Documentary Filmmaker Judith Helfand's Cooked: Survival By Zip Code Heads To DVD On Apr. 20 From Icarus Films

Icarus Films, in conjunction with Bull Frogs, has tapped Apr. 20 as the DVD debut date for documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand’s Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.

Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand (Blue Vinyl, A Healthy Baby Girl, Everything’s Cool), in association with Eric Klinenber’s book, “Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago” (a document on the deadly 1995 killer heat wave that rocked Chicago and claimed the lives of 739 people), tells the story of the 1995 Chicago “meltdown” that saw temperatures race to over 100 degrees for five-consecutive days … and with humidity levels that raised to heat index to Death Valley like conditions. 

Where you lived, how you lived and who you were, was telling.   The South Side of Chicago was particularly hard hit, with its large black and low-income population.   The “Gold Coast” and other more affluent areas of the city only suffered through the inconvenience of power outages and “uncomfortable” weather.

In the aftermath, there were the calls to action.  The problem-solvers would go to work … and like past efforts, they would be unproductive.   Like the “homeless” problem, everyone talks about it, money is thrown at with little regard for results … and, in the end, the problem never goes away.

Death by your zip code … think about it.   On Apr. 20, filmmaker Judith Helfand, through interviews and footage from then and now, brings the issue front and center in Cooked: Survival by Zip Code.

 

 

 

 

Arrow Video Readies The Blu-ray Debut Of Writer/Director Adam Stovall's A Ghost Waits For Delivery To Genre Fans On May 04

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has selected May 4 as the Blu-ray release date for writer/director Adam Stovall’s debut film, A Ghost Waits.

Filmed in glorious black and white, this 2020 production gobbled-up Best Picture honors at both the London FrightFest Film Festival and the Screamfest Horror Film Festival this past year, with newcomer Adam Stovall capturing Best Director wins at these venues as well.   Quite the feat for an indie filmmaker’s first feature film.

A sad-sack “handyman” by the name of Jack (MacLeod Andrews — Doctor Sleep, Split, The Siren, etc.) wouldn’t have any luck at all if it were not for his bad luck of late.   Forced to evacuate his apartment because of cockroaches, he lands a “dream” job of renovating a house — a house where the tenants leave as quickly as they arrive.   He’s asked to just check it out, see what gives and he’s welcome to stay there until the movers arrive and haul off the stuff that has been abandoned by former tenants.

At first, he keeps busy by straightening things up, cleaning a bid, fixing a few things and then settles in for a good night’s sleep.   This sort-of-a-dream job turns quickly into a nightmare of slamming doors and things that literally go bump in the night … he has discovered, first hand, why the tenants are leaving so quickly.

He meets Muriel (Natalie Walker … in her film debut), a ghost, but not just any ghost, she’s a hired hand — yes, there are actually ghosts who are hired to “structure hauntings” — but once Jack knows the “MacGuffin,” he becomes comfortable with her presence.   And as time goes by, he falls in love with her.

But how does this relationship work?   Sorry, not giving away the twist … just join the haunting on May 4 with Arrow’s Blu-ray debut of A Ghost Waits to find out.   We will say, this is quite an impressive debut effort on the part of filmmaker Adam Stovall.

Bonus features includes three commentary options, one featuring Stovall, the second with Stovall and Andrews and the third with unspecified “cast and crew” members.   There are outtakes, a series of eight video sessions with cast and crew members, a Q&A session from FrightFest and the featurette titled, “Humanity and the Afterlife in A Ghost Waits.”

 

 

Director Aidan Belizaire's The Zombie King On DVD From Bayview Entertainment On May 04

Bayview Entertainment has tabbed May 4 as the street date for the DVD release of director Aidan Belizaire’s The Zombie King, co-starring genre icons Corey Feldman (The Goonies, Gremlins, The Lost Boys, etc.) and Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pet Sematary II, Brainscan).

