We are three days away from Halloween and this week brings us a slew of horror packages in all shapes and sizes. I’m a huge horror fan so I’ve been watching a horror film nearly every night this month. I love that horror transcends culture. Every country, every culture has scary stories. Japan has created some of the very best horror films and this week’s pick is a collection of ghost stories from Japan.
Buy Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories Blu-rayThe stories themselves are ancient folk tales, but the films come from the 1950s and 1960s. I’ve not heard of any of them, but I’m excited to give them a watch. The set comes from Radiance Films who continue to do amazing work. The handful of films I’ve seen from them have all been great and they do an excellent job of cleaning up the films and loading them with extras. The films in this set include: The Ghost of Yotsuya / The Snow Woman / The Bride from Hades. Read Greg Hammond’s review.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
J-Horror Rising: Arrow Video brings us several films that demonstrate the rise of Japanese horror in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Most of these were straight-to-video releases. They include: Shikoku / Isola: Multiple Personality Girl / Inugami / St John’s Wort / Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman / Persona / Noroi: The Curse.
Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (4K UHD): Also known as The Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch and it is every bit as unhinged, and crazy as that sounds. Severin Films brings us this disc in UHD loaded with extras.
Trick ‘r Treat (4K UHD): This horror film from 2007 keeps popping up in my various streaming recommended lists, but I have yet to pull the trigger. This was a period in my life where I just wasn’t watching a lot of movies for one reason or another. Arrow Video has this release.
Shocker (4K UHD): Shout Factory is releasing this Wes Craven film about a killer executed in the electric chair, who then begins magically using electricity to take his revenge on those who turned him in.
Classic Ghosts: Kino Lorber presents this collection of films that originally aired on television in the 1970s. Films include The Haunting of Rosalind / The Screaming Skull / The Deadly Visitor / The House and the Brain / And the Bones Came Together.
The Return of Dr. X: Humphrey Bogart plays a crazed serial killer in this silly little thriller from 1939. He’s third billed here as the story mostly follows a reporter on the hunt for the killer.
El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico: Indicator is releasing this fun-looking set. The films are: The Vampire / The Vampire’s Coffin.
Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXII: Kino Lorber continues to release some lesser-known film noirs. This set includes The Enforcer / The Scarlet Hour / Plunder Road
Dogra Magra: Radiance Films is releasing this Japanese film about a man who kills his bride on their wedding day and then goes insane.
Ferocious Fukasaku: Two Films by Kinji Fukasaku: Film Movement is releasing two lesser-known films by the cult Japanese director. The films are Wolves, Pigs and Men / Violent Panic: The Big Crash.
Forgotten Gialli: Volume 7: Vinegar Syndrome continues to dig up fairly obscure (and usually not very good) gialli. This set includes Mystere / Obsession: A Taste for Fear / Sweets from a Stranger.
