Psycho IV: The Beginning
Blu-ray
Director: Mick Garris
Screenwriter: Joseph Stefano
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, CCH Pounder
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 96 Minutes
Release Date: August 23, 2016

Considered one of the first entries in the slasher film genre, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho introduced audiences to Norman Bates, the disturbed proprietor of the Bates Motel. Played by Anthony Perkins, Norman suffers from dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother’s personality to escape the guilt he feels for murdering her. Whenever Norman feels attracted to another woman, “Mother” flies into a psychotic rage and kills her. The 1960 film has become one of the most recognizable and influential movies ever; the shower scene, in which Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane is stabbed to death, is the most iconic death captured on celluloid.

While Hitchcock’s original is an unforgettable part of cinematic history, the film’s sequels are rarely talked about with the same esteem.

Session 9
Blu-ray
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Written by: Brad Anderson, Stephen Gevedon
Cast: David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas, Brendan Sexton III
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 100 Minutes
Release Date: August 16, 2016

“Do it, Gordon…”

Co-written and directed by Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Stonehearst Asylum), Session 9 has become something of a cult classic over the last 15 years. After premiering at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the low-budget horror film was given a limited release by Universal Pictures on August 10, 2001.

It would take a lot of positive buzz from and multiple appearances on “The Best Horror Movies You Haven’t Seen” lists for the film to gain momentum and find its audience on home video. Now, for the first time, the film is available on Blu-ray thanks to the fine folks at Scream Factory.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Screenwriter: W. D. Richter
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Art Hindle
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG | 115 Minutes
Release Date: August 02, 2016

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. They were right. It’s painless. It’s good. Come. Sleep.”

Remake. Say the word and you’ll no doubt spark a conversation about the death of originality in Hollywood and how brand recognition is more important than storytelling. While it’s easy to throw up half-hearted retreads like Total Recall (2012), RoboCop (2014), and Point Break (2015) as reasons to banish the remake altogether, there are a few great remakes that are arguably better than their predecessors. 1978’s Invasion Of The Body Snatchers kicked off a decade of great remakes, including John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1983), David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986), and Chuck Russell’s The Blob (1988).

For many years Shout! Factory has been an important presence at the San Diego Comic-Con, using their panels and booths to promote current and upcoming releases on DVD and Blu-ray. When the company launched their horror/sci-fi imprint Scream Factory in 2012, their pilgrimage to the Con to announce future releases became one of the hottest events around for film geeks and home video consumers.

Scream has been responsible for some of the finest Blu-ray editions of the greatest genre features ever made, and last night they announced that soon they will add 13 titles to their ever-expanding library.

Jeepers Creepers 2
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Victor Salva
Screenwriter: Victor Salva
Cast: Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Lena Cardwell, Drew Tyler Bell
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 104 Minutes
Release Date: June 14, 2016

Disclaimer: In all good conscience, I cannot review Scream Factory’s new Blu-ray release of Jeepers Creepers 2 without mentioning filmmaker Victor Salva”˜s past. In 1988, Salva was convicted of sexual misconduct with the 12-year-old star of Clownhouse, his first feature film. Salva pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct, oral copulation with a person under 14, and three counts of procuring a child for pornography. He was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served 15 months. He completed his parole in 1992, nine years before the release of Jeepers Creepers. I leave it to you to decide if separating the art from the artist is applicable in this instance.

On to the review below.