AGFA Restores Writer/Director Thomas Casey's Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things For Blu-ray Release On Sept. 29

The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) has unearthed what is believed as being the only surviving 35mm print of writer/director/producer Thomas Casey’s 1971 indie psycho-thriller, Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things.  It will be available as a Blu-ray edition on Sept. 29.

 

There was a go-round of films like Who Slew Auntie Roo? (1972), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969) and What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971) … all about the same time that had these catchy titles.  Probably influenced by the likes of the earlier What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and the promotional skills of showman/director/producer William Castle ... and maybe even Herschell Gordon Lewis.

 

In any case, down in Florida, Thomas Casey, had written Flesh Feast in 1967 (he was the cinematographer on the film as well), a film that is noted for starring none other than Veronica Lake (in her final screen appearance).   The film didn’t make it to theatres until 1970, and it was about that time that Casey teamed up with Harry Kerwin, who was the “production manager” on Flesh Feast to make Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things.

 

Two jewel thieves and would-be bank-robbers, Stanley (Wayne Crawford, who would later team with Kerwin for God’s Bloody Acre and Barracuda … also starred as Jake Speed in director Andrew Lane’s 1986 film release of Jake Speed) and Paul (Abe Zwick) take it on the lamb after one of their heists goes south.   Paul dons the disguise of Stanley’s Aunt Martha, which should be the perfect cover.   

 

However, instead of keeping a low profile and waiting until things blow over, Stanley, although in a gay relationship with Paul, is drawn to exotic young women.   He brings them home and Aunt Martha becomes very protective … some might even go so far as to say she is deranged.   The body count mounts!!

 

Bonus features include commentary with film historian and archivist Evan Purchell, who is joined by American Genre Film Archive’s Bret Berg, the 1970 short film titled The Drag Queen’s Ball and two additional short films — Gay-In III and Caught in the Can. 

 

 

 

 

Wild Eye Releasing Preps Director Mark Polonia's Return To Splatter Farm For DVD Release On Nov. 10

Are you going to have a good time?   A good time reliving fond memories?  Of course, it goes without saying that you are … and on Nov. 10, just about the time when there is a chill in the fall night air, Wild Eye Releasing takes you down memory lane with the long, long, long overdue sequel to a VHS-era horror classic.

 

Wild Eye Releasing, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, announced this past week that director Mark Polonia, who broke through in 1987 with the direct-to-video VHS gore fest of Spatter Farm — made with his brother John and Todd Smith — is back on Nov. 10 with a sequel that was a short 33 years in the making, Return to Splatter Farm.

 

Briefly, Splatter Farm featured Mark and John Polonia as twin brothers, Alan and Joseph, who are sent to spend the summer at their Aunt Lacey’s farm.   Aunt Lacey (played by Marion Costly, who also appeared in the Polonia’s Night Crawlers) is a sick sexual deviant, and her “farm hand” (Todd Smith — Lethal Nightmare) is a flesh-eating serial killer.   It was just a matter of time before somebody would snap at the farm.

 

Some 50 films later, Mark Polonia (along with longtime collaborator Jeff Kirkendall) takes us back to the rural tranquility of Pennsylvania (filmed in and around Stony Fork … about 30 miles west of Scranton) and the notorious “Death Farm,” which has been inherited by a young woman named Bobbi (Danielle Donahue — Amityville Island, Bigfoot Vs. Zombies, Queen Crab, Jurassic Prey, etc.).

 

She knows of its “history” and that makes it cool for her to invite her friends out to the place for a party-hardy weekend to celebrate her newfound fortune.   Yes, genre fans, that little gathering is the new victim pool and it won’t take long for this “pool” to be running blood red.

 

Mark it down, Return to Splatter Farm on DVD from Wild Eye Releasing on Nov. 10.   

 

Bonus goodies include commentary from co-directors Mark Polonia and Jeff Kirkendall and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

 

 

 

Bayview Entertainment Selects Oct. 20 For The DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Joshua Nelson's HNN Presents Psycho-Therapy

News arrived this past week that Bayview Entertainment has added two new horror-themed films to its popular HNN Presents line of DVD products which will be heading home on Oct. 20.

 

Up first is the DVD debut of writer/director Joshua Nelson’s psychiatrist-slasher flick, Psycho-Therapy, starring Suzanne Johnson (in her feature-film debut) as Victoria, a psychotherapist, who specializes in marriage and relationship issues.

 

 

She grows tired, burned-out-weary of her crazy patients ignoring her advice and decides to do something about it.  If that were the only problem in her life, we’d have little understanding of her motivations, but she’s also living in a marriage hell of her own with a beast by the name of Benny (Tom Scorzone — Invisible Lines, The Dog Walker), who likes to push her around and cheat on her.

 

 

The solution, simple.   Invite the worst-of-the-worst, including her husband, to a weekend “therapy retreat” and see if issues can be resolved.   She is living on the edge, between her clients and her husband, and with a wicked, black-comedy sense of the absurd, she also invites Antonio (Kenny Ledee — non-actor, who is actually a professional life coach), who has a clown persona by the name of Bobito.

