"Surveillance" and "Julia"...arriving August 18 from Magnolia Home Entertainment

Julia Ormond And Bill Pullman Uncover A Vicious Tale Of Roadside Rampage In SURVEILLANCE, Arriving On DVD And Blu-ray Disc August 18 From The Magnet Label Of Magnolia Home Entertainment

“A Sinister thriller with a real twist.” – Daily Star
“Heart-stopping horror all the way.” – The Sun
Winner Of The NYC Horror Film Festival For Best Actress And Best Director

When FBI agents Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) arrive at a local police station to investigate a series of gruesome murders, they have three different stories of the roadside massacre. However as the Feds begin to expose the fragile little details each witness conceals, they discover that uncovering ‘the truth’ comes at a very big cost. Written and directed by Jennifer Lynch (Boxing Helena) and produced by Oscar®-nominee David Lynch, SURVEILLANCE, stars Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman and Pell James. “An enjoyably dark thriller with weird characters and an intriguing central mystery,” (ViewLondon) the film won the top award at the Sitges International Film Festival.

Buy it at Amazon.com



Academy Award®-Winner Tilda Swinton Stars In The Extortion Thriller JULIA, Arriving On DVD August 18 From Magnolia Home Entertainment

“‘Julia’ takes you on a wild ride you won’t soon forget.”- ReelzChannel
“…the actress is disturbingly dead-on and the place she takes us is very ugly indeed.”- Los Angeles Times
“Swinton is astounding…”- The Times, UK

Winner of the Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best Actress – Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton stars as Julia, an alcoholic, who between shots of vodka and one-night-stands, gets by on nickel-and-dime jobs. Increasingly lonely, her alcohol-induced daily confusion reinforces her sense that life has dealt her a losing hand. Seeing a financial opportunity after encountering a woman estranged from her son, Julia throws herself into a criminal plot that escalates beyond anything she ever imagined.

Buy it at Amazon.com

"Surveillance" and "Julia"...arriving August 18 from Magnolia Home Entertainment

GHOST CAT -- DVD review by porfle

This 2003 Canadian made-for-TV film was originally known as "Mrs. Ashboro's Cat" and has appeared as an Animal Planet original movie. Now, North American Motion Pictures is giving it a Sept. 22 DVD release as the somewhat more intriguingly-titled GHOST CAT, with special emphasis in the ads on Oscar-nominated Ellen Page (HARD CANDY, JUNO, X3) in an early starring role.

At first I thought this was going to be a zany combination of THAT DARN CAT and CASPER, but it's actually a pretty serious movie. Michael Ontkean ("Twin Peaks", "The Rookies") plays Wes Merritt, a recently-widowed writer moving to his deceased wife's New England hometown with his young daughter Natalie (Page). While house-hunting they meet a nice elderly woman named Mrs. Ashboro (Shirley Knight) whose weaselly banker nephew Boyd (Tom Barnett) is trying to get her to sell her house so he can replace the money he's been embezzeling before the bank examiners find out.

Mrs. Ashboro withdraws her savings from the bank with the intention of helping her friend Brenda (Lori Hallier, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, MONTE WALSH) who's being pressured to sell her animal shelter to a crooked land developer named Riker (Nigel Bennett). But soon after stashing the money in her house, Mrs. Ashboro dies suddenly and her loyal cat Margaret expires soon after out of grief. Wes and Natalie move into Mrs. Ashboro's now-vacated house and soon become involved in Brenda's struggle to keep her animal shelter as the increasingly ruthless Boyd and Riker join forces against her. Meanwhile, the good guys discover they have an unexpected ally--the ghost of Mrs. Ashboro's cat, Margaret.

Low-key and thoughtful, GHOST CAT has a subtle charm and warmth that sets it apart from the Disney Channel-type film you might expect. The characters, for the most part, behave in a realistic manner. This is especially true of Wes and Natalie, who still display a wistful melancholy after having lost wife and mother respectively, and Brenda, whose lifelong dream of operating her animal shelter is being wrested away from her. Tom Barnett's "Boyd" comes closest to stepping over the line as the stereotypical villain, but even he has an air of clumsy desperation not unlike that of William H. Macy's "Jerry Lundergaard" in FARGO, which keeps him believable.

I liked Lori Hallier as the "hardware widow" in 2003's MONTE WALSH and her down-to-earth performance here is very good. Ontkean does a nice job as the understanding single dad (who you just know is going to get romantic with Brenda sooner or later), and Ellen Page manages to portray a teenage girl without being flighty or precious or insufferable, which is no small feat. Of course, Shirley Knight is wonderful as Mrs. Ashboro and it's a shame her character disappears so soon. The rest of the cast is up to par, particularly Shawn Roberts as Natalie's budding love interest Kurt, whose troubled past makes him a suspect in some of the vandalism that takes place at the animal shelter.

I can't recall any scenes that are supposed to be out and out funny--in fact, the funniest thing about GHOST CAT is that it could've gotten along as a fairly serious drama without having a ghost cat in it at all. Not that I'd want that, since I'm a cat lover and Margaret is a very sweet and likable character. But she isn't really necessary to the plot at all and exists mainly to either lighten things up or to give the filmmakers an excuse to include some mildly spooky stuff like a seance, or a scene where Natalie is awakened in the middle of the night to find the piano playing itself.

In addition to that, Margaret's other functions are to wake people up when the barn's on fire or to lead them to the hidden stash of money, or to attack the bad guys when they're escaping in their car. And with all of that stuff going on, the last third of the movie manages to build a fair amount of suspense.

Direction by "Road to Avonlea" vet Don McBrearty is good; cinematography has that "Canadian made-for-TV" look. The DVD is 16 x 9 widescreen with 2.0 stereo audio. I watched a screener with no bonus features, but the official disc should include a stills gallery and closed captioning.

GHOST CAT is a fine choice for family viewing since the story is interesting, suspenseful, and heartfelt enough for adults, and since it has a ghost cat in it for the kids. Although they're liable to be disappointed that the movie isn't as kooky or as spooky as they might expect a movie called GHOST CAT to be.

Buy it at Amazon.com

GHOST CAT -- DVD review by porfle

UPDATE!!! New Cover Art for "THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO"

Below is the new cover art for Rob Zombie Presents THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, coming to DVD and Blu-ray September 22nd from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

For our coverage of this super cool-looking flick (and a look at the old box art), click HERE!

