News

Italian Grindhouse fans rejoice! Blu-ray.com has reported that the Bruno Mattei creature feature Rats: Night of Terror is getting a brand new 4K Blu-ray release. The 1984 horror film stars Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, Geretta Geretta, Massimo Vanni, Gianni Franco, and Fausto Lombardi. The Blu-ray and 4K physical releases come from Severin and are scheduled to hit retailers on May 27.

The official synopsis reads,

“Having depicted the zombie apocalypse in Hell Of The Living Dead, director Bruno Mattei and screenwriters Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi took on a new kind of cataclysm to create “a grotesque, funny and thrilling magnum opus” (Daily Dead) that still must be seen to be believed, now in Uhd: In the year 225 A.B. (After The Bomb), a gang of scavengers discovers a seemingly abandoned city – including sets originally built for Once Upon A Time In America – only to become prey for millions of flesh-hungry rats. Ottaviano Dell...

Severin Films will release Hell of the Living Dead and Rats: Night of Terror on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on May 27.

Directed by cult Italian filmmaker Bruno Mattei, both movies have been newly restored in 4K from their original camera negatives.

Also known as Virus and Zombie Creeping Flesh, Hell of the Living Dead is a 1980 zombie film from writers Claudio Fragasso (Troll 2) and José María Cunillés. Margit Evelyn Newton, Franco Garofalo, Selan Karay, and José Gras star.

An accident at a chemical plant unleashes a horrific virus, and an elite Swat team is sent to New Guinea to investigate. But when they arrive on the hellish island, they discover a plague of flesh-eating zombies.

Special Features:

Go To Hell – Interview With Director Bruno Mattei The Beauty And The Zombies – Interview With Actress Margie Newton My Big Chance – Interview With Actor Franco Garofalo Lt. Mike London Is Back! – Interview...

Severin Films, who have released a long lineup of her films, brings us the sad news this week that prolific Italian genre screenwriter Rossella Drudi has passed away at the age of 61.

Horror fans may best know Rossella Drudi as the co-writer of Troll 2, which was one of Drudi’s many collaborations with her husband, Claudio Fragasso. Both Drudi and Fragasso were heavily featured in the documentary Best Worst Movie, which dove deep into the making of Troll 2 as well as explored the film’s legacy as one of the, well, best worst movies ever made.

But Rossella Drudi worked on countless other Italian genre movies throughout her decades-spanning career, writing and co-writing horror films including Hell of the Living Dead, Women’s Prison Massacre, Rats: Night of Terror, Monster Dog, Zombi 3, Robowar, After Death, Beyond Darkness, and The Crawlers, and that list quite frankly goes on and on.

Leading Chilean producer Florencia Larrea (“My Tender Matador”), formerly with Forastero, has launched a new all-female company, 500 Cinema, based in the coastal town of Viña del Mar, where she and her partners are based. “Chile is too vast and beautiful a country for everything to be centered in Santiago,” Larrea remarked.

500 Cinema serves as the film production branch of 500 Nanómetros – an innovation-focused media agency founded by Antonia Valenzuela and Valentina Ripamonti.

“After leaving Forastero, I started as creative director at 500 Nanómetros, a company with a long history in new media and immersive projects that always seeks to challenge the limits of creativity. Antonia and Valentina also saw in the type of cinema I had been making, a space to continue developing innovative narrative projects. I saw in them great professionals and people with whom I could embark on a new adventure. So, naturally, I brought my catalog, and they brought...

Charles Band’s company Full Moon will be releasing the goofball comedy Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree this Friday, June 28th – and in anticipation of that release, the Full Moon streaming service Full Moon Features is shining a spotlight on the entire Barbie and Kendra franchise, a series they say “started out of the necessities of pandemic lockdowns and has since become one of our most beloved franchises!” Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree is the fourth chapter in the franchise that began with Corona Zombies (now known as Barbie & Kendra Meet the Corona Zombies) back at the height of the pandemic and has continued through Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King and Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51. All of those movies were released in 2020, so it’s been a while since the last Barbie and Kendra adventure.

Starting today, Full Moon Features is putting the...

I have been a fan of Charles Band’s company Full Moon since I was a kid, and I have also been a fan of drive-in critic and movie host Joe Bob Briggs since I was a kid. So it’s fun to see those worlds colliding in the trailer for an upcoming Full Moon release, the goofball comedy Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree! You can check it out in the embed above. The movie will be receiving a streaming release on Full Moon Features, Amazon Prime Video, and Tubi sometime this summer.

Barbie & Kendra Crash Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree is the fourth chapter in the franchise that began with Corona Zombies back at the height of the pandemic and has continued through Barbie & Kendra Save the Tiger King and Barbie & Kendra Storm Area 51. All of those movies were released in 2020, so it’s...

