Sadness, Madness and Brains For Arrow Video In October
A comic book blockbuster, a zombie classic, Halloween gem, Asian Shockers, a mindbender from Carpenter , and a Ferrara revenge thriller…
The Summer might be entering it’s final month, Arrow Video are prepping us for the cooler autumn months. Now looking at October with a month they promise will be full of sadness, madness and lots of brains!
Straight out of the gate in October is Spawn, on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. From the producers of Blade and The Crow comes this dark, action-packed supernatural thriller that redefined the comic book movie with cutting-edge visual effects and a haunting origin story of vengeance, damnation, and redemption. Based on Todd McFarlane’s groundbreaking comic, and starring Michael Jai White as the demonic antihero, Spawn is a visually explosive cult classic that blends horror, action, and gothic fantasy, available for the first time in a fiery new 4K restoration that breathes new life into Hell’s most iconic warrior. The release includes 4K restorations of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut.
Next up – they’re back from the grave… and ready to party! The Return of the Living Dead on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Limited Edition Blu-ray. Taking the genre that George A. Romero invented and turning it on its (severed) head, Alien screenwriter Dan O’Bannon made his directorial debut with one of the most beloved horror-comedies of the 1980s. Scored by an immortally cool punk/psychobilly soundtrack (featuring The Cramps, The Flesh Eaters and Tall Boys), The Return of the Living Dead has rib-tickling gags and gut-churning gore by the bucketload.
October is Halloween month and we do enjoy a scare or two. Just in time for Halloween there’s something seriously spooky, with Three and the sequel Three… Extremes, on Limited Edition Blu-ray. A trio of ghostly tales of terror, each from a different country, forms the anthology Three, directed by South Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters), Thai filmmaker Nonzee Nimibutr (Nang Nak), and Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan. Initiated by acclaimed Hong Kong producer and director Peter Ho-Sun Chan, the film would prove highly influential in its innovative approach to pan-Asian horror, and lead to the shockingly compelling sequel, Three… Extremes, directed by Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), Park Chan-wook (Oldboy), and Takashi Miike (Audition).
Dragging extreme cinema screaming into the post-pandemic age, The Sadness arrives on Limited Edition 4K UHD. Rob Jabbaz’s controversial and incredibly gory film burst onto the genre scene at the tail-end of the COVID epidemic, winning the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Inspired in part by Garth Ennis’ brutal graphic novel Crossed, The Sadness is a vicious satire of the darkest depths of humanity and an apocalyptic powerhouse of an action-based horror film, packed with incredible practical special effects, guaranteed to make even the most hardened gore-hound squirm.
Keeping in the spirit of Halloween, October will also bring Trick ‘r Treat on Limited Edition SteelBook 4K UHD. Delve into the sinister and darkly humorous world of Trick ‘r Treat, written and directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus). This anthology film communes with the spirits of classic horror portmanteaus like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt, weaving together four chilling tales, all taking place during the same fateful Halloween night. Starring Anna Paquin (X-Men) and Brian Cox (Succession), with its interwoven tales of terror and unforgettable characters, Trick ‘r Treat has cemented itself as a Halloween essential, paying loving homage to the golden age of horror comics and 80s creature features with a slick modern style sure to send shivers down the spine of any fright fiend.
There are more Halloween chills in October, with In the Mouth of Madness on Limited Edition 4K UHD. He chilled our blood with The Thing. Brought us face to face with the devil himself in Prince of Darkness. Now master of horror John Carpenter drives us out of our minds with In the Mouth of Madness, the final entry in his “Apocalypse Trilogy”. Starring Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Julie Carmen (Fright Night Part 2), and Jürgen Prochnow (Das Boot), with a supporting cast that features Charlton Heston (The Omega Man), David Warner (Time Bandits), and John Glover (Gremlins 2), plus sterling special effects from KNB EFX, In the Mouth of Madness makes its debut appearance in glorious 4K Ultra HD, looking deeper, richer, and stranger than ever!
Finally on Arrow Video, October goes out with a bang, with Ms .45 on Limited Edition 4K UHD. From Abel Ferrara, director of The Driller Killer and King of New York, comes a terrifying revenge-thriller in the tradition of Death Wish and Taxi Driver… Ms. 45 (aka Angel of Vengeance) will blow you away. A devastating depiction of sexual violence and female rage, with a stunning central performance from Zoë Lund (credited as Zoë Tamerlis), Ms. 45 arrives on 4K UHD in a brand-new restoration that gives an extraordinary glimpse into the grimy glamour of New York in the 80s and with all its controversial power intact.