UPDATE!!! New Cover Art for "THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO"

"SERIOUS MOONLIGHT" -- Magnolia Takes North American Rights to Cheryl Hines' Directorial Debut

New York – July 28, 2009 – The Wagner/Cuban Companies' Magnolia Pictures announced today that it has acquired North American rights to Cheryl Hines’ directorial debut, SERIOUS MOONLIGHT. Warmly received at Tribeca this year, SERIOUS MOONLIGHT stars Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell and Justin Long, and is especially notable for being written by sadly missed writer/director Adrienne Shelly (Waitress).

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT is about a troubled marriage on the precipice, centering on a high-powered female attorney who learns that her husband is about to leave her for a much younger woman, and holds him captive until he promises to stay with her and love her forever. The film is a labor of love for Hines, one of the stars of Shelly’s Waitress. SERIOUS MOONLIGHT will be released through Magnolia’s Ultra VOD program, launching the film this November on VOD platforms in 50-million households one month prior to its theatrical release in early December. The film is produced by Andy Ostroy, Ms. Shelly’s husband, and Michael Roiff, who produced Waitress, through their respective companies: all for A films and Night & Day Pictures.

“Cheryl Hines has done a fine job bringing Adrienne Shelly’s final script to life,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “SERIOUS MOONLIGHT is a fitting tribute to a sorely missed talent and we’re happy to be bringing it to North American audiences.”"We're very impressed with Magnolia's distribution model, their savvy team, and their overall vision for SERIOUS MOONLIGHT," said Ostroy. "I know Adrienne would be proud of this film and thrilled to have another movie of hers in theatres for audiences to see."

"I'm excited about where Magnolia's going to take us," said Hines. "SERIOUS MOONLIGHT is a dark, funny film, which I think audiences are going to really enjoy, especially Meg and Tim's incredible performances."The deal was negotiated by Magnolia’s Senior Vice President Tom Quinn and Head of Business Affairs Chris Matson, with Andrew Herwitz of the Film Sales Company and attorney John Logigian.

About Magnolia Pictures

Magnolia Pictures (http://www.magpictures.com/) is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also include the Landmark Theatres chain, the production company 2929 Productions, and high definition cable networks HDNet and HDNet Movies. Magnolia's 2008 slate included such critically acclaimed films as James Marsh's Man On Wireand Tomas Alfredson's Let The Right One In. Magnolia's 2009 slate includes James Gray's Two Lovers, The Great Buck Howard starring John Malkovich, Guillermo Arriaga's The Burning Plain, documentary and festival favorite Food, Inc with Michael Pollen and Eric Schlosser, Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience, Kirby Dick's Outrage, Anne Fontaine's The Girl From Monaco, Erick Zonca's Julia, Lynn Shelton's Humpday, Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad, The Answer Man starring Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham, Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse and much more.

"SERIOUS MOONLIGHT" -- Magnolia Takes North American Rights to Cheryl Hines' Directorial Debut

NIGHT STALKER -- DVD review by porfle

A specialist in serial killer films as of late, prolific director Ulli Lommel adds to his screen bios of Son of Sam, the D.C. Sniper, the B.T.K. Killer, the Zodiac Killer, and others with 2007's NIGHTSTALKER, which is being given a new DVD release on Sept. 8 by North American Motion Pictures (under the slightly different title NIGHT STALKER). This weak and ponderous effort makes the recent serial killer films of director Michael Feifer look like "Masterpiece Theater" by comparison.

After a brief flashback of Richard Ramirez as a child witnessing his crazy war-veteran uncle shooting his crabby aunt in the head, the film is virtually plotless. Just about the only other thing that doesn't involve Ramirez skulking around the streets of Los Angeles looking for his next victim is the part where he follows an attractive young woman to a party and is introduced to drugs and Satan worshipping. Her supposed influence on him is manifested by several flashbacks during the murder scenes, consisting of quick closeups of her eyes as she chants "Hail Satan!"

Ramirez hates women, we're told early on, and is intent on putting them in their place. Thus, several of his victims in the movie are bitchy women in the process of bawling out some mousey guy, which seems to set off his "stalker sense" and lead him straight to the scene where he starts blasting away. This is repeated several times ad nauseum during the movie--scenes of couples arguing intercut with shots of Ramirez shuffling down the sidewalk sucking on his ever-present Charms Blow Pop until he arrives on the scene. Bad acting ensues, squibs go off, and star Adolph Cortez is directed to play around with the fake blood that's all over the place while director Lommel fiddles with artsy camera angles and editing.

I've always considered Richard Ramirez to be one of the scariest and most menacing of the famous serial killers, but Cortez plays him like a weaselly high-school dropout looking to score some weed for the big Phish concert. He does a voiceover with a lot of talk about evil and "darkness" and all that stuff, and keeps telling us "God is dead", etc., but there's no real connection between these ominous words and the smirking Richard Grieco wannabe who skulks around endlessly sucking on Blow Pops. Cortez goes through so many bags of Blow Pops during the course of this movie that his stomach lining must have developed an impenetrable candy shell.

Unfortunately, this is just about the only unique trait the character has, so Cortez works those damn things like he was doing a softcore porn tease. Besides that, all the script gives him to do is one walking-around sequence after another topped by yet another splattery bang-bang. After awhile the film becomes mainly a showcase for some decent head-shot squib effects.

NIGHT STALKER has that shot-on-video look and a wildly-inappropriate synth score that often works against the desired effect. The DVD image is 16 x 9 anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 stereo sound. I watched a screener with no extras, but the DVD release is supposed to include a stills gallery and closed captioning.

The film rambles along until the boredom finally ends with Ramirez' capture, which is depicted in a cursory but somewhat accurate manner. Then we're shown the following actual quote: "You don't understand me. You are not expected to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil." These words are more chilling than anything depicted in NIGHT STALKER. Painting a convincing portrait of Richard Ramirez and giving us an inkling of what it must have been like to live in Los Angeles during his reign of terror or to experience one of his attacks are beyond this film.

Buy it at Amazon.com

NIGHT STALKER -- DVD review by porfle

"METEOR" Crashes Onto DVD Sept. 1

The Fight To Save The Human Race From Annihilation Begins On DVD September 1st From Genius Products And RHI Entertainment

Featuring Earth Shattering Performances By Christopher Lloyd, Jason Alexander, Billy Campbell, Stacy Keach And Marla Sokoloff

SANTA MONICA, CA – Life, as it has existed for over 200,000 years, hangs in the balance as two massive rocks collide in space and head for Earth in METEOR, landing on DVD September 1st from Genius Products and RHI Entertainment.

