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Vinegar Syndrome has announced 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray releases of Mac and Me, The Rage: Carrie 2, The Card Player, and Yongary, Monster from the Deep.

Exclusive slipcover editions will ship later this month, while standard retail versions are due out on August 26.

Mac and Me has been newly restored in 4K from the 35mm original camera negative with Dolby Vision Hdr.

The 1988 E.T. knock-off is directed by Stewart Raffill (The Philadelphia Experiment), who co-wrote the script with Steve Feke (When a Stranger Calls). Jade Calegory, Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, and Katrina Caspary star.

Special features:

4K Uhd presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative Brand new commentary track with co-writer/director Stewart Raffill & Jim Branscome of Cinematic Void Brand new commentary track with film historians Wayne Byrne and Paul Farren “Strange Adventure” (12 min) – a brand new interview with co-writer...

This Spring saw the 50th anniversary of the book that made Stephen King an instant household name. In 1974, his first published novel, Carrie, became a bestseller. In 1976, Brian De Palma gave it a smash-hit adaptation. King's tale of a sensitive outsider with a deadly gift continues to resonate with new generations of fans, inspiring two remakes and even a sequel. None of these films quite manage to recapture the magic of the original, but there is clearly a reason why filmmakers can't stop trying to take Carrie White to Prom.

It is ironic that a story about the world's least popular teenager would become so popular itself, but King's compelling prose and De Palma's captivating style secured Carrie's fame. The Oscar-nominated performances of Sissy Spacek in the title role and Piper Laurie as her fanatical mother are unrepeatable, and Carrie's telekinetic take-down of her treacherous classmates can't be beat.

Stephen King's books are frequently adapted into successful movies, but Hollywood often expands on the worlds King has created with original sequels that are bizarre or poorly written. One of the worst examples are the "Children of the Corn" movies, which mushroomed from an adaptation of King's single short story into a hackneyed 11-film saga. Likewise, films such as "Return to Salem's Lot" and "Pet Sematary" use Stephen King's name and established concepts to lure audiences in, but they pale in comparison to his prolific originals.

One of the exceptions to the rule is "The Rage: Carrie 2." Initially called "The Curse," Rafael Moreu's screenplay had nothing to do with Stephen King's masterful debut, but then shoehorned elements of Carrie White lore into the storyline (via Fangoria). The protagonist, Rachel Lang, is Carrie's secret half-sister and shares her telekinetic abilities. However, she is not as much of a social pariah as Carrie White,...

Once upon a time, a simpler time, when kids had attention spans that lasted longer then a thirty second tik-tok video and people drove their cars while paying attention to the road and not with their heads down scrolling through instagram videos, a world before everything we could ever want or need to know was right in our pocket. For some of you, that world sounds like ancient times, but for those of us of a certain age, that world really wasn’t so long ago. Allow me to take you back to the year 1995 when a new-ish thing called the Internet was becoming more mainstream (here would be a good spot to drop in that Katie Couric/ Bryant Gumble clip “What is the internet?”) It was a time when you would have to ask your parents to not use the phone for twenty minutes so you could get online...

Even in 1995, it was easy to snicker at Iain Softley's computer-centric cyber-thriller "Hackers." Firstly, because computer technology is so complex, and develops so quickly, any mention of modern cyber-gear would definitely be dated only a year later. Actual computer experts saw right through Softley's and screenwriter Rafael Moreu's attempts at being cutting edge. 

Additionally, Softley was presented with an interesting problem. While computer hackers occupied an exciting new technological subculture in 1995, people sitting at keyboards weren't very cinematically dynamic. Softley solved this problem by turning computer usage into something a little more abstract, using glowing animations, swirling cameras, and projecting images onto his actors' faces to make his film visually interesting. 

Softley also had to more or less create his own version of hacker culture from the ground up. He dressed his teen protagonists in complex neo-punk garb and invented their own patois. He assembled a glorious three-volume...

Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, William Katt and Stephen King are nowhere to be found. And with the exception of a near-catatonic Amy Irving, reprising her Sue Snell character, and some copycat plotting, "The Rage: Carrie 2" has virtually nothing in common with its 1976 forerunner.

Heck, there isn't even anybody named Carrie here, save for some cheesy flashbacks composed of the sow's blood-soaked De Palma footage.

Still, that hasn't stopped Paul Monash, the original's producer, from trying to hop aboard the big high school/horror bandwagon. But the result is a hamfisted clunker that is certain to induce more guffaws than goose bumps.

Given the above plus the lack of name leads and the current glut of teen product ("Cruel Intentions", "She's All That"), very few will likely get "Carrie-d" away.

Here's the set-up:

Rachel (Emily Bergl) is your average unpopular high school student with an institutionalized mother, nasty foster parents and a best friend who commits suicide. Oh, and she has a habit of flying into a telekinetic tizzy every time she gets a little upset.

As it turns out, the dad Rachel never met also happened to father one Carrie White and we all know what happened to her. And just in case we don't, they've thrown in a bunch of lame flashbacks to remind us.

Things seem to improve somewhat when she meets nice guy Jessie (Jason London), but it turns out he's an unwitting part of an elaborate school hoax to humiliate Rachel. Of course, they'll all pay a dear price for messing with her mind.

Newcomer Bergl is actually quite good in the role, grounding her character in a believability that somehow manages to defy screenwriter Rafael Moreu's ("Hackers") ultra-dumb dialogue.

The rest of the cast isn't so lucky, particularly Irving as Carrie's former schoolmate-turned-guidance counselor who unsuccessfully attempts to avert imminent disaster. For some mysterious reason, her performance is given in what appears to be a hypnotic trance.

Perhaps director Katt Shea ("Poison Ivy") could provide some explanation. While the picture clearly has some seriously arty aspirations, the plodding pace makes for mind-numbingly dull viewing. There's more kinetic energy in an episode of "Charmed".

Once again, as with the original, the special effects budget is saved up for the big vengeance finale. And while some of the gross-out elements (with decent digital effects created by Kleiser-Walczak Construction Co. and special makeup effects by Thomas R. Burman & Bari Dreiband-Burman) finally deliver, it ultimately commits the cardinal sin of supernatural thrillers: This "Carrie"'s not scary.

THE RAGE: CARRIE 2

MGM

United Artists Pictures presents

A Red Bank Films production

Director: Katt Shea

Screenwriter: Rafael Moreu

Producer: Paul Monash

Executive producer: Patrick Palmer

Director of photography: Donald M. Morgan

Production designer: Peter Jamison

Editor: Richard Nord

Costume designer: Theoni V. Aldredge

Music: Danny B. Harvey

Casting: Gretchen Rennell Court

Color/stereo

Cast:

Rachel: Emily Bergl

Jessie: Jason London

Sue Snell: Amy Irving

Mark: Dylan Bruno

Barbara: J. Smith-Cameron

Brad: Justin Urich

Running time -- 104 minutes

MPAA Rating: R...