I'M COMING TO BLU-RAY!!!!!!!!


Thanks to Mike Flynn (HunterTarantino on the message board) for bringing this fabulous news to my attention.

A few weeks ago, there were some rumors about Shout Factory, a really cool company that specializes in old tv shows, and sci-fi/horror films (they’ve released most of Roger Corman’s 70’s and 80’s out put thus far) had gotten it’s hands on Halloween III and was going to do a special edition on it. Then further rumors started floating around that they had licensed a bunch of Universal films that either hadn’t been released on dvd or Blu-ray, or had been released, but only in bare bones editions without any extra features.

Rumors about such films as Phantasm II, They Live, Prince Of Darkness, Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing, The Funhouse, and even the recently released on Blu-ray, Halloween II were popping up.

Now comes news, that ALL of these films, save for Prince Of Darkness, and a few other films that hadn’t even been mentioned are coming to Blu-ray and Dvd! A word of caution though. If you wanted to get the Universal edition of Halloween II on Blu-ray, GET IT. It’s got the “Terror In The Aisles” documentary, and that WILL NOT be on the Shout Factory release.

Here’s the press release from Blu-ray.com

Earlier today, independent film distributor Shout Factory announced the launch of its Scream Factory offshoot, which will specialize in horror and science-fiction cult favorites.

Scream Factory’s inaugural programming debuts this September with Collector’s Edition Blu-rays of both Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch. While the technical specifications are still unknown for Scream’s HD sets, the Blu-rays contain a number of bonus supplements, such as:

Halloween II –

Two audio commentaries:
– Director Rick Rosenthal
– Stunt co-ordinator/actor Dick Warlock
The Nightmare Isn’t Over: The Making Of Halloween II documentary featuring Rick Rosenthal, Lance Guest, Dick Warlock, Alan Howarth, and Dean Cundey
Horror’s Hallowed Grounds featurette on the original shooting locations
Still gallery
Theatrical trailer, TV and radio spots
A limited edition – less than 500 copies made – Haddonfield Memorial Hospital nurse’s hat if Halloween II is purchased at Shout Factory’s website

Halloween III: Season of the Witch –

Two audio commentaries:
– Director Tommy Lee Wallace
– Star Tom Atkins
Stand Alone: The Making Of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch documentary featuring Tommy Lee Wallace, Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dick Warlock, and Dean Cundey
Horror’s Hallowed Grounds featurette on the original shooting locations
Still gallery
Theatrical trailers and TV spots
A limited edition – less than 500 copies made – poster if Halloween III is purchased at Shout Factory’s website

Both discs are expected to street on September 18th.

Following these two titles, Scream Factory will offer Blu-rays of Terror Train, John Carpenter’s They Live, the screen adaptation of Peter Benchley’s The Island, Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse, Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm II, Death Valley, and Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing.

Release dates, as well as exact technical and supplementary details, are still unknown for the aforementioned titles, though Shout promises that each title will get “anamorphic widescreen [transfers], and most will be released in a ‘Collector’s Edition’ packed with new bonus content, archival materials, a collectible cover featuring newly rendered retro-style artwork, [and] a reversible wrap with original theatrical key art.”

Being the GIGANTIC fan of Halloween III that I am, I just may spring for that limited edition. I’m just glad a company is finally giving it the special treatment it deserves.

I’m also glad that The Island is finally being released, as that’s one film I’ve been wanting to see for a long time, and I was going to rent it from Amazon’s Instant Video service (I probably still will), but it’s such a wacky sounding movie, that I’ll probably end up getting it.

Death Valley is an interesting little curio as it stars Peter Billingsley, Stephen McHattie, and Wilford Brimley, and deals with a kid (Billingsley) who finds his way into an RV that unknown to him has dead people, he steals something that belongs to the killer, and a cat and mouse game ensues. It’s a lot better than it sounds.

Last, but certainly not least is the fact that this isn’t just Shout Factory releasing them. They’ve created a new sub-label called Scream Factory that will specialize in horror films, so buy these films, so we can get many more underseen horror films released.

So in September we’ll all be able to see Tom Atkins’ mustache of power in full 1080P as he seduces Stacey Nelkin with the line “That’s a dumb question Miss Grimbridge.”

source: Blu-ray.com