Pre-Halloween Blu-Ray titles guaranteed to make your wallet scream

Starting in August through Halloween, there are several anticipated Blu-Rays (and a few DVDs) that are hoping to make your pocketbook a little lighter. Since there are so many, I thought it was worth compiling a list to help you prepare, whether it be finding the best deal, telling your landlord you'll be a little short these months, or looking for a second job. This is obviously not everything being released, and I'm sure more will squeak their way in, but I'm really looking forward to these, and hope you are too.

August 7th:
The Boogens

August 14th:
Jaws
Dexter Season 6
Life and Death of a Porno Gang

August 21st:
Halloween 4&5
King of the B Movies (Documentary about indie filmmaker Bill Zebub)

August 28th:
Walking Dead Season 2
Screaming in High Heels DVD (Documentary about Scream Queens Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley, and Michelle Bauer)

September 4th:
Arachnophobia
Mad Monster Party
Sleepwalkers
Mother’s Day (1980)
Re-Animator

September 11:
Hammer House of Horror Complete Collection DVD
Jeepers Creepers
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

September 18th:
Halloween 2&3
Monster Squad TV Series DVD
Puppet Master 2&3

September 25th:
American Horror Story

October 2nd:
Classic Monsters Boxset (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Creature from the Black Lagoon)
Pet Sematary

October 9th:
Little Shop of Horrors
Dead Ringer

October 16th:
Funhouse
Terror Train

October 22nd:
Basket Case Steelbook Trilogy (UK Import)

October 29th:
**Thanks to Freddy In Space for bringing this to my attention via his Facebook Page** The artwork alone is worth the money!
Castle Freak (UK Import)

October 30th:
Rosemary's Baby (Criterion)
House of Dark Shadows
Night of Dark Shadows

Also, Scorpion Releasing, which has brought many classic cult, horror, and sci-fi titles to DVD, is finally getting into Blu-Ray, with Day of the Animals and Death Ship to start it off, although no date has been set.

And, over the next few months, Kino/Redemption continue to roll out their libraries on Blu-Ray with Black Magic Rites, Two Orphan Vampires, and Living Dead Girl, to name a few.

Feel free to let me know what titles you anticipate the most, and if there's one I've missed that needs to be shared, leave a comment or contact me. I will try to update this as I find out more.

Zombies vs. Strippers (2012) (Full Moon Pictures)

Where Zombie Strippers, Cabin Fever 2, and Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! Strippers vs. Zombies left off, Full Moon Pictures picks up with Zombies vs. Strippers. I know, it gets confusing when there's very little variation to these titles, but when zombies and strippers are used in the same sentence, it's pretty obvious who the intended audiences is (pervs like me), no matter what order they're put in. If you’ve seen a FMP film, you pretty much know what to expect, boobs, blood, stretched humor, and mediocre, sometimes just laughable special FX. Well, ZvS doesn’t deviate from that formula, nor does it add anything new.

The Tough Titty (obviously taking inspiration from From Dusk Till Dawn’s Titty Twister) has fallen on hard times, and with no asses in the seats, that means no asses in your face. But, as the zombie hordes start to take over, it draws a few people in, including a musician with a wad of cash, a high-rolling business man, and some bikers.

What follows is pretty much what we’ve seen time and time again, zombies attack, people die, zombies die, people turn into the undead, and you know the rest. But, this is a stripper movie too, and while 3 out of 4 ladies aren’t afraid to take it off, it's still less than impressive, as we get Bambi’s B-cups (that may be too generous), Jasmine’s fake balloons, and Vanilla’s brown sugar goodness. Bambi has the looks (just no boobs), Jasmine's the airheaded bleach blonde, Vanilla is like a 70's Pam Grier, and Sugar Hills, played by Eve Mauro, is the mouthy, tough chick who must have had a no-nudity clause in her contract, as she's the one that doesn't bare em.

Overall, this film is pretty boring, and while Zombie Strippers (2008) offered a notable cue ball scene, ZvS really only adds a new zombie killing weapon, a high heel…on a stick! (Said in my best Jeff Dunham voice, of course). There are two scenes that may bring a giggle, when the stripper gets her face ripped off while getting boned, and the zombie Michael Jackson, but overall, it offered very little to put in my long-term memory, nor a want to revisit.

But, that’s not to discount Full Moon, which has helped the careers of many people, including scream queens Linnea Quigley and Brinke Stevens. In a time when most independent studios are folding or already have, Full Moon continues to churn out low budget horror and sci-fi, as there is still a market for it, and you can’t deny Charles Band his rightful place alongside Roger Corman.

Whether you liked them or not, who hasn’t seen a Puppet Master, Subspecies, Trancers, Killjoy, or Demonic Toys movie? Heck, I picked up the Blu-Rays of the first Puppet Master and Subspecies last year, and Mr. Band has plans to release others in high def, while re-releasing titles (for a mere 10 bucks a piece) that were previously only available in box sets. But, I'll probably wait, as I always look forward to their Half-off plus free shipping sales, so I feel like less of an ass if I pick up a crapper. I also proudly wear my Subspecies and Blade (from Puppet Master) t-shirts, in hopes that someone will know what they are and comment, allowing the opportunity to strike up a conversation of pure Nerdom.

