Horror

The Covenant

In 1692 in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts five families with untold power formed a covenant of silence. One family lusting for more was banished their bloodline disappearing without a trace. Until now.Four young students at an elite private school who are descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the 1600s are bound by their sacred ancestry and special powers. When the body of a dead student is discovered after a party secrets begin to unravel that threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years.System Requirements:Run Time: 97 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 043396166622 Manufacturer No: 16662

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Unrated (Special Edition)

Stephen King's The Stand

After a government-spawned "superflu" wipes out more than 90 percent of the earth's population, the devastated survivors must decide whether to support or resist the advances of a mysterious stranger from way down South (heh-heh) who wishes to claim this new world order for himself. Although the six-hour length makes it nigh-impossible to digest in one sitting, this well-paced adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic magnum opus ranks among the best adaptations of the author's work, with strong performances from Gary Sinise, Miguel Ferrer, and especially Jamey Sheridan as a good-old-boy version of Old Scratch. The opening scene, set to the strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," is one of the most chilling things ever shot for television. Director Mick Garris is no stranger to King's world, having also helmed Sleepwalkers, the recent television remake of The Shining, and the upcoming Desperation. --Andrew Wright

Phantom of the Opera

This 1943 version of the horror story is more Technicolor musical than scare piece. Claude Rains plays the unfortunate, masked anti-hero, but he doesn't get the room to showcase a promising and sympathetic performance. Susanna Foster and Nelson Eddy, on the other hand, get plenty of screen time to warble. Well worth a visit just for the look of the film, which won an Oscar for cinematography. --Tom Keogh

This spectacular retelling of Gaston Leroux's immortal horror tale stars Claude Rains as the masked phantom of the Paris opera house - a crazed composer who schemes to make a beautiful young soprano (Susanna Foster) the star of the opera company and wreak revenge on those who stole his music. Nelson Eddy, the heroic baritone, tries to win the affections of Foster as he tracks down the disfigured "monster" who has begun murdering those who resist his mad demands. This lavish production remains a masterpiece not only of the genre, but for all time.

The Grudge 2 (Unrated Director's Cut)

Acclaimed producers Sam Raimi Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise have re-teamed with director Takashi Shimizu and screenwriter Stephen Susco to present this heart-stopping sequel to the smash-hit thriller The Grudge. When Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn TV's Joan of Arcadia) learns her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Geller) has been hospitalized she immediately flies to Tokyo. Once there she learns her sister's horrifying story and discovers that the fatal supernatural curse has been unleashed. Now as the grudge spreads across the world a new host of unsuspecting victims are about to become infected by the force that can't be stopped - and won't be killed.System Requirements:Run Time: 102 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 043396174924 Manufacturer No: 17492

The Grudge 2 is a spooky installment in Takashi Shimizu's hardworking Ju-on/Grudge series of horror pictures. It doesn't carry the disorienting thrill of the very first Japanese Ju-on features, but it's a lot creepier than anybody could have expected. The story picks up from the end of the first Hollywood version of The Grudge, and has nothing to do with Ju-on 2, Shimizu's Japanese sequel. Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (a distinctly supporting role) as an American woman traumatized by her experiences with a haunted house in Tokyo; younger sister Amber Tamblyn flies over to help out. This particular storyline doesn't have much meat on it; the murder house is still there, and people who go inside have a disconcerting habit of dropping dead. Fortunately, two other plots thread into the basic one: a group of American schoolgirls in Tokyo become intrigued by the legend of the house, and some Chicago apartment dwellers are unsettled by domestic anxiety and the weird sounds coming from next door. (This storyline, featuring Jennifer Beals, gives the film its extremely satisfying opening sequence.) As usual with these movies, sequences come to us in non-chronological order, and it's up to us to piece it together. You can guess where the film is going, but the slow trajectory toward its final sequences is surprisingly involving. The movie was widely panned upon its release, which says more about the presumption of the law of diminishing sequel returns than the film itself--it's a decent little horror flick. --Robert Horton

Stills from The Grudge 2 (click for larger image)

More The Grudge 2 at Amazon.com

The Original Grudge

More Horror on Amazon.com

Japanese Horror on Amazon.com