"Space Raiders" and "Short Eyes" Debut on Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing and Kino Lorber this August!

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 22, 2014 - Kino Lorber and Scorpion Releasing announce the release of Roger Corman's sci-fi adventure SPACE RAIDERS, starring Vince Edwards, and Robert M. Young's prison drama SHORT EYES, starring Bruce Davison, in limited edition Blu-rays, available on August 1st exclusively at kinolorber.com.

SPACE RAIDERS streets on September 2nd, with a SRP of $29.95, in a limited edition of 2,000 units. SHORT EYES streets on September 16th, with a SRP of $29.95, in a limited edition of 1,500 units. Both titles will also become available on DVD with individual SRPs of $19.95.

SPACE RAIDERS

1983 Color 84 Minutes Anamorphic (1.78:1) Rated PG Science Fiction

Join a pint-sized boy for a giant-sized space adventure! On the distant planet of Procyon III at a time far into the future, 10 year-old Peter Tracton (David Mendenhall,Over the Top) is innocently trying to catch a pesky space bug when suddenly the warehouse he is playing in is attacked by outlaw Space Raiders, and the boy is whisked off on an incredible adventure beyond his wildest dreams. Vince Edwards (TV's Ben Casey M.D.) stars as Col. C.W. "Hawk" who discovers Peter hiding the hull of the of the cargo ship that he and his raiders have just hijacked. While under attack by Hawk's arch nemesis, the alien Zariatin, Peter risks his life to help with the repair of a damaged engine, enabling the Raiders to a make a safe escape. With exhilarating echoes of the movie Star Wars, Hawk and his crew reward Peter's courage by promising to return the little boy safely to his home planet. Together they embark upon a thrilling odyssey across millions of miles of outer space. Directed by veteran cult director Howard R. Cohen (Saturday the 14th).

Movie Review: Jess Franco's The Demons (Blu-ray)

European cult cinema has produced many undeniable talents over the past 50 years: Dario Argento (Suspiria, Deep Red), Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Bay of Blood), Jean Rollin (Living Dead Girl, Grapes Of Death), Walerian Borowczyk (The Beast, Behind Convent Walls) and Lucio Fulci (City Of The Living Dead, The Beyond) are just a handful of names that have contributed numerous memorable features. And then there's Jess Franco. A highly skilled and talented filmmaker in his own right, Franco has been brilliant with films like Venus of Furs and Succubus but has also unfortunately churned out unwatchable shot-on-video sludge like Marie Cookie and the Killer Tarantula and Tender Flesh. The directors mentioned earlier are far from perfect but seem to have a tad more consistency than the Spanish filmmaker.

Kino and Redemption Films are back yet again with another addition to their line of Jess Franco films on heels of the fine releases of The Awful Dr. Orloff and Virgin Among the Living Dead with Jess Franco's Demons. Not to be confused with Lamberto Bava's Demons, Jess Franco's The Demons takes a page out of Ken Russell’s popular and very controversial The Devils with this deliciously blasphemous tale of horny nuns, possession and nasty inquisition sadism. The story surrounds the torture and subsequent execution of a witch who makes her presence known in the after-life as a demonic spirit possessing innocent and very hot nuns.

Movie Review: The Man Who Lies (1968; Kino Lorber/Redemption Films)

...what's that old saying?? Something about a 'tangled web one weaves, when one practices to deceive'? Consider the pathological liar: The tales rendered, often outrageous and dazzling...even manipulative...though with an element of truth, which genuinely supports the fantasique fervor of the story told. Favorable focus on the storyteller...even to the point of 'superhuman' empowerment, or an incredibly sheltered naivete; they are the hero in their tales, or perhaps the hapless, unknowing victim. The surprisingly keen ability to weave a fantastical, seemingly supportive tale, right on the spot, given the clear urgency of the situation...though, that's where that aforementioned 'tangled web' comes into play, when the story becomes so convoluted with falsehood, it begins to fray, and come unraveled. And of course, there's the motive...the 'hanging carrot' clockwork reasoning that drives the recipient listener of the complex and intricate fabrication into potentially believing the manipulative teller of the tale...

...in director Alain Robbe-Grillet's brazenly artful, enigmatic and self-telling 1968 mystery/drama, "The Man Who Lies"...a joint French/Czechoslovakian production...does the film's mysterious and manipulative protagonist, rightly fit the definition, as suggested above?? Or is there method to the ensuing madness, as enigmatically depicted in the following 'tangled web' proceedings??...

Movie Review: Home Before Midnight (1979; Kino Lorber/Redemption Films)

...as might have more than likely been the case, as far as anyone else...if this open-minded, cinema-crazed viewer had, back in the golden days of browsing the video rental isles, perchance and out of curiosity, pulled this quirky little drama off the rental shelf, having previously devoured director Pete Walker's better-known excursions...that is, at the time, without really knowing him as a director, by name...which favored much more visceral, exploitative, accentedly sadistic and horrific genre arenas, I may well have shrugged my shoulders, and place the tape back on the shelf...though having taken a chance on the film, I would have been surprisingly taken back at how provocative and equally exploitative the film was, despite the headline-driven dramatic subject matter, which is presented, in 1979's "Home Before Midnight". Hmmm...interestingly enough, this viewer...several years older now, wasn't genuinely privy of Pete Walker's masterfully rendered work until just after the demise of the video store rental, and well into the digital home video inset; having subscribed to the more graphically lurid, provocative, disturbing and blood-spattered of Walker's entourage, I have to gladly reiterate, having recently viewed his abrupt switch towards the more melodramatic, with "Home...", given the particular time of it's initial release, that he most assuredly had not lost his exploitative touch, with this engaging bit of provocative storytelling...

