Arrow Video December Titles
The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their December Blu-ray announcements today, including an 80s slasher, a horror-comedy, and a very expensive flop.
Being that Arrow is a British company, keep in mind that not all of their titles will be released both in the U.K. and the U.S., due to distribution rights. However, Arrow always makes it perfectly clear which Blu-rays will be offered in both the U.K. and U.S. versus which ones are U.K. only.
Listed below are the disc descriptions directly from the Arrow Video Facebook page:
NEW US/ CA TITLE: Bloody Birthday (Blu-ray)
A deliciously twisted early ‘80s slasher directed by Ed Hunt.
Release date: 4th December
The Bad Seed meets Halloween in this deliciously twisted early ‘80s slasher offering directed by Ed Hunt (The Brain) and starring the always loveable Lori Lethin (Return to Horror High, The Prey).
Debbie, Curtis and Steven may seem cute as buttons. But their angelic facade conceals the wicked, murderous streak given to them having all been born under the same solar eclipse. With the grown-ups around them blissfully unaware of their little darlings’ homicidal tendencies, the evil brats begin to bump off the adults one-by-one. By gun. By arrow. By cake. Bye-bye!
Mixing the killer-kid subgenre with elements of the then-booming slice-and-dice movie, 1981’s Bloody Birthday shocks and appalls with its scenes of young children shooting, strangling and bludgeoning their way through the local population. They sure don’t (and can’t!) make ‘em like this anymore.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original Uncompressed mono audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with director Ed Hunt
- Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
- Brand new interview with actress Lori Lethin
- Bad Seeds and Body Counts – a brand new video appreciation of Bloody Birthday and the killer kid sub-genre by film journalist Chris Alexander
- Archival interview with producer Max Rosenberg
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Timothy Pittides
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Lee Gambin
NEW UK TITLE: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (Blu-ray)
Release dates: 3 December
She’s back! Elvira, Horrorland’s hostess with the mostest, finally busts out on Blu-ray with this long-awaited, positively-bursting-at-the-seams special edition of her big screen debut, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark!
Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she’s set to inherit part of her great-aunt Morgana’s estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals – amongst them, her sinister uncle Vinny, who unbeknownst to Elvira, is an evil warlock who secretly schemes to lay his hands on the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends…
Campy, quirky and stuffed to the brim with more double entendres than your average Carry On movie, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark helped solidify the horror hostess (played by Cassandra Peterson) as a major pop culture icon, here owning every inch of the screen with her quick wit, sass, and of course, cleaving-enhancing gown!
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original interpositive
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original Uncompressed Stereo 2.0 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Introduction to the film by director James Signorelli
- 2017 audio commentary with director James Signorelli, hosted by Fangoria Editor Emeritus Tony Timpone
- 2017 audio commentary with Elvira Webmaster and judge of US TV show The Search for the Next Elvira Patterson Lundquist
- Archival audio commentary with actors Cassandra Peterson, Edie McClurg and writer John Paragon
- Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – newly-revised 2018 version of this feature-length documentary on the making of the film including interviews with various cast and crew and rare never-before-seen archival material
- Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster – newly-revised 2018 version of this featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the other SFX of the movie
- Original Storyboards
- Original US Theatrical and Teaser Trailers
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
- FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Patterson Lundquist and a short note on the 2012 audio commentary by Sam Irvin
NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Waterworld Blu-ray
The most expensive film ever made at the time of its release
Release date: 10th December (UK), 11th December (US & CA)
The most expensive film ever made at the time of its release, Waterworld has thrilled audiences through the years with its awe-inspiring action scenes, gargantuan maritime sets and ground-breaking special effects.
A definitive post-apocalypse blockbuster, Waterworld stars Kevin Costner (The Untouchables) as The Mariner – a mutant trader, adrift in a dystopian future where Earth is submerged under water and humankind struggles to survive on boats and in ramshackle floating cities. The Mariner becomes embroiled with the Smokers, a gang of pirates who, led by villainous leader Deacon (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet), are seeking Enola (Tina Majorino, Napoleon Dynamite), a girl with a map to the mythical realm of “Dryland” tattooed on her back.
Famous for both its epic scale and the controversy that swirled around its production, Waterworld is a key cult film of the 1990s, and an essential entry into the subgenre of ecologically-minded blockbusters. Presented here in an exclusive new restoration, in three different cuts, and with a wealth of extra material, this high-water mark of high-concept Hollywood can now be enjoyed as never before.
TWO-DISC LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films, presenting the film in three cuts
- Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Six collector’s postcards
- Double-sided fold-out poster
- Limited edition 60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by David J. Moore and Daniel Griffith, archival articles and original reviews
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
DISC ONE – THE THEATRICAL CUT
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the original theatrical cut
- Maelstrom: The Odyssey of Waterworld, an all-new, feature-length making-of documentary including extensive cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage
- Original archival featurette capturing the film’s production
- Global Warnings, film critic Glenn Kenny explores the subgenre of ecologically aware Hollywood blockbusters
- Production and promotional stills gallery
- Visual effects stills gallery
- Original trailers and TV spots
DISC TWO – THE EXTENDED CUTS [LIMTED EDITION EXCLUSIVE]
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended US TV cut, which runs over 40 minutes longer than the theatrical cut
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended European “Ulysses” cut, which includes censored shots and dialogue
