A whole lotta horror this week because, well, distribution studios are releasing a lot of films and this list is a combination of last week’s and this week’s releases (I was traveling). Last week saw the release of several Blu-ray classics including Halloween II, which caused much controversy when the producer’s credit was replaced by a corporate logo. Universal has said they will rectify the issue. So, if you were boycotting, are you going to hold out?

Also out, ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2, a movie with a heavy gore first, nothing else matters creed. My favorites of the week are the Blu-ray release of Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left and the DVD re-release of ’80s cult hit, The Stuff.

Check out all the rest below and let me know what you are going to pick up. Have a good week!
Horror In Your House
September 20th, 2011

51 – Lionsgate

Chronicles what happens after political pressure from the American public forces the Air Force to decide to allow a select few well-known reporters limited access to the most secretive base on the planet: Area 51. But when one of the base’s hidden “long term visitors” exploits this unprecedented visit as a chance to liberate himself and his fellow alien captives, Area 51 turns from a secure government base to a horrifying destination of terror.

THE BASEMENT: RETRO ’80s HORROR COLLECTION (DVD, also includes VHS) – Camp Motion Pictures

The Basement- Available for the first time on VHS and DVD, The Basement is the lost 1989 Super 8 anthology feature film directed by Timothy O’Rawe (Ghoul School). It is a shining example of 80’s DIY cinema! Four strangers are summoned to the basement of an abandoned house by a mysterious entity. One after another, they are forced to witness heinous deeds they have yet to commit – and which will damn them for all eternity.

MICAH SAYS: I picked this up and I have to say it’s pretty cool. The Basement is a fun anthology (if you love old SOV bad horror) and the packaging reminds me of a computer game box from the early ’90s. 4 other films are included as well as a blood red VHS of The Basement.

BLUE SUNSHINE – New Video Group

Directed by Jeff Lieberman (Squirm), this campy, cult masterpiece of suspense and terror is available for the first time as a value-priced single, packed with bonus material for fans

BOGGY CREEK – Hannover House

When Jennifer’s father dies in a horrific accident, she finds herself drawn to his small cabin in Boggy Creek, Texas. She brings a few friends along for a week’s stay, but their vacation soon turns deadly. They are warned of an evil creature that has lurked near the waters for three decades, a terrifying monster that murders men and abducts women. While camping, Jennifer and her friends encounter the creature, finding themselves on the feeding grounds of the giant beast. What began as a journey of self-discovery becomes a desperate fight for survival along Boggy Creek as they soon lean that the legend is true!

BORN OF EARTH – E1 Entertainment

After his wife is murdered and his children abducted, Danny Kessler (Daniel Baldwin) learns that an ancient race of blood-thirsty creatures lurks just below the surface of Prophet Hills and it’s up to him to stop them.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox

Blonde, bouncy Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is your typical high school cheerleader– her goal is to “marry Christian Slater and die” and nothing gets in her way when it’s time to shop. But all that changes when a strange man (Donald Sutherland) informs her she’s been chosen by fate to kill vampires. With the help of a romantic rebel (Luke Perry), Buffy is soon spending school nights protecting L.A. from Lothos, the Vampire King (Rutger Hauer), his sidekick, Lefty (Paul Ruebens) and their determined gang of bloodsuckers. It’s everything you’d expect from a teen queen in the Valley.

MICAH SAYS: I’m sure this one will work its way to my Blu shelf at some point in the future. It’s too much of a classic not to.

CHROMESKULL: LAID TO REST 2 (DVD/Blu-ray) – Image Entertainment

The game of cat-and-mouse is on as Chromeskull’s assistant, Preston (Brian Austin Green, Desperate Housewives), scrambles to tie up the loose ends left behind after his deranged boss’s last killing spree. He finds that he likes taking care of business–maybe a little too much. One bloody mess leads to another and the bodies pile up in a visual feast of the most spectacular kills ever filmed. Thomas Dekker (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Danielle Harris (Hatchet II), and Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist), also star in the most brutal slasher film of the year. Chromeskull is back with a vengeance!

