New Horror Out on DVD This Week: With Deadly Jewish Ghosts

Well, here we are... another Monday, which means a couple things: Time to sober up a bit and it's time to see which new horror movies come out this week. Really, there's only a handful of horror movies, but sometimes that's enough. Unfortunately, the best part of "The Unborn", which is easily the biggest release of the week, is the fact that they kept exploiting Odette Yustman's 'features' for all the marketing material - see pic. In any case, there's definitely some interesting releases this week and, as usual, you can click on the titles and go to their Amazon page for more information and/or to buy them AND you can go to our Youtube Page and check out all the trailers.

"The Unborn" is, by far, the biggest release of the week and, really, it's not that great. It's exactly what you'd expect from a Platinum Dunes released, PG-13 Horror about a Jewish ghost. What's funny is, it's really the first Platinum Dunes released film that wasn't a remake and the reviews were absolutely awful and it didn't do that great in theaters... maybe they should stick with remakes? It's a shame that it is what it is, as it's written and directed by David Goyer, who's a massive talent. Goyer is a screenwriter, director and comic book writer. When he was first starting out, he wrote some classics, including "Death Warrant" and "Demonic Toys", but was also responsible for writing some all time classics, including: "Dark City", "Blade" and "The Dark Knight". As far as other things that he's directed, he also did "Blade Trinity" and "The Invisible", among a few others. What kinda cracks me up is that the film is about a dybbuk that looks to use the Odette's death as a gateway to the physical... don't know what a dybbuk is? Don't worry, neither did I. It comes from Jewish folklore and it's a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. Thus, a Jewish ghost. In any case, the film stars Odette Yustman as the lead, Casey Beldon, and also has Gary Oldman as the Rabbi Joseph Sendak.

"Dead Wood", out of the UK, won the B-Movie Award from the B-Movie Film Festival in 2007 and it's being released by Lionsgate today, so I'm assuming they picked it up after a bit of a festival run. Also, it could've been out in the UK for a while and its just now getting its North American release, who knows? I haven't seen it, but it looks great and the bar has been set high for UK based horror these days. It's written and directed by David Bryant, Sebastian Smith and Richard Stiles and it looks like they all shared duties when it came to getting the film done, as they all played roles as DP, editor and even in the sound department. It's about four city slickers that end up in the woods, haunted by a deadly force... one that will have them discover the true nature of fear.

"Night Stalker" was originally called "Angel of Death", which is a wicked name... but only because it makes me think of Slayer. "Angel of Death" was an online action webseries that starred Zoe Bell, Lucy Lawless and Ted Raimi and it originally premiered on March 2 as a 10 episode web series on Crackle.com. It's now being released as a 90 minute film, subsequently called, "Night Stalker". It's about Zoe, a remorseless assassin, who starts to hallucinate and becomes haunted by her victims and then is driven to seek revenge on her employers, the mob bosses. Check out the trailer, it looks pretty f'ing good.

After that, you have the Japanese film, "One Missed Call Final", from Tokyo Shock, which is about kids forwarding deadly photo's in order to save their own lives... then there's the Blu-ray release of the 1977 classic, "The Deep [Blu-ray]" and, lastly, "Near Dark" gets a rerelease... which could be it's second or third rerelease? In any case, Platinum Dunes is 're-envisioning' it and you'll get an updated version in a couple years.

New Horror Out On DVD This Week: Monsturd, Retardead and Snakes on a Plane on a Submarine

Okay, so... Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" came out over the weekend and... it didn't do too badly. Not only that, as a PG-13 film, it was pretty good. Reviews are positive, word back from other horror fans is good, so... we can breathe a sigh of relief there, I think. However, it got killed by Disney's "Up", which was to be suspected. (Even though a lot of industry insiders were saying "Up" was going to bomb, but I'm not sure why) Anyhow, what I didn't expect was that "Night at the Museum II" stayed strong and came in second, with "Drag Me to Hell" coming in third. "Terminator Salvation" drops to fourth, but still had a pretty good weekend. Next week is nothing but comedies, with "The Hangover", "Land of the Lost" and "My Life in Ruins" being the big three. Regardless of all that... and more importantly, let's look at the horror that's coming out on DVD this week. If you're into the micro-cinema and indie shit, it's a week for you. As usual, click on the titles to be taken to their Amazon page and you can go to our Youtube page to see all the trailers.

I can't find anything that says this isn't a Sci-Fi original, but everything about this screams Sci-Fi original. Written by Mark Sanderson and directed by Fred Olen Ray, "Silent Venom" is basically "Snakes On A Plane" on a submarine... and you don't get Samuel L Jackson, you get Luke Perry and Tom Berenger. That and these snakes mutate... the more people they eat and kill on the submarine, the more they grow in size and ferocity. I'm a bit nervous, as I really don't know how Dylan's going to get out of this one.

What's funny about "Razortooth" is that it's apparently based on a true story concerning an exotic species of eel that are released in Asia that can breathe air and survive on land. I say that's funny because that means that "Razortooth", which is about a group of college kids that end up having to capture or kill a genetically modified super-eel that's been released into the Florida Everglades, is, therefore, based on a true story... which makes me laugh a bit. It's the directorial debut from Patricia Harrington, who was an actress in "Carnosaur", wrote "To Sleep With a Vampire" and was the executive producer of "Stripteaser".

Okay, now on to some good old-fashioned micro-cinema. "Retardead" is written and directed by Rick Popko and Dan West. I actually have a copy of this on my desk right now, which I'm anxiously hoping to get to soon. After I do check it out, we'll be putting together an interview for the site, so stay tuned for that. The absolutely genius title should sum up what you're getting with this film, but I'll tell you the plotline, regardless.... as it, too, kicks ass... the evil Dr. Stern returns, armed with a lethal intelligence serum that yields horrific results at the Butte County Institute for Special Education. "Retardead" - they're not so special anymore... Genius.

If you're releasing one movie, why not release your other movies, too? Also from Rick Popko and Dan West comes "Monsturd", which is about an escaped serial killer that falls into a sewer tunnel full of chemicals that transform him into a half human, half feces creature that goes on a killing rampage. Independent horror cinema is alive and well, people! Unfortunately, I DON'T have a copy of "Monsturd", but I'm definitely going to get my hands on it and bring it up in the interview.

Ryan Cavalline's "Stockholm Syndrome" finally comes out on DVD this week and, if you remember, we talked with him about the film a few months back. Click here to go to our interview with him. He offered up a great interview and the film is definitely well worth your time and we highly recommend checking it out.

"Tied Up" comes from Jeremy Rubin and it won the DV Award at the, uh... DV Awards. It also screened at a few other indie horror festivals, as well. It's about a group of five friends who attempt to make their lives more eventful, but end up thrown into a world of deceit, betrayal and murder that descends into a twisted tale of sexual deviancy. The trailer is VERY intriguing, may have to get in contact with Rubin and discuss the film with him.

"Elsewhere", from Nathan Hope, is about a small town where girls are mysteriously disappearing, but no one seems to care. After revealing to her best friend Sarah ("Twilight"'s Anna Kendrick) that she has been meeting men online, Jillian ("Lost"'s Tania Raymonde) goes missing. Now, the only clues to her whereabouts are her diary and a cryptic message sent from her cell phone.