As if delivering CURTAINS (1983) on Blu-ray and DVD isn’t big enough news, now it seems that Synapse Films has also gotten the rights to 1980 PROM NIGHT. Yes, kiddies, the Jaime Lee Curtis classic about disco dancing and the madman who invades a prom will get the same DVD/Blu-ray treatment. No words as to when it’ll see the light of day or what sort of extra features the discs will hold, but you can count on Scare Factor to let you know the minute we hear of anything.
August 20th 2013 is the sreet date for the release of the double bill 1982 HOSPITAL MASSACRE (aka X-RAY) and SCHIZOID (1981). Both films have never been digitally re-mastered and will be part of a Blu-ray/DVD combo by Scream Factory. HOSPITAL MASSACRE, starring former Playboy bunny Barbi Benton is a well-made slasher whose major flaw is being poorly lit. I’m sure Scream Factory has carefully remedied the situation. As for SCHIZOID, starring the legendary Klaus Kinski and JAWS 2 Donna Wilkes, Scare Factor has yet to see it and is looking forward to it since it has been on its must-see list for years and years.
On the same day, Scream Factory is also releasing ALL NIGHT HORROR MARATHON, four long lost horror treasures on DVD, starting with THE GODSEND, the 1980 killer toddler from the UK. Scare Factor has enjoyed the Bernard Taylor novel from which it is adapted and is eager to see the film. 1987 THE OUTING centers around teens and an escaped genie from a lamp. Saw this one back in the day and remember nothing of it. It’ll be interesting to see it again. The third flick is 1987 THE VAGRANT starring Bill Paxton of MORTUARY (1983) fame. Supposed to be a horror/comedy about (what else) a vagrant invasion in Baxton’s newly acquired home. Not too inspiring but we’ll see… And lastly, 1971 SCHIZOID, focusing on a woman killer and her dream sequences. No idea as to where on earth that one comes from, but we will definitely check it out.
Douglas Clegg’s vampire tale THE CHILDREN’S HOUR is now available in e-book form at the low price of 99 cents for a limited time. I, like many horror buffs, had the pleasure of reading this novel in the mid-nineties when the Dell Abyss paperback line was trying to stay afloat. The horror genre was on its last legs and strong authors like Clegg, here, kept it alive despite the plague, and with good reasons. CHILDREN’S HOUR is a fun and scary, not to mention narratively impressive, read. If you have yet to venture into the author’s work, this title is certainly a fine place to start.
One of my fave novels is Bryan Smith’s DEPRAVED. Reading it is like watching a super great grade-B movie you just can’t live without; sort of like FRIDAY THE 13th but with 10 times the shock value. Well, it looks like Mr. Smith is at it again with 68 KILL, his latest from Bitter Ale Press. The plot, about stolen cash and the people you thought you knew but don’t, is supposedly one heck of a ride. SCARE FACTOR is on it of course —just as it is on the lookout for Smith’s forthcoming offering GO KILL CRAZY, out February 4th 2014 from Samhain Publishing. 
UPDATE: Scream Factory’s ALL NIGHT HORROR MARATHON featuring 1980 THE GODSEND and three other horror titles from yesteryear is postponed to early October 2013. Seems that one of the four films, 1971 SCHIZOID, (not to be confused with the Klaus Kinski slasher) is pulled from the lineup (a copyright thing?). It is officially replaced by WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN, the 1971 Grand Guignol-style horror fare featuring veteran leading ladies Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds.
Until next post--Martin
