 mark.

Not to mention the profit self-sabotage of cutting off Best Buy, Target, Walmart and the small guys from having access because of BS greed. That's actually a bigger issue, i'd argue.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

Well. This is the hardest thing I've had to do since being a collector but I cancelled my preorder for SF's release for 8MM (a title I have wanted for so long now) and will NOT be purchasing anymore SF titles until they get their sh*t together.

BTW SF, I used the money I put down for my preorder for 8MM towards Arrow's release for Deep Red.

If you still want 8mm on BD & don't want to give SF any money there is a region free Australian release



I cancelled all the orders I had directly with them but Candyman & the Critters set I have with Diabolik so those ill keep.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by fitprod

As has the standard, "That cost too much, I'm waiting until it's $10 to $15! They're screwing us over."

Thus inventory becomes stagnant, media sales plummet, plants close, and then we have replication capacity issues.

Be grateful we're getting anything at this point and that specialty labels are actually keeping physical media alive.

fitprod

Ah, the old "We have to give them our money no matter how shoddy their products or service is and they may get better in the future. Otherwise it's our fault if the industry collapses" routine.

[jmat91]

Biggest problem here, I’m a scream factory completionist from down here in Australia. It’s always been tough, because not only do I have to deal with the shipping costs internationally, but I also have to deal with the poor dollar conversion to USD. Recently these high prices have made it almost impossible for me to keep purchasing. I find myself out of pocket with high shipping costs and hghi shot factory prices. At least when the prices were reasonable, it would be worth it, now I just can’t justify these prices.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

Since you've been gone perhaps you missed this video...



There is a reason folks are riled up again as we finally have some definitive evidence as to what we all had suspected. These kind of tactics should over rule any sort of brand loyalty folks have left. If you haven't already, watch the video.

We are Scream Factory's customer base. Collectors. They think that they can slap a ridiculous price on crap like Get Shorty, and that we're going to buy it regardless of the price, because we want the slipcover, and because they are releasing it. But Scream Factory is merely alienating their own customers. I used to purchase every CE from Scream Factory (and about 75% of the non-CEs), but that has now ceased. I've reevaluated all my purchasing from them. The pricing is ridiculous. The shipping is ridiculous. The quality is ridiculous (on some cases). And they don't care. They just think everyone is going to pay it because we're collectors. They want to sell the car for $40,000 when everyone else sells it for $20,000.

I've stopped purchasing from Scream Factory. And that's how you can get them to understand you're not happy. Of course we're going to purchase essential titles. Of course I've bought Creepshow, and of course I've purchased Critters. But in the past, I would've purchased When Harry Met Sally, Get Shorty, Single White Female, the Mangler, and several others. But I'm not doing that now. Not at these stupid prices. And when they have warehouses full of double dipped titles they can't push, suddenly they'll have a "sale," trying to push this stuff for $21 to $26 dollars, and act like they're doing you a favor. No thanks. Look at Kino. They're selling the same brand of catalog titles for $15, and even putting them on sale for $10 and under a few weeks later in some cases.

Scream Factory, they're just not humble. The don't appreciate your business. You call them out on social media, they just block you and delete your comments. Labels like Arrow, MVD, Kino, Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome...they're humble. They know collectors are their fan base. They'll work with you, and they'll treat you respectfully. Not Scream Factory. I hate saying it, because they used to be my top label, and the reason I got back in to collecting. Now, I don't care if they go under. I actually hope they do. That would maybe teach them a lesson.

[NeMo_ET]

Does anyone else think they took the "Collectors editions" and "Shout select" too far? I honestly think it's part of the problem. These labels used to be saved for their really unique or more comprehensive titles. Now it seems like EVERYTHING falls under this label, which they feel is deserving of a higher price point. They're making Valentine a collectors edition, but I think if we look back 5+ years, this would never have found its way to a collectors edition. Bring back the simple releases and double features from back in the day, along with one really good sale a year. I bought so many of their titles initially as blind buys because I though "wow, great, $10 for 2 movies I've never seen". I know, people will say they want the world, cheap, comprehensive sets. Let's be honest for a second here. Higher profile titles from new deals presumably cost more than some of their older relationships. Interviews and new extras also cost money. Unfortunately, I don't think many of these actors/actresses are doing this out of the good of their hearts.