Samuel Peters (Furlong) is in love, but sadly his wife (played by Tanya Katarina) has died.   It a traditional setting, Sam would grieve and move on, but in the realm of horror, there are other options.

His path is to conjure-up a voodoo demon, Kaifu (Feldman), who works his magic by turning poor Sam into “The Zombie King,” who can blissfully walk the planet with his decaying true love for eternity.  

One problem, the zombie hoard that has been unleashed by Kaifu has come up against a seemingly mismatch and inept band of human survivors, including a drunken priest (Jon Campling — Apocalypse Z, Sleeping Dogs, Three Days, etc.), who, in their own weird way, have organized themselves into a “fighting” force (smirk intended) that will put Kaifu and The Zombie King on the defensive!!

The Zombie King, from Bayview Entertainment on May 4, is a tasty blend of comedy (with British humor) and zombie thrills … yummy!

 

 

 

Severin Films Tabs May 25 As The Street For The Blu-ray Release Of The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Collection

Severin Films, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has come up with a stunning Blu-ray collection that will have genre-fans salivating with anticipation of its arrival on May 25.

Titled, The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection, this eight-disc set, with a bonus CD as well, includes five of his films from the 1960s that were produced outside of England … on the European Continent.

It is not so much what Severin Films has included in this collection, which is terrific on its own merits, but the bonus features that are attached to each of the films, but the extra “extras” that make this a must-have Blu-ray collection come the end of May.

Included in the five-film selected by Severin are director Thomas Miller’s (aka: Camillo Mastrocinque) Crypt of the Vampire (1964, with Adriana Ambesi and Ursula Davis), the 1964 release of Castle of the Living Dead (1965 English-dubbed domestic theatrical arrival featuring Gala Germani and newcomer Donald Sutherland), Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), director Harald Reinl’s 1967 (domestic – 1969) horror tale, The Torture Garden of Dr. Sadism and the ultra-rare 1963 Euro-horror haunted castle thriller, Challenge the Devil.  

The bonus goodies include commentaries, numerous featurettes, multi-language versions and the 24 surviving episodes of Theatre Macabre (from 1971/72).  

Fans of Christopher Lee can literally spend an entire evening with each of the five films, watching the bonus features, the interviews, listening to the commentary tracks, and, of course enjoying the films themselves.   Christopher Lee, need we say more?

 

 

 

Writer/Director Jason Figgis' Winifred Meeks Makes Its Domestic DVD Debut From Bayview Entertainment On Apr. 27

Bayview Entertainment announced this past week that writer/director Jason Figgis’ haunted house horror tale, Winifred Meeks, will be making its domestic DVD debut on Apr. 27.

Anna James (Lara Belmont (The War Zone, Dolls Don’t Cry, Rise of the Footsoldier) is a popular teen-centric novelist, who has decided to rent a remote cottage, the Seaview House, to turn out her next book.   Once settle in, she begins to have an uneasy feeling about the place … could it be of her own making?   After all, she picked this remote place (filmed in the English countryside, Suffolk) to get away from some personal “issues” in her life. 

In any case, while working she begins to hear those “things that go bump in the night” sounds, or as she describes it, odd happenings,” and, being a writer, these noises pique her interest as to the history of this picturesque place … what mysteries lie within, that sort of thing.

As fellow writer Edgar Allan Poe could have forewarned, take no notice of those noises as they soon may play tricks and games with the mind … especially one so fragile.   Anna soon discovers the tragic tale of Winifred Meeks (played by Julie Abbott — Our Town) and begins to suspect that Meeks is haunting her former home.  

A reasonable person, once the terror settles in, would seek shelter elsewhere, but too late for Anna James, she will confront this spirit … or die trying!!

For lovers of ghost stories, Bayview Entertainment has you in mind on Apr. 27 with the DVD debut of Winifred Meeks.

