While it may be the Holiday season, and time to spread some good cheer, there are some exceptional horror films out on Blu-ray that would be perfect for the fear fan in your life. Allow us to run down some choice picks, including recent hits and genre classics, from Scream Factory, Sony and Warner Brothers. To order any title, click on the title.
In The Mouth of Madness
Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow, Dune, The Seventh Sign) is the best-selling author whose newest novel is literally driving readers insane. When he inexplicably vanishes, his publisher (Charlton Heston, Soylent Green, Planet Of The Apes) sends special investigator John Trent (Sam Neill, Daybreakers, Dead Calm) to track him down. Drawn to a town that exists only in Cane’s books, Trent crosses the barrier between fact and fiction and enters a terrifying world from which there is no escape.
Inspired by the tales of H.P. Lovecraft, this shocking story is, in the words of its acclaimed director, “horror beyond description!”
Blu-ray extras include:
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Film Elements
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director John Carpenter And Producer Sandy King Carpenter
- NEW Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations Today
- NEW The Whisperer Of The Dark – An Interview With Actress Julie Carman
- NEW Greg Nicotero’s Things In The Basement – A New Interview With Special Effects Artist Greg Nicotero Including Behind The Scenes Footage
- NEW Home Movies From Hobb’s End – Behind The Scenes Footage From Greg Nicotero
- Audio Commentary With Director John Carpenter And Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe
- Vintage Featurette – The Making Of In The Mouth Of Madness
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
THE NUN:
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.
The Nun” stars Oscar nominated Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”) as Father Burke, Taissa Farmiga (TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Sister Irene, and Jonas Bloquet (“Elle”) as local villager Frenchie.The cast also includes Charlotte Hope (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) as the abbey’s Sister Victoria, Ingrid Bisu (“Toni Erdmann”) as Sister Oana and Bonnie Aarons, reprising her “Conjuring 2” role as the title character.
Corin Hardy (“The Hallow”) directed “The Nun” from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman (“IT”) and story by James Wan and Dauberman, which delves into the shocking origin of the demonic Nun Valak, who first made her evil presence known in “The Conjuring 2.” “The Nun” was produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, with Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Dauberman, Michael Clear and Todd Williams serving as executive producers.
Blu-ray extras include:
- A New Horror Icon
- Gruesome Planet
- The Conjuring Chronology
- Over 10 minutes of deleted scenes
CREEPSHOW
Masters of the macabre – writer Stephen King and director George A. Romero – conjure up five shocking yarns, each a virtuoso exercise in the ghouls-and-gags style of classic ’50s horror comics. A murdered man emerges from the grave for Father’s Day cake. A meteor’s ooze makes everything … grow. A professor selects his wife as a snack for a crated creature. A scheming husband plants two lovers up to their necks in terror. A malevolent millionaire with an insect phobia becomes the prey of a cockroach army. Add the spirited performances of an excellent cast (Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, E.G. Marshall and King himself) and the ghoulish makeup wizardry of Tom Savini, and you have a non-stop, thrilling ride that “plays like an anthology of human phobias” (Roger Ebert)!
Blu-ray extras include:
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative – Color Correction Supervised And Approved By Director Of Photography Michael Gornick
- Audio Commentary With Director George A. Romero And Special Make-Up Effects Creator Tom Savini
- NEW Audio Commentary With Director Of Photography Michael Gornick
- NEW Audio Commentary With Composer/First Assistant Director John Harrison And Construction Coordinator Ed Fountain
- NEW Terror And The Three Rivers – A Round Table Discussion On The Making Of Creepshow With John Amplas, Tom Atkins, Tom Savini, And Marty Schiff
- NEW The Comic Book Look – An Interview With Costume Designer Barbara Anderson
- NEW Ripped From The Pages – An Interview With Animator Rick Catizone
- NEW The Colors Of Creepshow – A Look At The Restoration of Creepshow With Director Of Photography Michael Gornick
- NEW Into The Mix – An Interview With Sound Re-recordist Chris Jenkins
- NEW Mondo Macabre – A Look At Mondo’s Various Creepshow Posters With Mondo Co-Founder Rob Jones And Mondo Gallery Events Planner Josh Curry
- NEW Collecting Creepshow – A Look At Some Of The Original Props And Collectibles From The Film With Collector Dave Burian
- Audio Interviews With Director Of Photography Michael Gornick, Actor John Amplas, Property Master Bruce Alan Miller, And Make-up Effects Assistant Darryl Ferrucci
- Tom Savini’s Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Original Film Locations Hosted By Sean Clark
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spot
- Radio Spots
- Still Galleries – Posters, Lobby Cards, And Movie Stills
- Still Galleries – Behind The Scenes Photos
SLENDER MAN
Fascinated by the internet lore of the SLENDER MAN, Joey King (Wish Upon, The Conjuring), Julia Goldani Telles (“The Affair”), Jaz Sinclair (When the Bough Breaks) and Annalise Basso (Ouija: Origin of Evil) conjure up the mysterious entity all in the name of fun … until one of them inexplicably disappears.
Directed by Sylvain White and written by David Birke based on a character created by Victor Surge, SLENDER MAN was produced by Bradley J. Fischer, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, Robyn Meisinger and Sarah Snow; and executive produced by Louis Sallerson, Tracey Nyberg, Adam Kolbrenner, Ryan Cunningham and Glenn S. Gainor.