Seeing as we have no direct insight from them I'm going to try starting some conversation, rather than just complaining. Just throwing this question out there to the fans. Cheaper, more barebones releases. OR more expensive, comprehensive releases?

[ghostsofjoy]

Originally Posted by NeMo_ET

Does anyone else think they took the "Collectors editions" and "Shout select" too far? I honestly think it's part of the problem. These labels used to be saved for their really unique or more comprehensive titles. Now it seems like EVERYTHING falls under this label, which they feel is deserving of a higher price point. They're making Valentine a collectors edition, but I think if we look back 5+ years, this would never have found its way to a collectors edition. Bring back the simple releases and double features from back in the day, along with one really good sale a year. I bought so many of their titles initially as blind buys because I though "wow, great, $10 for 2 movies I've never seen". I know, people will say they want the world, cheap, comprehensive sets. Let's be honest for a second here. Higher profile titles from new deals presumably cost more than some of their older relationships. Interviews and new extras also cost money. Unfortunately, I don't think many of these actors/actresses are doing this out of the good of their hearts.

Seeing as we have no direct insight from them I'm going to try starting some conversation, rather than just complaining. Just throwing this question out there to the fans. Cheaper, more barebones releases. OR more expensive, comprehensive releases?

While I do see your point, I suspect Valentine is getting a Collector’s Edition because director Jamie Blanks will likely be involved in its release and that we will get another two-plus hour documentary on its production, similar to their release for his Urban Legend.

[Mahadeva]

Originally Posted by NeMo_ET

Does anyone else think they took the "Collectors editions" and "Shout select" too far? I honestly think it's part of the problem. These labels used to be saved for their really unique or more comprehensive titles. Now it seems like EVERYTHING falls under this label, which they feel is deserving of a higher price point. They're making Valentine a collectors edition, but I think if we look back 5+ years, this would never have found its way to a collectors edition. Bring back the simple releases and double features from back in the day, along with one really good sale a year. I bought so many of their titles initially as blind buys because I though "wow, great, $10 for 2 movies I've never seen". I know, people will say they want the world, cheap, comprehensive sets. Let's be honest for a second here. Higher profile titles from new deals presumably cost more than some of their older relationships. Interviews and new extras also cost money. Unfortunately, I don't think many of these actors/actresses are doing this out of the good of their hearts.

Seeing as we have no direct insight from them I'm going to try starting some conversation, rather than just complaining. Just throwing this question out there to the fans. Cheaper, more barebones releases. OR more expensive, comprehensive releases?

Quality releases without any technical issues. When the quality is there I am ok with paying $20-$25. But since it's scream factory we are talking about I don't think it'll happen any time soon.

[Keyser Soze.]

Originally Posted by TheHorrorNerd

https://www.facebook.com/grindhousev...video_explicit

Scream Factory rant starts at 17:19
Scream Factory is confirmed to still be strong arming small shops and price fixing.

He has to mark up all the Scream titles on his website. He says his in-store (Tampa, FL) prices can still be his normal pricing.

Get the pitchforks ready.

Sucks that Scream is playing the price manipulation game & hurting the little guy like this.

[RedHarvest]

Originally Posted by NeMo_ET

Does anyone else think they took the "Collectors editions" and "Shout select" too far? I honestly think it's part of the problem. These labels used to be saved for their really unique or more comprehensive titles. Now it seems like EVERYTHING falls under this label, which they feel is deserving of a higher price point. They're making Valentine a collectors edition, but I think if we look back 5+ years, this would never have found its way to a collectors edition. Bring back the simple releases and double features from back in the day, along with one really good sale a year. I bought so many of their titles initially as blind buys because I though "wow, great, $10 for 2 movies I've never seen". I know, people will say they want the world, cheap, comprehensive sets. Let's be honest for a second here. Higher profile titles from new deals presumably cost more than some of their older relationships. Interviews and new extras also cost money. Unfortunately, I don't think many of these actors/actresses are doing this out of the good of their hearts.

