Bluray Tuesday!

June 30th 2015

The final Bluray Tuesday of June has arrived.Very light week this week only horror release is a Scream Factory double feature of 1988 films Ghosthouse and Witchery. Next week will bring lots of horror to our collections like Dark Summer, Alien Outpost, Maggie, The Pact 2 and The Town That Dreaded Sundown 2014 and thats just the first week. July has many great releases in store I'm excited for what is to come in the next few weeks. Action thriller The Gunman and Comedy Get Hard are also released today, I've heard good things about both and will for sure check these out sometime this week for sure. Tonight on MTV is the Premiere of Scream the Tv Series. I watched the first 8 minutes online and I think it has a promising start. I hope it wont disappoint. Don't forget to check out our Instagram page for news, events and giveaways as well. So what are you guys buying, renting or skipping this week? let us know we love comments.

Ghosthouse / Witchery: Amazon - $17.90

Ghosthouse: A teenager (Lara Wendel) and her boyfriend (Greg Scott) discover strange radio messages are screams from the future.

Witchery:A photographer (David Hasselhoff) and others (Linda Blair, Catherine Hickland) are stranded at a Massachusetts island hotel haunted by a woman in black.

 

The Gunman: Amazon  - $19.99

Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country's minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier (Sean Penn) is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead -- and why. Terrier's search leads him to a reunion with Annie (Jasmine Trinca), a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman (Javier Bardem) with dealings in Africa.

 

Get Hard: Amazon - $22.99

When obscenely rich hedge-fund manager James (Will Ferrell) is convicted of fraud and sentenced to a stretch in San Quentin, the judge gives him one month to get his affairs in order. Knowing that he won't survive more than a few minutes in prison on his own, James desperately turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart) -- a black businessman who's never even had a parking ticket -- for help. As Darnell puts James through the wringer, both learn that they were wrong about many things, including each other.

 

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter: Amazon - $12.99

Frustrated with her mundane life, a Tokyo office worker (Rinko Kikuchi) becomes obsessed with a fictional movie that she mistakes for a documentary. Fixating on a scene where stolen cash is buried in North Dakota, she travels to America to find it.

 

    - The Impostor 

The Return of the Stanford Theatre

It's been a couple of months since we were making weekly excursions to the beautiful Sanford Theatre for their Hitchcock double features, and we have been itching to go back. Well, someone must have heard our cries and decided to answer them, because there are some great titles coming back to the Stanford in the next couple of weeks. Let's take a look:

Dracula (1931)
July 1-3 at 6pm and 8:55pm

The role that both blessed and cursed Bela Lugosi until the day he was buried in his Dracula costume, on the big screen! 
It will be playing with

The Old Dark House
July 1-3 at 7:30pm

This will be a first for me, but this poster is pretty cool. And Boris Karloff is a great selling point. 

Rashomon (1950)
August 15-18 at 7:30pm and 3:50 on Saturday and Sunday

This will be playing with 
Throne of Blood (1957)
August 15-18 at 5:30pm and 9:10pm

These are both directed by Akira Kurosawa and, although they may not be straight horror, the atmosphere and cinematic contribution these films made are reason enough to give them a watch. Also these films has 100% and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes respectively, if that matters to you. 

The Time Machine (1960)

August 22-25 at 5:30pm and 9:20pm

It will be playing with

Forbidden Plant (1956)

August 22-25 at 7:30pm and 3:45 on Saturday and Sunday

Both of these are huge titles that I must admit I have never seen, so this will be a great month of firsts for me! 

These are just a couple of the films that will be playing at the Stanford Theatre. You can find the full list of their summer lineup at their site and hopefully you guys will try to make it out to a couple of the double features. 

-Huntress

Overlooked Crowd Funding: Terrifier or "The Art the Clown movie fans deserve!"

"Art the Clown would cut up Pennywise with a fucking hacksaw and put him in a garbage bag"

It was another weekend in 2014 when Lord Battle and I were paroozing the selection of movies at Amoeba on Haight street. Or was it one of the few F.Y.E. stores that are still open in the bay area? Either way, that was the first time I met Art the Clown. His face was on a DVD cover among the other titles, slightly raised off of the movie's slip cover. I picked it up and judged it by the cover: the clown was definitely creepy and had personality, but killer clown movies seem like such a gamble. The movie looked like it may be found footage too, which I enjoy but has also become a gamble due to over use and abuse. I almost put it back but something about that face... from his yellowed teeth and withered cheeks to that wart-like dot on the tip of his sinister pointed nose. Okay, he was more than creepy. And if this whole movie sucked but revolved around him I decided I'd be okay with it. Plus it was cheap, so I held onto it. 