In a remote observatory, a scientist discovers a meteor approximately three times the size of Mount Everest barreling its way towards the Earth, and alerts the military to avert the impending disaster. As showers of smaller meteorites begin to destroy major cities around the globe, local authorities try to calm the growing panic and herd the masses into safety shelters. The fate of millions rests in the hands of a few as the race against time to save the Planet from ultimate destruction begins.

Starring Emmy® winner Christopher Lloyd (“Taxi,” Back to the Future), Golden Globe® nominees Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), Stacy Keach (“Prison Break”) and Billy Campbell (“Once and Again”), as well as Marla Sokoloff (“The Practice”), Ernie Hudson (Dragonball Evolution) and Michael Rooker (“Criminal Minds”), the two-part NBC mini-series, METEOR, features eye-popping special effects, explosive human drama, and hair-raising action and will be available on DVD for the suggested retail price of $19.95.

SYNOPSIS:

Following an unparalleled series of meteor fireballs plummeting toward Earth, a renowned scientist, his assistant, and an on-target conspiracy theorist race against time to expose a government cover-up, reveal the truth, and prevent a massive meteor from destroying the planet.

BASICS

Price: $19.95

Street Date: September 1, 2009

Pre-book Date: July 21, 2009

Catalog Number: 1000839

Language: English 5.1

Running time:188 minutes

Rating: NR

Buy it at Amazon.com

"METEOR" Crashes Onto DVD Sept. 1

DRIFTER: HENRY LEE LUCAS -- DVD review by porfle

Director Michael Feifer seems intent on chronicling the lives of every vile, lowlife bastard who comes to mind when you think of the term "serial killer." Now, in addition to "B.T.K.", "Boston Strangler: The Untold Story", "Bundy: A Legacy of Evil", "Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck", and "Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield", comes DRIFTER: HENRY LEE LUCAS (2009), a well-made and fairly engaging account of one of the most notorious killers who ever stalked the countryside.

Most of us know at least the basics of Lucas' story--abused physically and mentally by a sadistic mother, he grew up to be a prolific serial killer who traveled with his equally-demented buddy Ottis Toole and Toole's 12-year-old niece Becky, with whom Henry had a romantic affair. After his capture, he confessed to hundreds of murders but later recanted, making it unclear just how many he was actually guilty of.

The screenplay by Feifer and Wood Dickinson generally sticks pretty closely to the facts. The story of Henry's nightmarish childhood proves most affecting, with Ezra Averill as an 8-year-old Henry and Caia Coley giving a frightening performance as his prostitute mother Viola. In addition to making him watch as she has sex with strange men, the monstrous Viola beats Henry brutally, once putting him into a coma with a wooden board, and also abuses her legless husband. When a teenaged Henry (Nicolas Canel) finally kills Viola in what he claims was self-defense, it's pretty much a fist-in-the-air moment.

We see the adult Henry (Antonio Sabato Jr., "The Bold & The Beautiful") commit the first of his serial murders and his fateful meeting with fellow drifter Ottis Toole, played artlessly but with a lot of energy by "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo"'s Kostas Sommer. (The fact that grungy, homely Lucas and Toole are portrayed by a couple of relatively hunky actors is a little disconcerting.) Kelly Curran is good in her debut role as Becky, whose eventual murder by Henry is shown near the beginning of the film and revisited later.

The very familiar John Diehl of such films as "Jurassic Park III" and "Pearl Harbor" plays Sheriff Larabie, a fictionalized version of the actual sheriff who was accused of using Lucas as a "confession machine" in order to clear up hundreds of unsolved murders. Farino, the skeptical D.A. is portrayed by John Burke, whom I know mainly as the co-host of "Personal FX: The Collectibles Show." While there really isn't much of an ending to Lucas' story, the final scenes with him being interviewed by Farino do tie things up rather well and bring the film to a satisfactory conclusion.

Despite several opportunites to do so, director Feifer refrains from filling the screen with excessive blood and gore. One of the more lurid death scenes has Henry forcing his way into a woman's kitchen, knifing her in the back, and then strangling her from behind as she crawls away. Another sequence features the strangulation of a hitchhiker and Henry's subsequent necrophilic violation of her body. A movie theater patron gets his throat cut for daring to "shush" Henry and Ottis, and there are several knifings.

For the most part, however, the violence is quick and Feifer doesn't linger over it, preferring to concentrate on the story. The only drawback to this is that the sheer horror of Lucas' crimes is rarely adequately conveyed by this matter-of-fact approach. Direction and photography are consistently good, displaying a fair amount of style and imagination that helps keep things interesting even though there's not really that much of a plot.

The film is presented in 16 x 9 anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio. My screener contained no bonus features, but the DVD should include a commentary with Feifer and Sabato, stills gallery, and Spanish subtitles.

DRIFTER: HENRY LEE LUCAS does a pretty good job of showing us, in effect, "How to Make a Monster." The scenes of Lucas' childhood are harrowing and sad, yet Antonio Sabato Jr. manages to convey the idea that there's just something inherently evil about Henry (albeit an infinitely banal evil) regardless of his upbringing. While "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and the lesser-known gem "Confessions of a Serial Killer" remain the last word on the subject as far as I'm concerned, Michael Feifer's version of the story is both visually interesting and perhaps somewhat closer to the real facts than its predecessors.

Buy it at Amazon.com

DRIFTER: HENRY LEE LUCAS -- DVD review by porfle

"THIRST" From Director Park Chan-wook -- Check Out This New Clip!

Winner, Jury Prize, 2009 Cannes International Film Festival
Park Chan-wook is recognized the world over as one of the most creative storytellers in cinema. With his startlingly distinctive plots, violent subject matter, and sensual mise-en-scène, the writer/director has earned accolades from critics and audiences across the globe, presenting his films at the most vital and influential international film festivals.

Among his films are Joint Security Area, the boxoffice smash that marked his first teaming with Thirst star Song Kang-ho; Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, which won the jury prize for Best Picture at the Philadelphia Film Festival; Old Boy, which won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes International Film Festival; the "Never Ending Peace and Love" segment of the omnibus feature If You Were Me and the "Cut" segment of the omnibus feature Three…Extremes; Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, which won two awards at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival; and I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK, which earned him the Alfred Bauer Award at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival.