Seeing as we have no direct insight from them I'm going to try starting some conversation, rather than just complaining. Just throwing this question out there to the fans. Cheaper, more barebones releases. OR more expensive, comprehensive releases?

They've obviously acquired a ton of titles recently. They have Warner and Sony selections, as well as the Corman library, so they're flooding the market with films, anything and everything. I get Valentine as a CE; they have to adapt to the films they can get, and it falls in a certain nostalgia niche of late 90s/early 00s horror. I do think the selections should be more specialized at the current prices. But if they're dumping stuff like Popstar, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, When Harry Met Sally, and Get Shorty, the price should reflect its status. Creepshow in a special edition is worth $30 dollars. Get Shorty in a special edition is not. I like Get Shorty; it's a cool film. But it doesn't have the status of a film like Creepshow. I can get Get Shorty on Blu-ray for $2 dollars right now. In the past, I would've upgraded the title. At a reasonable price. But not now, not after how I've been treated by them.

Scream Factory raises prices like this, and they think a select group will complain for a little while, but then everyone will accept it and keep purchasing titles at the same rate. But if we show them that's not acceptable, they will have to change.

[NeMo_ET]

Originally Posted by BrianJoynt

They've obviously acquired a ton of titles recently. They have Warner and Sony selections, as well as the Corman library, so they're flooding the market with films, anything and everything. I get Valentine as a CE; they have to adapt to the films they can get, and it falls in a certain nostalgia niche of late 90s/early 00s horror. I do think the selections should be more specialized at the current prices. But if they're dumping stuff like Popstar, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, When Harry Met Sally, and Get Shorty, the price should reflect its status. Creepshow in a special edition is worth $30 dollars. Get Shorty in a special edition is not. I like Get Shorty; it's a cool film. But it doesn't have the status of a film like Creepshow. I can get Get Shorty on Blu-ray for $2 dollars right now. In the past, I would've upgraded the title. At a reasonable price. But not now, not after how I've been treated by them.

Scream Factory raises prices like this, and they think a select group will complain for a little while, but then everyone will accept it and keep purchasing titles at the same rate. But if we show them that's not acceptable, they will have to change.

That's kind of what I was getting at. In cases like Get Shorty and When Harry Met Sally. Yes, we can get them for cheap as a barebones release direct from the studios that own them. They're also high profile titles though, which had to be expensive for Shout to acquire. Plus, they add some features, new artwork, etc. which comes at a cost. No clue what all of that costs, but I assume it's not possible for them to price it at $10, agreed? I don't know what their break even point is on these, maybe it is $10, maybe it's $20. Although that's only one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is that MOST of the population is going to walmart, amazon, etc. and if they see a $5 copy and a $15 copy, they're buying the $5 copy or streaming digitally somewhere. Which means even at $15, Shout is selling to a very select market, making it even harder for them to profit. Putting all assumptions aside, this pushes the price point higher again.

Not defending them or arguing, just trying to think through it logically. Which raises the bigger question, does it even make sense for them to be releasing these titles? Or, should they stick to their roots. Focus on lower profile titles and previously unreleased titles with the occasional collectors edition or double drip that fans will pay up for (Creepshow for example). My opinion is that these higher profile titles are hurting them, based on the above, which ends up hurting us. Can't recoup the cost of Get Shorty, need to do it elsewhere.

Again, all just guesses and thoughts. Don't really know what's going on over there lol!

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by fitprod

As has the standard, "That cost too much, I'm waiting until it's $10 to $15! They're screwing us over."

Thus inventory becomes stagnant, media sales plummet, plants close, and then we have replication capacity issues.

Be grateful we're getting anything at this point and that specialty labels are actually keeping physical media alive.

fitprod

Originally Posted by 20th Century Boy

Ah, the old "We have to give them our money no matter how shoddy their products or service is and they may get better in the future. Otherwise it's our fault if the industry collapses" routine.

