Full Moon Features Preps Blu-ray And DVD Editions Of Director Danny Draven's Bad CGI Gator For Delivery To Genre Fans On May 7

Remember one thing, there is no such thing as a good computer generated alligator … you will need that thought placed clearly — and deeply — in your skull if you are to survive the terror of director Danny Draven’s latest horror tale.

To that point, Full Moon Features — with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group — has selected May 7 as the release date for both DVD and Blu-ray editions of Draven’s Bad CGI Gator.

Make no mistake this has the key elements of a classic haunted house horror story.   That means that there must be two key components in place to make this classic genre motif a reality.   

First, the victim pool (which, in this case, numbers six college students) and second, the “haunted house,” which doesn’t have to be a literal “haunted house” — the place can certainly be a real haunted mansion, or just simply a creepy old barn … or a cabin in the woods, a spacecraft drifting in space — any remote cutoff location (think: trapped) will do.

From the filmmaker who gave us the likes of Hell Asylum, Deathbed and The Offerings, Danny Draven knows how to make a horror film.   He also knows how to have fun (producer of Evil Bong and Pupper Master films) and that’s exactly what Bad CGI Gator is … fun!!   

The script from Zalman Band is also something of an homage to ‘50’s creature features — science run amok and the result being giant spiders, mutant ants and even, dare we say it, alligator people.

Six college students (victim pool) arrive at a lakeside cabin (remote location) with the plan to party and have sexual encounters and to get the festivities started they toss their laptops (likely filled with Microsoft viruses) into the lake.   That’s all it takes for a mutant gator to become an instant AI/CGI killing machine … need we say more!!

Bonus goodies include commentary by Draven and Band, a blooper reel, Jojo Draven’s music score as an isolated track option, the featurette titled “Cast Table Read at Full Moon Manor!” and two podcasts — “Dead Talk Live!” and “Screams from the Basement.”

Bayview Entertainment Has Selected Mar. 26 As The DVD Debut Date For David Axe's Supernatural Horror Western Acorn

Bayview Entertainment announced this past week that director David Axe’s film-within-a-film supernatural thriller, Acorn, will be making its DVD debut on Mar. 26.

Chloe (Morgan Shaley Renew — as Freawaru in Axe’s Bae Wolf, plus Bad Girls, House Monster, etc.) is a filmmaker, perhaps you’ve seen the Spacebabes trilogy … she directed those.  In any case, she gets some devastating news as our story unfolds … she has six months to live!   Chloe is dying of brain cancer, but that doesn’t mean she is going to stop making movies!!

One last film, a creative goodbye … it will be a genre film of her making (a supernatural horror Western)!   Perhaps it is the cancer affecting her brain, perhaps just visions, who knows, but Chloe’s final film will be Die Standing Up.  It's about a badass gunslinger cowgirl named Ginny (played by Caylin Brooke Sams — Sadistic: The Exorcism of Lily Deckert, Purse, Malcolm, Woods Witch) who is on something a vision quest having had dreams about a magical tree with bizarre powers.

Without giving away too much — and there is a reason for that, as David Axe (Shed, House Monster, Bae Wolf) has delivered something quite unique with Acorn — let’s just say that the production (the behind-the-scenes stuff) is getting out of control (what could wrong, goes wrong).   The movie itself (Die Standing Up) begins to take shape (in parallel fashion) as Ginny discovers the secret of “the tree” she has been seeking (which is pretty gruesome).

Direct to video genre films can always be something of a crapshoot.  Some are dreadful (micro budget, bad writing, bad acting ... it's a long list) and then there are some, like director/producer/writer David Axe’s Acorn, that arrives as a complete surprise.   Creative, unique, different (very different) … you will not be disappointed on Mar. 26 with the DVD debut of Acorn (a double-feature all in one nice package).

The bonus included with Acorn is documentary filmmaker Sarah Massey’s Create or Die: The Making of Acorn.