All Hallows Eve ended up making in onto the Overlook's Best Horror of 2013, so I think getting it was the right choice. Art, however, did not have anywhere near the role that I suspected he might. He actually lurked throughout the film, not really in the spotlight, despite being the face of the cover. And I finally know why. 

It turns out, Art the Clown started out being the star villain of his own movie. Well, he was supposed to be. Director and creator of Art, Damien Leone, made a short version of his ideal movie and put it on youtube in hopes of getting the attention of a producer interested in funding the feature length version. And his plan worked, but not exactly the way he wanted it to; the producer who answered the short's growing popularity wanted to incorporate Art in a film, but in a much smaller role. Leone still jumped at the opportunity, and that is why we now have All Hallows Eve.

Well now Art's rightful place in the spot light is going to be given to him, in Damien Leone's new movie Terrifier, which is almost fully funded. This is the film that he originally wanted to make, one that shows you all of Art that you can stand. And he will have much more freedom, since this will be an independent film that does not need to worry about ratings boards and studios, as he reminds us in the campaign video. The only thing this production still needs is that last little bit of budget in order to do things just perfectly, which is why Leone has turned to Indiegogo and the fans for support. In return, he is offering some of the coolest rewards I've seen, putting his skills as a special effects artist to bring original additions to our many collections. I may have to eat ramen for a couple of weeks to afford the one I really want but that's just a necessary sacrifice.

Affordable:

• $25 gets you a download of the completed movie. No frills but you get to enjoy the finished product. 

Under $100:

• $50 will get you the download as well as the DVD release of the film. For those of us who prefer a physical copy of our movies. 

Breaking the Piggy Bank:

• $250 will get you a replica of Art's rusty scalpel and a bloody finger he hacked off. These are both hand crafted by the director and limited to 30. It looks like this perk also comes with the mini resin bust of Art from the previous perk, as well as the DVD release of the film. 
• $350 is the one I have my eye on. It is an Art resin funko figure, hand crafted by the director, and a certificate of authenticity. There will only be 10 of these made and would be an awesome addition to the funko collection we all have. 

Things jump in price pretty quickly from there, but they are all screen-worn props and super limited. Like two of them are being released. And though they are expensive, they are a part of this film. Literally. And if you think about it in terms of screen used props, these numbers are about right. 

And of course, as with crowd funding campaigns, there is that one enticing perk that is out of most people's price range. Terrifier has that very thing...

Honorary Mention:

If you have $3500 to spend, you can pick any way you want to see Art dispose of a bystander. This short will be an extra on the DVD release and will be dedicated to your sick little self. 

Head over to the campaign page to read up on all the other perks you have a chance to grab before they're gone. It's raise over $800 in four days and there are 27 days left. 

Help bring this face into people's lives.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday!

June 23rd 2015

Bluray Tuesday is here once again! Very light week this week for sure. Scream Factory / Shout Factory is back again with the official release of Dog Soldiers loaded with new bonus features. If you preordered through Scream factory you may have already received your copy with an exclusive poster which is awesome. Horror title release for the first time on bluray is Horsehead. Horsehead is a very weird artsy kind of film. I liked it but Its definitely different and I suggest maybe a rent on VOD first over blind buying this week. The Forger and Survivor I never really heard of but are also out today on bluray both are action thrillers. What will you buy, rent or just skip this week? Let us know in the comments or on out Facebook, Twitter, Instagram we love the feedback.

Dog Soldiers: Amazon - $18.93

In Neil Marshal's directorial debut, a squad of soldiers is sent out on what should have been a routine military exercise in the wilds of Scotland. But the excursion turns into a waking nightmare when Sgt. Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee) and his men discover the bloody corpses of Capt. Richard Ryan's (Liam Cunningham) battalion. As the sun goes down, the soldiers are tracked by a pack of werewolves determined to feast on their flesh.

 

Horsehead: Amazon - $17.99

A stylish and surreal shocker, Horsehead is a horror-fantasy about Jessica, a young woman who returns to her family's estate, only to be haunted by primal nightmares of a horse-headed phantom, which she investigates with "lucid dreaming."

