The good folks at Shout Factory have upgraded their previous release of Paul Schrader's severely underrated horror film, Cat People. It now arrives in this beautiful 4K UHD/Bluray combo set. 

Paul Schrader's Cat People is one of those curiosities from the eighties that I'd always heard about but pretty much ignored until recently. I'm not sure why that is. I'm a huge fan of the original 1942 Jacques Tourneur film, and maybe I passed on the remake because I never thought that it would ever be as good as the iconic classic. 

I was wrong. Cat People is its own thing entirely. Turning the eroticism up to eleven, the film deals heavily with the carnal, animalistic desires within us all - and the dangers that come with suppressing and/or giving into them. Wrapped around a mythology concerning "were-cats", the film centers on a young woman named Irena (played by an absolutely mesmerizing Nastassja Kinski) who travels from Canada to New Orleans to visit her brother, Paul (Malcolm McDowell, in a creeptastic performance). Paul lives with his housekeeper and has a checkered past. He seems to be doing well, and visits a church from time to time. 

However, from the get-go, it seems that not everything is right with Paul. For one thing, he's a little too comfortable with his sister, even flirtatious, and she seems to sense this as well. It turns out that Paul has a secret: at night, he picks out people at random, has sex with them, and then turns into a leopard before tearing them to shreds. Irena and Paul share the same curse, one passed down from their ancestors. There are incestuous implications of this curse, which torment Irena, and will add an element of tension in her life when she falls in love with the curator of a zoo, a man named Paul (played by the late, great John Heard). From this point on, the sexual tension and the threat of death hangs over the film. Even Paul's partner at the zoo - a wonderful Annette O'Toole - becomes increasingly suspicious and terrified of the things going on around her. 

It all leads to a provocative climax that will leave you pondering everything that you have just seen. 

Shout Factory have outdone themselves with this release. The 4K restoration of Cat People looks absolutely beautiful. The lossless sound mix also sounds wonderful coming out of my sound bar. Special features abound in this two-disc set, and you'd be a fool to miss out on it! All in all, this release is the cat's pajamas! 

Something about the 80s makes everything from that era feel nostalgic. During that time, cinema just learned the power of marketing to children. Star Wars (1977) had broken the seal on major motion picture licensing of toys. Alligator joined the ranks of Alien (1979) and Jaws when it saw the release of its very own table-top game. While the game itself presented a complete and total rip off of the Jaws (1975) table top game, the movie they based it off of actually turned out to be pretty darn good in its own right. Alligator was directed by Lewis Teague and released in 1980.

While is seems largely forgotten by today’s audiences, it knocked the socks off of 80s kids. Alligator recently received a 4K restoration from The Shout! Factory. Considering the relative high-quality of the special effects in this one, this release should lead to the discovery of this film by younger audiences.

Attack of the Mutant Animals

Back in the 80s, the exploitation of animals for cinematic profit was off the charts. A mutant bear terrorized scientist in The Prophecy (1979). A mother Killer Whale hell bent on revenge come looking for the killers of her baby in Orca (1977). Piranha, sharks and killer worms inundated American theaters. In this story, a family attends an Alligator wrestling show while on vacation. The little girls takes a baby alligator home with her and in a moment of sheer brilliance, names it Ramón. In a fit of rage, her father decides to rid himself of the animal by flushing down the toilet.

In the sewer, it finds the remains of animals being disposed of by a medical facility working with animal growth hormones. You’ll never guess what happens next!

Looking back at this craze, it perfectly summarized the American public’s state of mind at the time. People were finally becoming tuned in to the reality of environmental issues and the terrible biological consequences that it could have. Then of course, the crippling fear of nuclear radiation gripped everyone at the time. Furthermore, technology had just experienced a massive breakthrough as silicon transistors brought computing power normally reserved for governments to desktops in American homes. These films demonstrate both or embrace and revulsion to technological advance.

Not to be 80’s woke, but Alligator also touches on the topic of animal abuse, as the whole starts with the sale of a living being to a child as if it were a toy.

Classic Faces, Familiar Clichés

Alligator stars some familiar 80s character actors. Robert Forster play the role of Detective David Madison on the hunt for the giant gator. He also gets a familiar backdrop as an out-of-control cop that is a danger to himself and everyone else. Yeah, it’s pretty boilerplate, but for a movie about a giant Alligator, it’s admirable character development. Actor Henry Silva takes the helm of big-game hunter Colonel Brock. With nothing to lose, they bring Brock in to do what seemingly nobody else can do.

