These movies will creep out your friends, family
Vampires, ghosts, zombies, killer cars and a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.
Vampires, ghosts, zombies, killer cars and a sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania — There’s something for everyone among this season’s newly released scarefests. Below, we take a closer look at 15 Blurays and DVDs that are guaranteed to torment you, in the best ways possible. These ghoulish delights run the gamut from highdef dread machines to fresh frighteners. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA —SUPREME CINEMA SERIES:
(1992, Sony, R, $39) Newly remastered for its latest Blu-ray bow, Francis Ford Coppola’s take on literature’s most famous Transylvania prince is rich, frenzied and very adult. As played with panache by Gary Oldman, Drac is a symbol of outlaw sexuality, a monster at once terrifying and weirdly romantic. Shot entirely on Hollywood sound stages, “Dracula” prefers green mists, startling superimpositions and painted backdrops to high-tech special effects. The result is a movie that has the quaint, magical, done-with-mirrors charm of a 1930s production. “Dracula” is a feast for the eyes and the emotions.
BACKCOUNTRY:
(2015, Shout Factory, R, $20) The woods have never seemed creepier or fraught with more danger than they do in this harrowing thriller set in the Canadian wilderness. Part of what makes Alex (Jeff Roop) and Jenn’s (Missy Peregrym) travails so scary – and relatable – is that writer/ director Adam MacDonald takes his time introducing us to this overconfident pair. The tension builds ever so slowly as the hikers make their way deeper and deeper into the woods. The less you know about what awaits the couple on the trail, the better “Backcountry” is. Spiked with beauty and menace, this pulse-pounder is relentless in all the right ways.
CHRISTINE:
(1983, Sony, R, $20) “Halloween” mastermind John Carpenter takes his sweet time with this adaptation of the Stephen King best-seller about an evil 1958 Plymouth Fury. The result is a thriller that is oddly believable from the first frame to the last. Kevin Gordon is terrific as a hapless high-schooler who experiences a big personality change after he sits behind the wheel of an indestructible automobile. Soon, he and Christine are taking revenge on the bullies who tormented him. Newly released on Blu-ray, “Christine” still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.
THE STRANGER:
(2015, Shout Factory, unrated, $15) Produced by “Hostel” mastermind Eli Roth, this blood feast from Guillermo Amoedo revolves around a neckbiter named Martin (Cristobal Tapia Montt) who, after arriving in town and discovering his wife is dead, decides to commit suicide by allowing a local bully (Ariel Levy) to beat him to a pulp. Of course, Martin’s scheme goes awry and soon a chain reaction of violence plunges the whole community into chaos. Despite taking itself way too seriously, “The Stranger” is unpredictable and scary, especially when Martin befriends a local graffiti artist (Nicolás Durán) struggling to make sense of all the craziness.
WE ARE STILL HERE:
(2015, MPI, unrated, $22) Ted Georhegan’s retro-horror shocker sends a middle-aged couple (Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig) to an isolated farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and gives them plenty of things to worry about, including charred ghosts and violent townsfolk. From the very first shots of wintry roads and snow-covered fields, it’s clear that Georhegan knows how to capture the beauty and eeriness of his Upstate New York locations. At its best, “We Are Still Here” offers creepy showdowns, offbeat humor and enough splatter to make Dario Argento smile.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW — 40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION:
(1974, Fox, R, $35) Throw on your fish-nets, fasten your garter belt and do the Time Warp again. The latest Blu-ray re-issue of the cult classic looks picture-perfect especially when Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) kicks up his heels for the sinfully special musical numbers. Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick star as the squares who stumble into the not-so-good doctor’s mansion on a dark and stormy night. Get ready to be thrilled, chilled and fulfilled.
THE VATICAN TAPES:
(2015, Lionsgate, R, $20) Even though this exorcism pic is highly derivative of just about every other movie in the genre, especially “The Exorcist,” it still manages to deliver enough jolts to keep you watching. Olivia Taylor Dudley stars as a twentysomething Los Angelino who, out of the blue, starts bugging out. She provokes crow attacks, seems to will a police officer to kill himself, and knows secrets about everyone, including her psychiatrist. Michael Pena is largely wasted as a hospital chaplain but Swedish actor Peter Andersson is genuinely terrifying as a priest who won’t back down from the demon.
