Posts Tagged ‘Anchor Bay’
Posted by dominie in Films, News on October 28th, 2008
Europe’s Acclaimed Horror Sensation Comes Home…To The Bay!
Freeze with Fear January 20, 2009
BURBANK, CA – Cold Prey, the Norwegian horror film that took Europe by storm and won an international fan following, has been acquired for North American DVD release by Anchor Bay Entertainment, the acknowledged leader in classic and contemporary horror programming, and Indigomotion, a subsidiary label of Leomax Entertainment.
Playing to sold-out crowds in film festivals around the world, including the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, Frightfest UK, Transylvania International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Cold Prey (aka Fritt Vilt) will be released on DVD January 20, 2009. SRP is $26.97 and pre-book is December 18, 2008.
A gripping horror film set against the majestic backdrop of a blinding snow-clad landscape (director Roar Uthaug is an avid snowboard enthusiast!), Cold Prey has been praised by Ain’t It Cool News as “Probably the most perfect slasher film ever made,” while Variety said the film “orchestrates its scares with brute effectiveness.” Screengoblin.com called it “a tense, stylish and viciously unnerving journey into a frozen nightmare,” and Arrow In The Head exclaimed “If you enjoyed the original Friday the 13th and Halloween, you’re going to love Cold Prey!” Due to the unprecedented audience response already enjoyed by the film, the sequel Cold Prey II was recently released in Norway – and already shattering local box-office records.
It’s midwinter. Five youngsters are heading for the Jotunheimen mountain area to go snowboarding. On the slope, one of them has a bad fall and breaks a leg. There is no sign of any other people around, and their mobile phones are out of range.
They catch sight of a mountain hotel in the distance, and decide to find shelter there. The hotel lies empty and silent, obviously closed down years ago. The phone lines are dead, and the youngsters realize they have to spend the night in the hotel. But it turns out they’re not alone. In the basement they discover a filthy dungeon of a room, where somebody has recently lived… (more…)
Posted by dominie in Films, News on October 16th, 2008
Released the week of Christmas in 1988 – which aroused some controversy among more genteel moviegoers — Hellbound: Hellraiser II was that rare sequel that was considered to be superior to the original film. It was hailed by many Hellraiser fans as bigger and better, and its success undoubtedly paved the way for a legendary horror franchise that now includes a total of 8 feature films, with a proposed remake on tap for 2009.
On December 30th, Anchor Bay Entertainment, the industry leader in horror home entertainment, will re-release this unforgettable horror classic on its 20th anniversary, and in grand (guignol) style with the Hellbound: Hellraiser II 20th Anniversary Edition. A true “shocking stuffer” for the holiday season, this eye-popping, head-rolling special edition comes complete with a wide variety of DVD extras and special features that will make any horror fan scream with glee. SRP is $19.97, with a pre-book date of Nov. 27th.
The initial run of this highly-anticipated special-edition DVD will include an official reproduction of the film’s original theatrical poster, and a phenomenally fearful selection of DVD extras including three brand new featurettes detailing the making of this horror classic: “The Soul Patrol,” which features all-new interviews with the film’s terrifying trio of Cenobites (Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince and Barbie Wilde); “Outside the Box,” an exclusive in-depth interview with director Tony Randel about his early career and how Hellbound: Hellraiser II shaped his creative future; and “The Doctor Is In,” an all-new interview with internationally acclaimed actor Kenneth Cranham on his experiences playing the devious and diabolical Dr. Channard.
Another featurette, “Lost in the Labyrinth,” was produced by Clive Barker himself, the mastermind behind Hellraiser who served as the story writer and executive producer of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. In addition, there are vintage on-set interviews with the cast, crew and Barker, and an exclusive audio commentary featuring director Anthony Randel, screenwriter Peter Atkins and legendary “scream queen” Ashley Laurence.
Set shortly after the dire events depicted in Hellraiser, the film follows Kirsty Cotton (Laurence; Lightning Bug, Lurking Fear) as she is sent to a psychiatric hospital run by the mysterious Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham; Gangster No. 1, Hot Fuzz, HBO’s “Rome”).
Kirsty continually experiences hellish visions of her stepmother Julia (Tony Award nominee Clare Higgins; Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, The Golden Compass) and her uncle Frank (Sean Chapman; Gangster No. 1, A Mighty Heart), both of whom met with violent fates at the hands of the Cenobites and their leader, Pinhead (Doug Bradley; Nightbreed, the entire Hellraiser canon). Unbeknownst to Kirsty, however, Dr. Channard is himself a devotee of the black arts, and that he will once again unleash the deadly Cenobites upon an unsuspecting world.
