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Look out: John Carpenter's chilly tale of shape-shifting chaos at the South Pole creeps back with a new transfer and two fully stocked discs of extras old and new, including the bowdlerized Network cut, just for laughs. The picture still works like gangbusters -- the best monsters are still the gooey, rubbery pre-cgi kind. John Carpenter's The Thing Collector's Edition Blu-ray Scream Factory 1982 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / 34.93 Starring Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis. Cinematography Dean Cundey Production Design John J. Lloyd Special Makeup Effects Rob Bottin Film Editor Todd Ramsay Original Music Ennio Morricone Written by Bill Lancaster from the short story "Who Goes There?"by John W. Campbell Jr. Produced by David Foster, Lawrence Turman Directed by John Carpenter

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

It's been eight years since...

For this final Tuesday in October (and the last day of home entertainment releases prior to Halloween), horror fans have a bunch of great new Blu-rays and DVDs coming out just in time for everyone’s favorite holiday. Scream Factory has given The Exorcist III an HD overhaul (including the original Director’s Cut of the sequel), which is something no genre lover will want to miss out on experiencing. Arrow Video is also keeping busy on October 25th with the release of their impressive 17-disc box set celebrating trailblazing filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis, and the recent supernatural thriller Lights Out is making its way to Blu-ray and DVD as well.

Cult film enthusiasts are undoubtedly going to be busy this Tuesday, with Severin Films releasing a 2K version of Burial Ground, Blue Underground showing Lucio Fulci’s Manhattan Baby some love this week, and Vinegar Syndrome giving...

On October 25th, Scream Factory will give horror fans an early Halloween treat with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of The Exorcist III, and we've been provided with three copies to give away to Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) copy of The Exorcist III Collector's Edition Blu-ray.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Exorcist III Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on October 30th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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From the Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – William Peter Blatty’s cult favorite The Exorcist III [Collector’s Edition] will be bearing its cross on a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set from Scream Factory on October 25th,...

On October 25th, Scream Factory will give horror fans an early Halloween treat with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of The Exorcist III, and we have high-def clips and a trailer that teases the film's 2K transfer.

From the Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – William Peter Blatty’s cult favorite The Exorcist III [Collector’s Edition] will be bearing its cross on a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set from Scream Factory on October 25th, 2016, in a partnership with Morgan Creek Productions. The must-have set boasts the first ever home entertainment release of the director’s cut, a brand-new, alternate version of The Exorcist III, reflecting William Peter Blatty’s original vision of his novel Legion.

The Exorcist III [Collector’s Edition] also features a new 2K transfer from the inter-positive, and over 4 hours of special features. Highlights from the special features include a new audio commentary with writer/director William Peter Blatty, and new interviews with producer Carter DeHaven,...

On October 11th, horror and sci-fi fans have many reasons to rejoice, as we have two stellar Collector’s Edition releases from Scream Factory coming our way this week, The Thing and Carrie. Arrow Video is also keeping busy this Tuesday with two Special Edition releases of their own—The Hills Have Eyes and Dark Water (2002)—and the most recent Ghostbusters comes home this week on Blu-ray and DVD as well.

Other notable releases for October 11th include Hannibal: The Complete Series, 2 Jennifer, Astro-Zombies, Killer Ink, a holiday art version of Krampus, the entire run of Kolchak: The Night Stalker on DVD, A Werewolf in the Amazon collection, and an assortment of Blu-ray and DVD re-releases of The Twilight Zone.

Carrie: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)

Based on the best-selling Stephen King novel, this "absolutely spellbinding horror movie", (Roger Ebert) has become a pervasive, pop-culture touchstone...

John Carpenter's classic horror film The Thing receives the Collector's Edition treatment from Scream Factory on Tuesday, October 11th, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of The Thing Collector's Edition.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Thing Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on October 14th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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From the Press Release: In 1982 legendary genre filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live) unleashed The Thing--a chilling sci-fi thriller that raised the bar on shocking special effects and terrified movie audiences worldwide.

Coming out on a Collector's Edition Blu-ray on Tuesday, October 11th, Scream Factory's high-def release of John Carpenter's The Thing is teased in two clips and a trailer.

From the Press Release: In 1982 legendary genre filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live) unleashed The Thing--a chilling sci-fi thriller that raised the bar on shocking special effects and terrified movie audiences worldwide. On [October 11th] the Scream Factory™ home entertainment brand is proud to present this landmark horror film in a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release which includes a brand new 2K scan of the film (supervised by Director of Photography Dean Cundey) and over 5 hours of extras.

Directed by Carpenter, The Thing stars Kurt Russell (Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China) and features special visual effects by Albert Whitlock (Dune) and special makeup effects by Rob Bottin (The Howling, Fight Club). This definitive set includes a collectible...

