Weekly DVD Dissection
By Scott Weinberg
Woohoo! It's October! And the DVD distributors are well-aware of that fact, which means you can get ready for a non-stop outpouring of dangerous discs over the next several weeks. The month kicks off with goodies old and new, foreign and domestic, indie and Hollywood, and (of course) very good and very rotten. Let's just dig in to the goods:
1408 -- Cusack's great and Samuel L. Jackson adds some fun to the mix, but putting those performances aisde ... this is still the best Stephen King adaptation in an annoyingly long time.
Evil Aliens -- This British import has been "coming soon" for quite some time now, but if you're a big fan of tongue-in-cheek splatter movies, you simply have to check this flick out. The story covers a bunch of screaming idiots who stumble across some very nasty alien invaders. Sick, simple, silly fun.
Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane -- If you 'kinda liked'
Snakes on a Plane, then you'll probably have an even better time with this airborne zombie outbreak. Full review on the way!
Misery -- Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her gloriously unhinged performance as Annie Wilkes -- and the bed-bound James Caan does some really great work too! You know the (enjoyably simple) story by now, but be sure to check out the fresh goodies on this brand-new special edition.
The Other Side -- I caught this one about two years ago at the Slamdance Film Festival, and what it lacks in budget it more than makes up for in energy. It's about a guy who gets expelled from hell so he can track down his killer, but must avoid the attention of hell's soul collectors. It's a full-bore genre stew, but I found it quite entertaining.
Prom Night -- One of Jamie Lee Curtis' non-Halloween slashers hits DVD (again) ... hopefully in 16X9 widescreen this time! But prob not.
Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud -- More of the same, only goofier and gorier.
Lance Henriksen fans should have a ball with this one. And c'mon, who doesn't love Lance Henriksen?
Species 4: The Awakening -- Because nothing goes together better than slimy alien kills and stunningly beautiful naked women. Full review on the way!
Also this week: Blood Creek, Decadent Evil 2, Plasterhead, The Stitcher, and yet another special edition for good ol' Species.
Coming next week: Bloodthirsty sheep, another dose of British apocalypse, a long-awaited WB anthology, the return of the original Poltergeist, and the arrival of a surprisingly cool DVD sequel!