ZvS probably won’t give you a chub, nor satisfy your zombie appetite (that’s what The Walking Dead and classic Romero movies are for), but I can see it destined for late night TV, along with Emmanuelle in Space and Lord of the G-Strings. And, while it isn't low budget erotica, it seems to have a place here.

Even though zombie and zombie-stripper movies have pretty much ran their course, and little can be done to impress me, I know there's many more to come (maybe even another Romero stinker), and yes, I will watch them, and hate them, and blog about them, and help you save your time and money, as this is the pledge I've made to you.

Movie and t-shirt scores from other shores

Over the past several months, I’ve been looking outside of the U.S. for cool things to add to my collection, be it horror memorabilia, apparel, or movies. I’ve seen some pretty cool stuff, and a couple things I missed out on (a Dellamorte Dellamore limited Blu-Ray Mediabook by 84 Entertainment and possibly a Mark of the Devil Blu-Ray), as I quarreled with whether I really needed them (in reality, I don’t, and my girlfriend (Heather) will strongly attest to that), or did they seem worth the money?

But, I did pick up a few things, and here are my scores:

From an Australian company called It’s Only a T-Shirt, Patrick and Wolf Creek limited edition T-shirts in VHS collector boxes. Wolf Creek also came with a poster signed by the director (tube on the left).

From the U.K.

Demons 1&2 Blu-Ray (Region B)—I would have picked up Arrow’s steelbook, but I wanted the different artwork options, and seeing these side-by-side looks awesome.

Eraserhead Blu-Ray (Region B)—the U.S. DVD is out-of-print, and to see David Lynch’s classic in high def, I say, Hell yes!

Return of the Living Dead Blu-Ray Steelbook (Region B)—other than just being badass in look and steelbook form, this has the original soundtrack (not on the U.S. release) and the documentary, More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead, which was released separately in the States.

Nightmare on Elm Street Blu-Ray Boxset (Region-free)—this contains the original 7 movies (only the first 3 have been released in the U.S.), commentaries and interviews, and a couple of episodes of Freddy’s Nightmares. Plus, it's region-free, so this was a no-brainer.

Phenomena Blu-Ray (Region-free)—an older Arrow Films release, which isn’t Argento's best, but still decent, and since AF almost always does top-notch work, I felt compelled to add it to my collection, only ever having owned the cut version (Creepers) on DVD.

Outside of the early 2000s, it seems the U.S. almost always falls short on their releases, when other countries do it much better and seem to keep the consumers and collectors wants in mind. For example, the U.K. will get steelbooks of E.T. and Jaws (both Region B), while it’s only rumored that Best Buy may have a digibook of Jaws.

Why do major studios in America no longer want to put in the extra effort? Do they feel we've become so consumed with digital delivery and throw away media that collectible packaging is no longer important to the mass majority? You can guarantee quality releases from independent studios like Blue Underground and Synapse, and every once in a while Anchor Bay (who dominated horror releases in the early 2000s) will do something noteworthy, but flubbed on the recent release of Battle Royale, only issuing a limited number of the Mediabooks, but keeping the same SKU for the first run of the Amaray case, which made ordering a potluck. Wisely, Amazon now has two separate listings for these.

Speaking of Anchor Bay and anticipated releases, when are we going to get Blu-Rays of Cemetery Man aka Dellamorte Dellamore and Re-Animator**? I e-mailed them last week, but have yet to get a response. I don't use Twitter, but last year, Barbara Crampton tweeted that a Re-Animator Blu was getting the final touches and should be out in the next 6 months, which that time came and went with no other word. But, I did get an e-mail today from U.K.'s Second Sight Films (who did the ROTLD Steelbook above) that Re-Animator, From Beyond, Bride of Re-Animator, and Society are all getting special edition treatment this Fall/Winter, and a Basket Case Trilogy Blu-Ray Steelbook** (the first Basket Case is available on BR in the U.S.) will be released in October with new artwork by the original illustrator, Graham Humphreys. Again, it just goes to show that some companies have their shit together while others do not.

Although you may already have a Blu-Ray player, most of these discs are locked Region B and/or have supplements on PAL DVDs, so you’ll need to pick up a Region-free player, which can be found on E-bay and trusted sites like 220-Electronics. Just make sure it will read Blu-Ray Regions A-C and DVD Regions 0-8, then you won’t miss out on any of these sweet releases while U.S. companies sit on their asses pondering what their return on investments will be.

**Update: Image Entertainment will release the Re-Animator Blu-Ray on Sept. 4th, 2012, and Second Sight Films has confirmed that the Basket Case Trilogy will be Region-free.