MICAH SAYS: This movie sucks, but the gore is great (creative / bloody). If that’s your thing you’ll like this film.

DEAD HEAT (DVD Re-release/Blu-ray) – Image Entertainment

Maverick L.A.P.D. officer Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) is a good cop who will do anything to nail the bad guys. Even if he’s got to die for it in this off-beat comedy thriller. Investigating some frightening goings-on, Mortis and his partner, Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo), pay a visit to Dante Laboratories. It is here that they discover the high-tech Resurrection Room churning out a weird band of recycled and indestructible criminals. And it is here that Mortis meets his untimely death. But, hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join’em! Police work is tough enough without having to tangle day after day with the same dead criminals; two can play this zombie game.

THE DEVIL WITHIN HER – Scorpion Entertainment

Hollywood legend JOAN COLLINS teams up with cult stars DONALD PLEASENCE and CAROLINE MUNRO in this terrifying tale of a demonic baby! Lucy (Collins, DYNASTY, LAND OF THE PHAROAHS) is a former dancer, having moved up in the world via marriage to the wealthy Gino Carlesi (Ralph Bates, HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA), and now comfortably settled down. Lucy is expecting and when the time comes, she goes to the hospital to give birth to the baby. The new-born infant is no ordinary baby, either, as it slashes Lucy upon leaving the womb. Hosted by former WWE diva Katie Lea Burchill / Katarina Leigh Waters

THE FRIGHTENERS (Blu-ray 15th Anniversary Edition) – Universal Studios

Michael J. Fox stars as Frank Bannister, a small-town “ghostbuster” in league with the very spirits he’s supposed to be exorcising. The scam works well until a powerful spirit goes on a murderous rampage, forcing Frank to find a way to stop the diabolical ghoul in this special-effects-packed supernatural chiller that’s so fiendishly entertaining, it’s frightening!

MICAH SAYS: Another great classic getting a Blu release. Definitely picking this up.

GEORGE ROMERO’S DEADTIME STORIES VOLUME 2 – Millenium Entertainment

Horror master George A. Romero, writer-director of the famed NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, has created the horror anthology GEORGE A. ROMERO PRESENTS DEADTIME STORIES. The second volume of this terrifying set contains the following three short horror films: THE GORGE: Three best friends go hiking on a fun morning expedition when a sudden avalanche leaves them trapped in a cave with no way out. Now imprisoned in a living nightmare, how long can the three survive before they begin to turn on each other? ON SABBATH HILL: A chilling tale about a handsome playboy professor who is a stickler for student attendance. When his wandering affections cause a female admirer to commit suicide, his stern attendance rules come back to haunt him. Literally. DUST: When a scientist at a high-tech space lab discovers dust from the planet Mars might have the ability to cure cancer, a security guard steals a sample for his terminally ill wife. What at first appears to be a miracle cure turns into an unimaginable horror.

MICAH SAYS: Volume 1 ensured that I won’t be dying to watch Volume 2. If it’s like the first one it’ll be on Netflix Instant in a few days.

HALLOWEEN II (Blu-ray 20th Anniversary Edition) – Universal Studios

Picking up precisely where its predecessor left off, Halloween II follows the same ill-fated characters as they encounter the knife-wielding maniac they left for dead in the first Halloween. It seems the inhuman Michael Myers is still very much alive and out for more revenge as he stalks the deserted halls of the hospital where his sister (Jamie Lee Curtis) lays waiting. As he gets closer and closer to his terrified target, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) discovers the chilling mystery behind the crazed psychopath’s savage actions. Written by horror masters John Carpenter (The Thing) and Debra Hill (Escape from New York), Halloween II is a spine-tingling dark ride into the scariest night of the year.

MICAH SAYS: To boycott or not? That is the question. I’m non-plussed by the decision. You don’t replace a person’s name with a corporate logo. Jerkwads.