Almost as scary as the alien parasite in John Carpenter's The Thing is the barren, brutally cold landscape surrounding the isolated characters. With The Thing being released on a Collector's Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory on October 11th, we've been provided with an exclusive behind-the-scenes Blu-ray clip in which actors Joel Polis, Peter Maloney, and Thomas G. Waites discuss filming in the arctic conditions.

From the Press Release: In 1982 legendary genre filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live) unleashed The Thing--a chilling sci-fi thriller that raised the bar on shocking special effects and terrified movie audiences worldwide. On [October 11th] the Scream Factory™ home entertainment brand is proud to present this landmark horror film in a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release which includes a brand new 2K scan of the film (supervised by Director of Photography Dean Cundey) and over 5 hours of extras.

Directed by Carpenter, The Thing stars Kurt Russell (Escape from New York,...

Nearly 35 years after its release, John Carpenter’s The Thing remains one of the greatest—if not the greatest—horror movies of all-time. A masterpiece of dread, tension, nihilism, and staggeringly imaginative practical effects, it is a high-water mark of the genre and the best movie ever made by a filmmaker with a lot of great movies to his credit. This is John Carpenter’s masterpiece.

By now, you know the story. For this loose remake of Christian Nyby’s (and Howard Hawks’) 1951 sci-fi classic, The Thing from Another World, Carpenter and screenwriter Bill Lancaster went back to John Campbell Jr.’s original story “Who Goes There?” to tell the tale of a research team in the Antarctic who encounter an alien life form with the ability to assimilate and imitate any being it encounters. Totally isolated by the freezing temperatures and snowy landscape, the men can no longer be...

In my mind, I have always found Exorcist III not only scarier than the original film. Ever since I saw the film on home video in the 90’s, I think the film becomes even more haunting as I get older. Later, I heard that Blatty, the author of The Exorcist and the writer/director of Exorcist III, had to re-shoot an ending that included an exorcism which was mandated by the studio. For years, a “director’s cut” has been on the whispers of genre fans worldwide. Late last year, I found a tasty morsel of information that this rumored “director’s cut” was happening. Bigger genre sites picked it up immediately after our little site was the first to dig up the info from the source, TheNinthConfiguration.com, some credited us to finding the info and bringing it to the attention of many, most of the sites didn’t attribute us.

Scream Factory will make this Halloween season one to remember with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III, featuring a 2K scan of the inter-positive and new interviews with the cast and crew:

Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – William Peter Blatty’s cult favorite The Exorcist III [Collector’s Edition] will be bearing its cross on a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set from Scream Factory on October 25th, 2016, in a partnership with Morgan Creek Productions. The must-have set boasts the first ever home entertainment release of the director’s cut, a brand-new, alternate version of The Exorcist III, reflecting William Peter Blatty’s original vision of his novel Legion.

The Exorcist III [Collector’s Edition] also features a new 2K transfer from the inter-positive, and over 4 hours of special features. Highlights from the special features include a new audio commentary with writer/director William Peter Blatty, and new interviews with producer Carter DeHaven,...

Scream Factory has revealed the special features list and cover art for their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of John Carpenter’s The Thing, due out on September 20th with a new 2K scan of the film’s inter-positive, a new audio commentary with director of photography Dean Cundey, and much more:

Press Release: In 1982 legendary genre filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live) unleashed The Thing–a chilling sci-fi thriller that raised the bar on shocking special effects and terrified movie audiences worldwide. On September 20, 2016, the Scream Factory™ home entertainment brand is proud to present this landmark horror film in a 2-disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release which includes a brand new 2K scan of the film (supervised by Director of Photography Dean Cundey) and over 5 hours of extras.

Directed by Carpenter, The Thing stars Kurt Russell (Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China) and features special visual effects...

Ryan Lambie Jun 26, 2017

35 years ago, The Thing was panned by critics. We take a look at the angry reaction and its modern status as a horror classic...

It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.

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Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date,...

Feature Ryan Lambie 20 Jan 2014 - 06:27

John Carpenter's The Thing was panned by reviewers in 1982. We take a look at the angry critical reaction and the later reassessment...

It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.

Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after the independent such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date, with a budget of around $15m. And while The Thing had appeared in cinemas before (in the guise of Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby's 1951 sci-fi shocker,...

In writer / producer Paul Hart-Wilden's 'Wolf Town', Kyle (Levi Fiehler from Charles Bands's Puppet Master: Axis of Evil) a shy college student finds himself and three of his friends (Alicia Ziegler, Josh Kelly, and Max Adler) trapped in an old western ghost town by a pack of ferocious wolves and has to overcome his personal fears to confront the wolves and lead his friends to safety. Wolf Town is directed by John Rebel with Todd Ramsay (The Thing, Escape From New York) editing. Here's what Paul Hart-Wilden (Skinner) had to say on Wolf Town.

So who is Paul Hart-Wilden and what is he all about?

Hmmm… good question. Essentially, all about making movies. That’s pretty much the all and everything of it. I’ve spent my entire career and life since the age of about 14 wanting nothing else but to make movies and doing everything I...