Paramount Home Entertainment Readies Two Film Vault Classics For Releases As 4K Ultra HD Editions • The Crow (May 7) • Once Upon A Time In The West (May 14)

Paramount Home Entertainment announced this past week that two new film vault selections will be upgraded to the 4K Ultra HD format during the month of May.

The first of these, streeting on May 7, is director Alex Proyas’ 1994 film release of The Crow: 30th Anniversary Edition, starring Brandon Lee (who was tragically killed during the production of the film) as comic book creator James O’Barr’s risen from the dead hero, Eric Draven. 

Bonus features include the newly prepared three-part documentary titled “Shadows & Pain: Designing the Crow” and a new video session with producer Edward R. Pressman titled “Sideshow Collectibles.”

Additionally, there are two vintage commentary options — one with director Alex Proyas and the second teaming producer Jeff Most with screenwriter John Shirley — extended scenes, deleted footage and two archived featurettes — “Behind the Scenes” and “A Profile on James O’Barr.”

The second film vault treasure is the May 14 4K Ultra HD debut of director Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West: 55th Anniversary Edition. 

This is the fully restored 165-minute extended cut of the film from the original 35mm “Techiscope” film negatives (restoration overseen by none other than filmmaker Martin Scorsese).

Bonus nuggets include the newly minted commentary option featuring Jay Jennings and Tom Betts of the “Spaghetti Western Podcast” and a new featurette titled “A Look Back with Leonard Martin.”

Also included here is the tag-team archived commentary with filmmakers John Carpenter, John Milius and Alex Cox, who are joined by members of the cast and crew, plus film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall.

There are also a trio of vintage featurettes — “The Wages of Sin,” “Something to Do with Death” and “Railroad: Revolutionizing the West.”   Extensive production and “Locations: Then and Now” galleries are also featured.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Has Selected Apr. 23 As The Street Date For A 4K Ultra HD Presentation Of Director Herbert Ross' Steel Magnolias

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a 4K “fully remastered” 35th anniversary edition of director Herbert Ross’ 1989 film adaptation of Robert Harding’s 1987 stage play (he also provided the script), Steel Magnolias, set for delivery on Apr. 23.

The film, with its all-star cast (Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Olympia Dukakis and Daryl Hannah) has been out on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray … this is the first time as a 4K Ultra HD product offering.

Bonus delights include a vintage director’s commentary, ten deleted scenes, the vault featurette titled “In Full Bloom: Remembering Steel Magnolias” and the 1990 television pilot of Steel Magnolias.

Shout! Studios Looks To Mar. 19 For The Release Of The The Ring Collection On 4K Ultra HD

Shout! Studios steps up on Mar. 19 and clears three theatrical releases for the 4K Ultra HD marketplace in one fell swoop.   This would be The Ring Collection!

In 1998, Japanese filmmaker Hideo Nakata adapted writer Koji Suzuki’s 1992 horror novel, Ring (aka: Ringu), for the screen.   It was a huge success and inspired the domestic remake by director Gore Verbinski in 2002.  The Ring Two (directed by Nakata) followed in 2005 and a third installment, Rings (by filmmaker F. Javier Gutierrez) opened theatrically in Feb. of 2017.

Shout! Studios has bundled all three films into one collection (a 3 4K Ultra HD/3 Blu-ray Combo Pack).   These are all new 4K film restorations.

The bonus features for Ring include a collection of deleted footage, the 2005 short film titled Rings, two featurettes — the newly prepared “Ghost Girl Gone Global” and the vintage featurette titled “The Origin of Terror” — and video sessions with the cast and crew.

As to The Ring Two bonus goodies, fans have two viewing options — the theatrical cut and an unrated version of the film.  There is a new commentary featuring film critics Emily Higgins and Billy Dunham, deleted scenes and “The Making of The Ring Two” featurette.

Finally, Rings includes (as bonuses) a trio of deleted and/or extended scenes.