Synopsis
A priest becomes a vampire…another man’s wife is coveted…a deadly seduction triggers murder. Thirst is the new film from director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Already a boxoffice smash in Korea, Thirst was honored with the Prix du Jury [Jury Prize] at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival.
Continuing his explorations of human existence in extreme circumstances, the director spins a tale that he conceived and then developed over several years with co-screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung.

Sang-hyun (played by top Korean star Song Kang-ho, of The Host) is a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives – but now exists as a vampire. Struggling with his newfound carnal desire for blood, Sang-hyun’s faith is further strained when a childhood friend’s wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), comes to him asking for his help in escaping her life. Sang-hyun soon plunges into a world of sensual pleasures, finding himself on intimate terms with the Seven Deadly Sins.
MPAA Rating: R (for graphic bloody violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content, nudity, and language)
Running Time: 133 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 2:35/1 [Scope]

VIEW VIDEO CLIP ("I'M NOT CATHOLIC")

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE: Friday, July 31st, 2009:

New York -- Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema ( 143 East Houston Street , near 2nd Avenue )

Los Angeles -- Laemmle’s Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Boulevard, at Crescent Heights )

San Francisco -- Landmark’s Bridge Theatre ( 3010 Geary Boulevard , near Blake Street )

"THIRST" From Director Park Chan-wook -- Check Out This New Clip!

THE BUTCHER / THE TERROR PACK -- Palisades Tartan's October Releases

BLAIR WITCH Meets SAW -- Palisades Tartan Asia Extreme’s THE BUTCHER in Stores October 27th

"One of the best - and one of the rawest - films of the year to come out of Korea, or anywhere else." – New York Asian Film Festival (2008)

"Will offend many people but those who embrace the experience will get a serious shock that will linger long after the film is over." –Twitchfilm.net

"..one of the most disturbing pieces of unrelieved horror I’ve had the pleasure of enduring." - Firefox News

LOS ANGELES — July,16 2009 —Just in time for Halloween, Palisades Tartan is pleased to present THE BUTCHER, our own distinctive and bloody treat. Told entirely from POV camera shots, this film is set to shock and scare audiences October 27th in video stores across the country.

A small group of people lie battered and bound on the floor of a dirty slaughterhouse covered in blood. Scared and confused, they soon learn their captors are snuff film producers and plan to torture them as creatively and heinously as possible before brutally killing them off one–by-one. Each scene is shot from either the killer or victim’s point of view in order to fully capture the emotional torment of the prey and the unspeakable acts that will be perpetrated on their captive bodies.

An Official Selection of The New York Asian Film Festival, THE BUTCHER highlights the creative talents of Lee Chang Man one of the best special make-up artists in Korea. Lee and his team have worked on over 20 features, including Palisades Tartan’s BLOODY REUNION, R-POINT and WHISPERING CORRIDORS.

Korean, with English subtitles, THE BUTCHER is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen, with Stereo Sound. Special DVD features include an Alternative Ending, Behind the Scenes Photos and Storyboard Sketches


THE BUTCHER
Palisades Tartan Asia Extreme
Genre: Horror/Foreign
Rating: Not Rated (Special Features Not Rated/Subject to Change)
Language: Korean (English Subtitles)
Format: DVD Only
Running Time: Approx 75 Minutes (Plus Special Features)
Suggested Retail Price: $19.99
Pre-Order Date: September 29, 2009
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Catalog #: TVD 3062
UPC Code: # 842498000052
Official Website: http://thebutcherfilm.com/

Chills and Kills from Around the World -- Palisades Tartan’s TERROR PACK in Stores October 13th

LOS ANGELES — July,16, 2009 — For Immediate Release —Featuring some of the most twisted and perverse horror films from France, Denmark and Japan, Palisades Tartan’s TERROR PACK contains a brutal collection of spine-chilling thrillers from around the world. This 3-disc box set will be haunting DVD shelf space October 13th just in time for Halloween.

From France we have SHEITAN, starring Vincent Cassel (OCEAN’S TWELVE, IRREVERSIBLE) as Joseph, a creepy and mysterious man whose pregnant wife remains hidden in a large frightening house. When a group of teenagers visit the house, sex, satanic possession, and incest become the dinner topics and what follows is not for the faint of heart…

From Denmark comes the aptly named SLAUGHTER NIGHT. When a teenage girl loses her father in a brutal car accident she brings some friends to an abandoned mine in hopes of retrieving the last manuscript her father ever penned about nineteenth century serial killers. It’s rumored one spirit with a taste for young, pretty flesh and decapitations still hunts the old mine hungering for another Slaughter Night…

Finally from Japan, we have CARVED: THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN, a story about a beautiful bride who was grotesquely disfigured by a jealous husband. Pissed off and roaming the streets in a trench coat and surgical mask, her spirit is fond of children and punishing any who fail to find her pretty with fists, knives and one incredibly wicked pair of scissors…

SHEITAN played the Midnight Madness selection at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and screened at the 2006 Tribeca, Edinburgh and Melbourne Film Festivals. SLAUGHTER NIGHT made its North American premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and CARVED was dubbed "An instant horror classic" from Screem Magazine. This boxset marks the first in what will a series of Terror Packs from Palisades Tartan, so be sure to look out for our next great mix of horror titles from around the world.

All three films are recorded in their countries original language (French, Danish and Japanese) and have English and Spanish subtitles. Each title is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1.

