2 films for the price of one, for horror completists.
I say that this DVD is for completists because I don't think these two films are going to end up on anyones top ten horror lists in the near or far future. BUT, you do get two at once here, and the films are somewhat interesting because of the talent involved, and it is a good deal. You get both films on a double sided disc, and that is a good thing if you are looking to see as many films as possible (like me).
SOCIETY is directed by Brian Yuzna (of Bride of Re-animator fame), and the special "surreal" effects are done by Screaming Mad George, who has worked on many, many films. It is about a teenager who thinks that everyone is not what they seem, and that he is paranoid. Ideas are not explored fully, but the film tries, and deserves a look. Yuzna includes a commentary, and the film is letterboxed. Overall, society would rate a 3 out of 5 stars due to its plot snowballing out of control, but for people who just want to see a modern effects master do his thing, stick around for the last half hour of this film. Devin Devasquez also plays a part.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION stars Brad Dourif (one flew over the cukoo's nest, childs play, two towers- Grima Wormtongue) and is directed by Tobe Hooper. It is letterboxed, there is a trailer included and not much else, but the film is mildly interesting, especially in reenacting a bomb test from the 50's. Overall the film is not great, but it does have mood at times. The soundtrack is especially effective when using an old standard: "I don't want to set the world on fire."
Is the DVD worth buying? Well, it is if you want to see as many films as possible. If you are a horror fan and have not seen them then yes it is worth buying (or renting). BUT, if you want to see a great horror film, and do not want to see every film that comes along, you may be better off seeing RE-ANIMATOR, and FROM BEYOND (in Yuzna's case, he was involved in those). For Tobe Hooper you need only to see the first two TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE films to see how he became such a well known horror director.
This movie is terrible. At least the Major League Geek Scientist is in Prison where he belongs. However he is soon up to his old tricks which involve playing with rats and dead bodies. I don't know about you but I prefer my women to be whole and not in pieces of spare parts. I give this movie 5 stars because Tom , the guy who works at the Video Store is a good bloke and I am introducing him to great booze such as Grand Marnier and Dom Benedictine!!! More Info about this DVD Director(s): Brian Yuzna DVD Release Date: Released the 30 December 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A rarely screened cult favorite from Paul Verhoeven, this story of medieval war and revenge should please action fans and admirers of the director and his semi-regular leading man, Rutger Hauer, but its graphic scenes of sexual violence earmark it for mature viewers only. Hauer stars as a 16th-century mercenary hired by a Western European ruler (Fernando Hilbeck) to assault a neighboring kingdom; when the king reneges on his promises to Hauer and his men, they kidnap his son's fiancee (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and hole up in a nearby castle. Hauer and Leigh are standouts in a strong cast that includes Tom Burlinson, Bruno Kirby, the late Brion James, and Susan Tyrrell; Verhoeven's realistic approach to the down-and-dirty facts of medieval life and the bloody aftermath of warfare offers a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Verhoeven DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The hip folks at Anchor Bay offer a delightfully demented double feature on a double-sided DVD: The 1980 thriller FADE TO BLACK and the 1981 teen horror film HELL NIGHT.
*****
FADE TO BLACK:
Dennis Christopher, star of 1979's BREAKING AWAY, has the lead role in this wry comment on Hollywood's growing influence over the worldview of average citizens in contemporary Western society. Christopher plays Eric Binford, a young man so obsessed with the cinema that he ultimately blurs the line between reality and the plots of his favorite motion pictures. As his life begins to unravel, Eric looks to the movies for the solutions to his problems, and of course, it's only a matter of time before Eric starts eliminating those "problems" following the example of his favorite movie... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tom DeSimone DVD Release Date: Released the 09 September 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Fans of Wes Craven's more recent major studio work (the Scream series) may be put off by the low-budget griminess of his sophomore feature, The Hills Have Eyes, but the director's longtime supporters and aficionados of '70s horror will be riveted by this unsettling culture clash fable. Originally titled Blood Relations, Hills strands a suburban family (which includes E.T.'s Dee Wallace Stone and future documentarian Robert Houston) in the desert and pits them against a clan of inbred cannibals. The resourceful killer brood quickly decimates the outsiders' numbers, forcing the survivors to fight back with equally savage means. Like Craven's debut, Last House on the Left, Hills is a relentlessly tense film which demolishes numerous societal taboos... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Susan Lanier - Robert Houston Director(s): Wes Craven DVD Release Date: Released the 23 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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After 11 years in development hell and screenplay drafts by 13 different writers, the long-awaited smackdown of Freddy vs. Jason finally arrives. After making their respective debuts in Friday the 13th (1980) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, replacing long-time Jason performer Kane Hodder) and razor-gloved Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) square off in a slasher-franchise combo-deal that only their most devoted fans will appreciate; turns out this is a lightweight match in which nobody wins. It's an average entry in the histories of these horror icons, comparable to half of their previous sequels, and Bride of Chucky director Ronny Yu satisfies purists with plenty of gushing blood and mayhem when... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ken Kirzinger - Robert Englund - Kelly Rowland Director(s): Ronny Yu DVD Release Date: Released the 13 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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