May 28, 2016

10 Horror Titles That Need to Hit Blu-ray ASAP!

Even with all of the advances that streaming media has made over the past few years, there's still no better way to watch a movie than on Blu-ray. Better video quality; better audio quality; less compression; Special Features; and the fact that owning a physical copy of a movie that you love means that it's yours for life; Blu-ray is the way.

With that said, there are some Horror titles that have never made it to Blu-ray in the U.S., and some that have never made the leap to HD at all. It's great that you can import some of these movies on Blu-ray, but if you do, they'll cost more, and you'll have to have a Region-Free Blu-ray Player to be able to watch them.

That just means that the average Horror fan will not get the exposure to some excellent movies, which makes very little sense. We get that not every movie can be made available for every fan across the World to watch in the way that they choose, but you'd figure that at least the really good ones that have huge followings would be an exception, right? Scream Factory, Synapse, Arrow Video U.S., Blue Underground, Twilight Time... there's no shortage of specialty labels that would be willing to put in the time and effort to give us quality HD versions of the best movies that the Genre has to offer, so what in the hell?!?

Below, we have chosen 10 excellent movies that have yet to make it to Blu-ray in the U.S. (Martyrs is an exception), that we feel should be at the forefront of any movie studio's release plans.

Let's take a look.

*Picture links go to Amazon, so you can see how much the DVD/Import Blu-ray version would cost you.

http://amzn.to/1TRRJtk
BUBBA HO-TEP (2002)
We already own this Don Coscarelli gem on DVD, but we're selfish and we want to watch it in true 2K (or even 4K) quality. There's a BD version of this movie available in the UK, but not everyone is going to import movies to watch, especially more obscure titles like this one.

Bubba Ho-Tep would be a PERFECT addition to the Scream Factory roster.

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2015/10/dvd-review-bubba-ho-tep-2003.html

http://amzn.to/1ZJUcaL
CEMETERY MAN (1994)
One of the most celebrated Horror flicks of the 90's, as well as one of the best, we're shocked that someone hasn't released this one on Blu-ray in the U.S. yet.

Come on, Arrow Video U.S.!

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-31-days-of-horror-day-four.html
http://amzn.to/23KY4tn
HELLRAISER (1987)
Arrow Video has been releasing a lot of great Blu-ray titles in the U.S. lately, but the one release that we wanted from them the most ended up being a UK-only affair. The Scarlet Box contains new, gorgeous transfers of Hellraiser I-III, and a ton of cool supplemental material that we're guessing would be great to sift through.

Hellraiser & Hellbound: Hellraiser II are already available on Blu-ray in the U.S., but only as sub-par versions that are nowhere near as sharp as the Arrow versions. As popular as this series is, it's ridiculous that the rights-holders haven't commissioned someone to give fans proper Blu-ray versions of these classics here in the U.S.

http://amzn.to/27hkVkC
THE HITCHER (1986)
One of the absolute best Thrillers of the 80's, The Hitcher should have been available on Blu-ray long since. It's a catalogue title, and a popular one at that, so give it a sharp new transfer, and let us pay $19.99 a pop to finally be able to watch it in a crisp, clear format. 

Would it really be that hard for HBO Pictures to license this one out to Scream Factory?

http://amzn.to/1WsCJ9q
INSIDE (2007)
The first of four Foreign Horror masterpieces from the 00's that are inexplicably not available on Blu-ray in the U.S., Inside is a movie that we wouldn't probably sit down and watch over and over again, but we'd definitely break it out to show to someone who has never seen it (just to see them writhe in shock), and we'd prefer to do so in HD quality.

Inside is an excellent movie that deserves a 1080p release.

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2008/07/inside-linteriur.html
http://amzn.to/1WsD2kk
MARTYRS (2008)
Martyrs is actually available on Blu-ray in the U.S., if you want to pay $99 frigging dollars for it, which no one in their right mind would. Or should.

As with Inside, Martyrs is an excellent movie that we wouldn't watch on the regular, but we'd sure like to have a Blu-ray copy of it for whenever the mood did strike us. 

Can't we get a re-pressing or something at a reasonable price? 

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2009/03/martyrs-2008.html
http://amzn.to/221pziZ
REC 1 & 2
Two of the best Foreign Horror movies to come out in the new millennium, [REC] & [REC] 2 are again only available if you're willing to import them... and of course, if you have a Region-Free Blu-ray player on which to play them.

We'd love to own these movies on Blu, preferably in one handy 2-Pack.

[REC]
 http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2008/06/rec-2007-sub-genre-epidemicviral-zombie.html


[REC] 2
http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2010/03/rec-2-20092010.html
http://amzn.to/1Wt54eZ
SALEM'S LOT (1977)
I understand that this movie is almost 40 years old, and that being a Made for TV Mini-Series, it was shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which may make it hard for anyone to make it into a presentable 16:9 HD package, but come on!

Warner Bros. has been streaming an HD version of this movie on their subscription service for a while now, so how in the hell is it not worth at least trying to pretty it up for a Blu-ray release?

GAH!!!!!!

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2016/02/dvd-review-salems-lot-1979.html
http://amzn.to/23L07NT
SLITHER (2006)
How does Canada get this one on Blu-ray, and it's not available in the U.S.? I'm not paying north of $30 for a movie on Blu-ray, and I'm really surprised that no one has tried to cash-in on James Gunn's recent Marvel-fueled success y putting out a new Blu-ray version of this underrated (and under-seen) 00's gem.

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2015/03/dvd-review-slither-2006.html
http://amzn.to/1OlH5vY
WOLF CREEK (2005)
Wolf Creek 2 is available on Blu-ray in the U.S., so why in the hell is the first movie only available as an import from every other market in the world?

With the new Wolf Creel TV Mini-Series airing in Australia (and we're sure, the U.S. soon enough), now would be the perfect time to give we Americans a new Blu-ray version of the movie that started it all, wouldn't it? It's been 11 years already, mate!

http://thehorrorclub.blogspot.com/2008/08/wolf-creek.html

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, PEOPLE WHO RELEASE MOVIES ON BLU-RAY IN THE U.S.!

3 comments :

  1. I would also like to see Critters, Waxwork, The Hidden, and Fortress on Blu-ray

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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great flicks. I've got a folder with more movies in it, and will do another MIA post eventually.

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  2. I'm surprised to see Dead Alive isn't on here. Black X-Mas should get a US release, at least in my opinion. Also Girls Gone Dead, Club Dread (more comedy than horror but still), Laid To Rest, Suspiria, etc

    ReplyDelete