HAUNTING AT THE BEACON (DVD/Blu-ray) – Take 2 Releasing

While trying to get their lives back on track after the loss of their four-year-old son, Bryn (Teri Polo) and Paul Shaw (David Rees Snell) move to the charming old Beacon Apartments. Bryn begins to see a ghostly little boy skulking around the building. With the help of an eccentric young professor and a tough old beat cop, Bryn tries to uncover the details of the boy’s death. She hopes that freeing the child will allow him to carry a message to her son, but too late she realizes another malevolent entity stalks the halls of the Beacon: one that doesn’t want the boy to escape.

MICAH SAYS: This movie features some of the most improbable dialogue and bad acting that I have seen in a long while and yet still managed to have a pretty solid twist and a few scares. It’s on Netflix Instant if you wanna give it a whirl.

THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY (Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox

Molly Hartley (Bennett) hopes that with her mother locked away in a mental ward, she can forget the violence of her family’s past and start over. She has found a new life, a new school and a new boyfriend (Crawford). But when her secret past and haunting nightmares continue, Molly fears she has inherited her mother’s psychosis. What she doesn’t know is that she’s inherited something else… a secret far more horrifying than any fate she can imagine!

MICAH SAYS: Pretty much awful and predictable and adds nothing that you haven’t seen before.

HIDE AND SEEK (Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox

At their new home in upstate New York, newly widowed psychologist David Callaway (De Niro) tries desperately to help his traumatized daughter Emily (Fanning) deal with her mother’s death. But before long, both David and Emily are being terrorized by someone – or something – named Charlie: a “friend” who may or may not be imaginary but is definitely the stuff nightmares are made of! Ready or not… “you’ll be jumping out of your seat!” (Richard Roeper)

THE HILLS HAVE EYES UNRATED (Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox

A cross-country road trip takes a deadly turn in this spine-tingling remake of Wes Craven’s classic horror masterpiece about a stranded family that falls prey to a freakish clan of bloodthirsty mutants in the New Mexico desert. Packed with gut-wrenching gore, ghastly makeup effects and heart-stopping suspense, The Hills Have Eyes will keep you on the edge of your seat – and your sanity!

THE HILLS HAVE EYES COLLECTION UNRATED (Blu-ray) – 20th Century Fox

This collection includes both the 2006 remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES and its sequel, THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) (Blu-ray) – MGM

On their way to a rock concert, two teenagers (Sandra Cassel and Lucy Grantham) are kidnapped by a gang of escaped convicts. Although they put up the fight of their lives, the girls are drugged, tossed in a car trunk and driven into the woods by the savage, murderous gang… only to wake up to a horror they could not have imagined. Filled with shocks, twists, turns and action, this knuckle-whitening film “never lets us out from under almost unbearable dramatic tension” (Roger Ebert).

MICAH SAYS: Pick of the week. One of my all-time favorite revenge flicks. If you are really into this film check out Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring which Craven based his film on. Anyway, time to update to Blu-ray. This one comes with several new featurettes.

MANHUNTER (Blu-ray) – MGM

Former FBI profiler Will Graham (William Petersen, CSI) reluctantly returns to his old job to track a horrific serial killer known as the “Tooth Fairy.” But in order to get into the mind of this maniac, Graham must face another: Hannibal, the imprisoned psychiatrist whose own insanity almost cost Graham his life . . . and whose insights into the “Tooth Fairy” could prove as dangerous as the killer himself.

MUCKMAN – Chemical Burn Entertainment

Mickey O’Hara is a TV producer whose career was virtually destroyed when his attempt to discover the legendary backwoods demon, Muckman, was exposed as a pathetic fraud on live TV. Using his in with sexy trash TV personality Asia Buchanan (Anju McIntyre) as leverage, he persuades small time cable mogul Otto Van Sant to give him one last chance to redeem himself. The creature appears big as life, chaos ensues, there is blood and dismemberment, but all is not as it seems. In the end there are more things in the woods than anyone suspects, and the swamps unleash a few secrets of their own.

THE OTHERS (Blu-ray) – Miramax Lionsgate

Academy Award