In one of the most twistedly intense films of his career, Lucio Fulci takes on the erotic thriller genre and unleashes an onslaught of glossy depravity in Uhd for the first time ever: Brett Halsey (Demonia), Corinne Cléry (The Story of O), and Blanca Marsillach (Flesh+Blood) star in this insane S&m saga complete with torrid romance, rampant nudity, woodwind-induced orgasms, and a cavalcade of kink to deliver what The Digital Bits calls “one of the sleazier films Fulci ever made.” Stefano Madia (Body Count), Bernard Seray (Hell of the Living Dead) and Fulci himself co-star in this psychosexual sickie—also known as Dangerous Obsession—now scanned in 4K from the original negative with special features that include an all-new interview with Blanca Marsillach and a newly discovered audio interview with Lucio Fulci.

The Devil’s Honey is available on 4K Uhd on March 26.

Enter for your chance to win...

Stars: Chris Cimperman, Ariella Mastroianni, Michael L. Parker, LeJon Woods, Renee Gagner, James Liddell, Grant Schumacher, Michael L. Parker | Written and Directed by Bruce Wemple

Most of writer/director Bruce Wemple’s films fall into one of two categories. There are films about cryptids like Dawn of the Beast and The Retreat. And there are films dealing with abnormalities with time such as The Tomorrow Job and Lake Artifact.

Island Escape seems to be an attempt to bring the two themes together with this story of an accident at a research base on the Isle of Gran Manan. We know something is really wrong as the prologue shows a helicopter pilot being killed by what appears to be a bestial version of himself who then tries to fly off in the chopper only to have it explode in mid-air.

Meanwhile, after a barfight, Chase is approached by Alison who claims...

While 1999's Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle Virus was a major flop, the disastrous horror hybrid did boast a killer conceit that had not been seen in earlier sci-fi movies. Occasionally, a superb premise ends up becoming an unwatchable finished film. Whether this is due to meddling from over-involved executives, wrong choices made throughout the project’s production, or a lack of connection between the director and the material, even great ideas can beget terrible movies from time to time. Hollywood's history is filled with expensive misfires like this, particularly within the sci-fi genre.

Even Paul Ws Anderson, who directed superb cult classic Event Horizon, went on to make the disappointing Alien Vs Predator. That sci-fi showdown is a perfect example of how an ingenious premise - in this case, a cinematic face-off between two titans of the sci-fi horror movie genre - can end up becoming an infamous mistake thanks to the wrong rating,...

What if your imaginary friend was a killer from a slasher film? Set in Scotland in 1994, the new comic book series The Nasty answers this compelling question with blood-splattered results as it follows 18-year-old Graeme “Thumper” Connell, who enjoys watching notorious "video nasties" with his friends in The Murder Club, until one night when they come across a cursed videotape that just might bring its cinematic nightmares to lethal life.

With the first issue of The Nasty coming out on April 5th from Vault Comics, we caught up with writer John Lees and artist Adam Cahoon (who contributed art in the first two issues before stepping in as the main illustrator in issue #3) to discuss the making of The Nasty, including exploring how horror can be comforting, taking a subversive approach to the concept of imaginary friends, and creating their own "video nasties" for this series!

Below, you can check...

CinemaAward-winning director of Minnal Murali Basil Joseph and educationalist Elizabeth Samuel announced the birth of their child and also shared her name on social media.BasilJoseph/TwitterMalayalam filmmaker and actor Basil Joseph, and his wife and educationalist Elizabeth Samuel announced that they have become parents on February 15. They have named the baby Hope Elizabeth Basil. Sharing the news on social media, Basil wrote: “Thrilled to announce the arrival of our little bundle of joy, Hope Elizabeth Basil! She has already stolen our hearts and we are over the moon with love for our precious daughter. We can't wait to watch her grow and learn from her every day.” Basil married Elizabeth in 2017. Basil, who started his career making short films, is known for directing the films Kunjiramayanam, Godha and the 2021 superhero film Minnal Murali. He has also acted in supporting roles in films such as Virus and Joji, and played...

After a multi-year hiatus, Pablo Stoll, who broke out with directing partner Juan Pablo Rebella on such hits as “25 Watts” and “Whisky,” is back in the director’s seat, albeit on his own, with “Summer Hit” (“El Tema del Verano”), a zombie pic now shooting on the beaches of Uruguay.

Presented at last year’s Cannes Producers Network, film is co-produced by Temperamento Films (Uruguay), Ice End Content (Chile) and La Unión de los Ríos (Argentina) in association with Nadador Cine (Uruguay).

Ice End Content is the new production shingle formed by Chile’s Florencia Larrea, producer of “My Tender Matador,” and Rodrigo Susarte, director of “The Monster Within,” who are pitching their dark comedy series, “Frankie,” at Sanfic Industria.

