IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

The Criterion of cult, Arrow Video, posted their October Blu-ray announcements today, and it’s an interesting mix of apes, zombies, slashers, time travelers, and other weirdos upgraded to HD.

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 TITLE: City of the Living Dead (Blu-ray)

Presented here in an exclusive 4K restoration with a wealth of extras, Fulci’s gore-drenched classic can now be devoured as never before!

Release date: 8 October

WOE BE UNTO HIM WHO OPENS ONE OF THE SEVEN GATEWAYS TO HELL, BECAUSE THROUGH THAT GATEWAY, EVIL WILL INVADE THE WORLD!

From the Italian godfather of gore, Lucio Fulci, comes City of the Living Dead, a notoriously nauseating, compellingly corporeal masterpiece of apocalyptic zombie horror!

A medium has a mysterious vision of a priest hanging himself… A seemingly dead woman awakes screaming in her coffin… And in the sleepy New England town of Dunwich, a local girl vomits up her intestines and a town misfit has a drill-bit ploughed into his cranium… These hallucinogenic, often grotesque visions punctuate a skeletal story telling of a reporter (Christopher George, The Exterminator, Pieces) and a psychic (Catriona MacColl, The House by the Cemetery, The Beyond) who must race against time to prevent hordes of rotting corpses spewing forth from the gates of hell…

Stridently going beyond the classical stylings of his horror hit Zombie Flesh Eaters, City of the Living Dead sees Fulci eschew conventional narrative logic in favour of a delirious, oneiric mode of storytelling which stresses style, surrealism and atmosphere (as well as offering up bucket-loads of brains, blood and guts!) Presented here in an exclusive 4K restoration with a wealth of extras, Fulci’s gore-drenched classic can now be devoured as never before!

LIMTED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed 1.0 mono and optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Original English and Italian soundtracks
• Newly translated, optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Audio commentary with star Catriona MacColl and journalist Jay Slater
• Audio commentary with star Giovanni Lombardo Radice and writer Calum Waddell
• We Are the Apocalypse, new interview with writer Dardano Sacchetti
• Through Your Eyes, new interview with Catriona MacColl
• Dust in the Wind, new interview with cameraman Roberto Forges Davanzati
• The Art of Dreaming, new interview with production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng
• Tales of Friendship, new interview with cinematographer Sergio Salvati
• I Walked with a Zombie, new interview with actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice
• They Call Him “Bombardone”, new interview with special effects artist Gino De Rossi
• The Horror Family, new interview with father and son actors Venantino and Luca Venantini
• Previously unseen interview with composer Fabio Frizzi
• Archival interview with actor Carlo De Mejo
• Building Fulci’s City, a new video interview with Stephen Thrower, author of the definitive tome, Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci
• Reflections on Fulci, a new appraisal of Fulci’s Gothic period by actor, writer and director Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories)
• The Dead Are Alive!, a new video essay by Kat Ellinger on Lucio Fulci and the Italian zombie cycle
• Behind the scenes 8mm footage with Roberto Forges Davanzati audio commentary
• Alternative US Gates of Hell opening credits
• Original trailers and radio spots
• Extensive image gallery featuring over 150 stills, posters and other ephemera from the FAB Press and Mike Siegel archives
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• 6 lobby card reproductions
• Limited 60-page booklet featuring new writing by Travis Crawford and Roberto Curti, an archival interview with Lucio Fulci, and original reviews

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Twelve Monkeys (Blu-ray)

Gilliam’s most successful film and is now widely regarded as a sci-fi classic.

Release dates: 15 October

THE FUTURE IS HISTORY

Following the commercial and critical success of The Fisher King, Terry Gilliam next feature would turn to science fiction and a screenplay by Janet and David Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiven) inspired by Chris Marker’s classic short film La Jetée.

In 1996, a deadly virus is unleashed by a group calling themselves the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, destroying much of the world’s population and forcing survivors underground. In 2035, prisoner James Cole (Bruce Willis, Die Hard) is chosen to go back in time and help scientists in their search for a cure.