The reality is that neither side of this argument is wrong.

Buying a Blu-ray at launch tells the studio there’s interest in it and makes them more likely to revisit that title later on. This is especially true if you buy within the weeks immediately following its release. You can wait for that $10-$15 price point (or lower), but the studios won’t really care by then.

And not buying a release shows the exact opposite, a lack of interest. It doesn’t matter what the reason for abstaining is, because a studio isn’t going to look at a lack of sales and say, “Well, we’ll try harder next time.” Instead, they’ll merely refrain from making another release and/or allow a smaller distributor to take a whack at it… like Shout/Scream. Or maybe just allow a title to be available digitally and leave it at that.

That’s not to say anyone should buy anything they don’t want to though, or at a price point they don’t feel comfortable at. The worth of any given product is different for each and every person, but if you’ve been a cheap-o throughout the life of any given format, there’s definitely truth to the ‘you’re part of the problem’ discussion.

It really is a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Buy a title ‘just because’ and you’re sort of sending the message that a studio’s crappy output is justified. Don’t buy it, and you’re not really doing much to guarantee it’ll be available in a better edition somewhere down the road… and if it does, you’ll probably have to pay a premium.

Shout/Scream have seemingly come to realize the full potential of this quagmire and they’re taking extreme advantage of it. I still bought Creepshow at my local FYE, and I’ll continue to pick up their products as I can… but their pricing model now ensures I can’t buy every release I want. I had to refrain from picking up Trick ‘R Treat because I just couldn’t swing it with other purchases at the time. Candyman is coming out shortly and I can’t quite swing that either, at least not for a while. All they’re ensuring is that I can’t buy as many titles from them as I used to… not really sure how that helps them, but, they’re a business and it’s THEIR business and they can do what they want, I guess.

It’ll be interesting to see if they see continued success with their new business model or it’ll hurt them in the long run… I’m generally hoping the latter because as the guy on that Facebook vid said, if they’re releasing something, it means nobody else is, at least for the time being, and I’m not going to say no to any given movie I really want just because of some shady crap going on behind-the-scenes... but I do want better prices.

But that’s just me… to each their own.

[rickah88]

I’m just hoping SF gets the rights to Star Wars UOT. Then we could merge two of the most argumentative topics in the blu-ray universe.
I would definitely need more popcorn for that one.

[Luke Dodge748]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

you defend SF like you have stock in the company or something. Look, I like SF and their releases as much as anyone on this site, I own more of their titles then you do & I own more from them then I do any other label. But what they've been doing isn't right plain & simple & they deserve to be called out on it.

People calling out others for complaining about unfair pricing or damaged materials (i.e. Scream Factory posters coming in destroyed) who are obviously disappointed as entitled or throwing names around like crybabies are completely out of touch. It has nothing to do with First-World problems and everything to do with expecting good service and decent products at reasonable prices and promises kept from these companies we prop up as consumers.

Jeremy at The Quartering (YouTube) rallied against these Opinion Police (namely Pat the NES Punk as his beta sidekick), and while he's calling out a supposed Gamer, the rebuttal applies to really any kind of Thought and Behavior Police, where speaking out in disappointment or displaying other feelings have drawn the ire of Public Shamers. When has it become entitlement to complain about the stuff we care about? We pay money for a service, if you will, and when the company gouges it's customers (yes, I think charging an extra 30% markup on the same product as gouging), or provides their customers with damaged products, both of which Scream Factory are guilty of the past year, we should let the company know we're not happy with it*. And this board has it's fair share of posters calling out other posters for complaining about Scream Factory's recent problems.

Here's his video if you haven't seen it already:

[Show spoiler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Rl...ature=youtu.be

*Full Disclosure: I've never had any problems with Scream Factory save for their billing dept. I am however not happy with their pricing so I've stopped buying their stuff save for the very best of their catalog.