SHEITAN / SLAUGHTER NIGHT / CARVED: THE SLIT MOUTHED WOMAN
Palisades Tartan Video
Genre: Horror/Foreign
Rating: Not Rated (Special Features Not Rated/Subject to Change)
Language: French, Danish, Japanese (English Subtitles)
Format: DVD Only (Boxset)
Running Time: Approximately 274 minutes (Not Including Special Features)
SHEITAN – 94 min (Not Including Special Features)
SLAUGHTER NIGHT– 90 min (Not Including Special Features)
CARVED – 90 min (Not Including Special Features)
Suggested Retail Price: $39.99
Pre-Order Date: September 15, 2009
Street Date: October 13, 2009
Catalog #: TVD
UPC Code: # 842498000069

Tartan Films was originally founded in 1984 in the UK and is credited with bringing Asian Extreme film to the West as well as some of the most compelling art house films of the last quarter century. In May 2008, Palisades Pictures acquired Tartan Films US library assets and two months later, acquired a majority of Tartan Films UK’s 400+ film library assets. The new company Palisades Tartan has operations both nationally and internationally. Palisades Tartan will continue to expand an already distinctive and provocative slate of films by focusing on quality film acquisitions, thus significantly increasing the size of their overall library in both territories. Palisades Pictures and its parent company Palisades Media Corp is a prestigious financier of print & advertising for the independent film market. Together with its affiliate, Palisades Media Asset Fund, Palisades has securitized and financed more than 550 films.
www.PalisadesTartan.com

THE BUTCHER / THE TERROR PACK -- Palisades Tartan's October Releases

Connect Like Never Before to the World's Greatest Collection of Martial Arts & Asian Action Movies

Fans Get Non-Stop Access, Exclusive Content, and Latest News Via Facebook, MySpace and YouTube

Genius Products and The Weinstein Company enable martial arts fans and film buffs to interact with the lauded Dragon Dynasty label in a whole new way, with the premiere of their branded Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube pages. The three new pages provide a gathering space for the fan community and an inside look at exclusive content, including interactive photo galleries and dozens of videos of the most brilliantly choreographed fight scenes of all-time, all completely free of charge.

Dragon Dynasty brings home the world's greatest martial arts and Asian action films, featuring the groundbreaking work of international superstars and legendary filmmakers, including Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, John Woo, Yuen Woo-ping, and many more. Fans experience the best of classic and contemporary smash hits from the world's most exciting genre, with cutting-edge digital video and audio remastering and exclusive, never-before-seen bonus features.

Current titles featured include THE ENFORCER, THE LEGEND OF FONG SAI-YUK, SUPERCOP, AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS, as well as the upcoming DVD release THE 5 DEADLY VENOMS, arriving August 18.

About Genius Products

"Genius Products, Inc. is the owner of Genius Products, LLC, a leading independent home-entertainment distribution company that produces, licenses and distributes a valuable library of motion pictures, television programming, family, lifestyle and trend entertainment on DVD and other emerging platforms through its expansive network of retailers throughout the United States."

About The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Company was created by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films Corp. in 1979. TWC is a multi-media company that officially launched on October 1, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that was founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, is also included under TWC banner. The Weinsteins are actively working on the production, development and acquisition of projects for TWC.

Connect Like Never Before to the World's Greatest Collection of Martial Arts & Asian Action Movies

"Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows: The Performances" available on DVD August 4th

Share the excitement of Elvis Presley's earth-shattering introduction to the nation in this collection of iconic performances from "The Ed Sullivan Show," and experience for yourself why Elvis became the legendary King of Rock and Roll!

Appearing on the show Sept. 9, 1956, Elvis sent shock waves through a repressed nation with his soulful singing, wild hip gyrations and raw energy, attracting a record-breaking TV audience of more than 60 million people. Presley returned on Oct. 28, 1956, continuing to provoke ecstatic screams with hits such as "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender" and "Hound Dog." In fact, these exhilarating performances were so explosive that Elvis was filmed above the waist during his final Sullivan show appearance on January 6, 1957!

SPECIAL FEATURES: Remembering Ed and Elvis; Why Ed Didn't Host Elvis' First Appearance; Elvis and Ed: Intros and Promos; Caught on Celluloid: The First Moving Pictures of Elvis Presley; Special Elvis Moments; Jerry Shillings Home Movies; Documents from the Graceland Archives; Documents from the Sullivan Archives

Catalog: ID4175XSDVD
UPC: 014381417524
SRP: $14.98
Release Date: 8/4/09
Buy it at Amazon.com

"Elvis Presley: The Ed Sullivan Shows: The Performances" available on DVD August 4th

"The Chaos Experiment" On DVD August 4

A madman bargains the lives of six hostages for press coverage of his threatening environmental theory when the Hitchockian thriller The Chaos Experiment debuts on DVD August 4 from Genius Products. Starring Val Kilmer (The Doors, Batman Forever), Emmy® nominee Armand Assante (“Gotti,” ”Jack the Ripper”), Oscar® nominee Eric Roberts (Runaway Train) and Patrick Muldoon (“Melrose Place,” “Days of our Lives”), the film is from director Philippe Martinez (Citizen Verdict, Wake of Death).

Spiraling into a world of delusion and madness after professional disgrace over his outlandish hypotheses, a professor (Kilmer) lures six unwitting participants into an experiment to prove his theory of how global warming will drastically effect civilization, causing aggression, madness and chaos. While his subjects remain locked in a stream room with its temperature rapidly increasing to 130 degrees, he walks into the offices of a local newspaper demanding that his ideas be printed on the front page of the paper or the six victims would die within hours.

Racing against the clock to get to the truth, a detective (Assante) must determine whether or not the experiment is the delusional musings of a disturbed man or the maniacal work of a deadly psychopath. The Chaos Experiment DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.95.

BASICS

Price: $19.95

Languages: English

Running time: 96 minutes

Rating: R

Buy it at Amazon.com

"The Chaos Experiment" On DVD August 4

Parker Lewis Can't Lose DVD Review by Jessica Friedman

Parker Lewis Can’t Lose The Complete First Season DVD Review

By Jessica Friedman

Ah, the 1990s. It was the decade during which Ian and I began to gain a knowledge for and appreciation of pop culture and, as such, we are ‘90s nostalgia freaks. Forget the ‘80s—for us, grunge music and plaid shirts were much more influential than hair bands and spandex.

As children of the ‘90s, Ian and I are always on the lookout for dvd releases for some of our favorite shows of that era. For me, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was one of those shows. I remember being a young kid who was enthralled by the logistics of the “synchronized Swatches” and was fascinated by Kubiac (the big lug played by E.R.’s Abraham Benrubi) and Miss Musso (played by Melanie Chartoff). As a late twentysomething some years later (wow…that makes me feel old), I wondered if I would still enjoy this show to the extent that I did when I was nine.

