Ghoulies II Gets "Rewind Collection" Status From MVD Entertainment Group And Is Set For Delivery As Both Blu-ray And DVD Purchasing Selections On Sept. 12

They are back!!

Director Albert Band’s 1987 sequel to the wildly popular Ghoulies (1985), appropriately titled Ghoulies II, will be the newest addition to MVD Entertainment Group’s “Rewind Collection” on Sept. 12 as both DVD and Blu-ray editions.

In a very smart move — the Ghoulie stars of the original movie — are moved out of the confines of their original setting and hit the road, landing at traveling carnival and its star attraction, Satan’s Den (a horror house attraction).  

At first our little friends are welcomed as carnival geeks, but are double-crossed and that sets the stage for a carnivorous rampage, which makes this sequel a lot more fun than the original.

Bonus goodies include deleted scenes, an intro by screenwriter Dennis Paoli and two featurettes — “More Toilets, More Terror: The Making of Ghoulies 2” and “Under A Magic Moon: Interview with Dennis Paoli.”

 

 

 

 

 

New Theatrical Gets A Little Bump • "Helpers" Have Field Day While Hollywood Vacations

First, a quick update on the new theatrical release front.   The box office results — new openings, etc. — run one week behind, so we are looking at results for films opening during the week ending June 30 and the numbers recorded for their first weekend (June 30, July 1 and 2).

We got a bump up from 521 to 523 as the projected number of new theatrical releases for 2023.   While still nowhere near the pre-pandemic average of 753 films at your local multiplex, it is encouraging that we are holding above 500 consistently since the first week of March … eventually this number will get baked in (so many weekends, so many screens, so many available seats on Friday and Saturday night).

The top box score (films grossing $25 million or more; films with a box office take of $100 million or more) improved from 64 to 66 — pre-pandemic the average was 94 hit films.

Speaking of films in that category, director James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opened to $83.9 million and writer/director Gene Stupnitsky’s romcom starring Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings, has reached the “winner’s circle” with a current box office haul of $33.1 million.

2023 remains nothing more than a recovery year … modest improvements, but we are not there yet. 

The word is: Hopeful.   Industry players need to stop throwing high-profile films into the streaming pit and let theatre-going audiences pick and choose the winners if there is to be a return to normal distribution patterns.

Second, the traditional home entertainment packaged media companies — “Hollywood” studios and independents — were on vacation for the July 4th street-date Tuesday with only 19 replicated discs released across all three formats (DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD) … that is truly pitiful.

A slow week, right?   On the contrary, there were 755 new releases posted on July 4th.

That’s a preliminary count — which is always wrong — and it is an absolute certainty that “below-the-radar” and stragglers will be ferreted-out and posted, driving the count even higher.

Think about it, 19 traditionally replicated new product offerings across three formats.   Let that sink in.  

Piracy is running rampant — “helpers” and “void-fillers” are catering to consumer demands — and the “traditional” home entertainment packaged media companies take the extended July 4th holiday period off.   That’s an out-and-out indictment of what is wrong these days … put your focus on streaming and see what happens.

To that point, first thing out of the box Monday morning (July 10 was the press release for Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City with the completely out of touch headline reading: “ASTEROID CITY: BE THE FIRST TO WATCH AT HOME WHILE STILL IN THEATERS TOMORROW, JULY 11, 2023 FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT.”  You don’t thing the “helpers” will be on this like flies on road kill?

On the new release front, Paramount announced the home entertainment package media release dates for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Oct. 10) and Walt Disney locked in on Sept. 19 for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid.

We won’t even get into the “helper” activity this week … your eyes will glaze over.   Busy, and let it go at that.

Visual Vengeance Has A Newly-Minted Blu-ray Edition Of Filmmaker Bret McCormick's VHS Era Horror Feast The Abomination Ready For Delivery On Sept. 26

From the trash heap of VHS history to a glorious Blu-ray presentation, that’s what is in store for genre fans on Sept. 26.