 

The Forger: Amazon - $12.99

The world's best art forger makes a deal with a crime syndicate to get an early release from prison, but in return he must pull off an impossible heist - he must forge a painting by Claude Monet, steal the original from a museum, and replace it with a replica so perfect that no one will notice. He enlists the help of his father and son and together they plan the heist of their lives!

 

Survivor: Amazon - $11.99

A State Department employee newly posted to the American embassy in London is charged with stopping terrorists from getting into the U.S. That puts her right in the line of fire and she is targeted for death and framed for crimes. Discredited, she is forced to go on the run while she tries to clear her name and stop a large-scale terrorist attack set for New Year's Eve in Times Square.

- The Impostor

A Much Needed Update!

This week has honestly been non-stop here at the Overlook Theatre. So much so that we haven't even had a chance to tell you about anything new since Bluray Tuesday. Well here's what we have been up to for the past couple of days, and we'll try to let you all know about some of these things earlier so you can possibly come out to some of these events in the future. 

We started the week off with a screening hosted by the Berkeley Blazer, at his monthly(ish) film club. This time around he screened Nightcrawler, which was followed by hours of debate between himself, Lord Battle, and Math Mage. I admit to interjecting, but nowhere near as much as the stubborn three. 

The next day we witnessed the attack of The Green Slime at The Balboa Theatre in San Francisco. I had hoped to see people dressed up in their space suits and my wish was granted. There only a couple of people who participated (sadly I was not one of them) but I was still satisfied. 

The hosts of the night asked a couple of trivia questions and handed out gift cards to local stores such as Lost Weekend Video, La Video, and the Balboa itself. They also gave a little background about the film, like that it was filmed in Japan, even though it stayed an American film. It just helped explain some of the weirdness in the story.

Our Thursday screening day was packed! We kicked the night off with a short that I personally loved, Predator: Dark Ages. It's a micro-budget short film and it's exactly what it sounds like. Which is so awesome I couldn't believe it hadn't been done sooner. The consensus was that this should be made into a full length feature, but I may be adding in my own opinion. 

Next up was a selection that the Math Mage insisted on, The Horror at Party Beach (MST3K version). There were a lot of groans going on during this one, but some people still enjoyed it. At least one person did... 

I'm kind of disappointed that I had to miss this one.

The night ended with a surprisingly well-received screening of Deathbed the Bed that Eats. I say surprising because Lord Battle expected people to hate this film. It's a 1970s cult horror movie which is also about exactly what it sounds like. But it goes to places you would not expect and does so in genius ways. 

And last night was the opening night of The Nightmare, a horror documentary about sleep paralysis, bought to us by Rodney Ascher, the director who did Room 237 (see this if you have not). He was at the Roxie Theatre in person for this opening night, and answered some questions about the process of making this film. It was an informative and creepy film, though it did have a couple of lulls. Still, for someone who has never experienced this condition, I could not imagine how the people who have don't just pound endless pots of coffee.

So as you can see we have been busy. But we're still always up for a good horror conversation on the various media you can find us on. You can follow the Overlook and its reviewers on instagram and twitter and feel free to say hi! 

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday!

June 16th 2015

Bluray Tuesday is here again. Out this week The Lazarus Effect, Chappie, and Run All Night. Only at Target Chappie will have a Exclusive steelbook packaging for only 19.99. If you have the Target Cartwheel app be sure to add the 10% off all music movies and books to receive about 2 bucks off as well which brings it down to $17.99 which is pretty good for a new release steelbook. The Lazarus Effect is the main horror related film out this week. I didn't get to check this one out in theaters but will watch sometime soon, overall I have heard mixed things about it. Run Al Night is a action thriller I have heard better things about this film and look forward to blind buying this as well. What will you guys buy, rent or skip this week? Let us know on the comments section. Also check out our Instagram Page Here. We also are doing digital download movie code giveaways!

The Lazarus Effect: Amazon - $19.95

Medical researcher Frank (Mark Duplass), his fiancee Zoe (Olivia Wilde) and their team have achieved the impossible: they have found a way to revive the dead. After a successful, but unsanctioned, experiment on a lifeless animal, they are ready to make their work public. However, when their dean learns what they've done, he shuts them down. Zoe is killed during an attempt to recreate the experiment, leading Frank to test the process on her. Zoe is revived -- but something evil is within her.