 

 

Now Bobito has a history.  He can become extremely violent if provoked.  You see it, don’t you!!   Bobito invited to a couple’s retreat filled with nasty, grotesque and argumentative people … how long, do you suppose, before our clown goes full-tilt berserk?

 

 

Also making a DVD bow as an HNN Presents (HorrorNews.net) title is writer/director Steve Reeves’ Keeping Rosy, starring Maxine Peake (The Village, Silk, The Hollow Crown) as Charlotte, a career-oriented business woman, who has a bad day at the office and brings that frustration home with her.

 

 

If you are a fan of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart,” then you are going to love Keeping Rosy.   It is one of those “turning of the screws” kind of horror film as Charlotte, arriving at her fancy London flat in a foul mood — finds to her absolute disgust — the maid, smoking.   She’s also, it would appear, been guzzling down the best champagne!!

 

Charlotte loses it, kills the maid in a fit of rage, and now must cover up the accidental murder.   Down the rabbit hole she goes.   Each step to cover the initial crime leads to more and more problems.   More things to deal with.  Hell has arrived in Charlotte’s London flat and it seems that there is no escaping it!!

 

 

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment Promotes Frank Sinatra And Dean Martin Films With Crooner Classics DVD Package On Oct. 13

Mill Creek Entertainment has a sweet package of films and star-studded documentaries lined for release on DVD on Oct. 13.   Titled Crooner Classics, this “double-double” feature includes two films each from “Ol Blue Eyes,” Frank Sinatra, and two from his Rat-Pack cohort, “The King of Cool,” Dean Martin.

 

From Frank Sinatra we kick off the good times with director George Sidney’s 1957 film adaptation of the 1940 John O’Hara novel, Pal Joey.   Produced as a play by Rodgers and Hart in 1941, it bounced around Hollywood as a potential star vehicle for Gene Kelly, but Columbia Pictures and MGM couldn’t come to terms.

 

A bigger problem was the musical numbers from the play, they were considered to be too offensive for movie audiences of the time … the solution to the six “problem” musical numbers was to eliminate three and do instrumental versions of the other three, and then “borrow” other Rodgers and Hart songs to fill in the gaps.

 

Once all of this was worked out, other changes need to be made.   San Francisco, instead of Chicago, became the location (lots of classic Bay area locales are to be seen here) and Joey went from being a dancer to a singer, better fitting Sinatra, as opposed to Gene Kelly.  

 

The long and winding road to production for Pal Joey, also included the possibility of Barbara Stanwyck as Vera Prentice-Simpson, but with Columbia Pictures it was a natural for Rita Hayworth to get that key role.   Kim Novak came on board as “dancer” Linda English, and, as they say the rest is history.  

 

Pal Joey was nominated for four Oscars — Set Decoration, Costume Design, Sound and Film Editing — and Frank Sinatra won the Golden Globe for Best Actor.

 

The other film featuring Frank Sinatra is director William A. Graham’s rare 1977 made-for-TV epic crime thriller (clocking in at two and half hours), Contract on Cherry Street.   Based on Philip Rosenberg’s novel, this was a natural for Sinatra, who had done Tony Rome, The Detective and Lady in Cement at the end of the 1960s, before his troubles at Caesars Palace in 1970 and subsequent retirement (which didn’t last long).

In Contract on Cherry Street, Sinatra plays NYPD Detective Inspector Frank Hovannes, who has lost his long-time partner to a mob killing, decides to take matters into own hands when the department tells him to back off.   With the production values, this could have easily been a theatrical release, but Columbia Pictures Television and NBC had other plans … this would be a televison event!!

 

Shifting over to Dean Martin, Mill Creek Entertainment’s Oct. 13 DVD package, Crooner Classics, showcases Dean Martin in two of his classic romantic comedies.  First up is director George Sidney’s 1960 film adaptation of Norman Krana’ Broadway play, Who was that Lady?, which almost had Debbie Reynolds in the role of Ann Wilson, but the husband and wife team of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis (their last time acting together) got the pivotal husband and wife Wilson roles.

 

Ann walks in on her husband David — who is a chemistry professor — planting a kiss on a student and demands a divorce.   David turns to his buddy Michael (Dean Martin), who is a well-connected television scriptwriter, and asks for help.   Being the creative type, Mike comes up with an elaborate story about David being an undercover FBI agent and that the kiss was all in the line of duty.    Of course things spin hilariously out of control as the real FBI, and eventually the CIA, all get involved in “the case.”

 

The second feature is director Fielder Cook’s 1968 film release of How to Save a Marriage (and Ruin Your Life), featuring the ever-helpful Dean Martin as David Sloane, the attorney for Harry Hunter (Eli Wallach), who wants to help him out of a martial jam by seducing Hunter’s mistress.   Sloane gets it wrong, of course, and ends up seducing the mistresses’ next door neighbor, Carol (Stella Stevens) and then spends the rest of the movie trying to undo the mess he has created … it seems that “neighbors” talk!!!

