Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis Blu-ray
HomeShock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis Blu-ray
Posted July 22, 2016 04:07 PM by Webmaster
Arrow Video have announced that they will release on Blu-ray Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis. The release will be available for purchase on October 24.
In 1963, director Herschell Gordon Lewis pulled a cow's tongue out of an actress' mouth on camera, and in doing so, changed the landscape of horror cinema forever. That sequence was just one of numerous gruesome gags featured in Blood Feast, the film credited as being the world's first gore movie. It's no exaggeration to say that the modern gross-out movies of today owe their very existence to the pioneering efforts of H.G. Lewis.
But whilst Lewis is most widely celebrated for his blood-and-guts epics (Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Wizard of Gore et al.), there's more to the prolific director than splatter. From tales of sordid photographers (Scum of the Earth) to sex robots (How to Make a Doll), from biker girl-gangs (She-Devils on Wheels) to youths-run-amok (Just for the Hell of It), and from psychic witches (Something Weird) to hard liquor-loving hillbillies (Moonshine Mountain), the filmography of H.G. Lewis reads like a veritable wish-list of exploitation movie madness.
Now, for the first time ever, Arrow Video is proud to present fourteen of the Godfather of Gore's most essential films (including nine Blu-ray world debuts), collected together at last and packed full of eye-popping bonus content. So put your feet up, pour yourself a glass of good ol' moonshine, and prepare yourself for a feast – H.G. Lewis style!
This eye-popping, gore-hounding, moonshine-drinking limited edition release from Arrow Video celebrates the importance of H.G. Lewis in the evolution of the gross-out film and brings together 14 of his most iconic pictures in one spectacular box set. With two editions available, both loaded with splatterific special features, fans of Lewis will be spoiled for choice so hold on to your cow's tongue and get ready for some gore!
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS (BOTH EDITIONS)
U.S. RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 25.
***
Arrow Video will also release on Blu-ray Hideo Nakata's Dark Water and re-release Richard Wenk's Vamp and Brian Yuzna's Bride of Re-Animator.
Dark Water
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common theme of the "dead wet girl" to new heights of suspense and drama.
Based upon on a short story by Ring author Koji Suzuki, Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question, and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko, but perhaps their lives as well.
Beautifully shot by the same cinematographer as Ring and Pulse, and featuring an especially unnerving sound design, Dark Water successfully merges spine-tingling tension with a family's heart-wrenching emotional struggle, creating one of the very finest and most unsettling contemporary Japanese horror films.
Special Features:
UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 10.
Vamp
Two fraternity pledges head to a seedy part of town to find some entertainment for their college friends but are faced with bloodthirsty vampires!
Keith (Chris Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Robert Rusler, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge) want to make the right impression at college and so they devise a plan to get them into the best frathouse on campus. They head to the After Dark Club where they want to find a stripper for a party their friends won't forget, instead they find themselves among vampires led by Kinky Katrina (Grace Jones, A View to a Kill)!
Almost certainly an influence on From Dusk til Dawn, Vamp is superbly designed by many of Grace Jones' own award-winning collaborators and features stunning effects by four-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom (The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker's Dracula). Delivering laughs and scares in equal measure, with the added bonus of vampy sex appeal, Vamp is a comedy horror romp with real bite!
Special Features:
U.S. STREET DATE: OCTOBER 4.
Bride of Re-Animator
The success of Stuart Gordon's hit horror-comedy Re-animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead III) – would prove that there was a good deal more life (and death) left in the story of Dr Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits.
It has been eight months since the bloody massacre at the Miskatonic medical school. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan's dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong?
With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous "shunting" sequence of Society) on hand to contribute a host of characteristically weird and wonderful creations, Bride of Re-animator is a more than worthy successor to Stuart Gordon's original cult classic.
Special Features:
U.S. STREET DATE: OCTOBER 18.
In 1963, director Herschell Gordon Lewis pulled a cow's tongue out of an actress' mouth on camera, and in doing so, changed the landscape of horror cinema forever. That sequence was just one of numerous gruesome gags featured in Blood Feast, the film credited as being the world's first gore movie. It's no exaggeration to say that the modern gross-out movies of today owe their very existence to the pioneering efforts of H.G. Lewis.
But whilst Lewis is most widely celebrated for his blood-and-guts epics (Two Thousand Maniacs!, The Wizard of Gore et al.), there's more to the prolific director than splatter. From tales of sordid photographers (Scum of the Earth) to sex robots (How to Make a Doll), from biker girl-gangs (She-Devils on Wheels) to youths-run-amok (Just for the Hell of It), and from psychic witches (Something Weird) to hard liquor-loving hillbillies (Moonshine Mountain), the filmography of H.G. Lewis reads like a veritable wish-list of exploitation movie madness.
Now, for the first time ever, Arrow Video is proud to present fourteen of the Godfather of Gore's most essential films (including nine Blu-ray world debuts), collected together at last and packed full of eye-popping bonus content. So put your feet up, pour yourself a glass of good ol' moonshine, and prepare yourself for a feast – H.G. Lewis style!