 

 

 

New DVD • Blu-ray • 4K Ultra HD Activity For The Period Ending February 19, 2021

 

 

New DVD Additions:

4 Digital Media

02/16/21 — Released Stranded on Mars (Russian)

 

Advanced-Trainings

01/26/21 — Released Rib Issues: Advanced Myofascial Techniques (2 disc set)

 

Ariztical

02/16/21 — Released Goodbye Seventies

 

Baker Publishing Group

02/16/21 — Released Talking with Your Kids about Jesus

 

Bayview Entertainment

04/27/21 — Sets Blue Shock: Surfing Makaha, Oahu, Fagara (Mandarin), Hot Surf: Puerto Escondido, Mexico, Jennifer Galardi - Ballet Body, Jennifer Galardi - Sweating Sexy, Johnnie To's Office (Mandarin), Masters: World Surfing Tavarua, Fiji, Namiya (Mandarin), So Young 2: Never Gone (Mandarin), Super Session: Rock 'N Surf, Super Slide: Beyond the Glide and Winifred Meeks

 

Breaking Glass Pictures

02/16/21 — Released Butchers

 

CBS Home Entertainment (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released America's Next Top Model Cycle 22 (4 disc set), America's Top Model Cycle 21 (4 disc set) and Fam: The Complete Series (2 disc set)

 

CMI Education/PESI Publishing

02/16/21 — Released Expressive Art Therapy: Creative Solutions for Trauma Recovery and Wound Care Conference – with Clinical Demonstration Lab

 

Championship Productions

02/16/21 — Released NABC On the Court Open Practice with Matt Langel: Defense, Transition Offense & Skill Drills

 

DVD Treasures (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Flash, Freaky Friday and MC Hammer Story

 

EWTN

02/16/21 — Released @ Home with Jim & Joy: Dr. Alveda King / the value of life and the healing of our country, @ Home with Jim & Joy: Jim and Joy Pinto Answer Viewer Calls, Questions, And E-Mails Live From the Pinto House, Called to Communion, EWTN Live: Susan Tassone / Faustina in times of suffering or Lent,  Journey Home: Deacon Charlie and Jess Echeverry / Catholic Revert and former New Ag, Women of Grace: Looking for a Cure: The Ethics Behind a COVID Vaccine and World Over with Raymond Navarro

 

Film Classics (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Bachelor in Paradise, Barbarosa, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Captains of the Clouds, Carnival Story, Charade, Charge of the Black Lancers, Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Courage of Lassie, Death in Venice, Doc, Draw, East of Eden, Forever, Darling, Gilda, Hallelujah Trail, Haunted Honeymoon, Indiscreet, Invitation to the Dance, King of the Coral Sea, Las Vegas Story, Man Called Noon, Missouri Breaks, Oh! What a Lovely War, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Opposite Sex, Proud Rebel, Real Glory, Sailor of the King, Scalphunters, She’s Working Her Way Through College, Some Like It Hot, Stage Fright, Stagecoach, Tom Thumb, Touch of Evil, Trog, Two Mrs. Carrolls, Up Periscope, Way of a Gaucho, Woman in the Window, Youngblood Hawke and Z.P.G.

 

Film Detective

04/13/21 — Sets Hercules and the Captive Women: Special Edition

 

Film Movement

02/16/21 — Released God of the Piano (Hebrew), Mambo Man (Spanish) and Mayor

 

Full Moon Entertainment

04/13/21 — Sets House of Cruel Dolls

 

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Act of Reading, Bad Impulse, Blackout, Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence, Death Trip, Mustang Saviors, Paranormal Prison and Take Me to Tarzana

 

Hallmark Channel (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Good Witch: Season 4 (2 disc set)

 

ITN Distribution

02/16/21 — Released Leprechaun's Game

 

JC Films (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Jack Jonah

 

Kimulator’s Films (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Dank Adventures of Dabman and Dabwoman and Zombitatos: The End of the Pc Master Race

 

Magnolia Home Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Tomato Red: Blood Money (ARR of 18 days; box office: $5,078)

 

National Geographic (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released National Geographic: Science of Stupid: Ridiculous Fails (3 disc set)

