Society
Shudder Streaming
Directed by Brian Yuzna
Written by Rick Fry, Woody Keith
Starring Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, Evan Richards, Ben Meyerson
Society Productions Inc. | Wild Street Pictures
Rated R | 99 Minutes
Original US Release Date: June 11th, 1992 (completed in 1989)

“Didn’t you know Billy boy… the rich have always sucked off low-class sh*t like you!”

In the video store days I acquired my passion for horror movies by studying each and every VHS box. Some showed gross-out imagery, and would go on to join the notorious Video Nasties. Then, after the conversion to DVD and now Blu-ray and of course, online streaming, some films seemed lost forever in the abyss. One of the those was Society, the directorial debut of Brian Yuzna, who was an assistant director and producer of cult favorite Re-Animator (1985). He would work with director Stuart Gordon again as a producer on From Beyond (1986). Gordon and Yuzna specialized in “body horror”, a subgenre of horror that focuses on the graphic destruction and dismantling of the human form. If you’re struggling with that definition, think the films of David Cronenberg, especially The Fly (1986), and Videodrome (1983). In other words, these films usually are filled with grotesque scenes of graphic bodily mutations and mutilations.

More below for Society:

If the bloody and beautiful official trailer and October 31st premiere date announcement for Ash vs. Evil Dead wasn’t enough to get you ready for summer to go away so that fall can arrive—and it should be more than enough—here’s another little treat for you horror junkies.

A trailer for the anthology movie Tales of Halloween was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, featuring contributions from 11 directors with a knack for the terror and scares and gooey, gory fun we fans of fear live for.

You can read more about Tales of Halloween, including a full rundown of all of the directors and cast involved, and watch the trailer below.

Dolls (Collector’s Edition)
Blu-ray
Director: Stuart Gordon
Screenwriter: Ed Naha
Cast: Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy Gordon, Cassie Stuart, Bunty Bailey, Carrie Lorraine
Scream Factory
Rated R | 77 Minutes
Release Date: November 11, 2014

“They’re cute, they’re cuddly… and they kill!”

Directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond), 1987’s Dolls is an Italian-American horror film about killer toys that predates Child’s Play (1988) and Puppet Master (1989).

From producer Brian Yuzna (Society) and screenwriter Ed Naha (Troll), Dolls tells the story of Judy Bower (Carrie Lorraine), a precocious little girl, and her awful parents (Carolyn Purdy Gordon and Ian Patrick Williams), who become stranded in the English countryside after a violent thunderstorm.

A week ago I wrote a retrospective article on the 25th anniversary of “Weird Al” Yankovic‘s supremely silly cult classic UHF and ended it with these words:

I automatically assumed at the time that Shout! would pick up the license to release UHF on Blu-ray because it’s an MGM title and they typically distribute that studio’s lesser-loved catalog entries. Plus this year would be the most appropriate time for a UHF Blu because the movie celebrates its silver anniversary in 2014 and anniversaries always look good on a Blu-ray/DVD cover. But I had no idea that when Shout! announced its upcoming home video release slate over the weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con they would be including a new 25th anniversary edition of UHF among some of their better-known titles.

Fortress
Directed by Stuart Gordon
Starring Christopher Lambert, Kurtwood Smith, Loryn Locklin, Clifton Collins Jr., Lincoln Kilpatrick
Lions Gate
Release date: August 5, 2008

In the annals of movie cheesedom, when all is written and the score is tallied, a special place in heaven (or hell) must be reserved for Christopher Lambert. Much like Robert Englund or Michael Dudikoff, his name on a DVD case is either a glaring sign of promise or a huge warning light, depending on how your movie bent on a Friday night is. Because after looking over his profile on IMDB, he has 58 credits to his name as an actor. Nothing in English is good. And yes, I am including Mortal Kombat and Highlander in this estimation, and you can’t change my mind on this.

I for one don’t hold much stock in watching a movie just because it looks cheesy or horrible. If I want to laugh, I’ll watch a comedy. If I want to watch someone make an unholy debacle out of decent intentions, I’d watch Fox News. But at least I stand by my taste and will say that I like Freddy Vs. Jason or Primeval because I honestly think they’re good. I won’t hide behind the “So-Bad-It’s-Good” bullshit.