Featuring an Oscar-nominated turn by Brad Pitt (Fight Club) as mental patient Jeffrey Goines, Twelve Monkeys would become Gilliam’s most successful film and is now widely regarded as a sci-fi classic. Arrow Films are proud to present the film in a stunning new restoration.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Terry Gilliam
• DTS 5.1 Master Audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven
• The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys, feature-length making-of documentary by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (Lost in La Mancha)
• Extensive image galley
• Theatrical trailer
• More to be announced!
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Nathan Rabin and archive materials

NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Schlock (Blu-ray)

The outrageous missing link between the creature features of yesteryear and Landis’ subsequent varied and celebrated careers.

Release dates: 15/16 October

A LOVE STRANGER THAN KING KONG!

From writer/director John Landis, the mind behind The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London, comes a love story that transcends the boundaries of nature and good taste – the one and only Schlock!

Carnage! Terror! Banana skins! The mighty prehistoric ape Schlocktropus has emerged from hiding to embark on a full-scale rampage across a quiet Southern Californian suburb. The police are baffled. The army is powerless. The body count is rising. But when Schlocktropus encounters a kindly blind woman (Eliza Garrett, National Lampoon’s Animal House) who sees beyond his grotesque visage, the homicidal simian is presented with a chance at redemption…

Shot over twelve days on a micro-budget, Schlock launched the careers of both Landis and legendary effects makeup artist Rick Baker (Videodrome). An uproarious pastiche of monster movies, packed to the gills with irreverent humour and biting satire, Schlock serves as the outrageous missing link between the creature features of yesteryear and its creators’ subsequent varied and celebrated careers.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original lossless mono soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary by writer/director John Landis and makeup artist Rick Baker
• New video interview with author and critic Kim Newman
• Birth of a Schlock, a 2017 video interview with John Landis
• Archival video interview with cinematographer Bob Collins
• 1972, 1979 and 1982 US theatrical trailers
• US radio spots
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joe Bob Briggs

UK/US/CA TITLE: Deadbeat at Dawn (Blu-ray)

Jim VanBebber’s notorious, blood-drenched cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn rises again on the advent of its 30th anniversary, newly restored for the first time on Blu-ray!

Release dates 22/23 October

Jim VanBebber’s notorious, blood-drenched cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn rises again on the advent of its 30th anniversary, newly restored for the first time on Blu-ray. Locked and loaded with a raft of new extras, see Deadbeat as you’ve never seen it before – in all its head-busting, bone-crushing glory!

Written by, directed by and starring VanBebber, Deadbeat follows the story of Goose – a gang leader whose girlfriend is brutally slaughtered when he attempts to leave the thug life behind. Pulled back into the gang, who’ve now formed an uneasy alliance with the thugs that butchered his girl, Goose sees an opportunity to exact his brutal, deadly revenge.

The very definition of DIY, independent filmmaking (VanBebber quit film school after his first year and used his student loan to fund the movie), Deadbeat at Dawn surpasses its low-budget origins to create a revenge movie that delivers more thrills and bloody spills than all of Chuck Norris’ films combined.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements by Arrow Films, supervised and approved by writer-director Jim VanBebber
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new free-wheeling audio commentary with Jim VanBebber (’Goose’, The Ravens’ Gang Leader), actor Paul Harper (’Danny Carmodi’, The Spyders’ Gang Leader) and guest Cody Lee Hardin, moderated by filmmaker Victor Bonacore (Diary of a Deadbeat: The Story of Jim VanBebber)
• Jim VanBebber, Deadbeat Forever! – a brand new retrospective documentary on VanBebber and the Deadbeat legacy by Filmmaker Victor Bonacore, featuring first-time interviews, super-rare footage, VanBebber’s college films and much, much more!
• Archival 1986 behind-the-scenes documentary – Nate Pennington’s VHS documentary on a failed Deadbeat shoot
• Outtakes, newly transferred in HD
• Four newly-restored VanBebber short films – Into the Black (1983, 34 mins), My Sweet Satan (1993, 19 mins), Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin (1994, 14 mins) and Gator Green (2013, 16 mins)
• Jim VanBebber Music Video Collection, featuring never-before-seen Director’s Cuts
• Chunkblower – promotional trailer for an unfinished Gary Blair Smith-produced gore-soaked feature film
• Extensive Image Gallery – Never-Before-Seen Stills!
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Scott Gabbey and Graham Rae

