Blog: Digital Dissection

DVD Dissection - October 21, 2008

Mon., Oct. 20, 2008 9:41 AM PDT , by Scott Weinberg

 

The first week of October 2008 gave us Jack Brooks, Feast 2, The Devil's Chair, and an awesome new special edition on Hitchcock's Psycho. Week two gave us a whole bunch of Ghost House titles  from Lionsgate  (including Dance of the Dead) and a new offering from Stuart Gordon. So logically that means week three ... kind of a disappointment. Odd that pickings are so slim on a  mid- October Tuesday, but here we go...

The Strangers-- Released as part of the "Dimension Extreme" collection, this rather fine "domestic invasion" thriller did some pretty solid coin at the box office. (It's about a young couple who spend one night terrified by some ... strangers.) Unfortunately the DVD doesn't look so stellar. The movie's definitely worth seeing, but the extras are disappointing: Some deleted scenes, a single featurette, and your choice of R- or Unrated version.

Trailer Park of Terror -- I generally rave on and on about the good (or great) horror movies that I stumble across on my festival journeys -- and then there's stuff like Trailer Park of Terror, which certainly isn't terrible, but it  didn't  fill me with much enthusiasm  either . Based on the graphic novel of the same name, it's about a bunch of typically silly teenage types who wind up in the wrong trailer park. Like, wronger than a normal trailer park. I have no idea if the DVD has any extras, but I'd call the disc a worthy rental, but not much more.

The Last Man on Earth -- The first of three adaptations of Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend" stars Vincent Price as a plague survivor who has to deal with some seriously creepy ... folks. This latest DVD comes in your choice of black & white OR color (ugh), plus it comes with a vintage featurette hosted by the priceless Price himself. A definite rental if you've never seen the flick. (Also from the Legend Films collection: BW / color versions of Devil Bat, Creature from the Haunted Sea, Phantom Planet, Bride of the Monster, and a few other goofy old relics.

Anaconda 3: The Offspring -- The first flick had Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight and Owen Wilson. The second one had ... nobody I can remember. But the THIRD one, hoo boy, it's got the immortal David Hasselhoff squaring off against, yep, a ravenous anaconda. Fans of this sort of stuff should enjoy it in one way or another ... and you have to see this one if you're going to be ready for Anaconda 4: Trail of Blood, which is coming soon to a Sci-Fi Channel near you.

...and that's pretty much it! (Unless you've been jonesing for a Paul Naschy collection.) Again, I'm a bit surprised that a Tuesday this close to Halloween would be so skimpy in the horror DVD department, but next week offers lots of weird stuff: Zombie Strippers, cheesy old chainsaw flicks, and a bunch of Aussie titles that are apparently overdue for a re-release.

Read More