Stoll’s fifth feature film starts out as a post-pandemic summer romantic comedy but transforms into a scam film and finally one about the living dead. “Is it possible to...

Stars: Jennifer Nangle, Erik Anthony Russo, Ronnie Angel, Mel Novak, Shawn C. Phillips, John R. Walker, Ken May, Noel Jason Scott, Pat Kusnadi, Ashley Morgan Kilbride, Julie Anne Prescott, Ricky Egan | Written and Directed by Dustin Ferguson

I’m not going to lie, I had absolutely no idea this film even existed, or was part of an unofficial offshoot of the Zombi series first started by Lucio Fulci. That film was an unofficial sequel to George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and had its own sequel, Zombi 3 some years later. And whilst the Italians released some unrelated films as Zombi 4 and 5, it would seem John (Sleepaway Camp superfan) Klyza’s Retrosploitation label has put out not one, not two, but Four “Zombi” films prior to this, which is part Eight of their series… Like I said, I had zero idea this film was even a thing until...

“We must explore this shitty place!”

- A character about to explore a shitty place

Yes you must, and you’ll take us with you, thanks. Rats: Night of Terror (1984) offers everything and more one could want in an indie release: sincerity, thievery, and sincere thievery. The Italian genre machine set its sights all post-apocalypto following the successes of Escape from New York and The Road Warrior (both ‘81), and wouldn’t you know, the films they made are by turns weird, grotesque, funny, thrilling, and titillating. Also wouldn’t you know, Rats is a whole lot of all of it.

Produced by Beatrice Film (fine purveyors of Mattei’s gut muncher Hell of the Living Dead), Rats didn’t show up in Italy until May of ‘85, after Germany premiered it in the fall of ‘84. Stateside? Not until ‘86. All of this is to say that the film’s history is checkered at best,...

Make way for the parade! Featuring Brian Trenchard-Smith, Eli Roth, Katt Shea, Thomas Jane, our very own Don Barrett and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Screams of a Winter Night (1979)

Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game Of Death (1975)

I Think We’re Alone Now (2018)

The Rhythm Section (2020)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)

The Ipcress File (1965)

Funeral In Berlin (1966)

Extraction (2020)

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

The Mermaid (2016)

Oklahoma! (1955)

Singin’ In The Rain (1953)

Nightcrawler (2014)

I Think We’re Alone Now (2008)

Ghetto Freaks a.k.a. Sign of Aquarius (1970)

Hostel (2005)

Cabin Fever (2002)

Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)

The Movie Orgy (1968)

Gremlins (1984)

The Goonies (1985)

Hell of the Living Dead a.k.a. Night of the Zombies (1980)

Troll 2 (1990)

In The Land Of The Cannibals a.k.a. Land of...

Joel M. Reed, the veteran filmmaker known for writing and directing the controversial Troma movie Bloodsucking Freaks among many other cult classics, has passed away at 86 years old. Posting on Reed's Facebook account, Joel's brother Elliott confirms the filmmaker died on Sunday due to complications from the coronavirus.

"Joel will surely be missed by his friends, fans and family. He had a remarkable career as a writer and filmmaker," Elliott says in the post. He also notes Reed will not be having a memorial service, adding: "He was a soldier during the Korean War and will have a military funeral without services."

Reed was born in New York in 1933 and had begun working with film in the 1960's. Some of his early movies as a director include Career Bed, Sex by Advertisement, The G.I. Executioner, Night of the Zombies, and Blood Bath. Perhaps his most well-known work is the 1976 exploitation splatter movie Bloodsucking Freaks,...

Review by Roger Carpenter

After George Romero’s remarkable international success with Dawn of the Dead (entitled Zombi in Italy), the Italians, always ready to hop on the celluloid bandwagon, rushed to churn out tons of unofficial sequels to the film as well as their own originals, just so long as “zombie,” “living dead,” or something similar was featured in the title. Thus, we have films such as Hell of the Living Dead, Burial Ground, and Zombi Holocaust, as well as the “sort-of” zombie film, Nightmare City, along with many others. But the first of the zombie films to hit theaters after Dawn of the Dead was Zombie.

Though the title certainly was a blatant ploy to ride the coattails of Dawn of the Dead, director Lucio Fulci always chafed at the notion the film itself was a rip-off of Romero’s smash hit. I won’t go into the arguments here because frankly,...

Nunsploitation is definitely not a strong suit of mine; going through a list to see which ones I’ve viewed has left me feeling ashamed and repentant. So after three Hail Mary’s and four Our Father’s I knelt down and witnessed The Other Hell (1981), Italian grimemaster Bruno Mattei’s take on fervid religiosity, rabid dogs, satanic offspring, and enough Catholic iconography to set a priest on fire. Which is a thing that also happens.