 

Chappie: Amazon - $19.99

In the near future, a mechanized police force patrols the streets and deals with lawbreakers -- but now, the people are fighting back. When one police droid is stolen and given new programming, he acquires the ability to feel and think for himself. While the robot, dubbed "Chappie (Sharlto Copley)," puzzles out human behavior, the authorities begin to see him as a danger to mankind and order; they will stop at nothing to ensure that Chappie is the last of his kind.

Standard

 

Best Buy Exclusive Bonus Features

 

Target Exclusive Steelbook

 

Run All Night: Amazon - $24.99

Longtime hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), has seen better days. He's haunted both by the sins of his past and a police detective who's been breathing down his neck for 30 years, and the only comfort Jimmy has is whiskey. However, when his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) becomes a mob target, Jimmy figures that the only way to atone for his past mistakes is to make sure that his son doesn't wind up at the wrong end of a gun.

  

-The Impostor 

Psycho Kickboxer or The Room meets 80's Kung-Fu

5 of 5 viewers "Liked" "Psycho Kickboxer: The Dark Angel" (USA, 1995)

Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:

B4DK - "Kick boxing kung-fu comedy. The punching and kicking sound effects must have been ripped from the pit fighter video game. Gore scenes were very impressive. Rad!" - 3.5 Stars

Math Mage - "It's The Room + 80's Kung-Fu." - 3 Stars

Lord Battle - "Psycho Kickboxer is that film you purchase hopping whats depicted on the cover actually happens. *Spoiler* it doesn't, but this films got enough absurdity to justify making your friends sit through it." - 4 Stars

Huntress - "Gory and ridiculous at times, Psycho Kickboxer is the kind of movie you can enjoy with drunks or just a group of friends. The acting may have been lacking, but the film makers definitely put their budget to good use when it came to effects." - 4 Stars

Kabuki Senpai - "I would re-watch this movie once a day for a year straight. The gore effects were amazing." - 5 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

I'd like to start by saying Psycho Kickboxer has one of the coolest dvd menu animations I've ever seen. Featuring the awesome art on the cover in action, throwing stars reveal our menu buttons. As far as the film is concerned Math Mage was correct to compare it to The Room, awkward editing, cringe worthy dialog, and a sex scene so reminiscent of The Room that Tommy Wiseau may be paying butt homage to Curtis Bush. Curtis Bush is the 5 time (5 time... 5 time...) world kickboxing champion that the movie packaging reminds you of repeatedly, who also appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I & II, Major Payne, and 2014's Godzilla. Curtis doesn't really have the face of a leading man and is pretty awkward delivering lines but he is unquestionably an amazing fighter, with better editing his combat skills could have looked more impressive than funny, but funny is good too. The only time Curtis looks outright dumb is when he starts wearing his ninja costume, it's almost like he becomes completely clueless and uncomfortable.

(DvD insert form the double feature release)

There are some amazing scenes that showcase 1-take fight sequences, that actually look good. The thing that I love most about these moments are how truly indie they are, complete with cars driving by and people going about their daily lives. Normally these things just remind you how little money was available and take you out of the film. But Psycho Kickboxer features so many little moments of the Dark Angel breaking up Spider-Man-esque robberies, that the non-actors ignoring the production in the background actually add to how "everyday" these evil goin-ons feel. Then sprinkle in some good gore moments, bone breaking moves that sounds like a wood bat hitting a baseball, and a neon 80's climax scene and you have a film every B-movie enthusiast should own.

- Lord Battle

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.

Bay Area Horror in June

June has already promised to be great, even if it's just because we finally get to stop waiting for a couple of long anticipated titles to see the light of day, but this month is far from over. We bay area folks actually have some very cool things still coming our way. 

The Green Slime

"Two space-station astronauts (Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel) destroy an asteroid, then face monsters formed from viscous cells."

I don't know much else about this film, but I know enough to really want to see it. The Green Slime first invaded in 1968 but apparently was not received very well, judging from the film's 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. It will be resurfacing at Balboa Theatre on Wednesday the 17th at 7:30pm. 

The Nightmare

"Following his exploration on the deep effects of cinema in his feature Room 237, director Rodney Ascher now investigates the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. In this documentary-horror film, we experience the terror that a surprisingly large number of people suffer when they find themselves trapped between the sleeping and waking worlds every night. What should be explained by science gets complicated as sufferers from random backgrounds have very similar visions. The Nightmare enhances the stories with eerie dramatizations of what (and who) the subjects see. Ascher, who has also experienced the condition, treats the subject with respect, combining a primal horror movie with an existential terror in the lines between reality and the imagination. — Sundance Film Fest. Directed by Rodney Ascher. 2014. USA. 90 mins." 