THE LARRY FESSENDEN COLLECTION:
(19912007, Shout Factory, unrated, $80) A New York indie filmmaker who brings a lo-fi, often achingly realistic, vibe to his tales of vampires and vengeful spirits, Fessenden does slow-burn dread better than anyone this side of Roman Polanski. Fessenden barricades
his characters in an isolated country home (“Wendigo”), a snowbound fortress (“The Last Winter”) and an East Village apartment (“Habit”) and lets the tension mount. After watching these four new-to-Blu-ray shockers, you’ll believe that Fessenden deserves to join the ranks of Sam Raimi, Guillermo Del Toro and John Carpenter as a true horror original. Extras: featurettes, commentaries and deleted scenes.
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LYLE: (2014, Breaking Glass, unrated, $22) Imagine “Rosemary’s Baby” with a lesbian twist and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect from this creepy horror thriller set in a too-good-tobe-true Brooklyn brownstone. Expectant mom Leah (“Girls” star Gaby Hoffman) and her girlfriend June (Ingrid Jungermann) move into a new apartment and quickly discover that the place has a creepy past. Leah slowly begins unraveling but is she losing her mind or simply figuring out that her neighbors are satan-worshipping weirdos? Hoffman is so mesmerizing as the putupon Leah that you’d follow her anywhere.
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ARMY OF DARKNESS — COLLECTOR’S EDITION: (1992, Universal, R, $35) What would Halloween be without a Sam Raimi-directed splatterfest? In the third and final chapter of the “Evil Dead” saga, Bruce Campbell stars as the chainsaw-- wielding Ash who returns to medieval times to take on the Deadites, or the demonic forces which time-warp him and his ’73 Olds back to the Dark Ages. This essential Blu-ray package collects all three editions of the film: the theatrical version, the director’s cut and the international edition.
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ALLELUIA: (2015, Music Box, unrated, $30) If you like your serial-killer thrillers dark and disturbing – and don’t mind subtitles -- check out this riveting entry from Belgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz. Spain’s Lola Duenas (“Volver”) stars as Gloria, a divorcee who hooks up with a womanizer (Laurent Lucas) to bilk lonely women out of their life savings. But Gloria’s jealousy is a force to be reckoned with and when she spies her beloved making out with one of his marks, she is determined to spill some blood. An update of “The Honeymoon Killers,” “Alleluia” delivers enough unsettling images to get under your skin but it’s the film’s complex characters who linger the longest in your memory.
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A PLAGUE SO PLEASANT: (2015, Wild Eye, unrated, $20) Shot for a mere $3,000, this zombie shocker makes up for its slight narrative with dry wit and lively chases involving swarms of flesh-eaters. The action is set after a zombie apocalypse, naturally, but there’s a twist: the undead are mostly docile creatures who never attack unless provoked. Tired of his sister’s attachment to her undead boyfriend, our hero Clay (David Chandler) decides to lower the boom on the bad guy, which makes Clay a target for scores of newly-agitated zombies. Toggling between color and black-and-white, “Plague” has plenty of bite.
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POLTERGEIST: (2015, Fox, PG-13, $30) They’re baack in a remake that serves up a soul-snatching flatscreen TV, a scary toy clown and one hideously deformed tree. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt star as the Bowens, a family who discover their new house is haunted by sinister spirits. When their youngest daughter Maddy (Kennedi Clements) is snatched by ghouls, paranormal experts (Jane Adams, Jared Harris) are tasked with bringing her back. It’s not quite as good as the original but the first-rate actors draw you in while director Gil Kenan (“Monster House”) delivers plenty of palm-sweatingly good scares.
••• HORROR CLASSICS: VOLUME ONE: (1959-1970, Warner, G-R, $55) Even though this Blu-ray set is a smidge over-priced, the four films from Britain’s Hammer Pictures look spooktacular in hi-def. Christopher Lee stars in “The Mummy” (1959), “Dracula Has Risen From His Grave” (1969) and “Taste The Blood Of Dracula” (1970) while Peter Cushing takes the lead in “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” (1970). Expect plenty of oldfashioned spills and chills.
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THE BROOD: (1979, Criterion, unrated, $30) Leave it to David Cronenberg (“The Fly”) to turn out a twist-a-thon that riffs on motherhood, experiment psychotherapy, divorce and body horror. Art Hindle stars as a father who assumes custody of his young daughter after his wife (Samantha Eggar) runs off to a remote clinic. As Eggar undergoes therapy with a mysterious doctor (Oliver Reed), her nearest and dearest wind up being murdered by demonic beings. So, what is going on with Eggar and Reed? The ending is so jaw-droppingly terrifying — and icky — it has to be seen to be believed.