It is that time of year again when the holidays are rolling around the stores are trying to get shoppers in with cut throat deals. It is also the time of years when our beloved home video labels unleash some surprise goodies upon their various fandoms. It’s an exciting time for sure, a lot of these titles end up being so limited that they are released just once and never seen again (I believe that will be the case for No Way Home, but I’m not certain).

Black Friday 2020 is an interesting one for Severin Films. They are releasing 7 films and an audio cassette reading of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Colour Out of Space (Read by Richard Stanley). However, 2010’s The Theatre Bizarre is the thematic connective tissue that brings many of these films together. I know what many are thinking, connective tissue, for films in a sale? But in this case, yes it’s true. While we are seeing a release of the German gothic Castle of the Creeping Flesh the primary films in this year’s Severin – Black Friday stable are made by participants in that particular 2011 Anthology.

So what better way to start off then with that film?

The Theatre Bizarre

Director– Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Jeremy Kasten, Tom Savini, and Richard Stanley

Starring – Various

Country of Origin- Various

The Theatre Bizarre is the 2011 horror anthology that could be most well known for bringing Richard Stanley back into the world of narrative filmmaking after spending the decades after the Moreau-catastrophe working in the world of documentary. The film which continues the tradition of the portmanteau in the Amicus vein shows a wraparound story (directed by Attic Expedition’s Jeremy Kasten), where a young woman becomes the single member of an audience for a literal man-puppet played by the iconic Udo Kier. Kier tells her the stories of each segment of the anthology, but at each turn becomes a tad more disturbing in appearance.

The segments begin with the Lovecraftian Mother of Toad’s directed by Richard Stanley and starring Fulci-muse Catriona MacColl to Buddy Giovinazzo’s I Love You in which a man who has been cheated upon, begs his wife to stay with disturbing results. We then get Wet Dreams, Tom Savini’s segment which is like a reversal on the prior segment where the husband is the cheat, and has to deal with the repercussions of his actions as soon as he can discern what reality is.

We then get Douglas Buck’s the Accident. This one is a little different from the rest, but is simply a short reflective piece on an accident between a man and deer that a little girl saw. Of course, this could be considered the calm before the storm that is Vision Stains, from Subconscious Cruelty director Karim Hussain. This is a brutal piece about a writer who injects fluid from people’s eyes taken from their moment of death. This allows her to retain and utilize their memories, so she can write about them. The final segment is David Gregory’s disturbing Sweets which is quite possibly the strangest episode here as a couple break up, but there is a reflection on their past as candy-fetishist. This needs to be seen to be believed.

Theatre Bizarre was previously released to DVD, but this is the first U.S. Blu-ray release and looks quite solid in its 1080p transfer. Colors are well reproduced, blacks are deep, and detail is fine. Audio is handled in English 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, and extras include an extended Mother of Toads, 2 commentary tracks, a making of with all the main players, and lots of additional documentaries and featurettes.

Plague Town

Director– David Gregory

Starring – Josslyn DeCrosta, Erica Rhodes

Country of Origin- USA

Plague Town tells the story of the Monohan family, who are on a family trip to Ireland. Jerry Monohan has taken his 2 daughters Jessica and Molly here, along with his new wife to explore the family’s Irish roots, while getting the girls used to their new Stepmother. While exploring the countryside with Jessica’s new British boyfriend Robin, they- family find themselves trapped in a small village where the townsfolk are strange, and their children are even worse.

Plague Town is David Gregory’s feature directorial debut, and he has come out of the gate strong. The film is quite short (88 minutes), but not a minute is wasted. Although, we only get to spend a few minutes getting to know the family before the horror begins to unfold, there is a great sense of character development in that time, that makes you truly sympathize with the family as things take a turn for the worse.

Plague Town comes to Blu-ray in a very solid 1080p AVC encoded transfer that looks quite solid with colors popping, detail being excellent and everything just looking solid all around. Extras include a making of, a commentary track, a BTS featurette, and more. Highly Recommended. This is one of the great folk horrors of the 2000’s.