Surprisingly, the episodes really do hold up. I still enjoy the camaraderie between the eponymous Parker Lewis (played by Corin Nemec) and his best friend, Mikey (played by Billy Jayne). The hilariously nebbish Jerry (played by Troy W. Slaten) reminds me now of Paul on The Wonder Years and Marcy from Peanuts (since he calls everyone “Sir” all of the time). Even though Parker Lewis is the ridiculously good-looking and popular cool guy in school (think Zach Morris mixed with Ferris Bueller), my favorite character will always be Larry Kubiac. When he told people he was hungry, they would feed him fish into his mouth! That’s just one of the many surreal elements to this show. A predecessor to later programs such as Scrubs and Andy Richter Controls the Universe, PLCL was full of crazy, off-the-wall , and completely cartoonish moments that make viewing the show that much more enjoyable. The DVD set also comes with some fantastic extras, such as audio commentaries on six episodes and a bonus documentary called “The History of Coolness.”

Another feature of the show that I have come to admire while watching the dvds is the artistic quality of the matching opening and closing segments. I do not believe I have ever seen another show that was so inventive in the way it used common everyday objects (inside of the refrigerator, inside of an attic, etc.) to give a different point of view to the events occurring. One example that I thought was very clever was the opening of the third episode, “Power Play,” during which Parker is yelling at his sister, Shelly (played by Maia Brewton), if she knows where his new jeans are while Shelly is throwing said jeans into the washer with bleach. After a final round of questioning (with the lid of the washer opening up to reveal Shelly’s maniacal face), Parker yells, “Are you sure you haven’t seen my jeans, Shelly? Your Depeche Mode tickets were in the pocket.” Upon hearing this, Shelly obviously freaks out and yells while her brother must be smirking somewhere off-camera, having “won” the game of life once again.

Although PLCL can be corny and dated at times (his dad works at a store that carries electronic items that are essentially obsolete now), a lot of the humor still seems fresh. I highly recommend this dvd set for ‘90s nostalgia freaks or people who just like humorous teen comedy shows.

If that doesn’t entice you, this bit of trivia might—the pilot episode features a young Milla Jovovich as the love interest shared by Parker and Mikey. So, if you ever wanted to see the Resident Evil star wearing crazy outfits from the ‘90s, this DVD set is for you!

Parker Lewis Can't Lose DVD Review by Jessica Friedman

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF BELA LUGOSI AS "YGOR"! (OR ARE THEY?)

Nope, it's Oscar-winning makeup maestro RICK BAKER in a stunning recreation of Bela's famous broken-necked graverobber ("err...they said") from SON OF FRANKENSTEIN!


Not only is this a tribute to the great Lugosi, but also to master monster-makeup pioneer Jack Pierce, one of Rick's main inspirations in the business. Pierce's legendary creations for Universal Pictures in the 30s and 40s also include the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Werewolf of London. His "Ygor" makeup contributed to what is considered to be one of Bela's finest performances.

Rick's work, of course, can be seen in such films as AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, MEN IN BLACK, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996), VIDEODROME, and Michael Jackson's THRILLER, among countless others. He also helped transform Martin Landau into Bela Lugosi for Tim Burton's ED WOOD.



Now, seventy years after SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, Rick Baker uses his skills to bring Ygor back to life to terrorize the countryside again. Or, perhaps--to audition as the new frontman for Jethro Tull!


(Thanks to Rick Baker for the use of the photos and kudos to Ted Newsom for the cool photoshopped background in the second one.)

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF BELA LUGOSI AS "YGOR"! (OR ARE THEY?)

"MUTANT CHRONICLES" and "DEMON WARRIORS" -- Coming Aug. 4 From Magnolia Home Entertainment

Dystopian, Steampunk Sci-Fi/Horror Epic, MUTANT CHRONICLES Arrives As A Two-Disc Collector’s Edition On DVD And A Blu-ray Disc August 4 From The Magnet Label of Magnolia Home Entertainment

Also Available As A Single-Disc Collector’s Edition

“Brilliantly Ballistic Blood-spattered action...Incredibly violent. Wall-to-wall splatter. Visually striking sci-fi/horror epic.”- Fangoria

In the year 2707, war rages between Earth’s four giant corporations as they battle over the planet’s dwindling resources. Amid heavy combat, an errant shell shatters an ancient buried seal, releasing a horrific necromutant army from its eternal prison deep within the Earth. As the mutant plague threatens human extinction, a single squad of soldiers descends into the very heart of the darkness in an attempt to save the planet from marauding hordes of mutants.

Based on the classic role-playing game that has already inspired card games, video games, novels, comic books and collectible miniatures, MUTANT CHRONICLES stars Thomas Jane (The Mist, The Punisher, The Sweetest Thing), Golden Globe®-winner Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, “Beauty and the Beast”) and Oscar®-nominee John Malkovich (The Great Buck Howard, Burn After Reading, Changeling).

Buy it at Amazon.com:

DVD/2-disc/Blu-Ray

DEMON WARRIORS, An Action-Packed Supernatural Adventure From the Creators of Ong-Bak, Dynamite Warriors and The Protector, lands on DVD August 4 from Magnolia Home Entertainment Under the Magnet Label.

“Ingredients for a nasty version of X-Men…”Variety

Detective Techit’s biggest case calls for the ultimate sacrifice – his life. In order to investigate the existence of mysterious spirits called Opapatikas, he must follow them into the eternal limbo existence in which they dwell. When an otherworldly warrior promises Techit incredible powers of intuition upon entering the Opapatika world, Techit leaps at the chance to be a better detective, committing suicide and using death as a doorway into a supernatural world populated by ghouls, warriors, and eternal raging battles. Once there Techit is caught in the fray and quickly discovers that each time he fights an Opapatika, he loses one of his five senses. Surrounded by enemies and running out of power, Techit must conquer the afterlife or face an eternity of misery.

Buy it at Amazon.com

"MUTANT CHRONICLES" and "DEMON WARRIORS" -- Coming Aug. 4 From Magnolia Home Entertainment

FEED YOUR FEAR! at Comic-Con

From Fox/MGM Home Entertainment:

Fans dare to test their strength in a truly terrifying virtual experience

Get An Electrifying First Look At 20th Century Fox and MGM Home Entertainment’s Halloween ’09 Blu-ray Disc Lineup

Plus, Join Us For An Exclusive Meet And Greet With Janet Montgomery, Star Of The Highly Anticipated Sequel Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead

WHAT: Fearless fans strap themselves into an electric chair, don a set of virtual reality goggles and prepare for a frenzied montage of terrifying, delusional and iconic scenes from some of Fox and MGM Home Entertainment’s most frightening horror films. At the Feed Your Fear-themed booth, Comic-Con attendees can also check out an assortment of film props, and watch tamer footage of titles debuting on Blu-ray Disc this Halloween.