This eye-popping, gore-hounding, moonshine-drinking limited edition release from Arrow Video celebrates the importance of H.G. Lewis in the evolution of the gross-out film and brings together 14 of his most iconic pictures in one spectacular box set. With two editions available, both loaded with splatterific special features, fans of Lewis will be spoiled for choice so hold on to your cow's tongue and get ready for some gore!
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS (BOTH EDITIONS)
- Fourteen of the Godfather of Gore's finest attractions, newly restored from original and best surviving vault materials
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the features and extras on 7 Blu-ray and 7 DVD discs
- Additional 2 bonus Blu-rays featuring 1.33:1 versions of Blood Feast, Scum of the Earth, Color Me Blood Red, A Taste of Blood and The Wizard of Gore
- Additional bonus DVD: Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore documentary
- 28-page H.G. Lewis "annual" stuffed full with Lewis-themed activities plus archive promotional material
- Fully-illustrated 92-page art book featuring the definitive overview of the entire career of H.G. Lewis written by Stephen Thrower, with a brand new foreword by Lewis
- 160-page paperback of the original Blood Feast novelization, written by Lewis
- 7" vinyl single featuring select tracks from the Blood Feast score
- 14 postcards featuring original artwork for all the films included
- Individually handmade "super gory" eyeball
- Shock and Gore commemorative barf bag
- Newly illustrated packaging and books by The Twins of Evil
- Newly illustrated packaging by The Twins of Evil
U.S. RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 25.
***
Arrow Video will also release on Blu-ray Hideo Nakata's Dark Water and re-release Richard Wenk's Vamp and Brian Yuzna's Bride of Re-Animator.
Dark Water
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common theme of the "dead wet girl" to new heights of suspense and drama.
Based upon on a short story by Ring author Koji Suzuki, Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question, and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko, but perhaps their lives as well.
Beautifully shot by the same cinematographer as Ring and Pulse, and featuring an especially unnerving sound design, Dark Water successfully merges spine-tingling tension with a family's heart-wrenching emotional struggle, creating one of the very finest and most unsettling contemporary Japanese horror films.
Special Features:
- Original 5.1 audio (DTS-HD on the Blu-ray)
- Brand new interview with director Hideo Nakata
- Brand new interview with novelist Koji Suzuki
- Brand new interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi
- Archive interview with actress Asami Mizukawa
- Original 'Making of' documentary
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- First pressing only: illustrated collector's booklet containing new writing by David Kalat, author of J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond, and an examination of the American remake by writer and editor Michael Gingold
UK STREET DATE: OCTOBER 10.
Vamp
Two fraternity pledges head to a seedy part of town to find some entertainment for their college friends but are faced with bloodthirsty vampires!
Keith (Chris Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Robert Rusler, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge) want to make the right impression at college and so they devise a plan to get them into the best frathouse on campus. They head to the After Dark Club where they want to find a stripper for a party their friends won't forget, instead they find themselves among vampires led by Kinky Katrina (Grace Jones, A View to a Kill)!
Almost certainly an influence on From Dusk til Dawn, Vamp is superbly designed by many of Grace Jones' own award-winning collaborators and features stunning effects by four-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom (The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker's Dracula). Delivering laughs and scares in equal measure, with the added bonus of vampy sex appeal, Vamp is a comedy horror romp with real bite!
Special Features:
- Original mono audio
- Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- One of those Nights: The Making of Vamp - a brand new documentary featuring interviews with director Richard Wenk, stars Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gedde Watanabe
- Behind-the-scenes rehearsals
- Blooper Reel
- Image gallery
- Dracula Bites the Big Apple (1979) - Richard Wenk's celebrated short film
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil
- First pressing only: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Cullen Gallagher
U.S. STREET DATE: OCTOBER 4.
Bride of Re-Animator
The success of Stuart Gordon's hit horror-comedy Re-animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead III) – would prove that there was a good deal more life (and death) left in the story of Dr Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits.
It has been eight months since the bloody massacre at the Miskatonic medical school. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan's dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong?
With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous "shunting" sequence of Society) on hand to contribute a host of characteristically weird and wonderful creations, Bride of Re-animator is a more than worthy successor to Stuart Gordon's original cult classic.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2K restoration of the Unrated version, approved by director Brian Yuzna
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with Brian Yuzna
- Audio Commentary with Brian Yuzna, star Jeffrey Combs, visual effects supervisor Tom Rainone and the effects team including John Buechler, Mike Deak, Robert Kurtzman, Howard Berger and Screaming Mad George
- Audio Commentary with stars Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott
- Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-animator – brand new featurette in which the director looks back at the making of the first Re-animator sequel
- Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-animator – brand new FX featurette with a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Robert Kurtzman of KNB, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin and John Buechler
- Getting Ahead in Horror – archive making-of featurette
- Deleted Scenes
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
U.S. STREET DATE: OCTOBER 18.