Fright Night Part II (1989) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have bought a few cheapie $3.99 DVD movies. Though the picture was far from great, thery were no worse than VHS picture quality. I recently bought Fight Night Part II on DVD for $10.99 and the picture quality is atually worse than the VHS that I have! What the hell happened! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Artisan Entertainment is digging and releasing some old classics from their vaults, but if your going to release them like this then don't bother! This is by for the worst from Artisan. Bride of Re-Animator, Waxwork, and Lair of the White Worm were disappointents because of the poor picture quality, no widescreen formats, and lack of supplemental material, but Fright Night Part II takes the cake as their worst release! MGM may be getting lazy too and only releasing their titles only in Full Screen format, but at least their movies have good picture quality! Artisan needs to shape up or get out! Artisan should sell the rights of their older movies to Anchor Bay Entertainment so they could be properly released!

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If I rated the movie alone, I'd give it five stars.Unfortunately, I have to warn anyone who wants to buy this DVD format from Artisan.I own over 150 DVD's and I've never come across such a sad excuse for a DVD.The picture quality is HORRIBLE!If you look closely, you can see that it was taken from a tape source, and not the original.Plus, Artisan claims on the back of the box that it is formatted from its "original" aspect ratio, and that it was shot in full screen.That is a blatant lie.It was shot in letterbox widescreen, just as the first film was.You can even tell when you watch it that it has been cropped to death, and at certain moments the screen moves from right to left to catch what's missing.The audio is 2.0 Dolby surround, which is fine.However, when you turn the volume up to hear the more quiet parts of the film, you hear tape hiss.Beware of Artisan releases on DVD.Their transfers are usually like this.I have a few other older films released by them, and they're pretty poor in the quality department.It is a great film however, and is worth having no matter what.I guess this DVD is better than not having it...Almost.

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The Exorcist - The Complete Anthology (The Exorcist/ The Exorcist- Unrated/ The Exorcist II: The Heretic/ The Exorcist III/ The Exorcist: The Beginning/ The Exorcist: Dominion) (1977) Review

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(More customer reviews)You can find this set for around $25 and for that price it's definitely worth it. True, the first one is the best (I prefer the original over the "Version You've Never Seen", but they're still both very good), but the third one isn't that bad (in fact, I think it's pretty good) And neither version of the prequel is good, but it is sort of neat to have two VERY different versions of the same film, and in this context, for comparing the power of editing and the how the perspective of a director can affect a movie, these discs are interesting. True, the second one has no merit, but what can you do? But I won't complain. It's good for a laugh.
Just so people know, this set does contain all the extras the other releases had. So that even sweetens the deal more!
Disc 1: The Exorcist
This is the same flipper disc from the original Special Edition release
Side A:
Intro and commentary by William Friedkin
Commentary by William Peter Blatty and Special Sound Effects Tests
Side B:
The Fear of God: The Making of the Exorcist
Interviews, Storyboards, Production Sketches
Original Ending
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Disc 2: The Exorcist "The Version You've Never Seen"
Commentary by William Peter Blatty
Trailer, TV Spots and Raidio Spots
Disc 3: Exorcist II: The Heretic
Alternate Opening Sequence
Theatrical Trailer
Disc 4: Exorcist III
Theatrical Trailer
Disc 5: Exorcist: The Beginning
Commentary by Renny Harlin
Behind-the-scenes Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Disc 6: Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
Commentary by Paul Schrader
Additional Scenes
Stills Gallery
And there you have it. Everything is there. True, you could get just get the original for cheaper, but I still think this is a solid set and a great deal at that!

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Here it is. The scream of the crop. The fear is here. And so is the hope. Because at their center are intrepid souls who dare to look evil in the eye and vanquish it. From The Exorcist (presented in its Original Theatrical Version and the 2000 Version You've Never Seen) to the shocks and surprise of Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist III to the two versions (by two different directors) of Dominion/The Beginning, this DVD set comprises the scariest and most fascinating collection of movies in modern horror.