The horrors of Hellraiser have only just begun!
In addition to the encore performances of Bradley, Laurence, Higgins and Chapman, all of whom appeared in the first film, Hellbound: Hellraiser II also stars William Hope (ALIENS, Shining Through, XXX) and Imogen Boorman (Dreamchild, British TV’s long-running “Coronation Street”).
The film received a Saturn Award for Christopher Young’s score and nominations for Best Horror Film and Best Supporting Actress (Higgins). The film also received a nomination for the International Fantasy Film Award from the prestigious Fantasporto Festival.
Variety called Hellbound: Hellraiser II “a campy, gore-soaked horror tale with technically first-rate effects … a maggoty carnival of mayhem, mutation and dismemberment.” “There are enough bizarre and shocking effects here to satisfy all but the most demanding genre fans,” added Richard Harrington of The Washington Post.
Bonus features:
- Audio commentary with director Tony Randel, screenwriter Peter Atkins and actor Ashley Laurence
- Theatrical Trailers (4) and TV Spots (2)
- “The Soul Patrol” featurette – NEW interviews with Cenobite actors
- “Outside the Box” featurette – NEW interview with director Tony Randel
- “The Doctor is In” featurette – NEW interview with Kenneth Cranham
- “Under the Skin” featurette — Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II
- “Lost in the Labyrinth” featurette
- On-set interview with Clive Barker
- On-set interviews with cast and crew
- Poster and stills gallery
Posted by bob in Reviews on September 23rd, 2008
I always wonder about the taste and training of people who review horror movies at other sites. Often I wonder if we’re watching the same movie. Such is the case with Five Across the Eyes, released on DVD today by Anchor Bay. The film, shot for next to nothing, attempts to do an in-your-face horror movie but all you really get is dark, shaky noise.
Five teenage girls are lost after a high school event and wander onto roads unfamiliar to them. After a fender bender, they flee the scene and later seem to be tracked by an SUV with one headlight and a whacked-out driver bent on revenge. Can they find their way home before the driver, a woman with a riffle, gets to them first?
Well, she gets to them repeatedly and inflicts unghastly horrors upon them. What does she do, and how does she do them? That’s awfully hard to tell in the underlit movie, co-directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen. The girls encounter the woman, shriek a lot, run around a lot, and wind up escaping a little bloodier and a little dirtier for their efforts but exactly what happens is murky.
The worst problem is that Swinson’s screenplay does so little to make the five girls distinctive so they’re all bitchy, they’re all screaming and none of them can act. We have no idea what they’re saying to one another more than half the time and the rest we can discern and discover we could care less.
There’s the whole notion that five teenagers today would be caught without a single cell phone or that they’d be coming home from high school and find themselves in totally unfamiliar surroundings. And why the bleak, desolate area they’re riding in is called The Eyes remains unexplained.
Shot on video with handheld cameras, the herky-jerky feel grows tedious as you lose focus on what’s happening, where and to whom. As we discover the gruesome things the stalker has done to the others, she grows in our mind as a real threat, but things like whys and wherefores are never forthcoming.
The violence is unbelievably marred by unrealistic makeup effects to match the shrieking dialogue. Every time the girls drive away, their hunter always manages to find them but always is coming out of the shadows which makes little sense given her headlight, backlights and sound of tires on gravel. Our sense of disbelief is never put on the shelf and we’re constantly stopping to wonder how this could be.
And let’s face it, any movie that has five girls stripping down and showing nothing to the audience is an unforgivable cheat.
The ambition is not matched by the execution and all in all, this is a wasted effort and 90 minutes you won’t get back.
Posted by bob in Films, Reviews on September 21st, 2008
You have to admire a movie that tries to sustain suspense on a shoestring budget.
Essentially shot on one set for a mere $20,000, Breathing Room does what the Saws and Hostels of the world fail to do: engage you in the characters. The premise is a pretty straight-forward one: a naked young girl is tossed into a large, barren room. She’s told she’s the last of 14 prisoners, none of whom can recall how they arrived in this situation. Each has a number and is told they will be tested and only one will see freedom.
For the next 85 minutes, you’re left to wonder who is behind this and why and which one will survive. While you’re led to believe the pretty young thing (Alisa Marshall) will be your hero, along the way you’re left to wonder.
There’s some violence, but nothing overt. It’s all left up to the imagination which is where the best terror tends to be found.
