Creepshow
by George A. Romero
from Warner Home Video
Inspired by the controversial E.C. Comics of the 1950s--which also provided the title and inspiration for the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series--director George Romero and screenwriter Stephen King serve up five delightfully frightful stories. Utilizing comic-book panels, animated segues, and exaggerated lighting and camera angles, Romero and cinematographer Michael Gornick come very close to replicating a horror comic in film format. The results mix fine acting with the morbid sense of humor and irony that made the E.C. books so popular in their heyday. Actors such as Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, Ted Danson, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Harris, E.G. Marshall, and even King appear in the stories, which include tales of a sinister father's day celebration, a mysterious meteor, seaweed-draped zombies, a monster in a crate, and a cockroach-phobic millionaire. Fiendishly fun fare from one of horror's most famous directors. --Bryan Reesman
Two macabre masters - writer Stephen King and director George A. Romero - conjure up five shocking yarns, each a virtuoso exercise in the ghouls-and-gags style of classic '50s horror comics. A murdered man emerges from the grave for Father's Day cake. A meteor's ooze makes everything ... grow. A professor selects his wife as a snack for a crated creature. A scheming husband plants two lovers up to their necks in terror. A malevolent millionaire with an insect phobia becomes the prey of a cockroach army. Add the spirited performances of a fine cast (Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, E.G. Marshall and King himself) and the ghoulish makeup wizardry of Tom Savini. Let the Creepshow begin.
DVD Features:
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Night of the Living Dead
by George A. Romero
from Weinstein Company
George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead still sets the standard for all indie fright flicks. This 40th Anniversary Edition authorized by the director himself reanimates the landmark tale of five strangers who struggle desperately against hordes of the walking undead. Re-mastered and loaded with all-new Special FeaturesSystem Requirements:Running Time: 96 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/ZOMBIES UPC: 796019811743 Manufacturer No: 81174
George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (Unrated Director's Cut)
by George A. Romero
from Universal Home Entertainment
Bolstered by the success of 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, the Resident Evil movies and the hit remake of his own Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero returns to the horror subgenre he invented with Land of the Dead. The fourth installment in Romero's zombie cycle (and the first since 1985's Day of the Dead) presents a logical progression of events since 1968's horror classic Night of the Living Dead: Zombies (also known as "stenches" for their rotting odor) are the dominant population, and they've begun to show signs of undead intelligence and gathering power. The wealthiest survivors live comfortably in a luxury high-rise within a barricaded safe zone, ignoring the horrors of the outside world while armed scavengers stage raids in the zombie-zone to gather much-needed food and supplies. Simon Baker and John Leguizamo play mercenaries-for-hire; Dennis Hopper is their nefarious boss; and horror favorite Asia Argento (daughter of Suspiria director Dario Argento) plays a former hooker recruited into Baker's scavenger squad. While none of this seems particularly fresh or inspired, Land of the Dead benefits from hints of the social satire that made Romero's earlier zombie films so memorable. Not so much funny as gruesomely peculiar, Romero's plot isn't as inventive as it could've been, but as a big-scale B-movie, Land of the Dead delivers a handful of shocks and horror-celebrity cameos (including gore-masters Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero) that should keep horror buffs happy until the next zombie opus comes along. --Jeff Shannon
Legendary filmmaker George A. Romero returns to unleash his new zombie masterpiece! Starring Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo, Romero's latest undead epic finds humanity's last remnants battling to survive the unspeakable truth: The ravenous zombie hordes besieging their fortified city…are evolving!
Martin
by George A. Romero
from Lions Gate
From director George A. Romero comes a dynamic gothic original. Martin is a misunderstood young man who happens to be a vampire...maybe. The sun really just bothers his eye a little garlic and crosses have no effects and he has no fangs. He also doesn't have any vampiric powers which makes acquiring blood an extremely harrowing experience for all involved.Features:New Photo GalleryNew Commentary from G. Romero R. Rubenstein T. Savini M. Gornick and D. RubinsteinNew photo gallery"Making Martin: A Recounting"Original TV SpotsOriginal TrailerSystem Requirements: Running Time 95 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 031398163596 Manufacturer No: 16359
The Crazies
by George A. Romero
from Blue Underground
During the 10 years between Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, director George Romero had a string of box-office flops--some of which were actually quite good. For example,there's The Crazies, in which a military plane carrying biological-warfare agents crashes near Evans City, Pennsylvania. The virus gets into the town's water supply and has two effects on the infected: death or irreversible insanity. The military moves in to contain the situation, but the local populace regards the army as a menacing force and things rapidly spin out of control. Soon the highly contagious virus infects the whole town and the soldiers as well, while a government scientist races to find an antidote. The Crazies features some great set pieces as the virus spreads: a little old lady smiles sweetly and stabs a soldier to death with a knitting needle; a young woman placidly sweeps with a broom while soldiers and locals have a bloody firefight around her; a soldier swings his rifle wildly at his comrades until they shoot him.
