Scream Factory Announces 10 New Blu-ray's (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

...and Hell Night are the ones requested the most.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants Hell Night. It's not a great movie but having seen it a couple of times on TV as a horror-loving little kid, it scared me so it's always maintained a place in my heart.

 

[Everett S.]

The CAR and GHOST STORY were huge flops when first released. Both are very tedious films.The reviews for both films were savage.

Also Death Becomes Her.

 

[Everett S.]

I don't actually think Ghost Story was a flop. I think it did OK and had mixed reviews. It has several things going for it that raise it above a lot of horror films. The cast is excellent, the DP on the film was the great Jack Cardiff and it shows (this is a very beautifully photographed film), the story is interesting and certainly much better than the slasher films that dominated the decade, and John Irvin pretty much oversaw what was a pretty classy production. In a genre that is generally swimming in schlock this certainly stands out as a film that rises above that low standard.


5. THE GUARDIAN (1990) – From the Director of The Exorcist!


I can't believe it is 25 years since I sat in a theater and watched this. I remember being quite excited going in to be seeing a new horror film from William Friedkin which was pretty much the key to the marketing of the film as this was his first excursion into the horror genre since The Exorcist. I have never revisited the film as I felt at the time it was one of the worst films I had ever seen. Being a fan of Mr. Friedkin this was a major disappointment and a shock to see that the guy that made The Exorcist could turn out a mess like this. The only thing I can compare this to would be going to see Ridley Scott's return to science fiction Prometheus. In both cases it seemed that a guy that was able to create a classic and truly wonderful genre picture and overall was a pretty darn good director had forgotten everything that made his first foray into the genre such a success.


I guess it is said that The Guardian has over the years become a "cult" film but I wonder if that is true. I think the film has rarely been shown over the years. The DVD, which I've never seen, is long out of print. I don't know how it could build a cult following when it has basically been out of the public eye for so long and Friedkin himself certainly does not bring it up or get asked about it. Perhaps because it is so rare and so many people have not seen it and it has Friedkin's name attached it has people who have never seen it clamoring to do so.


The one reason I will probably buy this film is Friedkin recorded a commentary track for the DVD release and I would actually love to hear that. I hope they include that on the blu-ray release because I am truly curious to hear Friedkin discuss this film or explain what he thinks of it. I do know he pulled his name off the television showings of the film but I think that could be due to the fact that the ending was changed for TV.


I don't recall much about The Guardian because I only saw it that one time 25 years ago but I do vividly remember my disappointment upon seeing it and leaving the theater wondering how William Friedkin could have made such a horrible film.

I worked @ a $1.00 theatre back then & it flopped there.

 

[Tony J Case]

Okay, this looks pretty damn epic:




I'm buying that right from the get go!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I worked @ a $1.00 theatre back then & it flopped there.

I'm guessing a $1.00 theater was a second run theater and I have no doubt the film was not popular in many areas. The thing is though I think it made over $23 million which for a film of that period was good money and it was one of the highest grossing horror films that year. So, saying it flopped is a bit of an overstatement. It also was among the most praised genre films of that year, I think, so, while it was not a smash hit it was not a flop...I think it would be fair to put it between those two extremes.


I honestly would not call it a bad film. It is very well made, has good performances, beautiful photography, and a somewhat different story that is not just another slash, stab, and hack yarn. I'm not saying it is a masterpiece but as horror films go it is a nice entry into the haunting end of the spectrum.

 

[TravisR]

Okay, this looks pretty damn epic:




I'm buying that right from the get go!

I don't want to oversell The Car or make it like it's anything more than an exploitation movie but it does have some pretty cool moments, really nice widescreen photography (especially for a lower budget movie), it keeps things properly mysterious and it has a quote from Church Of Satan founder Anton LaVey at the beginning.

 

[Bob Cashill]

The Car is underrated, if no masterpiece. The Arrow disc is excellent.