Released in Italy in late January and rolled out around the world throughout the year (North America would have to wait until ’85), The Other Hell is pretty much what I’ve grown to love about Italian horror of the ‘70s and ‘80s – outlandish characters, loopy plotting and jaw dropping moments – but is so far and above what I’ve seen of Mattei’s other work that it gives me a nosebleed.

So, let’s get thee to a nunnery,...

The latest essential addition to your horror home video collection is the 1980 Italian classic Zombie Creeping Flesh, which was released on Blu-ray today in the UK courtesy of 88 Films. Also released under the titles Virus and Hell of… Continue Reading →

The post Troll 2 Director’s Banned Movie Zombie Creeping Flesh Decomposes On Blu-ray appeared first on Dread Central.

"Say your prayers" and witness the stylized carnage of Bruno Mattei's The Other Hell (1981), which will be available on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films on April 11th.

From Severin Films: “Note: This Listing Includes The Dark Waters Blu-ray Along With Our Limited Edition The Other Hell Inspired T-shirt Which Was Made In Collaboration With The Fine Folks Of Pallbearer Press.

Available on 04/11/2017

At the peak of his ‘80s excess, Italian sleaze maestro Bruno Mattei – using the alias ‘Stefan Oblowsky’ – stunned audiences with The Other Hell, a raging Nunsploitation shocker about a series of brutal murders in a depraved convent. And while his cinematic legacy may remain controversial, Mattei here delivers a surprisingly stylized yet undeniably blasphemous orgy of stabbings, stigmata, Satanism, sexual violence and graphic savagery that ranks among his very best. Franca Stoppi (The True Story Of The Nun Of Monza), Carlo De Mejo (Women’S Prison...

Writer/Director Claudio Fragasso helmed the legendarily loopy Troll 2 and, while lacking the sheer volume of Wtf moments that enlivened that film, Monster Dog still displays the elegant touch of the creator of such rarefied fare as Rats Night of Terror and Hell of the Living Dead. Alice Cooper stars as a vacationing rocker who may or may not be the victim of a lycanthropic curse. Cinematographer José García Galisteo was one of the eight original photographers of Orson Welles’ unfinished production of Don Quixote.

Tomorrow is the last day for the public to vote for a winner in the Her Universe fashion show that I was fortunate to see live at the San Diego Comic Con (and that you can watch as the finale of its own docu-series on the new on-demand streaming network Comic Con HQ). So what better time for my fashion show recap?

But first, a little background. The fashion show, now in its third year, was started by Ashley Eckstein of the women’s geek fashion company Her Universe to bring true haute couture to geek fashion. The show is very professionally done, with video clips of the designers talking about their inspiration and works-in-progress; models (who may also be the outfit’s designer, and who are of all different body types, which is cool) strutting their stuff on the catwalk; and a DJ to keep the party going. It...

Shock talks shop with actress Geretta Geretta about her days with Bruno Mattei in 1984’s Rats. Notorious Italian exploitation guru Bruno Mattei’s most infamous work might be 1981’s Hell Of The Living Dead (aka Zombie Creeping Flesh aka Night Of The Zombies aka Virus aka…well, aka lots of titles) but that outrageous Dawn Of The…

The post Interview: The Rats Are Coming! Geretta Geretta is Here! appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Stars: Liv Collins, Sarah Power, Timothy Burd, Ari Millen, Barry Flatman, Walter Borden, Boyd Banks, Tony Burgess, Jason David Brown, Matt Griffin | Written by Tony Burgess | Directed by Jesse Thomas Cook

It would seem, at least on paper, that the director of low-budget quasi-wrestling monster movie Monsters Brawl and the (literal) shit-monster movie Septic Man; teaming up the writer of the neo-classic Pontypool for a movie that encapsuates an American gothic vibe would not work. On the one hand you have someone’s whose work is filled with subtlety, on the other… shit-monster (and yes, I know Burgess also penned Septic Man)! Yet somehow, despite some lapses in judgement and a conclusion that falls off the cliff somewhat, The Hexecutioners really works.

From the offset, The Hexecutioners is completely overblown and overwrought. The film is scored like some kind of idiots guide to horror – queues hit all the notes that...

Shock splats out a stack of shots from 1980’s cannibal zombie epic Hell Of The Living Dead. We lost the veteran Italian exploitation filmmaker Bruno Mattei in 2007 and he left behind a hefty body of work, movies that largely mimicked other (and better) films and were often astonishing in their delirious, go-for-broke, exploitative…

The post Gruesome Galleries: 1980’s Hell Of The Living Dead appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

An accident at a chemical plant unleashes a horrific virus, and an elite Swat team is sent to New Guinea to investigate. But when they arrive on the hellish island, they discover a plague of flesh-eating zombies as well as a beautiful female reporter who practices nude anthropology. Can the commandos survive this cannibal rampage, uncover a shocking government secret, and still find time for the occasional cross-dressing before the ravenous hordes of the living dead infect the entire world?

