Introduction
Mad Count Zad offers a diabolical collection of home entertainment movie picks perfect for the Halloween season.
Paramount Scares: Volume 1
The venerable Hollywood studio dives into its catalog of films to deliver a quintet of horror-themed classics just in time for the Halloween season and all in the ultra-high definition format. The eight-disc set offers 4K and Blu-ray versions of:
– Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
– Pet Sematary (1989)
– Crawl (2019)
– Smile (2022)
– Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
The Exorcist: 50th Anniversary Edition
Perhaps the scariest and most influential horror film of all time finally arrives in the 4K disc format to spotlight director William Friedkin’s 1972 unsettling masterpiece. The film focuses on 12-year-old girl Regan MacNeil and her perplexing medical conditions. After her mother explores all avenues of science, she turns to religion to hopefully expel what she now believes is a demon possessing her child.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Ultimate Collector’s Edition
One of my family’s Halloween home entertainment traditions finally takes advantage of ultra-high definition disc technology to take viewers back to 1993 and re-embrace Henry Selick and Tim Burton’s classic animated musical. The stop-motion tour de force offers the fantastical tale of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, stumbling upon Christmas town and deciding that he and his pals can do a better job of imagining the festive holiday.
Videodrome
Director David Cronenberg’s shocking sci-fi horror film gets a deserved restoration on the UHD format revitalizing a classic in an unrated version that pulls no punches. The twisted tale focuses on a trashy Toronto television station owner looking for the most taboo and sensationalist content for his viewers. His obsession takes him unwittingly into a world-altering experiment that changes the anatomy of his brain by exposing watchers to violent imagery to control their minds.
Swamp Thing
DC Comics’ monstrous crusader for justice and the environment made his live-action debut in a campy horror film directed and written by Wes Craven back in 1982. The woeful yet eventual superheroic tale of a brilliant scientist turned mutated plant man showcases the iconic character of Swamp Thing.
Night of the Demons: Collector’s Edition
The 1988 cult classic that launched a supernatural horror film franchise debuts in a 4K format. The gore fest follows a group of high school students throwing a Halloween party in an abandoned funeral parlor. As the title suggests, all hell breaks loose at night when demons arise from a possessed mirror to infect, slaughter, and resurrect the group of partygoers.
Prey
A welcomed return of one of sci-fi horror’s most iconic species last year debuts on 4K disc. The story takes viewers back to 1719 and the Great Plains of North America as a young girl dreams of becoming a great warrior and is tasked with protecting her people from a Predator who has arrived from outer space.
Red Dragon
Author Thomas Harris’ favorite cannibalistic serial killer returned again to the silver screen back in 2002 in director Brett Ratner’s creepy psychological thriller. Home theater aficionados can now appreciate Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s brand of intellectual insanity in a UHD upgrade to the film.
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, SteelBook Edition
Set 20 years after the serial killing events of Michael Meyers in the peaceful town of Haddonfield, Illinois, the film finds the sister of the killer Laurie Strode changing her name and moving to California. When Michael breaks out of his mental institution, he looks for a reunion with his sibling to give her another unforgettable Halloween.
The Toxic Avenger Collection
Troma Entertainment’s B-movie superhero finally gets some respect in the home theater realms within an eight-disc set chronicling his UHD adventures. Viewers get four films that make up the collection: “The Toxic Avenger” (1984), “The Toxic Avenger Part II” (1989), “The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie” (1989), and “Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV” (2000).
Haunted Mansion
Based on the famed Disney theme park dark ride, this supernatural horror comedy does offer a great way to get a few laughs with the family after the tweens’ long night of trick or treating. The film follows an astrophysicist who investigates a haunted mansion in hopes of reconnecting with his deceased wife’s ghost.
Frightful Extras
Each of the films comes with its own set of bonus features. Some of the highlights include behind-the-scenes looks at the production, commentary tracks with the filmmakers, and interviews with cast and crew members.