[JackForrester]

Just saw the video. It's really unfortunate everything that's going on, although the guy sort of missed me when he said that Scream shouldn't charge 30 bucks of Sleepwalkers because it's not even a good movie. And I saw someone else saying that paying 30 bucks for Creepshow is ok because it's a classic but not for Sleepwalkers because it sucks.
I'm not here to defend Sleepwalkers, I don't think it's a good film either, but keep in mind that a Collector's Edition is made for people who are fans of the film. If someone's complaining they won't pay 30 bucks for a film because it sucks, why are you even considering buying the film? If you're a completist, you want to support the brand, or you have a soft spot for Sleepwalkers because you saw it when you were a kid and you were in love with Madchen Amick or whatever, that's fine, but keep in mind that you're not the main target of that release.
This reminds me of a lot of people complaining that the Poltergeist sequels weren't good enough to be released as CEs and should've been released as a cheaper double feature

I wouldn't pay 30 bucks for Creepshow for the life of me, I think it's a fun film and all but not worth 30 bucks, yet I'd gladly pay 30 bucks for a CE of TCM Next Generation if it included the extended cut fully in HD and the documentary. So I guess this stuff is very subjective to say the least.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by mzupeman

The reality is that neither side of this argument is wrong.

Buying a Blu-ray at launch tells the studio there’s interest in it and makes them more likely to revisit that title later on. This is especially true if you buy within the weeks immediately following its release. You can wait for that $10-$15 price point (or lower), but the studios won’t really care by then.

And not buying a release shows the exact opposite, a lack of interest. It doesn’t matter what the reason for abstaining is, because a studio isn’t going to look at a lack of sales and say, “Well, we’ll try harder next time.” Instead, they’ll merely refrain from making another release and/or allow a smaller distributor to take a whack at it… like Shout/Scream. Or maybe just allow a title to be available digitally and leave it at that.

That’s not to say anyone should buy anything they don’t want to though, or at a price point they don’t feel comfortable at. The worth of any given product is different for each and every person, but if you’ve been a cheap-o throughout the life of any given format, there’s definitely truth to the ‘you’re part of the problem’ discussion.

It really is a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Buy a title ‘just because’ and you’re sort of sending the message that a studio’s crappy output is justified. Don’t buy it, and you’re not really doing much to guarantee it’ll be available in a better edition somewhere down the road… and if it does, you’ll probably have to pay a premium.

Shout/Scream have seemingly come to realize the full potential of this quagmire and they’re taking extreme advantage of it. I still bought Creepshow at my local FYE, and I’ll continue to pick up their products as I can… but their pricing model now ensures I can’t buy every release I want. I had to refrain from picking up Trick ‘R Treat because I just couldn’t swing it with other purchases at the time. Candyman is coming out shortly and I can’t quite swing that either, at least not for a while. All they’re ensuring is that I can’t buy as many titles from them as I used to… not really sure how that helps them, but, they’re a business and it’s THEIR business and they can do what they want, I guess.

It’ll be interesting to see if they see continued success with their new business model or it’ll hurt them in the long run… I’m generally hoping the latter because as the guy on that Facebook vid said, if they’re releasing something, it means nobody else is, at least for the time being, and I’m not going to say no to any given movie I really want just because of some shady crap going on behind-the-scenes... but I do want better prices.

But that’s just me… to each their own.

that's the most intelligent and reasonable opinion I've read so far regarding this unfortunate situation.

I'm not the guy that's always waiting for the $10 price point, but I do stand firm of "nothing over $20" which I pretty much do for all blu rays including 4k releases. I still believe that most Scream titles will be easily had for a reasonable price, just not immediately anymore....

[crikan]

So what do people beleive is the reason for Shout playing hardball with their pricing? Is cmac dumping our money into a giant swimming pool and living out his Scrooge McDuck fantasies. Or could these be necessary steps to get the licenses we've been clamoring for? Perhaps its getting hard to keep the lights on when SF's most loyal customers are holding out for the sub $20 sales. Those of you hoping for SF's demise might get what you're hoping for and just think of the films that won't make it to BD because of it. And I say this as someone who's rarely buying SF anymore due to the pricing and the obnoxious artwork. From my POV SF appears to be in a tough spot and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.