 

As a bonus, in addition to the four movies featuring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Mill Creek Entertainment Oct. 13 DVD debut of Crooner Classics features seven Hollywood celebrity biographical documentaries.

 

 

MVD Entertainment Group Targets Nov. 6 For Both DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Filmmaker Jon Brewer's Chuck Berry: The Original King of Rock 'N' Roll

MVD Entertainment Group announced this past week that documentary filmmaker Jon Brewer’s latest music-themed film, Chuck Berry: The Original King of Rock 'N' Roll, will be available for fans to enjoy on Friday, Nov. 6 as both DVD and Blu-ray editions.

 

Working with the Chuck Berry estate, including access to Themetta Berry, his wife, and other members of the Berry family, Brewer has taken a deep dive into the life and remarkable career of the “Father of Rock ‘N’ Roll,” Chuck Berry.

 

Indeed, Chuck Berry: The Original King Of Rock 'N' Roll is a trip down memory lane as Brewer deftly blends archival footage with contemporary interviews, including with the aforementioned Mrs. Berry and their son, Charles Berry, Jr., and daughter, Ingrid Berry, to deliver a final product that is both informative and entertaining.  

Filmmaker Jon Brewer, whose music-themed documentaries include the likes of B.B. King: On the Road, Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story and Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark, delivers an upbeat — even exciting — tribute that includes interviews and insights, some really cool tidbits and a blend of animation and live action in delivering the Chuck Berry story … and most of all, there is the music!  

 

Included here are the Chuck Berry hit songs — “Johnny B Goode,” “Maybellene,” “Brown Eyed Handsome Man,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “My Ding-A-Ling” and more, including “Roll Over Beethoven” performed not only by Chuck Berry, but renditions by The Beatles, Gene Vincent and the Electric Light Orchestra.   In a word, WOW!!!

 

 

 

Vinegar Syndrome Announces Limit Edition Blu-ray Slate For Release On Sept. 29

Vinegar Syndrome tunes into its “Archive Collection” on Sept. 29 for a four-movie slate of film restorations featuring direct-to-video treasures from the Golden Era of VHS.   These are limited editions, so when they are gone … they are done.

 

Leading the way (yes, always a subjective evaluation) is a new 2K film restoration (from the original 35mm interpositive) of director Rafal Zielinski’s 1992 (produced in 1988, but shelved for a while) deadly “treasure hunt” film, Spellcaster.

 

It features punk rock recording artist, Adam Ant, but really stars Gail O’Grady (three-time Emmy nominee for NYPD Blue, plus such films as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Lycan, Celtic Pride, etc.) and Bunty Bailey (former fashion model, who appeared in such films as Dolls, Glitch! and Defunct).

This is an early Charles Band production (before Puppet Master) with Adam Ant as the mysterious Diablo, who is hosting a rock-music video/treasure hunt at a creepy old castle, with contestants on the prowl for a million-dollar check, while “recording artist” Cassandra Castle (Bunty Bailey) and video disc jockey “Rex” (Richard Blade — Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Crystal Heart) put on a show.

 

Counted among the contestants are Jackie (Gail O’Grady) and her brother, Tom (Harold Pruett), who scramble about the castle’s labyrinth in search of the treasure, unaware that their fellow treasure-hunters are being picked off one by one!!  

 

What makes the film so much fun — besides the creatures and the blood-letting — is the twist ending.   The devil actually gives up a soul when a deal is proposed that is so tempting that … well, let’s just say it is very clever, especially in light of some the stuff that passes for variety entertainment these days.

 

As to bonus goodies, at press time Vinegar Syndrome is reporting that three featurettes are being produced featuring actor Richard Blade and f/x artists/actors William Butler and Michael Deak. 

 

Also heading home from Vinegar Syndrome on Sept. 29 as limited edition Blu-ray product offerings are director Robert C. Hughe’s 1988 “stone age” slasher flick, Memorial Valley Massacre (a 4K film restoration from the original 35mm negative), a new 2K film restoration of director Claudio Lattanzi’s 1987 “haunted house” thriller, Zombie 5: Killing Birds and filmmaker Rubén Galindo Jr.’s 1989 Spanish-language import, Grave Robbers.

 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Targets Sept. 22 For The Delivery Of A 4K Ultra HD Edition Of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment had the 4K Ultra HD release news last week of director Zack Synder’s 300 being made available as a Combo Pack (with Blu-ray) product offering on Oct. 6.   

 

This week it is all about the new 4K scan (from the original 35mm camera negative) of director Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam War saga, Full Metal Jacket.   It will be available on Sept. 22 as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack.

 

As to bonus materials, the 4K Ultra HD disc is a move-only presentation, with the Blu-ray disc containing a vintage commentary featuring actors Adam Baldwin, Vincent D’Onofrio and R. Lee Ermey, who are joined by film critic and screen writer Jay Cocks (Oscar-nominated for Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence) and the featurette titled “Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil.”