ICYMI – UK TITLE: Candyman (Blu-ray)

One of the greatest horror movies of the 1990s, now newly restored on Blu-ray.

Release date 29 October

Dare you say his name five times? From the chilling imagination of horror master Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed), comes Candyman – arguably one of the greatest horror movies of the 1990s, now newly restored on Blu-ray.

When grad student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) begins working on a thesis looking at urban legends, she encounters the tale of the Candyman – the vengeful spirit of a hook-handed slave, who, it is said, can be summoned by saying his name five times in the mirror. As her research leads her into the bowels of Chicago’s deprived housing projects and deeper into the Candyman’s world, Helen learns that some legends are best left alone…

Expertly directed by British filmmaker Bernard Rose and boasting an astounding score by composer Philip Glass, Candyman ingeniously reworks Clive Barker’s original short story “The Forbidden” (originally published as part of his Books of Blood collection) into a modern horror parable that remains as timely today as ever.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration from a new 4k scan of the original negative, supervised and approved by writer-director Bernard Rose and director of photography Anthony B. Richmond
• 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Original Uncompressed Stereo 2.0 Audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Exclusive packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
• 6 Lobby Card reproductions
• Reversible fold-out poster featuring two artworks
• Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth
• Limited Edition perfect-bound booklet reproducing the original hand-painted storyboards by Bernard Rose
• Brand new audio commentary with writer-director Bernard Rose and actor Tony Todd
• Brand new audio commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
• Be My Victim – a brand new interview with Tony Todd
• It Was Always You, Helen – a brand new interview with Virginia Madsen
• The Writing on the Wall: The Production Design of Candyman – a brand new interview with production designer Jane Ann Stewart
• Forbidden Flesh: The Makeup FX of Candyman – brand new interviews with special makeup effects artists Bob Keen, Gary J. Tunnicliffe and Mark Coulier
• A Story to Tell: Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden” – writer Douglas E. Winter on Clive Barker’s seminal Books of Blood and Candyman’s source story, “The Forbidden”
• Urban Legend: Unwrapping Candyman – a critical analysis of the film with writers Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Three rarely-seen Bernard Rose short films, newly restored in HD: Looking at Alice (30 mins, 1978), A Bomb With No Name on It (3 mins, 1976), The Wreckers (5 mins)

NEW US/CA TITLE: Torso (Blu-ray)

Copious levels of violence, sleaze and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!

Release date: 30 October

A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) has lent his talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but it is undoubtedly his giallo thrillers from the early 70s for which he is best known. Among the most highly acclaimed of these, 1973’s Torso revels in the genre’s time-honored traditions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie.

A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting picturesque university town’s female students. Alarmed at plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa – only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they’ve brought it with them!

Also known as Carnal Violence, Torso was released in Italy towards the end of the giallo boom before enjoying a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Co-starring Tina Aumont (Salon Kitty) and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), the film finds its director at the top of his game, delivering copious levels of violence, sleaze and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of both versions of the film: the 94-minute Italian and 90-minute English cuts
• Original lossless Italian and English mono soundtracks*
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio Martino
• New video interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino
• New video interview with actor Luc Merenda
• New video interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi
• New video interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino
• New video interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
• 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino
• Italian and English theatrical trailers
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Adrian Smith and Howard Hughes

* The English audio track on the original, longer cut has some portions of English audio missing. English audio for these sections was either never recorded or has been lost. As such, these sequences are presented with Italian audio, subtitled in English.