Blu-ray extras include:
- “Summoning Slender Man: Meet the Cast” featurette
CANDYMAN
This gut-wrenching thriller follows a graduate student whose research summons the spirit of the dead! When Helen Lyle hears about Candyman, a slave spirit with a hook hand who is said to haunt a notorious housing project, she thinks she has a new twist for her thesis. Braving the gang-ridden territory to visit the site, Helen arrogantly assumes Candyman can’t really exist … until he appears, igniting a string of terrifying, grisly slayings. But the police don’t believe in monsters, and charge Helen with the crimes. And the only one who can set her free is Candyman.
Blu-ray extras include:
DISC ONE (THEATRICAL CUT):
- NEW 2K Restoration From A New 4K Scan Of The Original Negative, Supervised And Approved By Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Director Of Photography Anthony B. Richmond
- NEW Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Bernard Rose And Actor Tony Todd
- NEW Audio Commentary With Authors Stephen Jones And Kim Newman
- Audio Commentary With Director Bernard Rose, Author Clive Barker, Producer Alan Poul And Actors Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen And Kasi Lemmons
- Audio Commentary With Bernard Rose, Moderated By The Movie Crypt’s Adam Green And Joe Lynch
- “Sweets To The Sweet: The Candyman Mythos” Featuring Interviews With Writer/Director Bernard Rose, Executive Producer Clive Barker, Actors Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, And Kasi Lemmons
- “Clive Barker: Raising Hell” – An Interview With Author/Artist/Filmmaker Clive Barker
- Interview With Actor Tony Todd (2014)
- Bernard Rose’s Storyboards
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
- Screenplay (BD-ROM)
DISC TWO (UNRATED CUT):
- NEW 2K Restoration From A New 4K Scan Of The Original Negative With High Definition Inserts For The Uncut Footage From An Archival Film Print
- NEW “Be My Victim” – An Interview With Tony Todd
- NEW “It Was Always You, Helen” – An Interview With Virginia Madsen
- NEW “Reflection In The Mirror” – An Interview With Actor Kasi Lemmons
- NEW “A Kid In Candyman” – An Interview With Actor DeJuan Guy
- NEW “The Writing On The Wall: The Production Design Of Candyman” – An Interview With Production Designer Jane Ann Stewart
- NEW “Forbidden Flesh: The Makeup FX Of Candyman” – Including Interviews With Special Makeup Effects Artists Bob Keen, Gary J. Tunnicliffe And Mark Coulier
- NEW “A Story To Tell: Clive Barker’s The Forbidden” – Writer Douglas E. Winter On Clive Barker’s Seminal Books Of Blood And Candyman’s Source Story, The Forbidden
- NEW “Urban Legend: Unwrapping Candyman” – A Critical Analysis Of The Film With Writers Tananarive Due And Steven Barnes
THE EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC
In EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) four years after her possession and exorcism. Has the demon returned? And if so, can the combined faith and knowledge of a Vatican investigator (Richard Burton) and a research specialist (Louise Fletcher) free her from its grasp?
Blu-ray extras include:
- NEW 2K scan from original film elements
- NEW Audio Commentary with director John Boorman
- NEW Audio Commentary with project consultant Scott Bosco
- NEW What Does She Remember? – aninterview with actress Linda Blair
- NEW interview with editor Tom Priestley
- NEW 2K scan from original film elements
- NEW Audio Commentary with Mike White of The Projection Booth blog
- Teaser Trailer
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Galleries – Color and B&W Stills, Behind-the-Scenes, Deleted Scene photos, Posters and Lobby Cards
THE [REC] COLLECTION
In 2007, two talented Spanish filmmakers created a terrifying film that went on to spawn three sequels, an American remake and its sequel. In the first film, [REC], a TV reporter and her crew are asked to cover a crew of firemen on duty. What seems like a routine story about a night at the fire station soon turns into a nightmare. Trapped inside a quarantined building, the crew must try to survive the terror that rages inside.
[REC] 2 picks up minutes after the end of [REC]. The authorities have lost contact with the people trapped inside the quarantined building and chaos reigns. A Special Operations Unit has been tasked with entering the premises … only to discover that this is anything but a straightforward mission.
[REC] 3: GENESIS leaves the confines of the quarantined building to follow the wedding of Koldo and Clara. Everything appears to be running smoothly and the bride and groom are enjoying a wonderful day … until some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness and unleash a torrent of violence.
[REC] 4: APOCALYPSE returns focus to Ángela Vidal, the young reporter who has managed to make it out of the building alive. But she hasn’t made it out of the building alone as she carries the seed of the strange infection. She is taken to a provisional quarantine facility: the perfect location for the virus to be reborn.
Blu-ray extras include:
DISC ONE: [REC]
- In Spanish With English Subtitles And English Dub
- Audio Commentary With Writers/Directors Jaume Balagueró And Paco Plaza (In Spanish With English Subtitles)
- The Making Of [REC] (40 Minutes)
- Crew Interviews (46 Minutes)
- Extended Scenes
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind The Scenes Footage (43 Minutes)
- Teaser
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
DISC TWO: [REC] 2
- In Spanish With English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary With Writers/Directors Jaume Balagueró And Paco Plaza (In Spanish With English Subtitles)
- The Making of [REC] 2 – In An Affected World (118 Minutes)
- Behind The Scenes
- Deleted Scenes
- Extended Scenes
- A Walkthrough Of The Set
- [REC] 2 On Tour
- Sitges Film Festival Press Conference
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
DISC THREE: [REC] 3: GENESIS
- In Spanish With English Subtitles
- [REC] 3: Genesis – Preparing A Bloody Wedding (117 Minutes)
- The Making Of [REC] 3
- Deleted Scenes
- Outtakes
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
DISC FOUR: [REC] 4: APOCALYPSE
- In Spanish With English Subtitles
- The Making Of [REC] 4: APOCALYPSE
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spot
- Still Gallery