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Friday the 13th - From Crystal Lake to Manhattan (Ultimate Edition DVD Collection) (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Paramount truly are quite shameful, lazy, and contemptable. Everything about this 'Ultimate' release screams "cheap-a$$" quite loudly. And here's why.
I think it is forgiveable that Paramount didn't see fit to release these movies in their uncut forms. It would lose them money in some circles if this boxset were to not be stocked in Blockbuster. So for this release, uncut death scenes have been prepared.
Here are the catches, and they are quite significant: 1) gore footage for the original Friday the 13th and Part 6 are presented in horizontal SPLIT SCREENS alongside the R-rated versions. That's right, Jason fans- it's squeezed into only HALF the screen space. That's 2 out of 3 movies. 2) The gore footage from Part 7 looks quite bad, in a very rough made-for-video way in which the age shows a lot of wear and tear. There's bonus footage here as well from Part 4, but it's made-for-tv deleted scenes that don't include any gore.
Also, remember when Paramount put out the first Friday on DVD? You could finally see Annie's throat-slitting in it's entirety. Well, Paramount's decided to cut that back out. So that means if you ever want to see it again, you have to buy the original on DVD separately. Which I'll be doing, you can bet.
Here are some other things you might like to know. The set contains 4 discs of movies. Each disc has 2 movies on each disc side. I'm sorry, but my DVD players freeze erratically whenever a disc has more than 3 hours and 10 minutes of stuff on them. 20th Century Fox released The Family Guy TV seasons in these very slim single cases- why didn't Paramount have this brainstorm too?! That way, we could get 1 movie a disc, like we deserve. At least that would show Paramount thought about someone else.
The 1 Bonus Disc contains a few truly bogus featurettes. Paramount didn't even get half the cast members that would have been willing to do interviews and commentaries. They just had some people go off to a convention 1 year and get a mere handful of people there on camera. They neglected to put effort into contacting actresses Kimberly Beck and Melanie Kinnamon, who have been very outspoken about their enthusiasm onset and their appreciation for the series fans. Also, director Steve Miner is absent from participation on the featurettes or commentaries. Yet he's been on bonus features for the House, Halloween H20, and Last House on the Left DVDs. So sorry, I don't buy that he didn't want to participate here.
The only real work Paramount did here was on the commentaries. The commentaries for only 4 movies. The directors of Friday the 13th's 6, 7, and 8 do commentaries. Jason actor Kane Hodder joins the director on Part 7, and the cast of Part 3 do a commentary. But there's yet another catch! These commentaries - at least the one I heard for Part 3, have the worst sound quality I've heard from a big studio commentary since John Waters track for the Cecil B Demented DVD. And even that was less TIN-can sounding than this.
This boxset is the biggest insult to fans of this series. And even at $57, this is overpriced. I urge everyone here to pay attention to the rumors I'm hearing about future re-re-releasing of these movies on yet another boxset or individual uncut releases. At the very least people, don't buy this until you hear it's about to go out of print. The Star Wars boxset is worth more than this.