Robin Ryker takes the female lead of reptile expert, Marissa Kendall. This role eventually develops into David’s love interest. All together, they manage enough professional chemistry to make their burgeoning relationship a welcome addition to the story. Throughout they provide a splash of color through nuggets of black comedy and interpersonal sparks.

In a wicked twist of fate, Marissa Kendall is actually the young girl purchased Ramón all those years ago before her father disposed of him. It is the reptilian version of the story about a lost puppy adventuring across country to find its way home. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Making The Magic Happen

Malevolent Dark may be a bit biased in its opinion on 80s era mutant animal flicks. Despite the general feeling that Hollywood exploited this storyline one too many times, films like these defined an era of horror movie fiends. This one in particular hold a special place in my heart because the special effects in this film rank among the best. Arguably, the special effects rival a little movie about sharks directed by Steven Spielberg. Steven respected the film enough to have Gertie talk about “Alligators in the sewers” in his classic, E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.

Proud of their work, the alligator spends a ton of time on screen in full view. Considering the state of practical effects at the time, it’s rather impressive to watch it demolish a wedding party while devouring the guests. Apparently, Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” worked on the effects units responsible for laying out the gators innards when it finally meets its demise.

Apart from the dazzling effects, Lewis Teague and write John Sayles provide a literal gut punch by feeding a child to a hungry gator at the bottom of a swimming pool. Something about that scene makes everything feel more authentic when it happens. By combining a few bits of familiar schtick, fantastic special effects and an endearing cast of characters, Lewis Teague and his production team created a sleeper classic in the mutant animal sub-genre.

Shout Out to the Shout Factory

These guys are quickly ascending the ranks of Malevolent Dark’s favorite companies. They keep dusting off old classics and re-releasing them in stellar fashion on bleeding edge formats. The 4K release of Alligator is no exception. In fact, it looks better than any other transfer of the film that I have seen. However, it should be noted, the last time I saw this flick it was on a 32″ Zenith console T.V. Regardless, many wonderful nostalgic curios like Alligator continue to wither and die of neglect. The fact the Shout Factory sees the value in these gems is commendable. The new format is perfect for new viewers and the clarity and punch of the colors do not disappoint.

Emerging From The Depths of the City Sewers

Let’s be totally honest, the world needs a film about a giant alligators growing uncontrollably from consuming hormone fed dog carcasses. Do not miss your chance. The Shout Factory dug deep in the crates to bring this one back to the forefront, and you owe it to yourself to take advantage of the opportunity. It’s quirky, it’s fun, and it’s everything great about growing up in the 1980’s.

In 1985, Walt Disney Productions released Return to Oz, a sequel to the beloved 1939 film.

In actuality, the film is merely a spiritual sequel to the 1939 landmark. Director Walter Murch gave Return to Oz a darker, far more sinister feel that is closer to the tone of the original books from L. Frank Baum. The film turned out to be the subject of much controversy due to the horrific nature of many of the situations that Dorothy finds herself in. The film was pulled out of theaters prematurely and was a box-office and critical flop.

Years later, the film developed a strong cult following, and fans have been clamoring for a proper making-of documentary for a long time. In 2021, that documentary, Remembering Return to Oz, finally arrived. Unfortunately, the final product is a disaster of epic proportions, as it has been haphazardly cobbled together by highly incompetent amateurs.

Director and editor, Aaron Schultz, and his co-editor and producer, Aaron Pacentine have taken a golden opportunity and squandered it, utterly and completely. The film, as it stands now, seems to have been edited with a chainsaw. The whole of the film is comprised of interview segments with the majority of the cast and crew of Return to Oz, but in the hands of Schultz and Pacentine, these segments have been edited in such a careless manner that it becomes positively infuriating. Audio drops in and out of sync throughout. Interview segments are abruptly cut while the interviewees are in mid-sentence. The generic score overwhelms the dialogue, completely removing us from the film while drowning out important information. Overall, the audio is fuzzy and sloppily mixed. There are awkward transitions, horribly rendered PowerPoint animations that pop up out of nowhere, and several instances of terrible dissolves in between clips.

This goes on for the entire runtime.

Yes, there are some gems to be found here. The interviews are revealing (when you can hear them) and very touching at times. The interview with Fairuza Balk is almost worth the $5.99 rental price alone. When the music and the terrible sound mix isn’t drowning her out, the anecdotes of her time on set are a dream come true for fans of this wonderful film. It is a travesty that this footage just happens to be in this…thing.