Peter Walker's "House of Mortal Sin" and "Home Before Midnight" Coming Soon to Blu-ray!

Kino Lorber and Redemption are pleased to announce the release of two more cult classics from British exploitation filmmaker Pete Walker:HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT, a serious look into an illicit affair between a songwriter and an underage fan, and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, about a corrupt priest who uses his power for his own sinister gain.

Continuing their tradition of releasing the best in European horror and cult classics in new HD transfers, with informative special features, Kino Lorber and Redemption bring HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN to Blu-ray on June 17th, individually priced at $24.95 each. Both Blu-rays come packed with bonus features that will offer something new for long-time fans of these films, including interviews with Pete Walker by horror film expert Elijah Drenner and, on HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, an audio commentary with director Pete Walker and Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic.

These two films from this master of British horror and exploitation join Kino Lorber and Redemption's other releases of Pete Walker films on Blu-ray, including DIE SCREAMING, MARIANNE, HOUSE OF WHIPCORD, SCHIZO, THE COMEBACK, and - most recently -FRIGHTMARE and THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW.

Movie Review: Frightmare (Blu-ray,1974)

It seems whenever there is some strong discussion on controversial horror directors from the UK, one name that almost always gets thrown around, is Peter Walker. The sleazy and often bloody works of Peter Walker (The Flesh and Blood Show, Die Screaming Marianne, House of Whipcord) aren't for everybody but neither is Tyler Perry.  Recently Walker’s films have gotten the high definition treatment thanks to the folks at Redemption Films. One of his masterpieces of note that fans of 70’s horror and Peter Walker might want to track down is the latest incarnation on the Blu-ray format for Frightmare.

After over a decade and a half in an insane asylum an elderly cannibalistic fortune-teller (Shiela Kieth, The Comeback, and House of Long Shadows) is released to snack on the unknowing townsfolk. For all they know she’s just another polite granny, who in a lot of ways looks a bit like Mrs. Doubtfire. Her husband, Edmund (Rupert Davies) doesn’t help matters as he continues to enable her, as bodies begin to pile up in their farmhouse. Of course the local police are on it but like most lawmen in horror they just chase their tales.

Movie Review: The Black Torment (1964)

By Greg Goodsell

Directed by Robert Hartford-Davis

Buy Black Torment on DVD

Eighteenth-century aristocrat Sir Richard Fordyke (John Turner) returns to his country estate in Devon with blushing bride Elizabeth (Heather Sears). They are met with an extremely chilly reception, as the nearby villagers are dealing with the rape and murder of farm girl, which with her dying breath declared Fordyke as her killer. This simply can’t be true, as Fordyke has just spent the last three months in London with his new wife – but skeletons, literally and figuratively begin to emerge from the family’s closet. Elizabeth learns that her husband’s previous wife, Anne, leapt to her death from a high window as a mysterious ghostly woman in white is seen haunting the grounds, chanting “murderer!” Even more illogical things begin to occur around the newlyweds. A leather craftsman comes forward to insist that Fordyke ordered a new saddle in person while he was ostensibly in London, with his dead wife’s name stitched upon it. Is our hero mad, or being haunted from malevolent spirits from beyond the grave? Bodies pile up, and the truth is shockingly revealed.

Franco's DEMONS and More Coming Soon From Kino and Redemption Films!

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 9, 2014 - Kino Lorber and Redemption are proud to announce the release of Jess Franco's THE DEMONS in its complete, uncensored cut on Blu-ray, newly mastered in HD from the original 35mm elements, and THE BLACK TORMENT, a Gothic horror film by Robert Hartford-Davis that will be released on DVD, mastered in HD from 35mm archival elements.

Continuing its releases of the best in European horror in newly-mastered editions from original film elements, Kino Lorber and Redemption are pleased to bring these two films to horror fans on April 29th with special features including interviews that give new insight into the creation of these stylish and atmospheric films. 

THE DEMONS is the latest of Kino Lorber and Redemption's digital restorations of the films of Jess Franco, including such critically-acclaimed releases as FEMALE VAMPIRE, A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD, and the Rondo Award-nominated THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF.

Movie Review: L’immortelle (1963, Blu-ray)

Movie Review by Greg Goodsell

Directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet

How can one accurately review a film that is inherently beyond criticism? The screenwriter behind the prototypical art-house snoozer Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Alain Robbe-Grillet bravely goes beyond mere cinematic syntax to drag the viewer through a series of tableaux that are by themselves beyond comprehension. Seeing that this probably wouldn’t have sold tickets, Robbe-Grillet had the good sense to hire the frostily beautiful Françoise Brion and hinge the story on “kind of, sort of” sexual acts. 

