The Curse of the Cat People
Blu-ray
Directors: Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise
Screenwriter: DeWitt Bodeen
Cast: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Ann Carter, Eve March, Elizabeth Russell, Julia Dean, Sir Lancelot
Distributor: Scream Factory
Not Rated | 70 Minutes
Release Date: June 26, 2018

Directed by Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, 1944’s The Curse of the Cat People is a sequel to Jacques Tourneu’s 1942 film, The Cat People. The film marks Wise’s directorial debut, who would go on to direct classic films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, The Haunting, and The Sound of Music. Produced by the legendary Val Lewton (I Walked With a Zombie), the film is now available on Blu-ray for the first time thanks to Scream Factory.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Singles Collection
DVD
Cast: Joel Hodgson, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu
Distributor: Shout! Factory
Not Rated | 540 Minutes
Release Date: May 22, 2018

“Tonight, I’m a space pirate! Permission to come aboard!”

Featuring Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes that were among the first to be released on DVD, now long out of print, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Singles Collection showcases episodes that were only released individually and not included in the numbered Shout! Factory volumes that would collect episodes for nearly two decades.

Joel Hodgson, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot endure unspeakable cinematic horrors like The Crawling Hand, The Hellcats, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Eegah, and I Accuse My Parents. Also included is Shorts Volume 3, which features the shorts Speech: Using Your Voice, Aquatic Wizards, Once Upon a Honeymoon, and many more. Shout! Factory has done a great service to MSTies and DVD completists by putting these hard-to-find episodes back in print and in one collection. Continue reading for detailed synopses for each episode in this eclectic collection!

Of Unknown Origin
Blu-ray
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Screenwriter: Brian Taggert
Cast: Peter Weller, Shannon Tweed, Jennifer Dale, Lawrence Dane, Kenneth Welsh, Louis Del Grande, Maury Chaykin
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 89 Minutes
Release Date: May 22, 2018

“If it can’t scare them to death, it will find another way.”

Directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II, Cobra, and Tombstone) and written by Brian Taggert (V: The Final Battle, Poltergeist III), 1983’s Of Unknown Origin is based on the novel, The Visitor, by Chauncey G. Parker III. The film stars Peter Weller (RoboCop), Shannon Tweed (Hot Dog… The Movie, Meatballs III: Summer Job), and a giant, man-eating rat.

Bart Hughes (Weller) is a Wall Street executive caught up in the rat race of corporate America. While his wife (Tweed) and young son (Leif Anderson) leave for a vacation, Bart stays behind to work on a project that should earn him a promotion. Alone in his newly renovated Manhattan brownstone, Bart discovers that he isn’t alone at all, but rather an unwilling host to an unwanted houseguest.

It’s Alive Trilogy
Blu-ray
Director: Larry Cohen
Screenwriter: Larry Cohen
Cast: John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, Frederic Forrest, Kathleen Lloyd, Michael Moriarty, Karen Black
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG/PG/R | 91/91/95 Minutes
Release Date: May 15, 2018

“There’s only one thing wrong with the Davis baby… IT’S ALIVE!”

A genuine auteur of low-budget horror and science fiction films, writer/director/producer Larry Cohen has made a career out of making audiences exclaim “holy fucking shit” in unison during his movies. Known for blaxploitation films like Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, and horror flicks like Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff, and God Told Me To, Cohen is one the last true mavericks of cult cinema.

Cohen’s most beloved contribution to cinema, perhaps, is a series of films about monstrously deformed babies with razor-sharp fangs and claws. It’s Alive (1974), It’s Alive Again (1978), and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987) are inbred triplets hanging off one particularly fucked up branch of the Creepy Kid Family Treeâ„¢, the same gnarled oak that contains movies like The Bad Seed, Village of the Damned, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Omen. And like those classic films, they’re cautionary tales packed with scathing social commentary… and demon babies.

The House That Dripped Blood
Blu-Ray
Director: Peter Duffell
Screenwriters: Robert Bloch, Russ Jones
Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt, Denholm Elliot, Jon Pertwee, Nyree Dawn Porter
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG | 102 Minutes
Release Date: May 8, 2018

“Vampires! Voodoo! Vixens! Victims!”

The 1971 horror anthology film, The House That Dripped Blood, promises more than just alliteration. In addition to the vixens and vampires, there’s a lot to appreciate about this portmanteau production, namely Hammer horror icons Peter Cushing (The Curse of Frankenstein), Christopher Lee (The Satanic Rites of Dracula), and Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers). And if that isn’t enough, it also features Denholm Elliott (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who).

Written by Russ Jones and Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, The House That Dripped Blood comes to us from Amicus Productions, the purveyor of horror anthologies like Tales from the Crypt (1972), Asylum (1972), and Vault of Horror (1973).