It is truly ironic that Walter Murch – widely considered to be one of the greatest film editors of all time – is featured so prominently in this hackjob. I would be embarrassed to have my name attached to this project.

I’m angry. Angry that this project fell into the hands of people who clearly didn’t realize what they had. Scultze and Pacentine lack both the talent and the filmmaking prowess to pull off a project of this magnitude. That is a damn shame. You’d think that this was a rough edit, but it is not. This is the final cut. This is the cut that has been published to Vimeo, which means the filmmakers saw what they had and decided to settle for mediocrity. 

Keep in mind that this was the outcome of a very long Kickstarter campaign. The production took so long to get off of the ground that backers began to wonder whether or not the film would ever materialize in any way, shape, or form. According to this thread on Reddit, many felt that they had been scammed. Backers asked for refunds on multiple occasions and were ignored. One of the “perks” for backers was a replica of the infamous Oz key that, according to those who received it, was brittle and cheaply manufactured on a 3D printer. Family Films Productions has a history of prolonging fundraisers, only to deliver atrocious products. They balk at any sort of criticism and dig their heels into the ground while prepping for their next disaster. Family Films Productions had an opportunity to give Return to Oz the retrospective that the fans deserve, and at the end of the day, they failed.

They failed horribly.

Not only are Schultz and Pacentine willing to deliver a defective product, they are unwilling to do anything to remedy the problem – and to top it all off, they want you to pay $5.99 to stream it. They have even threatened to offer a longer, rougher “director’s cut”. I shudder to think what the extended version is like. Save your money, people.

​This cinematic atrocity is now available to rent on Vimeo. I suggest that you save your money.

And lastly, be forewarned: Family Films Productions are already preparing their next “crockumentary” – and this time, they’re going after Disney’s Parent Trap series. Someone hide Haley Mills.

The 1962 Hammer horror film, Night Creatures, has finally arrived on a special edition Blu-ray, courtesy of the good folks at Shout Factory! 

Night Creatures (aka Captain Clegg) is not at all what you’d expect from the original poster or Blu-ray artwork. It is, in fact, a thriller that harbors several jaw-dropping twists and more than enough bitchy dialogue to keep you entertained for the duration.

The film stars Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed and concerns a small town full of villagers that have been suspected of smuggling alcohol from France. A man named captain Collier arrives with a group of sailors to investigate the strange goings-on, only to get caught up in the mystery surrounding the local pastor, the cagey townsfolk, and the ghostly “night creatures” which haunt the local marsh. 

​What we have here is a strange hybrid of action/adventure, pirate film, and ghost story. And it all works surprisingly well! I had a great time with this film. Fans of Shout Factory’s output and Hammer horror films will find much to enjoy here! 

The picture looks incredible, the film sounds amazing. You can tell that lots of detail went in to preparing the print and sound mix for this release. Several special features are also included that will certainly please fans of the film. 

Highly recommended!

Shout Factory has recently released the 2001 remake of William Castle's Thirteen Ghosts on a collector's edition Blu-ray. 

In 2001, Steve Beck - in collaboration with Robert Zemekis and Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment - directed a remake of William Castle's gimmicky classic, 13 Ghosts. Starring Matthew Lillard, Tony Shalhoub, F. Murray Abraham, Embeth Davidtz, and Shannon Elizabeth, this remake - much like the 1999 reboot of House on Haunted Hill - boasted its large budget by turning the material into a showcase for flashy special effects and campy B-movie shenanigans. 

There are three elements here that keep this remake from completely sinking, and they are Matthew Lillard, the character designs of the ghosts, and the set design, the latter of which is absolutely breathtaking. The story - about a family that inherits a literal glass house full of spirits - is as forgettable as they come. It is missing the charm that made the House on Haunted Hill remake so much fun, and turns out to be nothing more than an occasionally pretty mess with a standout performance from Lillard. 

The Blu-ray from Shout Factory should please fans, however, as it is packed to the gills with special features. The film itself has been beautifully restored, as well. If you are a fan, be sure to grab one! 

Shout Factory has brought the 1971 horror cult classic, Let's Scare Jessica To Death, to Blu-ray!

When Jessica, a psychologically fragile woman, leaves the mental institution, she heads off to an old farmhouse with her husband and a friend of theirs to start her life over again. One night, they take in a gorgeous and mysterious drifter, sing songs, and decide to have a seance. 

