This is a big week for horror fans.  Lots of genre favorites are getting the high definition treatment and as a bonus, a lost gem previously unavailable since its VHS release is finally out on DVD.  So take a look to see what suits your fancy and what chillers you might want to add to your collection.

Phantasm 2

OMG!!!!!!!!!  Fans have been waiting for this DVD release for years now.  Despite Phantasm parts 1, 3, and 4 all finding DVD releases, the best entry of the series, Phantasm 2 has been totally unavailable until now.  What a year 2009 has been.  Italian horror maestro Dario Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet also finally saw the light of day on DVD earlier this year (time to throw away all those bootlegs) and now we finally get Phantasm 2.  The gods are truly smiling upon us.

Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-tep) followed up his seminal low-budget chiller Phantasm with this 1988 sequel that managed to cram chills, action thrills, and just enough humor in a fast, streamlined and gory 90 minutes of fun.  Starring cult actor Reggie Bannister, Phantasm 2 struck a chord with horror fans and Coscarelli made improvements from the original film with a bigger budget and better effects.

As always, Angus Scrimm is fabulous as the menacing Tall Man and he’s back with more of his malevolent dwarves and those deadly flying spheres.  Cult favorite Reggie Bannister reprises his role from the first film and there’s never been a more lovable middle-aged action hero.  His “leap of faith” during the chainsaw battle is itself worth the price of the DVD.   If that isn’t enough, the movie takes place in Oregon and one of the heroes spends half the flick wearing a University of Washington t-shirt.  What could be better than that?

The DVD looks great, but only has a single trailer for a bonus feature.  That’s lame considering how great a movie this is.  Let’s hope Universal double dips and puts out a special edition sometime in the future.

Movie
4 out of 5

DVD/Bonus Features
2 out of 5

An American Werewolf in London: Full Moon Edition

At the time, critics hated and reviled it.  Now, it’s considered an all-time horror classic.  John Landis, beloved for his comedies, followed up big-time hits Animal House and The Blues Brothers with a dream project from his youth; a full-on, modern, tongue-in-cheek, werewolf movie.  The film confused many with its blend of gore, violence, nudity and dark humor.  The years have been kind to the movie and now it’s seeing new life in high definition.

The story of two American backpackers running into the worst kind of trouble on the Welsh moors is still as fresh and relevant today as it was in 1981.  In this day of overused digital CGI effects, Rick Baker’s award-winning, practical werewolf transformation effects make me long for the good old days:  also see Rob Bottin’s work on The Howling and The Thing to see why computer effects will never match good old fashioned mechanical FX work.

An American Werewolf in London holds lots of surprises and some genuine scares.  It also has one of the best monster transformation sequences ever filmed.  The Blu-ray disc looks solid if unspectacular.  Some older films look great in high-def and some don’t.  This one looks about as good as it’s going to get, but the film’s budget and production keep this disc from looking as sharp as a modern-film.

The Blu-ray is also packed with bonus features, the best being the feature-length documentary, “Beware the Moon.”  This special has interviews with virtually every actor in the film, along with writer/director John Landis and FX maestro Rick Baker.  It’s a fascinating look at a film that has achieved cult status over the years.

Other featurettes focus on the special werewolf effects (along with a short preview of Benicio Del Toro’s 2010 film The Wolfman), extended interviews with John Landis and Rick Baker, vintage promotional material, behind-the-scenes make-up work, outtakes, storyboards, and a commentary track with actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne.  This is how Blu-ray discs should be done and fans will have plenty of material to pour through.

Movie
4 out of 5

Blu-ray Disc/Bonus Features
4.5 out of 5

Van Helsing

Stephen Sommers transformed The Mummy from a film about a slow-moving ghoul to a computer-generated action film.  Having a love for all the great Universal monsters, Sommers decided to throw the others into the CGI-laden action romp, Van Helsing.  Beefy hunk Hugh Jackman stars as a monster-killer working for the Vatican.  He heads to Eastern Europe and joins forces with the tough and determined Anna (Kate Beckinsale) to defeat Dracula’s plan to use Frankenstein’s monster to bring life to a brood of vampire children.  Along the way, Van Helsing and Anna must deal with Mr. Hyde and a werewolf to keep mankind safe.

If you know Sommers’ work (The Mummy, G.I. Joe), then you know Van Helsing has to be silly and it is.  I hated this movie the first time I saw it, and it didn’t help that I had been up for 30 hours.  It’s still goofy and ridiculous and while Jackman looks completely bored or lost, it has a childlike charm that should appeal to young kids.  Don’t put too much thought into it, as this one is as deep as a Saturday morning cartoon.  Taken on that level, it’s enjoyable, but don’t expect much beyond the gothic setting and the overloaded splatter of CGI effects.

Fans should be happy with this Blu-ray.  The movie looks and sounds very nice and it comes loaded with bonus features pulled from a previous DVD release.  If you’re double dipping, you’re doing it for the high definition quality, as there isn’t much new in the way of bonus features (all presented in standard definition).

As before, you get audio commentaries from Sommers and producer/editor Bob Ducsay, as well as a commentary track from the three men who played Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolfman.  In addition, there are extended looks at the characters and their original film incarnations, the extensive set design process, digital and makeup effects, the musical score and a long look at the costume ball sequence.  You also get a look at some outtakes and the film allows for a picture-in-picture mode featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.

All in all, it’s a nice high-definition package for serious fans, and I’m talking about you Phil.

Movie
2.5 out of 5

Blu-ray/Bonus Features
5 out of 5

Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition

Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) started his career with a low-budget gore film named The Evil Dead.  Horror fans revere it to this day.  The 1987 follow-up Evil Dead 2 blended horror, gore and screwball comedy to make one of the most beloved cult- horror hits of all-time.  Raimi finished his Evil Dead trilogy with Army of Darkness, a film resembling a Three Stooges episode more than the hard R-rated original.

Honestly, I really hate this movie, but I think I’m in the minority.  For some reason, people really like it and while it’s great so see southern Oregon’s Bruce Campbell in a starring role, I wish Raimi had taken this thing more seriously.  I can’t even believe it has an R-rating.  It’s so silly, I’d expect to see it on the Disney network.

Gone is the horror, the gore and any hint of scares.  It’s all replaced with embarrassingly bad slapstick, mugging and goofy, adolescent jokes.  While Campbell’s character Ash was an everyday man in the first too films, he’s been transformed into a wise-cracking jerk and one I had no reason to identify with.  I can say the final battle between the army of darkness and Ash’s band of knights is fun on a Ray Harryhausen way, but that’s about the only recommendation I can give.

If you are a fan, you’ll want to pick this up for the picture upgrade.  Like An American Werewolf in London, the Blu-ray looks good, despite the obvious low grade film-stock and budget used on the production.  The bonus features are a little scant, but do include a 20-minute high definition interview with effects producers Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, an alternate ending and a picture-in-picture look at original production photos.

Movie
1 out of 5

Blu-ray/Bonus Features
2.5 out of 5