This is the first documentary horror I've heard of, and it sounds really interesting, if nothing else. But if Room 237 was any indication, this will be more than just something you can sit through. It's going to be playing at the Roxie Theatre from June 19th to the 25th, with two screenings per day and three on the weekend. And to make it even more enticing, director Rodney Ascher will be at the screenings too! When he presented Room 237 he also answered questions from the audience. 

Roar

If you missed it while it was playing at the Roxie, now you have another chance to see Roar on the big screen. It will be the second film in a double feature at the Castro Theatre this Thursday the 11th. It will be screening at 9pm.

LA Slasher

"Disgusted with tabloid culture, a killer abducts reality TV stars -- while the media and the public debate whether society is better off without them."

Although showtimes are not available yet, the LA Slasher will finally be out this month on the 26th, in just a couple of weeks! I'll let you know when I know more.

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday!

June 9th 2015

Bluray Tuesday has arrived again! I've been waiting patiently for Scream Factory's release of Sleepaway Camp 2 & 3. These have awesome artwork and are loaded with bonus material as well. Kingsman is the biggest release this week I am also excited to finally own. Kingsman is action packed and I highly recommend this film. If you have not seen this film, it's a great blind buy. You won't be disappointed. Shout Factory also releases Thunderbirds The Complete Series this week, remastered with lots of bonus material. Horror releases are light this week. Rounding out the week are The Duff, a high school comedy that got good reviews, and , a sci fi time traveling film. There are lots of different films to choose from this week to add to our collections. What will you be buying, renting or skipping this week? Let us know in our comment section. Follow our Instagram page  Here and keep a look out for our digital code giveaways and more!

Sleepaway Camp 2 Unhappy Campers: Amazon - $19.95

Angela Baker has undergone years of therapy, electro-shock and sexual reassignment surgeries, and finally landed herself a job in the last place she should be working - camp rolling hills. She has an old fashioned approach as to how camp should be, and an old familiar deadly way of making sure that those who don't follow her rules don't get to come back next summer.

Sleepaway Camp 3 Teenage Wasteland: Amazon - $19.95

Angela is back, in the form of an angry inner-city camper on the hunt for blood. Camp New Horizons, on the recycled grounds of the former murders, intends to pair high class teens with underclass counterparts. Angela, however, has a different plan. Will it be door number one, number two, or number three?

Kingsman The Secret Service: Amazon - $19.99

Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), whose late father secretly worked for a spy organization, lives in a South London housing estate and seems headed for a life behind bars. However, dapper agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) recognizes potential in the youth and recruits him to be a trainee in the secret service. Meanwhile, villainous Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) launches a diabolical plan to solve the problem of climate change via a worldwide killing spree

 

Project Almanac: Amazon - $18.99

David Raskin (Jonny Weston) is a high-school science nerd who dreams of going to MIT. When he and his friends (Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista) find his late father's plans for a "temporal displacement device," David can't wait to start tinkering. When they finally get the device to work, the teenagers jump at the opportunity to manipulate time in their favor -- but their joy is short-lived when they begin to discover the consequences of their actions.

Thunderbirds The Complete Series: Amazon - $42.92

In the 21st century, Jeff Tracy, a former astronaut, amasses a colossal fortune and decides that he must use it to benefit others. His answer to this desire is to create International Rescue, a unique private emergency response service equipped with customed designed vehicles and equipment that enable the organization to react to any crisis whether it be in sea, air, land, or space. Jeff's five sons volunteer to operate as the pilots and field agents, as well "Brains" (alias Hiram B. Hackenbaker) as the team engineer. In addition, Jeff's friend, Kyrano and his daughter Tin Tin agree to be the support staff. In addition to the field team, IR also maintains an intelligence network with Lady Penelope and her ex-con chauffer, Parker as the chief agents in this arm. The series depicts this team as they answer various calls for help around and beyond the world while they prevent enemies like the Hood from learning and exploiting their secrets.

The Duff: Amazon - $18.99

Bianca is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as 'The DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) to her prettier, more popular friends. Now, despite the words of caution from her favorite teacher, she puts aside the potential distraction of her crush, Toby, and enlists Wesley, a slick but charming jock, to help reinvent herself. To save her senior year from turning into a total disaster, Bianca must find the confidence to overthrow the school's ruthless label maker Madison and remind everyone that no matter what people look or act like, we are all someone's DUFF.

-The Impostor