Made in the shadow of both Vietnam and Watergate, The Crazies contains plenty of allegory: an invasion by military force, government cover-up and duplicity, madness and eventually genocide (all set, of course, in Romero's beloved Pennsylvania). The President only appears on television, and then only the back of his head is shown as he speaks in detached, almost bored tones. Like Night of the Living Dead, this film offers no hope, no comfort, and sure as hell no happy ending. Keep an eye out for Romero in a somewhat gassy role as Evans City's mayor. --Jerry Renshaw
Its code name is 'Trixie,' an experimental government germ weapon that leaves its victims either dead or irreversibly insane. When the virus is accidentally unleashed in Evans City, Pennsylvania, the small community becomes a war zone of panicked military, desperate scientists and gentle neighbors turned homicidal maniacs. Now a small group of citizens has fled to the town's outskirts where they must hide from trigger-happy soldiers while battling their own depraved urges. But even if they can escape the madness of this plague, can they survive the unstoppable violence of THE CRAZIES?
The Dark Half
by George A. Romero
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half ranks among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honor King's central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticized finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction.
Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable, pseudonymous alter ego George Stark (the bestselling "dark half" to Thad's light), who then assumes an evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to lethally defend his role in Thad's creative endeavors. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies, and his own survival as an artist. Romero skillfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, and Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favors a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon
Masters of horror Stephen King (The Shining) and George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) have created a "gripping, creepy, frightening" (L.A. Reader) film that "thrills, shocks and works us over" (Los Angeles Times)! Featuring an "intelligent screenplay and first-rate cast" (The New York Times), including OscarÂ(r) winner* Timothy Hutton, The DarkHalf will keep you captivated to the chilling end. Horror writer Thad Beaumont (Hutton) hopes to distance himself from his murder novels and from George Stark, the name he has used to anonymously author them. To achieve this, he cooks up a murder of his own: a publicity stunt that should lay Stark to rest forever. But when the people around him are found gruesomely slainand his own fingerprints dot the crime scenesBeaumont is dumbfounded until he learns that Stark has taken on a life of his own and begun a gruesome quest for vengeance! *1980: Supporting Actor, Ordinary People
Monkey Shines
by George A. Romero
from MGM (Video & DVD)
George A. Romero monkeys with nature in this gripping and fearful tale based on the novel by Michael Stewart. Allan Mann (John Beghe) is a law student who's hit by a truck while jogging, leaving him a quadriplegic. Luckily, his scientist friend Geoffrey (John Pankow) is experimenting with capuchin monkeys, making them smarter with injections of human genetic material. Geoffrey arranges with Melanie (Kate McNeil)--who's working on an experimental program that matches monkeys with paraplegics to perform guide-dog functions--to train his prize subject, Ella (Boo), to act as Allan's helper. Allan is paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a wheelchair he moves by working a lever with his mouth. He's really vulnerable. Ella can fetch things and do errands, and a real emotional bond develops between Mann and monkey. Too strong a bond, it turns out, as Allan begins to experience dreams from the monkey's-eye view (capuchin-cam), Ella's boosted intelligence giving her the residual benefit of a telepathic ability in which the monkey begins to act out Allan's subconscious rage. Allan's nurse, former girlfriend, doctor, even his mother are terrorized by the creepy capuchin, leading to a showdown between Ella and Allan himself. With Allan trapped in a house, alone with a super-intelligent and malevolent monkey, there is plenty of suspense to make you rip holes in your upholstery. But perhaps even more tension could have been wrung out of this story if Ella had been more sympathetic (being as she was the victim of a scientific experiment gone bad), her wicked antics the acts of a kind of exterminating angel. Performances are brilliant by both Ella and Jason Beghe, who turns in one of cinema's most accurate and intelligent depictions of a high-level quadriplegic character. --Jim Gay
From writer/director George Romero, the man who unleashed Night of the Living Dead, comes a 'terrific psychological thriller (L.A. Weekly) that delivers a disturbing message about messing with Mother Nature. Starring Jason Beghe ( Melrose Place ) and Janine Turner ( Northern Exposure ), this riveting tale is a white-knuckle triumph [that doesn't] let up (Newsweek)! Allan Mann (Beghe) is a bitter, angry and vengeful man ever since an accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. He's fed up with himself and everyone around him. All that changes when he's given Ella, a monkey trained to meet his every need. But when Ella begins anticipating Allan's thoughts, strangeand deadly things start happening. And as she stalks and wreaks havoc on Allan's fair-weather girlfriend (Turner), incompetent doctor and meddling mother, Allan realizes he must stop the cunning maniacal creature...before she takes over his mind!