WHO: In a horror-filled first, Fox and MGM Home Entertainment unearth nerve-racking fright and bring chills to San Diego Comic-Con International as they showcase an assortment of some of the most highly anticipated Blu-ray horror titles of 2009. The line-up includes:

• The cannibalistic carnage continues with the graphic debut of the Wrong Turn Trilogy on Blu-ray Disc. Fans can stop by the booth Friday, July 24 for an exclusive photo opp with Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead star Janet Montgomery.

• Witness the birth of evil in spine tingling Blu-ray Disc clarity with the eerie and intense Hannibal Lecter Anthology.

• Voodoo and terror meet within an innocent-looking doll inhabited by the soul of a serial killer who isn’t ready to die, as the chilling Child’s Play is unleashed in full high definition gore.

• Adapted from a Stephen King story, experience the Misery of this heart-stopping Academy Award®-winning film available on Blu-ray Disc for the first time.

WHERE: Booth #3528 – Fox/MGM Home Entertainment
Comic-Con International
San Diego Convention Center
111 W. Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

WHEN: Thursday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 26th

FEED YOUR FEAR! at Comic-Con

BART GOT A ROOM -- DVD review by porfle

Remember your senior prom? Not me--I didn't go to mine. Which makes me even more of a loser than Danny Stein, the main character of BART GOT A ROOM (2008). Worse than that, it makes me even more of a loser than Bart, the biggest loser in all of Hollywood Hills High and the guy against whom everyone else measures their own levels of loserdom. The fact that Bart has secured both a prom date and a hotel room and Danny hasn't provides the story's driving force and most of its exquisitely dry humor.

The setting is Hollywood, Florida, which means that this movie is filled with old people. They're all over the place--Danny seems surrounded by old geezers, forever subjected to their bemused reactions to his youthful social melodramas and constant meddling in same. His usual reaction to all this is a deadpan resignation which actor Steven Kaplan pulls off beautifully. Kaplan doesn't mug for laughs or spaz out like Jerry Lewis, or even whine neurotically like Woody Allen. He's funny because extreme adversity seems to overwhelm him with a sense of paralyzed mortification even though we can sense the frantic turmoil raging behind that stoic demeanor.

Danny's attempts to secure a date are marvelously doomed. In one of the best scenes, he's sitting in an ice cream shop with the sexy sophomore cheerleader whom he drives to and from school every day. In his mind, her slow, deliberate licking of her cone is a come-on, but when he mentions this, she's stricken with a quiet, incredulous disgust. "How do you eat your ice cream?" she asks before storming out of his life. Another scene in which he misses out on a blind date with the absolute hottest babe in town because his platonic childhood friend Camille (Alia Shawkat) shows up at just the wrong time is a grueling exercise in frustration that had me trembling in sympathetic agony.

Brandon Hardesty plays Danny's disaffected rich friend Craig, who dispenses worldly-sounding romantic advice while floating like a bloated corpse around his swimming pool. It's all worthless, but Danny doesn't find this out until it's too late, and even his standby last-resort date, Camille, has given up on him and accepted an invitation from someone else. We know, of course, that sweet, long-suffering Camille, who has always loved him, is the perfect choice but we also know, of course, that Danny will remain absolutely unaware of this until...well, you know. It's the inevitable way that this story is going to end, and knowing this doesn't take anything away from it. Heck, we're supposed to know it. Till then, though, Danny's impending prom nightmare keeps getting ever closer as his desperation mounts and everything starts going wrong.

His divorced parents, Beth (Cheryl Hines) and Ernie (William H. Macy), try to help but they have problems of their own. Beth fears for her future financial security and has just about settled on a new beau, Bob, played by the great Jon Polito with all the rumpled, hangdog smarm he can muster. The wonderfully talented Cheryl Hines is just too hot to be playing somebody's mom, which I find distracting. Whenever she and Kaplan are together I keep having student-teacher fantasies or casting them as Mrs. Robinson and Ben in a mental remake of THE GRADUATE. Still, she's pitch-perfect in this role.

As Danny's down-on-his-luck dad Ernie, afro-bewigged William H. Macy is a delight. Reluctant new-bachelor Ernie takes an active interest in helping Danny through his romantic troubles while barely able to keep his own dates from excusing themselves during dinner and then fleeing in horror. His singleminded efforts to secure Danny a last-second prom date are hilarious, although the scene with him and Jennifer Tilly may give you a huge case of that sympathetic agony I was talking about.

The DVD is 1.85:1/16 x 9 with Dolby Surround 5.1 and English and Spanish subtitles. Included are trailers for this and other Anchor Bay releases, and a pop-up text commentary track that's so much fun it's worth rewatching the movie immediately. Another reason for doing so is to fully appreciate the diverse soundtrack which is a pleasingly eclectic mix of modern music, big band, jazz, and other styles.

A South Florida native himself, director Brian Hecker based most of this stuff on his own experiences and it shows in his witty, perceptive script and breezily inventive direction. This isn't your usual screwball, gross-out, PORKY'S-style teen T & A farce in any way, shape, or form. It's smart without really trying to be, heartfelt and moving in ways that aren't always obvious, and ultimately quite joyous. I don't think I actually laughed out loud a single time during BART GOT A ROOM, yet I found it to be one of the funniest and most enjoyable laugh-on-the-inside comedies I've seen in years. It almost makes me wish I'd had similar prom disaster experiences to look back on with retrospective amusement. Almost.

Buy it at Amazon.com

BART GOT A ROOM -- DVD review by porfle

"BIG MAN JAPAN" and "SEVERED WAYS" - on DVD July 28th from Magnolia Home Entertainment

A Japanese Monster Movie For The Modern Generation, BIG MAN JAPAN Staring Pop Icon Hitoshi Matusmoto, Arrives On DVD July 28 from Magnolia Home Entertainment As Part Of The Magnet Six Shooter Film Series

“From deadpan to Ultraman”(UGO)

“Surpasses any mockumentary you've ever seen.”(Boxoffice Magazine)

Part live-action, part CGI, BIG MAN JAPAN follows the mundane, yet outlandish life of Daisato (Masumoto), a middle-aged man living in a rundown, graffiti-ridden slum.

