IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their January Blu-ray announcements this morning (including a couple of “standard versions” of previous limited releases). 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 UK/US TITLE: The Cat o’ Nine Tails (Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD) Limited Edition

Release dates: 8/9 January

Following the success of his debut feature, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, distributor Titanus tasked writer/director Dario Argento with delivering a follow-up in short order. The resulting film, granted a greatly enhanced budget and heralded in its US marketing campaign as “nine times more suspenseful” than its predecessor, was The Cat O’ Nine Tails.

When a break-in occurs at a secretive genetics institute, blind puzzle-maker Franco Arnò (Karl Malden, Patton, One-Eyed Jacks), who overheard an attempt to blackmail one of the institute’s scientists shortly before the robbery, teams up with intrepid reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus, Beneath the Planet of the Apes) to crack the case. But before long the bodies begin to pile up and the two amateur sleuths find their own lives imperilled in their search for the truth. And worse still, Lori (Cinzia De Carolis, Cannibal Apocalypse), Franco’s young niece, may also be in the killer’s sights…

This second entry in the so-called “Animal Trilogy” found Argento further refining his distinctive style and cementing his reputation as the master of the giallo thriller. Co-starring Catherine Spaak (Il Sorpasso) and Rada Rassimov (Baron Blood), and featuring another nerve-jangling score by the great Ennio Morricone (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), The Cat O’ Nine Tails remains one of Argento’s most suspenseful and underrated films.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

• Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
• Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
• New interviews with co-writer/director Dario Argento, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti, actress Cinzia De Carolis and production manager Angelo Iacono
• Script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English for the first time
• Original Italian and international theatrical trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• 4 lobby card reproductions
• Limited edition booklet illustrated by Matt Griffin, featuring an essay on the film by Dario Argento, and new writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes

NEW US TITLE: The Hills Have Eyes (Blu-ray)

One of the defining classics of American horror.

Release date: 30 January

Horror master Wes Craven achieved critical and commercial success with the likes of Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street – but for many genre fans, the director’s seminal 1977 effort The Hills Have Eyes remains his masterpiece. Taking an ill-advised detour en route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, the family find themselves at the mercy of a group of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills. With their lives under threat, the Carters have no choice but to fight back by any means necessary.

Following on from his notorious 1972 directorial debut The Last House on the Left, Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes stands alongside the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead as one of the defining classics of American horror.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K restoration of the film, supervised by producer Peter Locke and viewable with both original and alternate endings
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Uncompressed PCM Mono Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary with actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Susan Lanier and Martin Speer
• Audio commentary by academic Mikel J. Koven
• Audio commentary with Wes Craven and Peter Locke
• Looking Back on The Hills Have Eyes – making-of documentary featuring interviews with Wes Craven, Peter Locke, actors Michael Berryman, Janus Blythe, Robert Houston, Susan Lanier, Dee Wallace and director of photography Eric Saarinen
• Family Business – a brand new interview with actor Martin Speer
• The Desert Sessions – a brand new interview with composer Don Peake
• Never-before-seen outtakes
• Alternate Ending, presented in HD for the first time
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Image Gallery
• Original Screenplay (BD-ROM Content)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper

NEW US TITLE: Re-Animator (Blu-ray and DVD releases)

The definitive example of ’80s splatter mayhem and one of the horror genre’s finest hours.

Pre-order Re-Animator on Blu-ray: http://bit.ly/2i9yUpj
Re-Animator DVD pre-order link coming soon!
Release date: 30 January

One of the most wildly popular horror movies of all time, Stuart Gordon’s enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to DVD in a stunning 4K restoration packed with special features!

When medical student Dan Cain advertises for a roommate, he finds one in the form of Herbert West. Initially a little eccentric, it some becomes clear that West entertains some seriously outlandish theories – specifically, the possibility of re-animating the dead. It’s not long before Dan finds himself under West’s influence, and embroiled in a serious of ghoulish experiments which threaten to go wildly out of control…

Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s classic terror tale ‘Herbert West – Reanimator’ and featuring a standout performance from Jeffrey Combs as the deliciously deranged West, Re-Animator remains the definitive example of ’80s splatter mayhem and one of the horror genre’s finest hours.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K restoration of the Unrated version
• Standard Definition DVD presentation
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Mono, Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound Audio Options
• Isolated Score
• Audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and actors Graham Skipper and Jesse Merlin of Re-Animator: The Musical
• Audio commentary with Stuart Gordon
• Audio commentary with producer Brian Yuzna, actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott and Robert Sampson
• Re-Animator: Resurrectus – feature-length documentary on the making of the film, featuring extensiveinterviews with cast and crew
• Interviews with director Stuart Gordon and producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Richard Band and former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone
• Music discussion with composer Richard Band • Barbara Crampton in Conversation – the Re-Animator star sits down with journalist Alan Jones for this career-spanning 2015 interview
• The Catastrophe of Success: Stuart Gordon and The Organic Theater – director Stuart Gordon discusses his early theater roots and his continued commitment to the stage
• Theater of Blood – Re-Animator: The Musical lyricist Mark Nutter on adapting the cult classic for musical theatre
• Extended Scenes
• Deleted Scene
• Trailer & TV Spots
• Still Gallery
• Screenplay (BD-ROM Content)
• Reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork by Justin Erickson

NEW UK TITLE: Phenomena (Blu-ray and DVD releases)

One of Argento’s most eccentric and unique thrillers, featuring telepathic insects, maggots galore, and even a razor-wielding chimp!

Release date: 15 January

From master of horror Dario Argento (Suspiria, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) comes Phenomena – one of his most eccentric and unique thrillers, featuring telepathic insects, maggots galore, and even a razor-wielding chimp!

Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth), daughter of a world-renowned movie star, arrives in the so-called “Swiss Transylvania” to attend an exclusive girls’ school. However, a vicious killer is targeting the pupils, and sleepwalker Jennifer finds herself in the assassin’s headlights when her nocturnal wanderings cause her to witness the death of a fellow pupil. Aided by paraplegic entomologist John McGregor (Donald Pleasence, Halloween) and her own uncanny ability to communicate telepathically with insects, Jennifer sets out to track down the killer before she herself becomes the latest victim…

Released in 1985, towards the end of Argento’s decade-long golden age as a director, Phenomena co-stars Dalila Di Lazarro (Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein), Patrick Bauchau (Clear and Present Danger) and Daria Nicolodi (Tenebrae), and features lush cinematography by Romano Albani (Inferno) and a pounding prog rock score by Goblin (Deep Red, Suspiria). Presented here in a sumptuous new 4K restoration of the film and with a newly created “hybrid” English/Italian audio track on the full length 116-minute Italian version, this is the definitive release of Argento’s creepy classic.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the full-length 116-minute Italian cut of the film
• New 5.1 surround mix of the Italian soundtrack in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio, derived from the original 4-channel Dolby Stereo elements
• New hybrid English/Italian soundtrack in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo*
• Italian soundtrack in lossless PCM 2.0 stereo
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
• Of Flies and Maggots, a new feature-length documentary including interviews with co-writer/producer/director Dario Argento, actors Fiore Argento, Davide Marotta, Daria Nicolodi and Fiorenza Tessari, co-writer Franco Ferrini, cinematographer Romano Albani, production manager Angelo Jacono, special optical effects artist Luigi Cozzi, special makeup effects artist Sergio Stivaletti, makeup artist Pier Antonio Mecacci, underwater camera operator Gianlorenzo Battaglia, and composers Claudio Simonetti and Simon Boswell
• Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
• “Jennifer” music video, directed by Dario Argento
• Rare Japanese vintage pressbook
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp

* The 116-minute Italian cut features approximately six minutes of footage for which English audio does not exist. In these instances, the hybrid track reverts to Italian audio with English subtitles.

NEW UK TITLE: Hounds of Love (Blu-ray)

A bold and powerful piece of filmmaking which proves that Australian genre cinema is alive and well.

Release date: 22 January

Loosely based on real-life events, this harrowing psychological thriller from Australian writer-director Ben Young is set to join the likes of The Silence of the Lambs as one of the most gruelling serial killer movies ever realised.

In 1980s Perth, Australia, a depraved couple are abducting and murdering young girls. When seventeen-year-old Vicki Maloney accepts a ride from the duo late one night, she finds herself catapulted into a nightmare beyond her imagining.

Bolstered by astonishing performances from its three main leads, Hounds of Love is bold and powerful piece of filmmaking which proves that Australian genre cinema is alive and well.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original 5.1 audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Interviews with actors Stephen Curry, Emma Booth and Ashleigh Cummings
• Behind-the-Scenes
• Two short films from Hounds of Love director Ben Young: ‘Something Fishy’ (2010) and ‘Bush Basher’ (2011)
• John Butler Trio “Only One” music video, directed by Ben Young
• Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options