I love the fact that Shout/Scream Factory has been releasing
some of the forgotten classics in the horror genre to blu-ray. They range from
some great films to lesser titles but at least those movies that many flocked
to mom and pop video stores in the early days of VHS in search of now have a
chance to live once again on not just DVD but blu-ray. It doesn’t matter if
they were great or bad, some of these movie will always have a place in the hearts
of people who were kids when they first saw these movies, films that left an
impression on them.
That being said, this duo does not make my list of great
movies I’m sorry to say. So for those who long to watch these again I say more
power to you! For everyone else just be wary. The first film, GHOSTHOUSE,
starts off with the bloody murder of a family in 1967, with a little girl
locked in a closet in the basement along with her doll. Fast forward 20 years
later to a young CB enthusiast who continues to get a call for help, some
strange music and some weird noises. Using his computer to track down the
signal, he and his girlfriend head out to investigate.
Following the directions they end up at a creepy looking
abandoned house. There they discover a fellow CB owner, his girlfriend, his
brother and his sister. It is this guy’s voice on the tape calling for help but
he never sent it out and can’t understand why his voice is on their recorder.
With a name like GHOSTHOUSE as the title you can figure out that there is a
haunting going on here. It doesn’t take long before the little girl or her doll
are seen and bodies begin to pile up. The solution to the problem works well
but the moments leading up to the end are a bit tedious. This isn’t a bad
movie, but it was definitely one of those either quick to VHS or straight to
VHS movies from the eighties.
The second film on this release isn’t much better. WITCHERY
begins with the hunt for a witch in the distant past only to have her toss
herself from the window of an old house. Fast forward (notice how both of these
movies are like that?) to the present where a researcher into the paranormal
and her boyfriend are checking out the house, big enough to be a hotel now,
without authorization. Problems soon arise when the local real estate agent
shows up with the new owners in tow. The entire group gets stranded on the
island where this building is located and soon spooky things begin to happen
and bodies begin to pile up. The fact that one of the new owner’s daughter’s is
pregnant means we have the chance for a possession here which of course
happens. Who will survive this night if any remains to be seen.
The claim to fame on this title is that it stars not just
David Hasselhoff as the boyfriend but Linda Blair as the soon to be possessed
pregnant lady. Even though Blair has been through this famously once before her
acting chops on this film seem fairly inadequate. Hasselhoff is the Hoff so he
can do no wrong. At least in the eyes of German fans who will probably make this
release a hit in that country.
Neither film offers a really satisfying horror film for fans
of the genre but it will indeed satiate the needs of those I mentioned before,
the youngsters of the 80s who grew up scouring the aisles of video stores in search
of any and every horror film they could convince their parents to rent (and
then let them watch without supervision knowing full well the small amounts of
nudity involved would not go over well). In the end those fans as well as
horror fans who feel the need to collect any and all horror films will be
pleased with these two movies coming out on blu-ray.
Click here to order.
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