After the seance, Jessica begins to see and hear things which may or m​ay not be occurring. Her visions and hallucinations lead her to believe that the beautiful young drifter may be a vampire. 

Director John Hancock does an incredible job of balancing tension and atmosphere. This is a film that thrives on atmosphere and the rich characterization of Jessica - played here by Zohra Lampert - and it never fails to bring chills. 

This is one of the classic horror films of the seventies - one that has gained a well-deserved cult following over the years. The Blu-ray is fantastic - it is a gorgeous transfer, looking better than the film ever has. 

Special features include an audio commentary with the director and producer, an interview with the score composer, an interview with film historian, Kim Newman, a featurette on the films locations, and a trailer. 

​Highly recommended! 

Shout Factory has released The Fly Collection - a beautiful set featuring all of the films in the franchise. 

Shout Factory has outdone themselves with this absolutely incredible box set of films. All of the five films included have been remastered and given a ton of special features. The films have never looked this good, especially Cronenberg's 1986 Fly remake, which is presented here in all of its gooey glory.

Films include the original The Fly, Return of the Fly, Curse of the Fly, The Fly '86, and its 1989 sequel, The Fly II. 

Special features are plentiful and the set is simply gorgeous, making this a must-own for any horror fan! Another top-notch entry in the Shout Factory collection. 

Alfred Sole's 1977 "American giallo", Alice, Sweet Alice, is now available on Blu-ray from Arrow Films. 

When Alice's perfect little sister is brutally murdered on the day of her first communion, most everyone begins to suspect Alice of the grisly crime. It's easy to see why at first. Alice isn't the nicest little girl. She taunts and sasses off to just about anyone who is unfortunate enough to cross her path. She has a macabre collection of little trinkets and masks - one of which is a translucent baby-face mask, one that figures prominently in the film, and it is one of the creepiest damn things ever captured on celluloid. 

As the film carries on, people are brutally slaughtered in a variety of ways, each one more gruesome than the last. And the killer, wearing a yellow raincoat and the aforementioned baby-face mask, has no plans of stopping any time soon. As far as the identity of the killer, the revelation is both shocking and playfully ambiguous. 

Sole apparently loved Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now. It's quite obvious throughout the course of the film that this was one of his main sources of inspiration. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. Alice, Sweet Alice is one of the most unique offerings of seventies horror, and it definitely deserves to be seen. It was released throughout the years with several different titles, including Holy Terror and Communion - titles with not-so-subtle nods to religion, as this is a film with a major chip on its shoulder in regards to the church, particularly the guilt that the church forces on its parishioners to live a "holy" life. Alfred Sole takes a swipe at all of this and then some. In that way, it seems like a very personal film and a very powerful one at that. I quite enjoyed Alice, Sweet Alice, save for a moment of disturbing animal cruelty involving a kitten that was clearly unsimulated. Like many films, it's not without its weaknesses, and there are quite a few. But we're only gonna focus on the good stuff here, and this Blu-ray is definitely worth a purchase for the serious horror fan! 

Arrow's Blu-ray features a brand new 2K restoration, interviews with the cast and crew, two audio commentaries, alternate opening titles, an alternate cut of the film (Holy Terror), deleted scenes, trailers and TV spots, an interview with director Dante Tomaselli, a tour of the filming locations, the original screenplay, and an image gallery. 

Fred Walton's straight-to-cable sequel to his seventies horror classic, When A Stranger Calls, will always have a very special place in my heart. 

I rented it on VHS back in the day, and I saw it long before I ever viewed the original. I remember it terrifying me in the extreme - I was just dipping my toes in the horror genre in those days - and it left an impression on me. Years later, it has definitely lost some of its bite. I'm not as easily terrified as I once was. I've seen it all now, and so this one is relatively tame - but it is also tons of fun. 

Carol Kane and Charles Durning return in their roles from the first film, as they help a young college student (played by Jill Schoelen) who has recently had an encounter with 'the stranger' - a sinister ventriloquist who uses his unnatural talent to carry out his evil deeds. 

When A Stranger Calls Back arrives from Shout Factory on Blu-ray in both full frame and widescreen versions from a new 2K scan of the original film elements. There are new interviews with Fred Walton, Carol Kane, and Jill Schoelen). Included is the short film that inspired both films, entitled "The Sitter". 

​Highly recommended to horror fans!