Visual Vengeance, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a newly minted Blu-ray edition of writer, director, producer and actor Bret McCormick’s 1986 direct-to-VHS creature feature/serial killer rampage tale, The Abomination, ready for fans to enjoy … and legions of new fans to discover.

Shot on 8mm, The Abomination was a non-stop gore fest that had poor Cody (Scott Davis) fretting about the health of his mother, who may be dying of lung cancer.   But low and behold, she manages to cough-up the tumor that has been plaguing her and could now be on the road to recovery.  

That would make for a pitifully short film and certainly not in a genre fan’s entertainment wheelhouse.   That bloody growth, however, had a mind of its own and soon took control of the hapless Cody, who was tasked with feeding the creature.

Now that’s a different story.  

Once this set-up is out of the way, filmmaker Bret McCormick was free to have both Cody and “The Abomination” go on a killing rampage … the bloodier, the gorier, and the more insane, the better!!

If you are looking for art, move along, move along, this is not your film.   But if you are ready for 100 minutes of pure indie horror — make that vintage VHS horror — then The Abomination on Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance on Sept. 26 is a must!

Bonus goodies include not one, but two separate commentary options.  The first features filmmaker Bret McCormick, who is joined by Wild Eye Releasing’s Rob Hauschild and Visual Vengeance’s Matt Desiderio, while the second commentary is with Weng’s Chop Magazine’s Tony Strauss.

There’s a featurette titled “The Abomination - Filming Locations Tour,” two behind-the-scenes featurettes — “The Stairway” and “Tumor Test” — video sessions with actors Blue Thompson (as Kelly), Victoria Chaney (who plays the receptionist), the original VHS distributor Michael Jack Shoel and a bonus “interview” with “The Abomination” … and a collection of Super 8mm outtakes.

 

 

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Makes Quick Work Of Director Ric Roman Waugh's Kandahar With A July 18 Release Date On DVD And Blu-ray • Just 53 Days From Its Theatrical Rollout

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will be moving director Ric Roman Waugh’s Kandahar, toplining Gerard Butler, lightning-quick to the home entertainment packaged media arena on July 18.

That is a window of just 53 days from the date the film opened theatrically.  Despite the Waugh/Butler reteaming (Angel has Fallen), the film’s domestic box office take was a disappointing $4.8 million.

In the distribution mix are a stand-alone DVD edition as well as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack purchasing option.  

These are movie-only presentations, no bonus features.

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment Targets Aug. 08 As The Street Date For The DVD Debut Of Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Stand-Up Spotlight

Mill Creek Entertainment’s popular priced-to-collect line of stand-up comedy DVDs — “Stand-Up Spotlight” — gets a new member with the arrival of Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Stand-Up Spotlight this coming Aug. 08.

As with the other releases in this series, the DVD is priced at just $9.99 and it includes two full stand-up specials.  And, the timing for the release is absolutely spot-on as Anjelah’s latest, “Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Say I Won't,” just dropped in May and has her fans buzzing with delight.

Let’s unwrap the laughs and see what’s here for her fans to enjoy!

Voice talent, great with impersonations, former Oakland Raiderettes and knock-your-socks-off funny … what’s not to like; the complete package.   You will understand that with her 2013 comedy special, “Anjelah Johnson: The Homecoming Show,” where she just eases in, has a conversation with the audience and then next thing you know she’s got you hooked.   Storytelling with a purpose … funny and on point.

Teamed with “Anjelah Johnson: The Homecoming Show” is the filmed-on- location — the famed Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu — 2017 stand-up special titled “Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Maholo and Goodnight.”

This is her fourth comedy special and she has the timing down perfect.   Little touches, like a quick story about just getting to the theatre or creepy things like spiders, has the live audience wanting more — an hour of stand-up that just breezes by (yes, you are allowed hit “pause” to catch your breath) with non-stop laughs.

Mark it down, Aug. 08 on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes: Stand-Up Spotlight.

