by Richard Romero

Aug. 31 is here and with it comes more DVD’s to add to every fright fan’s collection. This week look forward to everything from The Evil Dead on Blu-ray to a movie about mind control via brain surgery by drill! All of that and more in this week’s DVD releases!

Brainjacked
Rated: UNRATED

Directed by: Andrew Allan

Starring: Stephen Biro, Kevin Anthony Brooks, Cyndi Crotts

Tristan, a runaway teen who suffers from migraines finds solace in an operational procedure that involves drilling into the skull to give mental relief. However, the doctors performing the surgeries have ulterior motives and it soon becomes apparent to Tristan that mind control is involved.

Brainjacked seems to be a film that dwells in the annals of the Science Fiction/Horror genre. Not my favorite type of movie, but I’m sure brain surgery by drill in an unrated motion picture promises enough gore to satisfy this horror fiend. Judging by the trailer, Brainjacked is a film that has a cool plot, lots of action, and even some potential scares.

Carnivorous (Blu-ray)
Rated: R

Directed by: Amir Valinia

Starring: DMX, Wes Brown, Louis Herthum

A giant snake plagues a town after it is brought to life by an ancient relic. Their only hope comes in a master hunter played by rapper DMX, who has faced the snake before.

I viewed the trailer for this movie and to be honest, I don’t even think the CGI stands a chance on the Syfy Channel.  The trailer doesn’t even try to explain where the snake came from, why it is so dead set on killing twenty something year olds, or where the hell DMX got a bazooka to shoot it with. Sounds like the makings of a movie at the top of my ignore list. However, I could be wrong, I mean, a movie involving a giant snake devouring half-naked chicks whose only hope is to be saved by DMX could be good…couldn’t it?

Clear Lake, WI
Rated: R

Directed by: Brian Ide

Starring: Dustin Booth, Morgan Simpson, Grinnell Morris

15 years after a modern day witch-hunt in Clear Lake, WI, a documentary filmmaker tracks down five people involved in the town’s violent past. The crew returns to Clear Lake and soon discovers that ghosts of the past refuse to be forgotten, and the hunt is far from over.

Personally, I am over the whole documentary film style in modern horror. It was original when The Blair Witch Project did it and got old sometime between Cloverfield and REC. Hopefully this film will kill off the cameraman early on and switch to a more traditional way to tell the story, which in itself seems like an interesting take on the tired slasher genre. Plus, Michael Madsen as a religious fanatic in the film sounds pretty fun!

Dead Eyes Open
Rated: NOT RATED

Directed by: Ralf Möllenhoff

Starring: Birgit Dziobek, Rocco Finamore, Malte Gutkowski

A group of young adults drive across the German countryside in search of some fun in this new DTV release from Troma. They find themselves stranded and chased by a lunatic into an isolated farmhouse. The group soon realizes that their nightmare has just begun as hordes of the living dead descend upon the farmhouse.

On paper Dead Eyes Open reads like any other zombie flick of the last three decades. While some may tire of the undead genre, I am here to ask, what is wrong with a little removing of the head or destroying of the brain every once in a while? Be warned that Dead Eyes Open is in German and has English subtitles, so get your reading glasses ready. Also, the Godfather of zombie horror, George Romero makes an appearance.

The Evil Dead: Limited Edition Blu-ray
Rated: UNRATED

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly

Five friends travel to a secluded cabin where unspeakable evil awaits them. After playing an incantation from The Book of the Dead found on a tape player in the cabin, one by one the friends are turned into bloodthirsty zombies. It then becomes up to Ash, the last remaining member of the group, to fight for survival and stop the evil dead.

If you have not already seen Sam Raimi’s classic horror film The Evil Dead, 1. What the hell are you doing on a horror site? 2. Why not start by purchasing the limited edition Blu-ray of this fine film? Any horror fan wanting to add to their collection of horror memorabilia should rush out to buy this movie (and potentially a Blu-ray disc player). Besides, the pencil through the ankle scene will look very nice when you can see every pixel on the screen.

Heavy Mental
Rated: UNRATED

Directed by: Mike C. Hartman

Starring: Josh Hooper, Bart Allen Burger, Glen McFarland, Heather Martin

We get not one, but two Troma releases this week with Heavy Mental. Metal head Ace Spade finds a guitar possessed by the spirit of former rock god Eddie Lee Stryker, who was murdered by the crime boss Mrs. Delicious. In order to stop Mrs. Delicious from blowing up the local battle of the bands, it is up to Spades and Stryker to fight her and her minions off with heavy metal powers that include turning Spade into a giant metal monster.