Family Portraits – A Trilogy of America

Director– Douglas Buck

Starring – Various

Country of Origin- U.S.

I remember being a voracious reader of Rue Morgue magazine in the early 2000’s, and at the time the magazine seemed to obsess over 2 short director’s work Nacho Cerda for his work like Aftermath and Genesis, and Douglas Buck for his Family Portraits trilogy of shorts. Needless to say I went out of my way to see all of these as soon as I could, and was floored by all of them.

Buck’s Family Portraits trilogy in particular appealed to me as a young film student with an eye for horror that had an idea to make horror films that mixed the domestic with the disturbing. Seeing what he had done with these films spoke to me, because I had never seen someone do something like this on such a raw primal level. The 3 films are not as reliant on plot as emotion, atmosphere, and visuals, but those aspects are so powerful it is hard not be taken in.

The first film in the trilogy is 1997’s Cutting Moments. This film follows a few hours in the life of a family. The son is disturbed by some obvious sexual molestations issues perpetuated by his Father. The Father knows the son is being taken away, but is enamored by his baseball game, and his wife just wants his attention and to feel loved on a physical level. When she doesn’t get it, she acts out on herself, and this gets his attention in unexpected ways. The second film “Home” flips the script with the husband trying to avoid his anger from bubbling to the surface. Prologue is the longest of the 3, and the most disturbing, yet optimistic. It involves the exploits of an older retired man, who works quietly as an artist, as he watches a young girl he raped and mutilated the year prior return home and try to recover from an incident she cannot remember.

These films are an emotional and esoteric gut punch. The visuals are striking and will live an undeniable imprint on the viewer that will not soon go away. If this is your first time seeing these, it would be hard to spoil them, but go in with as little knowledge as possible

Severin presents the feature in a 1080p transfer that looks quite solid. These are low budget affairs, but they have a very solid film like appearance that comes through quite strongly here. They are also presented in their original short film versions, and with 2 commentary tracks 1 with director Buck, and the other with Maitland McDonagh. There is another early Buck short, and other interviews and features included here.

No Way Home

Director– Buddy Giovinazzo

Starring – Tim Roth, James Russo

Country of Origin- U.S.

I’ve only seen 2 features and one short by Buddy Giovinazzo prior to No Way Home. Those would be Combat Shock, Life is Hot in Cracktown, and his short “I Love You” from the Theatre Bizarre. Those 3 were downbeat, depressing, and brutal, so admittedly I was both excited to jump into No Way Home, because I knew that a Giovanazzo film is quality, but also a little reluctant, because well…the whole depressing and brutal aspect.

Anyway, No Way Home stars Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) as Joey, a young man who has just been released from prison after a 6 year stint. He is determined never to go back, but ends up having to stay with his brother Tommy and Tommy’s stripper wife Lorraine. Lorraine and Joey’s relationship starts off strained but gets better, where as Tommy and Joey’s starts off decent, but ends up worse as Joey realizes how involved Tommy is with crime, and how the crime Joey went to jail for was perpetuated by Tommy.

I won’t rate this as highly as the other Giovinazzo films I’ve seen, but none the less it was definitely worth a watch. The performances from the 3 leads Deborah Kara Unger, James Russo, and Tim Roth really make this film what it is. It’s Giovinazzo’s most mainstream looking effort I’ve seen yet it contains a raw lived in quality that marks his other efforts so well.

Severin presents the film in a 1080p AVC encoded transfer. This is probably the best looking of Giovinazzo’s features I’ve seen to date, but it still has a raw quality to it. That comes across on the Blu-ray here. Audio is in English and comes through crisp and clear. Extras include a commentary with Giovinazzo and David Gregory interviews with various members of the crew and a short by Giovinazzo, RECOMMENDED.

Attic Expeditions

Director– Jeremy Kasten

Starring – Andras Jones, Seth Green

Country of Origin- U.S.