Yes, in this episode of Mondo Squallido I take a look at Bruno Mattei’s 1980 zombie horror Hell of the Living Dead… aka Zombie Creeping Flesh!

Ultra-nasty Italian exploitation film Women’S Prison Massacre screams on to Blu-ray. Had Bruno Mattei (Hell Of The Living Dead) lived long enough to see the Blu-ray revolution reach the lower echelons of euro-perv exploitation titles, even he might be surprised to see his grubby 1983 sex and violence wallow Emanuelle In Prison (aka Blade Violent) buffed…

The post Bruno Mattei ‘Women-in-Prison’ Flick Hits Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Italian sleaze master Bruno Mattei’s nasty exploitation cheapie The Jail: The Women’S Hell on DVD. I vividly recall the first time I saw Bruno Mattei’s 1980 cannibal zombie chunk-blower Hell Of The Living Dead (aka Zombie Creeping Flesh). It was a rental, during one of my early teenage movie parties, wherein my fellow fright fans…

The post Review: Bruno Mattei’s The Jail: The Women’S Hell on DVD appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

In 1989, Italian director Bruno Mattei made an amalgam of Aliens and The Terminator. We look back at a wonderfully bad film...

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then a 1989 Italian film called Shocking Dark pays James Cameron the ultimate compliment: it openly steals from not one but two of his 80s hits.

Now, it’s no secret that B-movie filmmakers have long taken ‘inspiration’ from hit genre movies - Star Wars, Alien, Jaws and Mad Max are some of the most imitated films of the 70s and 80s, spawning such cult B-movies as StarCrash, 1990: Bronx Warriors and Contamination.

Shocking Dark, on the other hand, occupies its own special place in movie history. We’re not just talking about an attempt to evoke the general atmosphere of a successful film here - we’re talking about the wholesale recreation of entire sequences. As an example, consider the following...

"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "Time Enough at Last", "To Serve Man", and "The Invaders" are some of the most memorable episodes of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, and Fright Rags is commemorating their enduring entertainment values with a new collection of T-shirts. In our latest round-up, we also have details on the recently announced UK Blu-ray of Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (aka Zombi 3) and the upcoming high-definition home media release of Vampire Hunter D (1985).

The Twilight Zone T-Shirts: Available to pre-order beginning Friday, April 24th at 10:00am Est, Fright Rags' The Twilight Zone T-shirt collection comprises five shirts and one custom-made Invader figure. The collection is priced at $160.00 and is expected to ship out in early June.

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BlZombie Flesh Eaters 2: Blu-ray.com reports that 88 Films will release Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (starring Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, and Ottaviano Dell'Acquaon) on Blu...

Die Falle

(La morte ha fatto l’uovo a.k.a Death Laid an Egg, A Curious Way to Love & Plucked)

1968, dir: Giulio Questi

Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Great Silence) stars as Marco, a wealthy man who runs a high-tech chicken farm (living the dream right there!) with his wife Anna, played by Gina Lollabrigadia (Beat the Devil). When not taking care of business, Marco has a nasty little habit. He likes to murder prostitutes. Yep, a guy who breeds chickens with no bones or heads for a living needs some sort of distraction right? Not only that, but he also has a thing for his lovely young and nubile secretary Gabrielle, played by Ewa Aulin (Death Smiles at Murder). She lives with the married couple in their grandiose estate. Unsurprisingly, Anna is rather suspicious of her husband and his hobbies. Uncertainty in relationships becomes a running theme with pretty much...

I have been a Blue Underground fanboy for quite a while now, as I have quite an impressive collection of their Blu-ray releases. This will be the first Blue Underground title that I have reviewed for the site, and what a title to start with. Blue Underground’s Blood Soaked Double Feature, is two Bruno Mattei films on Blu-ray for the price of one, and it’s quite an interesting pairing, I must say. The set consists of Hell of the Living Dead, following by Rats: Night of Terror. I have seen Hell of the Living Dead several times, but this marks the first time that I’ve seen Rats. If you want to follow the format given to us, you would watch Hell of the Living Dead first, but the truth of the matter is, these two films compliment each other so well that you could reverse it and...

For the last week of August, there’s a bounty of horror and sci-fi Blu-rays and DVD’s arriving, which should satisfy the cravings of just about any genre fan. Not only does The Walking Dead Season 4 finally get its release (in grand fashion of course!), but there’s also an incredible DVD collection of The Twilight Zone series from the ‘80s coming our way from Image Entertainment and Scream Factory’s brand new Blu-ray of The Legend of Hell House to look forward to as well.

And as if that wasn’t enough, there are also a handful of indie horror titles getting released including Blood Glacier, Aftermath, Zombex, The Possession of Michael King and Jersey Shore Massacre and BrinkVision is also releasing a limited edition DVD of Sonno Profondo after the Giallo-esque film found much success on the festival circuit in 2013.