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DISC 1: FRIDAY THE 13th - The film takes place years after a young boy named Jason drowns in a lake while attending Camp Crystal Lake and shortly thereafter, the camp closes.Flash forward to the present, where the owner decides to re-open the camp and one by one, the counselors have mysteriously been murdered by an unseen person. PART 2 - The second installment picks up with Jason Voorhees, presumed dead from drowning years ago, exacting revenge on the innocent campers at "Camp Blood."Living as a hermit in the woods all these years, Jason witnesses the graphic murder of his mother and decides to wreak havoc on everyone at the camp - killing each camp counselor one by one. DISC 2: PART 3- Vacationing teenagers take off for a weekend of relaxation at Camp Crystal Lake.Planning a few days of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll, they are in for a series of frightening surprises when a local motorcycle gang follows the teenagers back to their campsite, only to find a persistent Jason with an agenda of his own. Adorned with his trademark hockey mask for the first time in the series, Jason delivers non-stop chills and thrills as everyone on the lake must fight for their lives.Part III includes cast commentary by author Peter Bracke and actors Larry Zerner, Paul Kratka, Dana Kimmell and Richard Brooker. PART IV: THE FINAL CHAPTER - Jason resurfaces from a seemingly deadly massacre and returns to Camp Crystal Lake to a new set of prey.Starring a young Corey Feldman as Tommy Jarvis, it seems Jason has finally met his match in the 12-year old horror movie maven.Enlisting the help of a local hunter, Tommy and his sister must rely on one another to help defeat Jason, while also trying to avoid their own demise.DISC 3: PART V: A NEW BEGINNING - With Jason dead, someone new has begun a killing spree of their own, using Jason's M.O. and preying on inhabitants of a sanctuary. PART VI: JASON LIVES - Tommy returns to the grave to ensure that Jason is indeed dead.Instead of remaining dead, Jason is accidentally brought back to life by Tommy and now Tommy must stop all the mindless killing and make sure Jason dies for good this time.Part VI features commentary by director Tom McLoughlin. DISC 4: PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD - The film centers on Tina Shepard, a young girl with telekinetic powers who believes she drowned her father in Crystal Lake.Returning to the site as a method of supposedly helping her cope with her grief, Tina accidentally frees Jason from his watery grave, only to lead to more killing sprees by the man in the infamous hockey mask.Part VII features commentary by Kane Hodder and director John Carl Buechler and Part VIII features commentary by director Tom McLoughlin. PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN - A graduating class of a local high school vacation on a cruise ship and unbeknownst to them, Jason is a stowaway on the same ship. Slowly killing students one at a time, Jason eventually sinks the boat, stranding the few lone survivors in Manhattan.Among those survivors, is Rennie, who believes Jason attempted to drown her as a child.Fighting for her their lives, Rennie and the other survivors must make sure Jason dies once and for all.A featurette "Tales From the Cutting Room," in which exclusive deleted scenes and footage is revealed for the first time. An 8-part featurette "The Friday The 13th Chronicles," which looks at the legacy of the films throughout their history, featuring cast and crew commenting on each film and why they appeal to audiences.Includes Adrienne King, Amy Steel, Corey Feldman, Kane Hodder, Lar Park Lincoln, Betsy Palmer, Tom Savini and directors Sean Cunningham, Tom McLoughlin, Rob Heddon, Joseph Zito and John Carl Buechler. A 3-part featurette "Secrets Galore Behind The Gore," which looks at the work of master make-up effects designer Tom Savini in Part 1 and Part IV and John Carl Buechler in Part VII.Includes rare and never-before-seen footage, drawings and stills illustrating the make-up techniques used to create Jason and achieve elaborate death scenes. A featurette "Crystal Lake Victims Tell All!" in which cast and crew from various films share amusing anecdotes.Includes Corey Feldman, Larry Zerner, Adrienne King, Amy Steel, Lar Park Lincoln and directors. A featurette "Friday Artifacts and Collectibles," which looks at props and collectables from the films. The theatrical trailers from all 8 movies except Part VI, which is represented by the teaser trailer.

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Friday the 13th, Part VII - The New Blood (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is easily one of the better efforts in the Friday series but it suffers just like the rest of them from cuts, cuts, cuts. This is, apparently, one of the most cut entries by far as the MPAA rejected many of the more elaborate gore effects. Director John Carl Buechler is a respected makeup effects man and was a good choice to helm a Friday flick. A lot was put into the effects, especially for Jason. This marks Kane Hodder's first turn as the hockey-masked killer, and he gets the best makeup effects for the role.
The New Blood's Jason is a full-blown, rotting, hulking zombie. Check out the exposed ribs and spinal column under the shredded clothes. We also get a look at Jason's face, or what's left of it (including a big hole in the cheek, exposed teeth, rotting flesh, etc). That alone is enough for fans to check out the film, even if you're just a casual horror fan.
The ::ahem:: story involves Tina (Lar Park Lincoln), a Carrie-like teen girl who travels back to Crystal Lake years after an unfortunate and uncontrolled episode with her telekinetic powers led to her father's death. Accompanying her are her mother and her psychiatrist. The latter is played by none other than Terry Kiser, aka Bernie Lomax from Weekend at Bernie's(!) Being a psychiatrist in a horror film, he's naturally evil, trying to exploit the girl's powers for his own gains. (At one point Tina finds newspaper clippings about Jason and the murders in the doctor's desk along with a gun. It's never made entirely clear whether he was concerned and afraid of their surroundings or if he wanted to use Tina to raise Jason from the dead).
Next door to the not-so-happy family, of course, a house full of young, stupid, would-be victims. (Apparently the brutal murders occuring regularly around the lake still don't detract vacationers!)
Well, once Tina raises Jason from the dead (involuntarily) the action gets under way. And he's quite busy, as this has easily one of the highest Friday body counts. Ch-ch-ch-ah-ah-ah... Our young vacationers are dispatched with a lovely array of sharp objects, gardening tools, and even a plastic party horn(!) Jason also repeats himself a bit by simply throwing one girl out the window, and crushing some poor sap's head. All of the murders are edited down until there's little blood and gore. What sets this Friday apart from the others in terms of cutting is the fact that Buechler himself has tried hard to petition Paramount to release a proper DVD version of the film with all of the material he had to cut for an R rating restored.
This, of course, is NOT that DVD.
Among the blood and guts left on the cutting room floor (ha!) is the death of good 'ol Bernie Lomax. Jason gets all handyman on us when he employs some kind of weed-wacker with a big circular saw blade on the doctor. You see almost nothing on this DVD, but apparently this was all quite grisly with innards flying everywhere. Supposedly one of--if not the--best effects in the film was trimmed as well. That would be the axe-in-the-face effect on that cheesy preppy guy by the lake. Melissa's death (by axe to head) was also quite special, according to Buechler.
Sure, it's sick. But isn't that why we watch these films? Why won't Paramount give us all a fair shake? And for a director of one of these classics to come out and lobby hard for a restored release--how great is that?
This is definitely one of my favorite Friday flicks. I would just love to see the rest of it. The tone of these films is dampened by all of the cuts and choppy edits in the murder portions.
This DVD is not recommended unless you reeeally want it or if you've worn out your VHS copy. Also, what the heck is going on with the artwork on these DVDs?! Check out the cover of this, or of Part VI. What's up? They can't get the original artwork? Completely, utterly lame.