 

PBS Direct

02/16/20 — Released Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page, Long Song, Miss Scarlet & the Duke: The Complete First Season (2 disc set) and NOVA: Saving Notre Dame

 

Passion River Films

02/16/21 — Released Happy Cleaners

 

Pure Flix Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Finding Love in Quarantine

 

Random Media (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released As if They Were Angels

 

Rarefilmsandmore.com (MOD)

02/09/21 — Released Faces of Children (French) and Prisoner Thirteen (Spanish)

02/16/21 — Released Dangerous to Know/Doctors' Wives, Death of a Champion/Dangerous Waters, Die Wannsee Konferenz (German), Hen in the Wind (Japanese), Preview Murder Mystery/The Admiral's Secret, Red Snowball Tree (Russian) and Tiger's Coat (silent-1920)/Phantom of the Moulin Rouge (silent-1926)

 

Remember When Classic Movies (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released San Demetrio London

 

Rising Sun Media (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Mask of Thorn, Play Dead (Japanese) and Snow Woman (Japanese)

 

Showtime Networks (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Couples Therapy: Season 1 (2 disc set)

 

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Insane Championship Wrestling: Pit Figher X5 - Millville, NJ, IWA Mid-South: Headed for a Heartbreak, 2021 - Jeffersonville, IN, IWA Mid-South: Heartbreak 2021 - Jeffersonville, IN and IWA Mid-south: Opportunity Knocks - Jeffersonville, IN

 

The High School Sports Network (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released 2021 IHSAA 1A DI Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Lighthouse Charter vs Lakeside - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DI Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #2: Prairie vs Rimrock Senior - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DI Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Liberty Charter vs Grace - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DI Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4: Murtaugh vs Lapwai - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DII Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Camus County vs Tri-Valley - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DII Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Carey vs Mackay - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 1A DII Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4: Richfield vs Kendrick Stone - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 2A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Bear Lake vs Ririe - Boise, ID, 2021 IHSAA 2A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #2: Cole Valley vs Grangeville - Boise, ID, 2021 IHSAA 2A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Melba Senior vs Soda Springs - Boise, ID, 2021 IHSAA 2A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4: New Plymouth vs Valley - Boise, ID, 2021 IHSAA 3A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Marsh Valley vs Filer - Middleton, ID, 2021 IHSAA 3A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Snake River vs Parna - Middleton, ID, 2021 IHSAA 3A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4: McCall-Donnelly vs Timberlake - Middleton, ID, 2021 IHSAA 4A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Mountain View vs Century - Meridan, ID, 2021 IHSAA 4A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #2: Columbia vs Sandpoint - Meridan, ID, 2021 IHSAA 4A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Blackfoot vs Skyline - Meridian, ID, 2021 IHSAA 4A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4; Middleton vs Burley - Meridan, ID, 2021 IHSAA 5A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #1: Boise vs Coeur d'Arlene - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 5A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #3: Tiberline vs Mountain View - Nampa, ID, 2021 IHSAA 5A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals #4: Post Falls vs Rigby - Nampa, ID, 2021 WIAA Div 1 Boys Ice Hockey Semifinals #1: Verona Area vs USM - River Hills, WI, 2021 WIAA Div 1 Boys Ice Hockey Semifinals #2: Notre Dame Academy vs Hudson - Hudson, WI, 2021 WIAA Div 2 Boys Ice Hockey Semifinals #1: Somerset vs. St. Mary's - Fond Du Lac, WI, 2021 WIAA Div 2 Boys Ice Hockey Semifinals #2: Lakeside Union vs Superior - Spooner, WI and 2021 WIAA Girls Ice Hockey Semifinals #1: USM vs Eau Claire North - Chippewa Falls, WI

 

The Teaching Company, LLC

02/16/21 — Released Complete Guide to Baking Bread (4 disc set), Life and Works of Jane Austen (4 disc set) and Music Theory: The Foundation of Great Music (4 disc set)