Spotlight Titles:

Blood Glacier (Mpi Home Video,...

It has been such a long time since I sat down to watch Shock Waves that I can barely recall a single image from the film. Thankfully, Blue Underground has my back, as they will be releasing the film to Blu-ray & DVD on November 25th this year. If you aren’t familiar with Blue Underground, or what they do, they are one of the premiere boutique labels that have been a prolific distributor in cult and genre home video releases. I have a pretty large collection of Blue Underground Blu-rays. I think I’m only missing two of their releases, actually. I have the Hell of the Living Dead/Rats double feature sitting on my desk, and I will be tearing through that one tonight. Look for a review of that this week, and be sure and pre-order a copy of Shock Waves for yourself. Check out the press release below for detailed release info.

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero

Release Date: 6/26/14 on VOD, 8/1/14 in theaters and on iTunes

Written By: Jake Wade Wall

Directed By: Kaare Andrews

Starring: Sean Astin, Currie Graham, Ryan Donowho, Brando Eaton, Jillian Murray, Mitch Ryan, Solly Duran, Lydia Hearsy

Review & Interview by Daniel Xiii.

“Does this look infected?”

Your ol’ pal (well, I guess for the readers here at Famous Monsters I’m your new pal, seeing as this is my first review here!) Daniel Xiii really digs a flick that piles on the gore, a preference that has existed in me since the glory days of 80’s splatter shockers; so any new release that harkens back to those more extreme, over-the-top days of gallons o’ grue is always welcome in the crypt of Xiii.

To that end, when the original Cabin Fever—a cross between the Evil Dead and Street Trash directed by genre stalwart Eli Roth (Hostel 1 and...

Summer is officially right around the corner, which means horror DVD and Blu-rays are starting to heat up as well. This week, we’ve got several cult classics hitting high definition for the first time, another special edition set of the first three seasons of The Walking Dead,and the recent RoboCop reboot directed by Jose Padilha and starring Joel Kinnaman.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a special Doctor Who David Tennant-themed collection being released, several indie creature features and we’re finally seeing the official arrival of the Video Nasties documentaries stateside on Tuesday. Check out all the horror and sci-fi fun you can add to your home collections this week below!

Spotlight Titles:

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (Cult Epics, Blu-ray)

Prepare yourselves… The strangest bedtime story ever told! Cult Epics brings you Death Bed, George Barry’s uniquely weird journey through a world of wind demons,...

We recently told Daily Dead readers that Blue Underground has been working on a Blu-ray version of Hell of the Living Dead. Packaged together with Rats: Night of Terror in a Blu-ray 2-pack, we now have the official release date and list of bonus features:

Hell Of The Living Dead: “When The Creeping Dead Devour The Living Flesh! An accident at a chemical plant unleashes a horrific virus, and an elite Swat team is sent to New Guinea to investigate. But when they arrive on the hellish island, they discover a plague of flesh-eating zombies as well as a beautiful female reporter who practices nude anthropology. Can the commandos survive this cannibal rampage, uncover a shocking government secret, and still find time for the occasional cross-dressing before the ravenous hordes of the living dead infect the entire world?

Directed by the notorious Bruno Mattei (The Other Hell), this ’80s...

Blue Underground is putting out a double feature Blu-Ray presentation of some hilariously bad Italian horror films. Rats: Night of Terror and Bruno Mattei’s Hell of the Living Dead are gems for drinking party fodder. While some may be complaining that these films are hitting Blu-Ray when other films that are “more deserved” are still waiting in the high definition wings, I welcome this schlock into the realm. Blue Underground originally announced Hell of the Living Dead last September on their Facebook page so it isn’t too much of a surprise (except for the fact that it has taken almost a year to come out).

Read below for all the juicy details, courtesy of DVDActive.

The long-awaited Hell of the Living Dead/Rats: Night of Terror Double Feature Blu-ray will be released on August 26, 2014

The Blu-ray features brand-new High Definition transfers of both films from the original uncut and uncensored negatives,...

1980′s Hell of the Living Dead is getting a new high-definition transfer and is due out later this year. Blue Underground will package the Italian zombie movie with Rats: Night of Terror in a Blu-ray 2-pack. Although a specific release date has not yet been set, be on the lookout for this later in 2014. Here’s a look at the cover art and additional release details:

Hell Of The Living Dead: “When The Creeping Dead Devour The Living Flesh! An accident at a chemical plant unleashes a horrific virus, and an elite Swat team is sent to New Guinea to investigate. But when they arrive on the hellish island, they discover a plague of flesh-eating zombies as well as a beautiful female reporter who practices nude anthropology. Can the commandos survive this cannibal rampage, uncover a shocking government secret, and still find time for the occasional cross-dressing before the...