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Ever since homicidal maniac Jason Voorhees got trapped in chains at the bottom of Crystal Lake, the nearby summer camp has operated without a hitch . . . without a murder. But one of this season's happy campers has brought along a deadly secret.
Tina Shepherd can see the future and levitate objects. Her doctor knows just how dangerous telekinesis can be, but he's out to exploit her, not help her. And now it's too late. Tina has accidentally unchained Jason from his watery grave, and the bloodbath is underway.
Tina's special powers are her only hope for survival. But what chance does a teenage girl have against an axe-wielding maniac?

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Dead Snow Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the fifth Nazi Zombie movie That has been made, and it's one of the better ones. Of course if you are not a horror fan then you wouldn't like any of them. And the effects of the three earlier films can't compete with the last two but that doesn't matter really. The first was the classic 'shock waves" (1976) followed by the french low budget effort "zombie lake" (1980) and jess franco's 'oasis of the zombies" (1983) and then by the excellent 'outpost" (2007) and now by "Dead Snow" (2009). This movie has far more gore than the three early efforts; but that was different era; although "outpost" has more interesting characters than "dead snow" which is your typical in the know young people who are the target of the Nazi Zombies wrath. The acting is very good though and this is a professional movie.
Unlike the first time efforts of the many ultra low budget horror zombie flicks shot awkwardly and sometimes on video tape.
We are told that they killed villagers and then had to battle their way into the mountains when the vengeful Norwegians came for them. They died there and have been there ever since. This movie is part ghost story in that the zombies are protecting their loot rather than just killing people for no reason. And that's a good twist to this very good horror movie. The film has a english dubbed soundtrack (in stereo) and the original Norwegian soundtrack (with english subtitles in 5.1) to choose from as well. The best thing about the more modern flicks (outpost and this one) is that the movies prints look fantastic and are without blemishes. The three older movies while decent prints needed some cleaning up. This is a great entry into the Nazi Zombie genre and it's well shot and has a 'evil dead" type of humour to it which is fun enough. This movie is good enough to be made in America which shows how far some low budget filmmakers have come since the early 1980's. Not that "zombie lake" doesn't have it's own low budget charms; it's not on this level and couldn't be. So a hearty sieg Zombie to this
solid fun horror feature.

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Ein! Zwei! Die!Get ready for the film that shocked Sundance, rocked Europe and knocked American horror fans out of their seats: When a group of medical students take a sex-and-booze-fueled ski vacation to a remote cabin in the Norwegian Alps, they uncover a dark secret from WWII that resurrects a battalion of uncontrollable, unstoppable and extremely undead Nazis. What follows is a blitzkrieg of bloodshed, body parts and action-packed zombie carnage that The New York Observer hails as relentless thrills, unimaginable horrors and a shock ending guaranteed to make you scream out loud! Writer/director Tommy Wirkola spares no amount of flesh-chomping, intestine-ripping, and chainsaw-slicing to deliver perhaps the finest Nazi Zombie movie of our time and one of the most ferocious, outrageous and over-the-top horror hits of the year!

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