After last week’s deluge of horror, fantasy, and science fiction titles, it seems the river has run dry, leaving only a few to hit video store shelves this Tuesday, June 8. Chief among these is SHUTTER ISLAND, Martin Scorsese’s Gothic thriller, with horrific overtones, which did good business in theatres this February, even though many critics felt it did not match the filmmaker’s best work. Arriving on VOD, DVD, and Blu-ray, the film is not exactly getting the “special ultra edition” treatment, with only a pair of mini-documentaries offered as bonus features on the discs. The Blu-ray offers 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, plus French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese – all in 5.1 Dolby Digital. There are also subtitles in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Both discs include these featurettes:
- Behind the Shutters—Follows the film from its inception as an acclaimed novel through the production process and to the big screen. Includes interviews with cast and crew.
- Into the Lighthouse—Discusses the historical landscape of psychiatric therapies during the 1950s through interviews with cast and crew.
Also new on home video this week are two excursions into animation: SHAUN THE SHEEP – ONE GIANT LEAP FOR LAMBKIND and ANIMATION EXPRESS. SHAUN THE SHEEP is a 35-minute short subject from Aardman Animation, featuring the character of Shaun, first seen in Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit adventure, A CLOSE SHAVE, directed by Nick Park; this time, the story involves paranormal activity, “Unidentified Farm Objects,” and some weird-looking aliens. The film is available only on DVD.
ANIMATION EXPRESS is an anthology of short animation films, some experimental, all imaginative and out of the ordinary. If you are familiar with the Spike and Mike midnight animation festival, you will have some idea of what to expect. The title is available as a single-disc Blu-ray or a double-disc DVD.
Also out this week is a new DVD release of HOW AWFUL ABOUT ALLAN, a 1970 made-for-television thriller directed by Curtis Harrington (NIGHT TIDE). With Anthony Perkins starring as a tormented man returning from a stay in a mental hospital, the storyline might suggest an ersatz PSYCHO sequel, but the film is actually more in line modern Gothic thrillers like WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH…HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE – which not coincidentally were written by or based on the work of Henry Farrel, who contributes the script here, working from his own novel. Julie Harris, Joan Hackett, and Kent Smith (CAT PEOPLE) co-star. There was a 2007 DVD release from Synergy, which is still available; the new disc is from Tango Entertainment.
You can find these and other horror, fantasy, and science fiction films for sale in the Cinefantastique Online Store. Many are also available via Video on Demand.