Two Evil Eyes
by George A. Romero
from Blue Underground
Legendary horror directors George Romero and Dario Argento team up to direct a pair of short films inspired by the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. In Romero's story, a woman (Adrienne Barbeau) and her lover hypnotize her ailing, older husband into signing over his riches. But when he dies while still under their command, his soul haunts them, seeking to be freed from their hypnotic spell. In Argento's tale, a crime-scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) kills his live-in girlfriend in a fit of jealous rage, but her black cat continues to torment him after her death. While Romero's piece toys with horror conventions and Argento's plays out in his typically elongated fashion, their dramatic story lines, unexpectedly gruesome imagery, and ironic endings shock some life into the movie. It is rumored that this was originally meant to be a quartet of horror tales with contributions from Wes Craven and John Carpenter, but at least we got these two. --Bryan Reesman
A Double Dose of Terror from the Directors of DAWN OF THE DEAD and SUSPIRIA!
The masters of modern horror - George Romero and Dario Argento - bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
In Romero's "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar," a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau of THE FOG) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's "The Black Cat," a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel of RESERVOIR DOGS) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own?
Martin Balsam (PSYCHO) and Tom Atkins (MANIAC COP) co-star in this wild horror hit that also features grisly effects by gore master Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE PROWLER). Blue Underground is proud to present TWO EVIL EYES newly transferred from an original vault negative and loaded with exclusive Extras.
Bruiser
by George A. Romero
from Lions Gate
All his life Henry has been a nice guy. The man who lives to turn the other cheek. But things are about to change. Betrayed by an unfaithful wife belittled by an overbearing boss and cheated out of a fortune by his best friend. Henry has been pushed to the edge of sanity. Stripped of everything including his identity Henry wakes into a nightmare world where he has been left without a face. In a bloody rampage of revenge Henry sets out to destroy those who have betrayed him. Written and directed by horror legend George Romero comes Bruiser the blood curdling tale of how far a normal man would go to regain what others have taken.System Requirements: Running Time 99 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 031398777229 Manufacturer No: VM7772D
After an eight-year hiatus, George Romero makes his long-awaited cinematic return with the visceral Bruiser, a savage and unsettling take on Kafka's The Metamorphosis as a Death Wish revenge fantasy. Jason Flemyng stars as an emotional doormat who, ground down by years of abuse by his boss (Peter Stormare) and humiliation by his wife, wakes up one morning to find his face missing. He's the ultimate anonymous man, and he's mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Painting his masklike visage like a tribal warrior, he hunts down and kills his tormentors. Romero takes an odd pleasure in Flemyng's perverse self-help campaign, as if his savage explosion is some form of primitive personal growth. Lacking the irony and complexity of Romero's best work (Dawn of the Dead, Martin), Bruiser turns into little more than a sophisticated revenge picture with inspired moments of black humor. --Sean Axmaker
Two Evil Eyes
by George A. Romero
from Blue Underground
Legendary horror directors George Romero and Dario Argento team up to direct a pair of short films inspired by the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. In Romero's story, a woman (Adrienne Barbeau) and her lover hypnotize her ailing, older husband into signing over his riches. But when he dies while still under their command, his soul haunts them, seeking to be freed from their hypnotic spell. In Argento's tale, a crime-scene photographer (Harvey Keitel) kills his live-in girlfriend in a fit of jealous rage, but her black cat continues to torment him after her death. While Romero's piece toys with horror conventions and Argento's plays out in his typically elongated fashion, their dramatic story lines, unexpectedly gruesome imagery, and ironic endings shock some life into the movie. It is rumored that this was originally meant to be a quartet of horror tales with contributions from Wes Craven and John Carpenter, but at least we got these two. --Bryan Reesman
The masters of modern horror - George Romero and Dario Argento - bring you an unprecedented pair of shockers inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
In Romero's The Facts In The Case Of Mr. Valdemar, a conniving wife (Adrienne Barbeau of THE FOG) and her lover use a hypnotic trance to embezzle a fortune from her dying husband, only to receive some chilling surprises from beyond the grave. Then in Argento's The Black Cat, a deranged crime scene photographer (Harvey Keitel of RESERVOIR DOGS) is driven to brutal acts of madness and murder by his girlfriend's new pet. But will this cunning feline deliver a final sickening twist of its own?
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