A morose-looking professor (Jacques Doniol-Valcroze) arrives in Istanbul. He’s glum and forlorn, a Stranger in a Strange Land. Aforementioned pretty lady (Françoise Brion) gives him a lift. He informs here that he is in Istanbul for the next two years. They go to a party. The camera drifts over several people, they get and leave, the camera is obscured by people walking in front of it, etc. We learn that the professor’s name is Andre. Not knowing anyone, he asks his newfound female friend to translate Turkish. “I don’t know a word of Turkish,” she says, and then turns around and uses perfect Turkish to a tour guide. The professor confronts her and she says something to the effect of “I don’t know Turkish, I only know how to speak Turkish when I talk to the Turks.” I have no idea.

Franco Prosperi's MEET HIM AND DIE is Coming Soon From Raro!!

Raro Video Will Release Franco Prosperi's MEET HIM AND DIE, the hard-hitting Italian police thriller starring Ray Lovelock (Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man) and Elke Sommer (Lisa and the Devil).
Available on Blu-ray and DVD on April 1st in digitally remastered edition including a video introduction by Mike Malloy (Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s) and a fully illustrated booklet with notes on the film. 

NEW YORK, NY- MARCH 3, 2014 - Raro Video is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Franco Prosperi's MEET HIM AND DIE, a rare gem of the poliziotteschigenre starring Ray Lovelock (Fiddler on the Roof; Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man), Elke Sommer (Lisa and the Devil, A Shot in the Dark), and Martin Balsam (Psycho, Cape Fear).

Movie Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920, Blu-ray)

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has had seen several variations over the years with actors like Fredrick March and Spencer Tracy doing their version of the Jekyll and Hyde character. One of the earliest versions from director John S. Robertson (Captain Hurricane, Our Little Girl) has an equally talented actor in the roles of both doctor Dr. Jekyll and his menacing alter-ego with the casting of John Barrymore (Romeo and Juliet, The Invisible Woman). Kino Classics has taken this 94 year-old silent horror classic and put it onto the high-def format with all sorts of tender love and care.

Henry Jekyll (John Barrymore) is a genius among his peers, not only admired by his fellow colleagues but respected by the many people he helps. There really isn't too much to dislike about a guy that goes out of a way to create comfort for those suffering... or is there. Like many people, Jekyll has urges and one of them to get a little crazy and feel nothing from the consequences. He creates an alter-ego who he can live vicariously through after making a potion that transforms him into the sinister Mr. Hyde.

Movie Review: The Whip and the Body (Blu-ray,1963)

During the heyday of Britain's glorious Hammer Studios productions and Italy's grand gothic horror cycle, two men were huge contributors to the very best genre films had to offer - Christopher Lee (Dracula: Prince Of Darkness) and Italy's Master of Horror, Mario Bava (Black Sunday and Black Sabbath). On the heels of the success of Black Sabbath, to many a horror fan's delight, director Mario Bava joined forces with the popular English actor to make The Whip and the Body. Kino-Lorber has now given the film its Blu-ray debut which should indeed please Bava admirers.

The Whip and the Body is a tale about love, lashes and murder at the massive Menliff Manor. Kurt (Christopher Lee) rides a horse galloping furiously towards his old home, much to the dismay of his family. The family rightfully has a beef with Kurt as he's abusive whip-wielding murderer; but they are far from perfect. Kurt's brother, Christian (Tony Kendall) is married to their cousin, Nevenka (Daliah Lavi). To make matters even crazier, Kurt has a heavily sadomasochistic relationship with their stunning relative. Naturally, Nevenka and Kurt hook up for a bit of fun -- but unfortunately for Kurt not too long after he is found dead with a neat slit in his throat from ear to ear.

The Italian Zombie Epic "Nightmare City" Debuts on Blu-ray December 31st From Raro Video!

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 2, 2013 - Raro Video is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Umberto Lenzi's zombie horror film Nightmare City in a new HD transfer from the original 35mm negative and packed with special features.

Nightmare City comes to Blu-ray and DVD with a street date of December 31st and a prebook date of December 3rd. The Blu-ray SRP is $34.95, and the DVD SRP is $29.95. Special features include: an interview with Umberto Lenzi (49:27); original English trailer (3:45); original Italian trailer (3:45); a fully illustrated booklet on the genesis and production of the film by Chris Alexander, Fangoria Magazine; new HD transfer digitally restored; and new and improved English subtitle translation.

Mario Bava's "The Whip and the Body" Debuts December 17th, 2013 on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Classics!

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 22, 2013 - Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Mario Bava's THE WHIP AND THE BODY, starring iconic horror film star Christopher Lee, and mastered in HD from an original 35mm print.

Set to street on December 17th, the Blu-ray and DVD editions present the film with choice of audio in Italian with optional English subtitles, English dubbed, and French with optional English subtitles; audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark; the theatrical trailer; and original trailers of other Bava films. The SRP for the Blu-ray is $24.95; the SRP for the DVD is $19.95.