The Nun (2005, DVD Review)

thenunDVDDirected by Luis de la Madrid

Cast: Paulina Galvez, Natalia Dicenta, Lola Marcell, Cristina Piaget, Manu Fullola

Lionsgate / Rated R / Region 1 / 1.78:1 widescreen / English Dolby Digital 5.1 & Stereo / 102 minutes

Disc Extras: Making of The Nun / Trailers

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Have you ever felt like you’ve been down this road before? It’s like every post-Scream slasher movie cliché with dumb teenagers keeps happening over, and over, and over again… but wait! This is a movie about a nun. What are these clichés doing in here? I guess some horror clichés are so potent, they bleed into other sub-genres. This is very much the case with the Spanish horror film The Nun. Let’s head to the convent and get down to business. Continue reading

Andrzej Zulawski’s “Possession” coming to Region B Blu-ray

possessionBLURAYPRESS RELEASE
A horror film like no other, Possession, directed by Andrzej Zulawski, is an intense shocking experience that was originally banned in the UK on the notorious ‘Video Nasties’ list. Now this hugely controversial film makes its long-awaited Blu-ray debut courtesy of Second Sight Films.

Possession was nominated for a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or and stars Isabelle Adjani (Subway, La Reine Margot), who’s astonishing performance earned her Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the French Césars alongside Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Omen III – The Final Conflict). The film features stunning special effects by Carlo Rambaldi (Alien, E.T) and comes to Blu-ray with an amazing array of bonus features on 29 July 2013. Continue reading

Sinister (2012, DVD Review)

sinisterDVDDirector: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Michael Hall D’Addario, Clare Foley, Fred Dalton Thompson, James Ransone, Rob Riley, Tavis Smiley, Janet Zappala, Victoria Leigh, Cameron Ocasio, Ethan Haberfield, Daniel Kotch, Blake Mizrahi, Nicholas King

Summit Entertainment / NTSC Region 1 / Rated R / 2.40:1 Widescreen / English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 / 110 Minutes

DVD Extras:  Audio Commentary with Director Scott Derrickson, Audio Commentary with Writers Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill, True Crime Authors, Living in a House of Death, Deleted Scenes (with optional audio commentary with Scott Derrickson), Theatrical Trailer

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As one of the biggest theatrical horror releases of 2012, Sinister was one of the few movies that I actually wanted to see in the theatre but didn’t get around to. I kept up with all the reviews, good and bad, as they poured into genre news websites, and I was actually surprised at the abundance of positive feedback that this mainstream horror film was getting. But after having a few of my fellow horror-crazed friends warn me that it was pretty disappointing, I decided I’d finally check it out and decide for myself. Continue reading

Evil Dead (2013, Theater Review)

EvilDead2013PosterDirector: Fede Alvarez

Cast: Shiloh Fernandez, Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore

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Approximately a year ago when rumours of an Evil Dead remake started circulating around genre news websites, horror fans everywhere scoffed at the idea. As a long-time devotee of all things horror, I have always been partial to the slasher sub-genre. That is to say that I wouldn’t consider myself a “die-hard” fan of the Evil Dead franchise. But I can say that I recognize and understand the significance of these films within the archives of horror history, and I still adore them almost as much as any of my favorite slasher flicks from the ‘80s. I cringe every time I read news of young up-and-coming filmmakers and big studio execs combining forces to collectively butcher beloved genre classics of the ‘70s and ‘80s, as any horror fan would. News of an Evil Dead remake was no exception, wrenching at my heart strings just as news of any other horror remake has and will inevitably continue to do so as long as people keep making them. Continue reading