Halloween 2018 Horror at Home – October’s Blu-Ray Releases

While Halloween has been underway since early September for some of us, October is the official start of the spooky season for many. One of the easiest and most fun ways to get into the right frame of mind is by sitting down with a big bowl of candy corn and your favorite adult beverage to enjoy some scary movies and TV shows!

Every Tuesday in October I’ll be running down some of the best spooooky releases coming to home media.

All release info is from the excellent Blu-ray.com.

10/23

Creepshow (1982) – Shout Factory – Get rid of that crappy Warner Bros. cardboard digi-whatever version you have and upgrade to this new edition of the greatest horror anthology of all time!

I am thrilled that we’re finally getting the deluxe release that Creepshow deserves, as it’s been a hole in my collection for far too long. I put off buying it on disc for years because I always assumed there would be a special edition coming.

Maximum Overdrive (1986) – Lionsgate Films – I’m not gonna lie – even as a die-hard Stephen King fan, I cannot imagine anyone paying over thirty bucks for this movie. I know it has its fans, but I’ve tried it many times over the years and I can’t appreciate it even for the cheese factor.

Night of the Demons (1988) Steelbook  – Shout Factory – There are two versions of this available today from Shout Factory. One is a fancy pants Steelbook, the other is a fancy pants Steelbook with a NECA retro figure of Angela. You can guess which one I preordered.

As for the movie, I think it scared me when I was a kid. I don’t remember exactly why, but for years I never revisited it. Once I did, all it took was Linnea Quigley and the film’s inherent 80s-ness for me to be on board.

Evil Dead (2013) Unrated Edition – Sony Pictures – As you can tell from our Needless Commentary, we are huge fans of Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead. This unrated edition sort of came from out of nowhere and I can’t even imagine what the heck was so extreme that it had to be cut from this insanely gory and disturbing flick. Despite the fact that I already own it, I’m gonna find out. Twenty bucks for five more minutes of Deadite action? Apparently I say yes to that.

Night of the Living Dead (1990) – Sony Pictures – Be careful if you order this from Amazon that you don’t end up with the older release! THIS IS THE EDITION YOU WANT.

Directed by Tom Savini and starring the always-awesome Tony Todd alongside badass Patricia Tallman, this is a worthy update to Romero’s masterpiece. Much like Dawn of the Dead and the Snyder/Gunn remake, I find things to like about each version. Sometimes I want a legendary classic, sometimes I want gory fun.

Spontaneous Combustion (1990) – Sunset Films – I haven’t seen this movie since I rented from Blockbuster way back in the day. It stars Brad Dourif and was directed by Tobe Hooper, so my automatic assumption is that I liked it, but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case. I’ll definitely have to revisit it because it sounds like a great take on having “mutant” powers:

“Amateur actor Sam Kramer discovers he is cursed with the power of pyrokinesis. This unruly talent attracts the attention of father figure and local scientist Lew Orlander but Sam’s fire conjuring skills grow out of control after a conspiracy relating to his ability is exposed. Sam sets out to learn the origins of his curse in attempt to suppress his fiery temperament.”

My favorite part of the product listing is this:

“Bonus features include: A Cult Classic!, Official BluRay Release”

Clearly Sunset Films are on top of their game.

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle (1990) – Kino Lorber – If you need a recommendation beyond that title, we probably can’t be friends. I have never seen nor even heard of this, but rest assured I’ll be watching it soon.

Blood and Black Lace (1964) – Vci Entertainment – At a glance I’m going to say you’d probably be better off with the 2016 Arrow release than the one that’s coming out today. I haven’t seen this Mario Bava film, but I’m sure our pal Devlin has.

Patient Zero (2018) – Sony Pictures – I don’t know how I overlooked a horror movie starring Stanley Tucci, Natalie Dormer, and Matt Smith. Apparently the studio overlooked it, too, because it finished filming in 2015 and was pushed back twice before this quiet release.

In this day and age, a movie must be a real shitshow to have that cast and receive the treatment this one has. Smith and Dormer alone guarantee a certain number of eyeballs from the nerd community, never mind the fact that their resumes seem to be getting worse every day (see Terminator: Genisys and The Forest; or rather, don’t).

I’ll have to track this down. When it’s free.

3 Dead Trick Or Treaters (2016) – MVD Visual – The clunky title and the fact that this came out in 2016 make we wary, but the cover art is cool. A quick glance at reviews leads me to believe it might be worth checking out. Also, here’s the trailer:

Brides of Blood (1968) – Severin Films – AKA Grave Desires, The Island of Living Horror, Danger on Tiki Island! Visitors to Blood Island discover there are sinister goings-on! Shocking!

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) – Severin Films – AKA Grave Desires, Tomb of the Living Dead! Wait – they can’t both be Grave Desires, can they?!?

These movies sound amazing. This is the sequel to the above film and apparently there is a third entry. It might be next on the list. I haven’t gotten that far yet.

Terror is a Man (1959) – Severin Films – AKA Blood Creature! HOLY HECK THIS IS THE FIRST ONE! And it’s basically HG Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau.

The Blood Island Collection (1959-1971) – Severin Films – AKA The Greatest Movie Series Ever in the History of Movies!

But that’s just a guess. I am completely obsessed with these films now, even though I’m pretty sure I saw Mad Doctor of Blood Island under the title Tomb of the Living Dead years ago and it was terrible. But maybe not! The only way to know for sure is to order this box set that includes the TOTALLY EPIC BLOOD ISLAND QUADRILOGY. Also, this is apparently the only way to get the 1971 film, Beast of Blood. Maybe.

Be sure to check back next week for more spooky releases!

In the meantime, join the Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and let us know what you’re watching this Halloween!

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