The assorted characters, most of whom have something to hide, are a little too much the same age range but are different enough for you to be left wondering throughout the entire film why them, and which one will be a hero, coward or killer. The acting varies in quality as does the writing for the characters so there’s an uneven feel to the entire production.
The film, released on DVD from Anchor Bay today, is shot in a less-than-smooth style without leaving you seasick and heightening the tension the spare lighting and set provides. You lose track of the days, as do the characters, and you watch the body count mount and keep wondering why. The final twist at the end is jarring but not unsatisfying and overall, given its sparseness, does its job quite well.
Breathing Room was written by John Suits and Gabriel Cowan when they were just students at CalArts. It has a refreshing rawness to it and speaks well for their careers which have taken off since this was shot in 2006. That is has earned over $500,000 is the kind of return on investment people notice and it has led to additional work. We can look forward to more from them as a result.
Posted by bob in Films, Reviews on August 26th, 2008
Don Coscarelli made a name for himself with the first Phantasm film back in the 1970s. It had blood, gore, a sphere with a cool looking blade and Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man.
Since then, there have been two other films in the cycle and a promised conclusion which took a decade to arrive on DVD despite coming out in theatres back in ‘98. Out today is Phantasm OblIVion, in theory the final installment and offering audiences some much needed background. What we receive is some background but a lot of wasted time as well. The fourth Phantasm film seems to have been shot on a lower budget than the first and Coscarelli teases us with information but forgets to make it compelling. (more…)
Posted by bob in Comics, Games, News on August 23rd, 2008
Anchor Bay sent out the following release:
A holy relic has been discovered. And it doesn’t lead to Heaven…Meet Your Maker on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Oct. 28
Anchor Bay Entertainment and Electronic Arts present Dead Space: Downfall, the feature-length movie prequel to one of the hottest new video games of the year
BURBANK, Calif. (August 22, 2008) – Evidence of mankind’s creator also plays host to our worst nightmare, in Anchor Bay Entertainment’s October 28th DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases of Dead Space: Downfall. SRP for the DVD is $26.97, $34.98 for the Blu-ray. (more…)
Posted by bob in News on August 21st, 2008
His Name was Jason is a new documentary celebrating the Friday the 13th legacy. Starz has announced it will be broadcast in February a mere week prior to the big screen debut of the remake from Platinum Dunes.
Dan Ferrands, who wrote Crystal Lake Memories, is directing the documentary which Anchor Bay will release on DVD soon after airing.
Posted by dominie in Films, News on August 20th, 2008
Anchor Bay has announced that several of its genre titles will be reissued on Blu-ray DVD on September 9th. The reissues will be featured in bundle packages. The Zombie Bundle will be sold exclusively at Amazon.com for $89.91 and will include George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead along with Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II. Another release will be Season 1 of Showtime’s Masters of Horror complete in a four-disc set for $119.88. Both bundles will be the original version of the films including all originally released special features. More genre titles are scheduled for reissue, including Hellraiser and Children of the Corn early next year.
Posted by bob in News on August 17th, 2008
A release from our pals over at Anchor Bay:
Burbank, CA – They are the sexy embodiment of immortality. Their literal lust for life rivals the antics of today’s rockstars. The story of the vampire has ravished humanity for thousands of years. But, in particular, evil, erotic and insatiable, vampires have stalked our dreams – especially with our eyes wide open in a darkened theater. The vampire has been a fixture of the cinematic landscape, from the silent era to today’s CGI blockbusters. What is the continuing fascination? The Starz Originals documentary Bloodsucking Cinema, which Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing on DVD September 23 at the anemic SRP of $19.97, goes a long way to toward explaining this attraction. (more…)
Posted by bob in Films, News on August 13th, 2008
Director Maurice Deveraux is frustrated that the economy being what it is, a good distribution deal has proven elusive for his film End of the Line. “It’s not hard to make a deal,” Deveraux said to Fangoria, “Tons of people want the movie, including many big-name distributors—but it’s increasingly hard to get a good deal, where you get a good minimum-guarantee amount upfront and then actually get some back-end royalties later. I’ve seen too many indie filmmakers who’ve never gotten a dime for all the work they did, so I’ve been extremely cautious. Luckily, Rob Herholz of Anchor Bay was such a fan of the film and was very patient with me, so after lengthy negotiations, he finally won me over.”
So, Canadian fans can expect a DVD release from Anchor Bay Canada and Critical Mass later this year complete with commentary, a making-of documentary, the Q&A from Fantasia 2007, deleted scenes and the proverbial more.
Europe’s Acclaimed Horror Sensation Comes Home…To The Bay!