If you grew up as a horror film fanatic in the 1980s, you may have run through most of the American slasher flicks and occult thrillers -- and then you rented Lucio Fulci's 1980 cult favorite Zombie, which hopefully led you to all sorts of gore-laden apocalyptic mayhem from Italian splatter-slingers like Umberto Lenzi (Nightmare City), Lamberto Bava (Demons), and Bruno Mattei (Night of the Zombies) -- which hopefully led you back to more Lucio Fulci. Anyway that's sort of what happened to me, and while it's true that the more refined "giallo" thrillers from directors like Dario Argento seem to get most of the respect these days, lots of horror fans still enjoy those cheap, gory, sometimes awful Italian zombie flicks.

  If you're one of those people, there's a very good chance you'll enjoy a new low-budget independent horror flick called The Demon's Rook, which was made by a...

Italy has frequently been at the forefront of European cinema as a trendsetter in the annals of exploitation cinema. Without Italy, we wouldn’t have the Mondo film or Gialli. Who else would have supplied us with Amazonian cannibals, nasty Nazis or demented nuns in such a pleasing manner?

Italy has always been awash with cinematic talent. And it is a country that doesn’t mind doing sexy, doing off beat, to be a little daring. The amount of wonderful exploitation directors has ensured that Italy has produced some of the most amazing horror films, cult oddities, documentaries and pornos.

I have listed the foremost Italian exploitation film directors that I can think of.. If you have a particular Italian director that you admire that I have missed out, please let’s have a discussion below.

10. Bruno Mattei (1931-1997)

Those of you who read my reviews will know that I...

If the phrase “European road cult comedy” describes the kind of movie you want to see, then Robert Mitchum Is Dead is clearly right up your alley. The film, which premiered at Cannes, features a boatload of references and influences from Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch, Jean-Luc Godard, zombie movies, rockabilly music and more. Check out a new clip from the film, entitled “Night of the Zombies.” The movie stars Olivier Gourmet and Pablo Nicomedes, and comes out on DVD and VOD on May 21st.

Synopsis:

This hilarious addition to the road-movie genre follows a desperate agent (Olivier Gourmet) and an insomniac actor of questionable talent as they make their way in a stolen car across Europe to a film festival in the Arctic Circle. Hoping to get the actor a meeting with a famous director, they encounter a series of bizarre encounters, and it’s uncertain whether their dreams of fame will come true.

Plague Nation is Dana Fredsti’s sequel to the zombie novel Plague Town, and continues to follow Ashley Parker fighting the zombie threat. The book is now available in the Us, and will be available in the UK next week, and we’ve been provided with an exclusive excerpt to share with Daily Dead readers.

Synopsis: “The undead have been defeated in Redwood Grove, CA, but reports of similar outbreaks are coming in. What seemed to be an isolated event is turning into a pandemic. The last thing Ashley Parker wanted when she went to college was to join the military, but she is one of a select few who are immune to the virus. Gifted with enhanced speed, strength, and senses, she’s recruited by a shadowy international organization that’s existed for centuries, its sole purpose to combat the zombie threat.

Dark secrets begin to emerge, and when an unknown enemy strikes,...

Directed by: Marco Ristori and Luca Boni

Written by: Marco Ristori and Germano Tarricone

Starring: Guglielmo Favilla, Alex Lucchesi, Claudio Marmugi, Rosella Elmi

The cover art for Eaters proclaims that the film is “presented by Uwe Boll.” This information should be more than enough for potential viewers to make up their minds. Mr. Boll did not direct this latest take on the zombie apocalypse, nor did he have much direct involvement with the production. So if the best your Italian zombie film has to trumpet is a tenuous association with the reviled filmmaker of House of the Dead, then you’ve already set the expectation level rather low. It turns out the Boll mention was an adequate, and honest, admonition of the resulting 95 minutes.

A mutant virus that turns humans into flesh-eating zombies has destroyed the civilized world. In a filthy, dilapidated compound a scientist with the unfortunate name of...

A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre DVD releases for the month of January.

Lightning Bug (2004) Image Entertainment Blu-ray and DVD Available Now

Effects guru Robert Hall’s semi-autobiographical film about a small town teen (Reaper's Bret Harrison) who has aspirations to become a special effects artist. An opportunity to manage the town’s local haunted house is thwarted by his alcoholic stepfather and the staunchly religious views of the surrounding population. The solid supporting cast includes That 70’s Show’s Laura Prepon, Hellraiser’s Ashely Lawrence and Kevin Gage. Written and directed by Hall, it’s an affectionate coming-of-age drama that works in spite of an uneven narrative that falls apart in the final half hour. Hopefully this new extended cut will remedy the scripting problems of the original release.

Special Features include:

* Never-before-released extended cut of the film.