 

Universal Pictures Home Ent. (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Riviera: Season One (2 disc set)

 

Vision Films (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Honesty Weekend

 

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

02/16/21 — Released Harley Quinn: The Complete Second Season (2 disc set) and Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season (3 disc set)

 

WOWNow Entertainment (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Quick Wisdom with Bliss: Unconditional Love, Tech Gods on Trial and Tech Talk Time: Tik Tok In 30 Minutes

 

Zeus DVDs (MOD)

02/09/21 — Released Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style

02/16/21 — Released 07 Con el 2 Delante (Spanish), 200 Motels, 5 Steps to Danger and Fabulous Dorseys

 

 

New Blu-ray Additions:

 

 

Code Red Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Slithis

 

Collector’s Heaven (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Faces of Death, Mist: The Complete Series and Ugly Americans: The Complete Series

 

Dark Force Entertainment

05/25/21 — Sets Terror Express

 

Family Theatre Productions

02/16/21 — Released Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton

 

Film Detective

04/13/21 — Sets Hercules and the Captive Women: Special Edition

 

Film Movement

02/16/21 — Released Belles of St. Trinian's

 

First Run Features

02/16/21 — Released Myth of a Colorblind France

 

Fred the Blu-ray Dog (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Dinotrux (2 disc set), Dinotrux Supercharged, Enola Holmes, Over the Moon and Sightless

 

Full Moon Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Hand That Feeds the Dead

04/13/21 — Sets House of Cruel Dolls

 

FUNimation

02/16/21 — Released My Hero Academia: Season Four - Part Two (2 Blu-ray/2 DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy) and Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun: The Complete Series (2 disc set) (with Digital Copy)

 

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Act of Reading, Bad Impulse, Blackout, Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence, Death Trip, Mustang Saviors, Paranormal Prison and Take Me to Tarzana

 

Image Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Archenemy and Random Acts of Violence

 

Indie Rights, Inc. (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Intervention

 

JC Films (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Jack Jonah

 

Kaczmarek Digital Media Group, Inc. (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Adventures of Thomasina Sawyer

 

Kimulator’s Films (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Dank Adventures of Dabman and Dabwoman and Zombitatos: The End of the Pc Master Race

 

Kino Lorber

02/16/21 — Released Bordertown Season 2 (3 disc set), Filmworker, Jetsons: The Movie, Kid Stays in the Picture, Man with a Movie Camera (silent-1929), Underneath and War

 

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

02/16/21 — Released Fear of Rain and Very Excellent Mr. Dundee

 

Mbur Indie Film Distribution (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Family Obligations and Out of Innocence

 

Merge Soft Corp. (MOD)

01/26/21 — Released Light and Sound Show

02/02/21 — Released Light and Sound Show (Blu-ray/2 DVD Combo Pack)

02/16/21 — Released Train Spectacular (Blu-ray/2 DVD Combo Pack) and Train Spectacular

 

Meridian Releasing Group (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Vehicle

 

Mill Creek Entertainment

04/20/21 — Sets Dave Chappelle's Block Party

 

Music Box Films

02/16/21 — Released Breaking Surface (Norwegian)

 

Rising Sun Media (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released I Am an Addict and Monstrous Disunion

 

Scorpion Releasing

02/16/21 — Released Unseen

 

Sentai Filmworks

02/16/21 — Released Gourmet Girl Graffiti: Complete Collection (2 disc set) and Motto to Love Ru: Season 2 (2 disc set)

 

Shout! Factory

02/16/21 — Released Call to Spy

 

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

02/16/21 — Released Horizon Line (with Digital Copy)

 

VIZ Media

02/16/21 — Released Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Part 2 (3 disc set) and Naruto: Set 2 (4 disc set)

 

Warner Bros. Home Ent. (MOD)

02/16/21 — Released Harley Quinn: The Complete First and Second Season (3 disc set)

 

Well Go U.S.A.

02/16/21 — Released Swordsman (Korean)