Not much to say about this one; Heavy Mental is obviously a horror film created for the crowd aching for the next Wayne’s World meets Bill and Ted. Not extremely excited to watch this one sober, but it could probably be used for a good laugh when the other two franchises aren’t available at your local rental shop.

Red Riding Trilogy (Blu-ray)
Rated: UNRATED

Directed by: James Marsh (1974 & 1980), Anand Tucker (1983)

Starring: Andrew Garfield, David Morrissey, Paddy Considine, Sean Bean

The Red Riding Trilogy tells the story of a rookie journalist and police corruption during a string of serial killings, including the case of the Yorkshire Ripper. All events take place between 1974 and 1983. The televised adaptation series is based on author David Peace’s novels The Red Riding Quartet, and originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK.
Though this is my first time coming into contact with the Red Riding Trilogy, I must say it seems to be right up my alley. From the looks of the material covered on the discs, fans of several genres will have the chance of encountering a new fan favorite.

The Spell
Rated: Not Rated

Directed by: Owen Carey Jones

Starring: Rebecca Pitkin, Luke Harris

16 year old Jenny is eager to find love and finds comfort in a stranger who is deep in to the occult. Now engulfed in a world of nightmares and demonic possession, Jenny seeks help from professional sources, family and friends. Jenny is looked on in skepticism and realizes she must find her way to salvation on her own. Based on a true story.

Since The Spell is based on a true story, I wouldn’t expect too much actual hocus pocus in this one. It will most likely revolve around Jenny’s hallucinations after her creepy boyfriend has given her drugs to make her think she is communicating with something from beyond. I’ll take a pass on this one, thanks.

Thriller: The Complete Series
Rated: Not Rated

Available for the first time ever Tuesday is the complete 67 episodes of Thriller. Boris Karloff plays as the ringleader of the series that revolves around episodes about murder, suspense and everything else that goes bump in the night. The show features classic stars like William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Leslie Nielsen.

This collection screams “Must Have”! Any horror fan will be pleased with all 67 episodes from writers like Robert Bloch (Psycho), Edgar Allan Poe, and Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window). Drop the second season box set of True Blood and pick this one up instead for a really wicked good time.

Tormented
Rated: Unrated

Directed by: Jon Wright

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas

A bullied teen commits suicide after being constantly tormented by the popular crowd at school. He returns from the dead as an angry zombie ghost and proceeds to take some serious revenge on the crowd that led him to his grave.
Tormented sounds like an attempt at a different take on the revenge films that plagued the 90’s and died out quickly after. Now we are just plagued with remake upon remake. With that thought in mind, I just may watch Tormented for the sake of watching something semi-fresh. Also, any type of zombie flick is a plus in my book!

The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season
Rated: Not Rated

Series Created by: Kevin Williamson

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen

Returning to Mystic Falls High School after the death of her parents, Elena meets Stefan, a mysterious new kid, who is also a vampire. Their connection soon grows intense and Stefan’s deadly older brother Damon attempts to wreak havoc on their relationship and the town of Mystic Falls.

I’m not the first to admit that vampires on screen have worn out their welcome in the last few years with hardcore horror fans. However, tweens, young adults, and mothers going through some kind of midlife crisis still view vamps as something entertaining. TVD is a show that aims for the audience too old for Twilight and not ready maturity-wise for True Blood. At least it understands its audience….

Girls on the Road (1972)
Rated: PG

Directed by: Thomas J. Schmidt

Starring: Dianne Hull, Michael Ontkean, Kathleen Cody

Two teenage girls on a road trip decide to pick up a young man with the hopes of getting some fun out of the deed. However, the fun is cut short when the guest turns out to be a serial killer.

This 1972 film will quickly take viewers back to the days of the American Grindhouse where nothing was sacred. I for one am looking forward to picking this one up on Tuesday to add to my eclectic horror collection.

Ultimate Machine Girl: Collectors Tin
Rated: UNRATED

Directed by: Noboru Iguchi

Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Kentarô Shimazu

The life of a young Japanese girl is ruined when a group of Yakuzas kill her family and cut off one of her hands. She moves on to seek revenge on the Yakuza with various means of violent death…all attached to the area where her hand used to be.

I have seen The Machine Girl and have nothing bad to say about this gore fest. It  is honestly everything that a horror fan would look for in a film, and in my opinion is easily the best movie to come out of Japan to date! I will most definitely be checking out the ultimate edition of this film.