Entrusted with defending Japan from its various villains and monsters, his bizarre job involves being shocked by bolts of electricity that transform him into a several-stories-high giant. Instead of rising up as a hero, he is an outcast among the citizens he protects, who bitterly complain about the noise and destruction of property he causes.

Putting a dark, comedic spin on the giant Japanese superhero, BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrait of a pathetic but truly unique hero.

Actors: Riki Takeuchi
Directors: Hitoshi Matsumoto
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 1
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
Run Time: 108 minutes

Buy it at Amazon.com

An Epic Adventure Of Exploration, SEVERED WAYS Arrives On DVD July 28 From Magnolia Home Entertainment

“Beautifully shot.”New York Magazine

“A must see.”LA Weekly

“A visionary work from one of the promising new American narrative filmmakers in recent years.”Indiewire

In the 11th century, Vikings, Native Americans, and Irish monks collide on the shores of North America in a historical epic adventure of exploration, personal glory, and religious dominance. Abandoned by a Western exploration party and stranded in the New World, two lone Vikings wade through a grand primeval landscape, searching against all odds to find their way home. As they struggle to survive in the surrounding vast forests, their paths diverge as one pursues a spiritual quest and the other reverts to his primal instincts.

Written, directed by and starring Tony Stone in his feature length debut, SEVERED WAYS features a frosty black metal soundtrack, including Burzum, Morbid Angel, Judas Priest and Dimmu Borgir.

Actors: Gaby Hoffman
Directors: Tony Stone
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Number of discs: 1
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
Run Time: 109 minutes
Buy it at Amazon.com

"BIG MAN JAPAN" and "SEVERED WAYS" - on DVD July 28th from Magnolia Home Entertainment

"THE DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD SHOW" -- DVD review by porfle

DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD SIGHTING!!!

That's right--I received a copy of "THE DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD SHOW" in the mail, popped it into my DVD player, and sure enough, I sighted him right off. Or perhaps it would be more grammatically correct to say that I "sought" him. Or maybe even "sawed" him. One thing's for sure, somebody definitely sawed him--his head off, that is!

Seriously, though, getting this DVD was a big surprise. Sure, I requested a copy, but getting it was a big surprise. That feeling continued throughout my entire viewing, as I kept asking myself, "How do they get stuff like this to stick to one of those discs?" And when it was over, I knew that I would never, ever, ever, never, ever forget this memorable occasion of me watching this thing where some people did stuff.

Yes, "The Drunken Severed Head Show" has actual people in it, just like a Steven Spielberg movie! Blogosphere superstar Max Cheney is the perpetually-soused title character in one of the finest neck-up performances since Jack Webb in DRAGNET. When he gets together with Chuck Alexander as the mad Dr. Emil Demahn, you'll think you've been transported back to the glory days of the old vaudeville teams like Schmeckel and Mountbatten, or those two guys who tried to escape from Alcatraz disguised as giant tubes of Preparation H.

"Last week, you may remember," the Drunken Severed Head addresses us, "we made a cocktail known as the Jack-o-Lantern. One gulp, and you're lit up and lying in the driveway. This week, we're gonna make a drink called the Gay Vision. One gulp, and you can't see straight."


My favorite part of the show, however, is the beautiful and sexy and beautiful Bella Morta, who is played by the--ehhh--Amberleigh Miller, who is played by herself. She has big boobies!!! And is a great actress. Ehhh. And last but certainly least is Lance Jerlsberg as Flotsam the Hunchback, who is played out.

DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD: "That poor man. How did he get that hump?"

DR. DEMAHN: "From smoking too many Camels."


The thrill-packed story comes to its shattering conclusion when Dr. Demahn gives the head a mechanical body and it goes on a frenzied rampage of destruction the likes of which the world hasn't seen since Elizabeth Taylor's last bon-bon rolled under the couch back in 1987. And the very last shot was, like, totally copied by Stanley Kubrick in DR. STRANGELOVE! I smell a lawsuit! Anyway, I smell something.

Bonus features, we got. In fact, three whole commentary tracks we got. "But even CITIZEN KANE didn't get three commentary tracks!" you're thinking. FEH! CITIZEN KANE had a giant head, not a drunken severed head. Oxydation of the nitrate, it should get! So anyway, in the first commentary you get the Head, beloved film auteur Ted Newsom, and the venerable Jon Carradyne, as channeled by Ted Newsom. In the second, you the Head and the venerable Jon Carradyne, this time channeled, spanked, bikini-waxed, and hung up to dry by Ted Newsom. And in the third you just get the Head and Ted Newsom, channeled by Ted Newsom. Then there's a selection of deleted scenes and bloopers. Bloopers? Are those the scenes where they didn't screw up? Lastly, there's a photo gallery, which, to my surprise, contains actual photos.


According to the Hollywood rumor mill, this film went so far over budget that it singlehandedly drove Severed Head Productions, along with Someone Somewhere and Zeno Films, into total bankruptcy. Estimated final cost of the production is believed to have been well into the teens.

Co-director and star Cheney himself fills us in on the film's premiere "at a private gathering held at the recent Monster Bash convention. Actors Janet Ann Gallow, Jonathon Haze, Mark Redfield, and Jennifer Rouse were among those in attendance. And the amazing David Colton, too! The poor saps.

"Reviews were mixed.

"Ms. Gallow said it was cute and funny, and reminded her of a recent comic indie film she had a part in.

"My friend Rob Tullo said, 'Four copies would make a nice set of coasters.'

"My friend Robert Taylor said it was 'A horror pun-fest that only Max could have created. My prediction is that he will be up for an Academy nomination OR an atomic wedgie!'"

"Where in the world can I get my own copy of this masterpiece?" you may ask. Who are you talking to? I can't hear you. But to answer your question, you can get a copy of THE DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD SHOW in either of the following two ways (three, if you have Max Cheney's home address and a box of Ding-Dongs):

1. Contact The Drunken Severed Head at his own incredible BLOG!
2. See it right now on YouTube!

After watching "The Drunken Severed Head Show", you won't believe it's only ten minutes long. Why, it seemed like it lasted forever! And even after repeated viewings, I seem to notice something completely different every time. Last time I watched it, I noticed that my toenails needed trimming and that there was a dark splotch on the wall behind the TV that looked just like Elvis--with big boobies!!!

"THE DRUNKEN SEVERED HEAD SHOW" -- DVD review by porfle