 

 

 

 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment Tabs Oct. 10 Street Date For Director Steven Caple Jr.'s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

Paramount Home Entertainment has selected Oct. 10 as the street date for the release of a full-spread (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD) of home entertainment packaged media selections of director Steven Caple Jr.’s latest installment in the Transformers film franchise series (seven and counting), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

The Oct. 10 release date yields an ARR* of 123 days … domestic box office receipts currently stand at $146.7 million.

Bonus features include extended and deleted scenes, both an alternative opening and an alternative ending to the film … and an impressive collection of nine production featurettes — “Human Affairs,” “Life in the 90s,” “Heroes,” “Villains,” “The Chase,” “The Battle of Ellis Island,” “Into the Jungle,” “The Switchback Attack” and “The Final Conflict.”

The extended-release window of 123 days between the film’s theatrical opening and subsequent release on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD is commendable — 60 to 74-day release windows for hit films (those grossing in excess of $25 million) is way too fast.  

However, with that said, the July 11 digital release date gives industry “helpers” and “void fillers” a 90-day jump on supplying unaware consumers with physical media copies.

 

 

Writer/Director Jim Schneider's Labor Of Love Indie Film Jack And The Treehouse Gets A July 25 Blu-ray Release Date From Bayview Entertainment

Bayview Entertainment has tabbed July 25 as the Blu-ray debut date for writer/director Jim Schneider’s heartfelt tale, Jack and the Treehouse, starring newcomer Eamonn McElfresh, who embarks on an impossible mission driven by his heart.

It is always fascinating how movies get made.  Sure, sometimes it is a road map, a best-seller is adapted for the screen, a tent pole film franchise is a ready for another entry or a super-hot filmmaker is given the green light for anything they desire.

And then there is the long and winding road to a film production that was inspired by the nugget of a goofy idea that played out some twenty-five years ago.  Julia Butterfly Hill (aka: Julia Lorraine Hill), was hoisted up a 180-foot-tall redwood tree on December 10 way back in 1997 and then proceeded to live there for the next two years to keep it from being cut down.

She won her battle, preserved the tree, which became a celebrity in its own right.

Jim Schneider was inspired by the story and wanted to write a screenplay, not necessarily about Hill’s experiences, but about embarking upon an impossible task — alone and against all odds — and never giving up.

For years — from the late ‘80s until 2003 — he worked in the business, on such films as Monkey Shines, The Silence of the Lambs, Diabolique, Wonder Boys and Thirteen Days.  While rewarding, his family life was not what he wanted it to be and so he walked away to live at home (in the wilds of western Pennsylvania) where he became involved in the local TV access market, producing shows and enjoying life with his family.

The story about Hill never left him.  Yes, it took over twenty-years to become the writer, producer and director of his vision — true indie filmmaking at its very best!  The result, Jack and the Treehouse, where a young boy is thrust into an impossible quest — to save the forest lands his grandfather (played by Cotter Smith) adored and that his father (Dave Mansueto) must part with … if the family is to survive financially.

Unlike Julia Butterfly Hill, who had a support group, Jack has placed himself at odds with his family by taking to, and then defending his lofty treehouse.   Wait him out or force him down, we all know that it is just a matter of time … except they have discounted love, faith and resolve.

Jack and the Treehouse found its way into production in 2019, using local theatre talent and resources — plus Schneider’s extensive industry experiences — and then to the screen with festival screenings at both the Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival and The Indie Gathering in Cleveland during August of 2021.  

Solid production values (just take a gander at Schneider antecedents), glowing reviews … all this indie film needed was the next step, national exposure, and that comes on July 25 with the Blu-ray debut of Jack and the Treehouse courtesy of Bayview Entertainment.

You have a choice, a best-seller is adaption, a tent pole film franchise or an entry from a super-hot filmmaker — all with mega budgets (how many times have you been disappointed) — or take a chance on a pure indie delight.