Blu-ray & DVD Releases: The Digital Dread Report for May 12th!

Aliens, Dinosaurs, another Arrow Video oddity, some Apocalyptic feels, and lesbian vampires... this is The Digital Dread Report for May 12th!

*Read on, and be sure to click the pics to order whatever strikes your fancy.

"Sin City’s most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more notorious inhabitants."

Even though A Dame to Kill For wasn't quite the sequel that we were hoping for, especially since its predecessor was so damned good, we still really love the idea of this Blu-ray 2-Pack.

With Sin City, you not only get one of the best Comic Book movies ever made, but you get two cuts of it to boot; the original R-Rated Cut, and the Unrated Extended Edition, which adds more than 20 minutes to the film.

As far as A Dame to Kill For Goes, we were hoping for more from the sequel, but we were still mostly pleased at what it gave us. The Blu-ray comes with Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and Digital HD copies of the movie though, so at least it's a option-filled disc. *We still wish that studios would quit charging more for multi-disc sets, and just give us cheaper versions with only Blu-ray, and maybe Digital HD. 

The video and audio quality for both movies are about as perfect as it gets for Blu-ray, so buying this set really comes down to whether or not you like the movies or not. As great as the first movie is, and as mostly decent as its sequel is, it's a Must Own for us.

"The Blu-ray release will feature a reversible wrap with alternative artwork and also comes loaded with bonus features including a new audio commentary tracks by the Vicious Brothers and actors Brittany Allen and Melanie Papalia, the featurette "The Making of Extraterrestrial", deleted scenes and more!"

A decent, though flawed movie, Extraterrestrial should make for one pretty looking Blu-ray, especially coming from Scream Factory. It's good to see them starting to release newer Genre movies on Blu-ray, as they deserve some love too.

Read our Extraterrestrial review HERE.

"Dinosaurs!"

Just in time to cash in on all of the hype that Jurassic World will surely be kicking up, Universal is releasing a new Jurassic Park Collection on Blu-ray that will include Digital HD copies, and a movie ticket to see Jurassic World. The case will also have space for the Jurassic World Blu-ray that you'll eventually be buying, so, bonus.

The first movie is still one of the best Sci-Fi flicks of the past 20 years, part 2 sucked, and part 3 is pretty entertaining (although it's over far too quickly, and it's a bit shallow compared to the first one.) For anyone who doesn't already own these on Blu-ray though, this set is a pretty cool thing.

"It’s the engagement party for brilliant young Dr Henry Jekyll (Udo Kier) and his fiancée, the beautiful Fanny Osbourne (Marina Pierro), attended by various pillars of Victorian society, including the astonishing Patrick Magee in one of his final roles. But when people are found raped and murdered outside and ultimately inside the house, it becomes clear that a madman has broken in to disrupt the festivities – but who is he? And why does Dr Jekyll keep sneaking off to his laboratory?"

We know very little about this movie other than to say that its trailer looks all kinds of crazy, that it's supposed to be all kinds of graphic (both sexually and violence-wise), and that Udo Kier is a creepy bastard.

We trust Arrow Video enough to take a flier on this one, as they haven't let us down with their releases so far.

"A self-obsessed young man makes his way to the party-to-end-all-parties on the last day on Earth, but ends up saving the life of a little girl searching for her father. Their relationship ultimately leads him on the path to redemption."

We really liked this little Apocalyptic flick, even though its strength came more from its human drama than it did the whole "impending doom" angle. It could have been better, and a bit more fleshed-out, but it gave us enough great moments throughout to make it a worthwhile watch for us.

"An erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood."

As far as Exploitation films of the 70's go, it doesn't get much better than Jesus Franco's Vampyros Lesbos. Jess Franco directed close to 200 movies over the course of his 6 decade-long career, and most of them were sleazy and trashy,  but we say that this one was his classiest effort. *We haven't seen all of his movies, or even most of them, so we could be way off with that remark.

Sure, we might have loved this movie when we were younger because it had naked women making forbidden sapphic love with each other, not to mention killing people, but what do you want from us? You try being a teenage boy with raging hormones, and tell us how easily you could resist watching trash like this... which wouldn't happen!

Now that we're all grown up though, movies like Vampyros Lesbos are more of a sentimental throwback to days gone by, than they are any sort of titillation for us, but they still have their place. This is fascinating filmmaking, even if it's lowbrow at the same time.

• Fans of the classic Battlestar Galactica show can rejoice, because now they can own it all on Blu-ray. The Blue Set contains the Original Series, plus the entire series of Galactica 1980; the Red Set contains the same, plus the original Battlestar Galactica movie. Either way you go, that's a lot of galactic bang for the buck.
  
• The Drownsman is a decent movie that is visually fantastic, but leaves a lot to be desired in the story department. Read our review HERE to get the full scoop.
  
• Satan's Blade is a really, really low budget 80's Slasher that hardcore enthusiasts might enjoy, but for most people, the $19.99 might be better sent elsewhere.
  
• She Killed in Ecstasy is another beloved classic  of the late Jess Franco's work. If you love 70's Exploitation, then this one is a Must Own.
  
• Everything else this week, as always, is a crap-shoot.