* Making-of Featurette

* Audio commentaries with the writer/director and cast.

The following is a list of all comic books, graphic novels and special items that will be available this week and shipped to comic book stores who have placed orders for them.

Aam Markosia

Cancertown Blasphemous Tumours Tp, $19.99

AC Comics

Men Of Mystery #88, $29.95

Ace Books

Doctor Who The Wheel Of Ice Hc, $26.95

Action Lab Entertainment

Order Of Dagonet #2, $3.99

Amryl Entertainment

Cavewoman 2008 HeroesCon Signed Regular Sketchbook, Ar

Cavewoman Gangster #3 (Of 3), $3.75

Antarctic Press

Gold Digger Holidays Special #2, $3.50

How To Draw And Design Steampunk Pocket Manga Tp, $14.95

Zombie Kid Diaries Volume 3 Walking Dad Gn, $10.99

Ape Entertainment

Strawberry Shortcake Digest Volume 3 Field Day And Other Stories Gn, $6.99

Strawberry Shortcake Volume 2 #2, $3.99

Arcana Studio

Arcana The Book Gn, $14.95

Intrinsic Gn, $14.95

Archaia Entertainment

God Machine Hc (Leather Bound Edition), $49.95

Archie Comics

Archie #640, $2.99

Archie And Friends Double Digest #23, $3.99

Betty And Veronica Prom Princesses Tp, $9.99

Jugheads Double Digest #188, $3.99

Mega Man #21 (Alice Meichi Li Variant Cover), $2.99

Mega Man #21 (Chad Thomas...

Most of us know rabid record collectors, but a rabid record collector who specializes in the '70s prog rock outfit Goblin - that's next level. Goblin is probably best known for creating the unforgettable musical accompaniments to Argento's films.

This month, Ian Zapczynski takes FEARnet on a tour of his over 600 strong LP, 7" and 12" collection. This man is serious about Goblin and all things related to the band.

The Collector:  Ian Zapczynski

Location:  About 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

What:  Goblin.  LPs, CDs, and all merchandise related to the band who is best known for their music for horror films.   This includes records by other artists that members of Goblin performed on or produced, an aspect which makes my collection unique amongst the few other serious Goblin collectors.   You haven't lived until you've paid $50+ for an LP that is absolutely impossible to listen to just because Maurizio Guarini played keyboards on one track.

Cinefamily’s upcoming month-long horror celebration is pretty much the raddest thing ever. Presented in partnership with Elijah Wood’s The Woodshed Horror Company, Nightmare City is a 30-day midnight video nasty watch-a-thon to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the video nasty uproar in the U.K.

Yep. It’s a nightmare come true. 30 days of over-the-top brain smashing, blood-gushing nasty goodness. To sweeten the deal Cinefamily is offering prizes to the fans who sit through the most movies:

3Rd Place: the 3-dvd all-region UK box set Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide

2Nd Place: a vintage large-format French theatrical poster for The Burning + the 3-dvd all-region UK box set Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide

1St Place: the chance to guest-program an upcoming Cinefamily midnight movie screening + the 3-dvd all-region UK box set Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide. In the event of a tie for first place, we will hold a...

Oh, Blue Underground. We love you so! The company that has delivered some of the horror genre's more crazed moments is back with a lineup of double feature DVD's to kick off the new year! Read on for details.

Killer Critters Double Feature Available January 29, 2013

Rats: Night Of Terror:

In the year 225 A.B. (After the Bomb), a group of post-apocalyptic bikers discover an abandoned research laboratory filled with food, water… and thousands of rats. But these are no ordinary vermin; these are super-intelligent mutant rodents with a ravenous appetite for human flesh. Can a bunch of heavily armed but not-too-bright human scavengers survive a night of terror against the most hungry and horrific predators on earth?

Venom:

It was supposed to be the perfect crime: the sexy maid (Susan George of Straw Dogs), a psychotic chauffeur (Oliver Reed of Revolver) and an international terrorist (the legendary Klaus Kinski...

Blue Underground released the first batch titles from their Midnight Movies collection, which include a number of cult horror releases. For those that may not be familiar with some of these movies, a new trailer has been released that contains highlights from each film.

It has also been announced that a second wave of Midnight Movies will be released this August and includes two zombie and two cannibal films.

Blue Underground introduces the Midnight Movies Collection, a series of double and triple feature special edition DVDs. Available for a very limited time only. Buy them all today because once they’re gone, they’re gone…

Available July 31st:

Midnight Movies Vol. 1: Horror Triple Feature (A Blade In The Dark / MacAbre / Shock) Midnight Movies Vol. 2: Western Triple Feature (Companeros / Four Of The Apocalypse / Run Man Run) Midnight Movies Vol. 3: Action Triple Feature (The Big Racket / Heroin Busters / Street Law) Midnight Movies Vol.