I can remember watching the Attic Expeditions in the early 2000’s as one of the final films I remember renting from my home town video stores. I had read about in either Fangoria and Rue Morgue, and then it seemed to show up on either tape or DVD (I no longer can remember which at my local Blockbuster). At the time I feel like I wasn’t impressed, and I haven’t returned to it since, but opinions change with time and it was definitely due a revisit so here it is.

The Attic Expeditions stars Andras Jones as Trevor, a young man who finds himself under the care of a Dr. Ek (Re-Animator’s Jeffrey Combs), and also being treated via a new procedure by Dr. Coffee (Ted Raimi). It turns out that Trevor has been unconscious for 4 years and been locked up for the murder of his girlfriend Faith. Now, he’s allowed out into a halfway house, the House of Love where he meets other bizarre patients and realizes that his treatment has not quite ended, and that the people in the house are not exactly what they seem.

Here is the thing, when I watched Attic Expeditions 20 years ago, I feel like a lot of this went flying over my head. Not that it’s too deep, or too esoteric to get, but it appears that this film definitely rewards repeat viewings. This time I remembered enough of it in the interim, that I could start piecing elements of it together like the puzzle that it at times can be. That coupled with Kasten’s fantastic, right out of the gate visual sensibilities, and the pitch-perfect cast make this one definitely to check out.

Severin gives the film its HD debut. It looks pretty solid here with colors that pop, detail is fine, and grain that is natural and film like. Audio options (5.1 and 2.0 HD) sound crisp and clear with out issue. Extras include a cast and crew reunion, an internet meet up with Alice Cooper and Jeffrey Combs a featurette where the film is analyzed, and a CD soundtrack.

Castle of the Creeping Flesh

Director– Adrian Hoven

Starring – Janine Reynaud, Howard Vernon

Country of Origin- Germany

Out of all the films that came in the Severin Black Friday pile, I’ll have to admit this is the one that I looked forward to watching the most. Subkultur Films put out Castle of the Creeping Flesh in Germany a few years ago, but I didn’t pick that one up, and have been kicking myself a bit since. The film falls squarely into Euro-gothic territory with elements of the Krimi trickling in. I’d also like to say that since Severin isn’t releasing a Franco this round of releases, this does have Howard Vernon as a co-star which does give it a significant Franco connection.

The film opens at the castle of Baron Brack (Michel Lemoine), the Baron is having an epic party. The whole affair seems to be a façade by Brack to get his way with Elena. The whole thing ends up at another luxurious estate owned by Howard Vernon’s Count Saxon. This is where things get weird and we find out that Count’s daughter has died and he will do anything to revive her.

I’ll admit I expected more of a traditional gothic experience with Castle of the Creeping Flesh, and certainly there were those elements. However, the whole thing seemed to have a more disturbing fetishistic drive to it, which I definitely took to once I connected to the wave length. Like earlier Eurogothic entries such as Eyes with out a Face, and Diabolical Dr. Z there is a surgical element here in the attempts Saxon makes to revive his daughter. The whole thing is all over the place, but honestly loads of fun, especially for a late night viewing session (I watched this last night around 2 am, and it played great).

Severin releases Castle of the Creeping Flesh uncut with a very solid HD transfer. It’s not perfect and soft in spots, but overall it is very film like with nice detail. There is English and German audio in DTS-HD MA 2.0 tracks that come through without obvious issues. There are a number of interviews, Q&A’s, and featurettes that pepper this release and make this one worth your time.

Finally, of note. Severin Films is also releasing “Tales of the Uncanny”. This is a documentary about anthology horror films that the Severin crew shot while in quarantine. I haven’t had a chance to secure a copy of the Blu-ray to review prior to this morning, however, the Blu-ray set includes 2 extra anthology horror feature films from the 1920’s and 40’s in addition to the main documentary feature in its extras package, and I honestly feel that helps justify the purchase alone.