Spawn Limited Edition 4K UHD 6th October
Al Simmons (Michael Jai White) is a top-tier Black Ops agent, ruthlessly efficient and fiercely loyal—until he’s doublecrossed and executed by his commanding officer, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen). But Simmons is resurrected by the devil Malebolgia and becomes Spawn, a demonic antihero with terrifying powers. Caught between Earth and the Underworld, Spawn is determined to exact bloody revenge on Wynn, and must choose to serve his new infernal masters or fight for the salvation of his immortal soul.
Also available: Limited Edition Blu-ray
The Return of the Living Dead Limited Edition 4K UHD 13th October
Freddy (Thom Mathews) is on his first day of work at the Uneeda Medical Supply Warehouse when his co-worker Frank (James Karen) decides to show off the airtight canisters filled with human remains in the basement, lost by the military long ago. One of the canisters unexpectedly leaks a poison gas and sets into motion a full-scale uprising of the undead, against which warehouse boss Burt (Clu Gulager), mortician Ernie (Don Calfa) and Freddy’s punker friends (including scream queen Linnea Quigley) may be the last defence. If the zombies don’t eat their brains first!
Also available: Limited Edition Blu-ray
Three/ Three… Extremes Limited Edition Blu-ray 20th October
Korean genre maestro Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters) opens Three with “Memories”, where a husband and wife with no memory of how they fell apart discover the terrifying truth behind their separation. In Thai filmmaker Nonzee Nimibutr’s (Nang Nak) tale of guilt and jealousy, “The Wheel”, a puppeteer fears his marionettes are possessed by the spirits of those he has wronged. Finally, in Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s “Going Home”, a widowed police officer and his young son move into a new apartment and uncover the chilling secret behind their new neighbour and his seemingly comatose wife.
Three… Extremes’ unforgettable first story, “Dumplings”, directed by celebrated filmmaker Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), sees an aging actor discover that the dumplings she’s been eating for their miraculous rejuvenating benefits contain an unsavoury secret ingredient. Next, in Korean legend Park Chan-wook’s (Oldboy) segment “Cut”, a wealthy filmmaker is caught in a twisted game when a vindictive actor takes his wife hostage. Finally, Japanese Master of Horror Takashi Miike’s (Audition) segment, “Box”, sees a novelist plagued by nightmares of her past as a child circus performer with her long-lost twin sister, until she receives a mysterious invitation to return to the site of her old circus.
The Sadness Limited Edition 4K UHD 20th October
When a deadly virus spontaneously mutates in Taiwan it suddenly gives rise to a fast-acting, mind-altering plague. The streets erupt into violence and depravity, as those infected are driven to enact the most sadistic and ghastly acts they can think of. Amidst the carnage, a young couple, Jim (Berant Zhu) and Kat (Regina Lei), is pushed to the limits of sanity as they try and reunite across town amidst the chaos. The age of civility and order is no more. There is only “The Sadness”.
Also available: Limited Edition 4K UHD Arrow Store Exclusive
Trick ‘r Treat Limited Edition SteelBook 4K UHD – Zavvi Exclusive 27th October
Follow the secretive and disturbing life of a high school principal who leads a double life as a ruthless serial killer; the journey of a young girl (Anna Paquin, X-Men) looking for love who finds something infinitely more macabre; a group of teenagers playing a prank with disastrous consequences; and an old man (Brian Cox, Succession) confronted by Sam, a mischievous trick-or-treater with a terrifying secret.
In The Mouth Of Madness Limited Edition 4K UHD 27th October
Horror author Sutter Cane is missing. As crowds turn violent waiting for copies of his latest book, Cane’s publishers enlist insurance investigator John Trent to find him. With Cane’s editor, Linda Styles, Trent sets off in search of the elusive author and finds himself trapped in Hobb’s End, a town that should only exist within the author’s books. As fiction and reality blur, Trent begins to realize that between the lines, beyond the page, somewhere out there in the dark, something evil is waiting to break through.
Ms .45 Limited Edition 4K UHD 27th October
New York, 1980. Raped at gunpoint on her way home from work, mute seamstress Thana returns to the safety of her apartment only to be assaulted again by a burglar; but this time she fights back. Bludgeoning her assailant with an iron, she takes his gun and begins to dispose of the body piece by piece. Fuelled by her trauma, Thana sees that sexual threat is everywhere in the city and decides to bring a .45 calibre solution to the problem.
Also available: Limited Edition Blu-ray
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