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.

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).

The Strangers
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Bryan Bertino
Screenwriter: Bryan Bertino
Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton, Gemma Ward
Distributor: Scream Factory
R/Unrated | 86/91 Minutes
Release Date: March 6, 2018

2008’s The Strangers, written and directed by Bryan Bertino, was inspired by two real-life events: the Tate murders, a series of killings carried out by members of the Manson Family in 1969; and a string of break-ins that occurred in the Texas filmmaker’s neighborhood as a child. One night, while his parents were out, somebody knocked on the front door of Bertino’s house, and his little sister answered it. The strangers on the doorstep were asking for someone who didn’t live there. Later, Bertino found out that these uninvited guests would knock on doors throughout the area; if no one was home, they would vandalize the property and take what they wanted.

As for the mask-wearing, knife-wielding sickos in The Strangers, the fact that someone’s home doesn’t discourage the intruders; it emboldens them. After a long night at a friend’s wedding reception, James (Scott Speedman, Underworld) and Kristen (Liv Tyler, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) return to James’ childhood summer home in rural South Carolina. Just after 4 a.m., there’s a knock at the door. A young blonde woman (Gemma Ward), whose face is obscured by shadow, asks for Tamara. When James tells her that she has the wrong house, the woman leaves with an unsettling utterance: “See you later.”

Drag Me to Hell
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, Octavia Spencer, Ted Raimi
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG-13 | 99 Minutes
Release Date: February 13, 2018

“You’d be surprised what you’ll be willing to do, when the Lamia comes for you.”

In 2009, Sam Raimi, the filmmaker behind low-budget cult classics like The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness, returned to the horror genre with a vengeance with Drag Me to Hell.

Produced by Raimi and Rob Tapert‘s Ghost House Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures, Drag me to Hell is like an off-the-rails dark ride at a demonic carnival – a gloriously over-the-top slapstick splatter-fest that delivers seismic shivers to the central nervous system.

Silent Night, Deadly Night
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.
Screenwriter: Michael Hickey
Cast: Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Robert Brian Wilson, Linnea Quigley
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 79 / 85 Minutes
Release Date: December 5, 2018

“You see Santa Claus tonight you better run boy, you better run for ya life!”

1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night caused quite a stir when its marketing campaign suggested that Santa Claus was a knife-wielding psychopath. TV spots, which aired between episodes of shows like Three’s Company and Little House on the Prairie, led to enraged parents complaining that their children were terrified of Santa Claus. Community leaders and parent-teacher associations organized events at theaters and malls around the country to protest the slasher flick.

In response, TriStar Pictures, the film’s distributor, pulled all advertising for the movie a week after its release on November 15, 1984. Shortly after that, the film was withdrawn from theaters altogether. 33 years later, one of the most controversial films of the ’80s is back in a brand new high-definition Blu-ray release! Scream Factory’s two-disc collector’s edition comes with a new 4K transfer restored from the original film negative and hours of newly produced bonus material.