Crazy Good Multi Movie Horror DVD.
Omigawd. This is the best DVD set ever, or close to it. You’ve seen those “multi movie” horror packs before, and while this is thematically no different, the included movies are JUST SO INCREDIBLY GREAT. This is total instant party material – a cavalcade of cult classics with a heavy lean on cheesy/gory ‘80s slasher fests.
The movies:
1) Waxwork
2) 976-Evil 2
3) Ghoulies III (!!!!!!)
4) The Unholy
5) C.H.U.D. II
6) Chopping Mall
7) Slaughter High
8) Class of 1999
There are a few duds, but there’s also serious, crazy treasure. I only paid eight bucks for this, and there are at least four movies that I would’ve bought alone for that price. Waxwork? Chopping Mall? Slaughter High? If you’ve never seen these movies, put them on your must-watch list. They are somehow just as perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons as late Friday nights. That’s about as high a compliment as you can pay a horror movie.
The piece de resistance is Ghoulies III. Picture Gremlins mixed with Revenge of the Nerds. Unless I’m mistaken, this is the first time it’s been on DVD. (As an official release, anyway. I actually bought a bootleg copy at that horror convention back in August.)
If you’re interested in this set, I advise you to act quick. These combo packs don’t stay in production forever, and I’ve seen some of the better ones sell for small fortunes on the secondary market. Or, I guess, for like ten bucks more than the MSRP. Fortunes are subjective.
The set stuffs all eight movies onto only two discs. I’m not sure what that means in terms of video/audio quality, but if it’s a bit off, that kind of suits the films, anyway.
Also neat are the menu screens, which seem unremarkable until you notice that they’re like the racks at old video stores. You know, back when everyone picked horror movies based on box art alone.
Love it. Love everything about this set. It’s going to score the rest of my evening, except for when I’m eating, because I can’t deal with microwave pizza when monsters are throwing up on television.
I don’t think I can edit posts, and sorry for spamming, but I just had to bring up the “Happy Camper” song. So bizarre!
Oh wow, you can really see Rob Zombie wanting to be Tobe Hooper in House of a Thousand Corpses. Close but no banana.
@Bill – Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff going on in that movie. Some good talents involved, the script is just bland and a lot of it’s really derivative. It definitely doesn’t hold up to repeat viewings. Rosemary’s Baby, she ain’t.
Well, that was definitely interesting. Surprisingly similar to the first one in structure and in imagery, but there were some things that just didn’t really work for me. For example: pretty much every single line of dialogue.
Kane was fucking scary though. Brrr.
That worm monster was pretty disgusting too, but I have to admit that I was more disturbed by possessed Steven Freeling attacking his wife. They were implying some pretty creepy things there.
So, all in all, not a terrible way to spend a couple of hours, but…it kinda just made me want to watch the first movie again.
Oh, hey, House is on Netflix too. Though isn’t the sequel the one that’s supposed to be “so bad it’s good”? I forget.
Annette, House is great. Every main sitcom actor from ’83 showed up in that one.
Davey, it has some a Shaye St. John feel to it. Definitely nightmarish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbSqSMdIjzo
Yeah, I always felt that the ‘Sleepaway Camp’ movies were legit, despite you know, everything.
Of course, I haven’t seen one in 10 years, but for now, I stand by my opinion. Legit.
@Bill – Yeah, I can see that! Those videos may well have been an influence on him.
ANNETTE – you should watch ‘What About Bob?” because it is always the correct time to watch that movie. Ohhhh- wait- watch ‘Ghostbusters’ – still Bill Murray, still hilarious, and keeps with the whole ‘horror movie’ vibe of the evening.
I miss the Halloween countdown the most this time of year. I might check out Phantasm 2 tonight, I’ve seen the first and third, but just picked up a collection that has the 2nd on it. Anyone seen it and would you recommend it?
Yeah I’m giving House of a 1000 Corpses a “meh”.
But now on Fearnet the original The Fog is on!!! For the win!
And I triple recommend What About Bob.
Davey, I definitely recommend the second Phantasm. The little demon guys are much more disturbing.
Waxworks, Chopping Mall, CHUD II..man this DVD is like my youth spent trolling HBO with a VCR late at night to catch gems such as these. Eight bucks for eight flicks is not bad even if they’re video tape quality. Would like to see a disc like this with Deadly Friend or From Beyond included too. This DVD calls for a in depth Dino Drac review.
Another weird movie I recently watched was Beyond the Black Rainbow. Not for everyone but if you do check it out watch it well after midnight, adds to the experience I felt. The soundtrack and imagery are haunting.To check the trailer click my name.
@Bill thanks, I’m gonna throw it in here in a minute! I’ll let you know my thoughts. The Fog is so, so, so good. One of my absolute favorites, for sure.
Horror is not my thing…but the general ideas applies to other genres, too. I have a couple of the TCM four-movie sets. They tend to repeat some of the same movies and the earlier ones use flip-side DVDs, but they do give you four movies for your money.
@Annette: I’m late to answer this, but choosing between House and House II is HARD.
I guess I’d tell you to go with the first one, which isn’t as interesting but is much easier to get through. House II is amazing but it’s more about the destination than the journey. You may want to die while watching it, but when it’s over, you’ll be like, “wow, that was a f’n creative movie.” Make sense?
The best choice when faced with the dilemma of choosing between House (1986) and House II is to watch House (1977).
Great. Listening to DJ D, watching The Fog, SNT-ing it and drinking wine equals crazy online purchases.
Oops…
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STAR-WARS-RETURN-OF-THE-JEDI-1983-SOUNDTRACK-RECORD-ALBUM-W-16-PAGE-BOOKLET-/350698162445?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item51a73d490d&_uhb=1
I decided to watch UHF because of reasons. It just ended a few minutes ago, and I decided to look it up on Wikipedia just because. Little did I know that most of the location shots in this film were shot in my own home state, in the city of Tulsa! Mind: blown.
Now that is a fantastic activity combo. I love the opening theme to The Fog so much.
BILL — Yeah, I have a big, crazy online purchase in the works, myself. Yikes. *Looks at beer in blame*
Jugendsehnsucht, good call on Hausu, that movie is really cool and very creative.
@Bill – Phantasm II was worth the watch! So much so that I’m gonna pop in the first one for another dose. You must be done with the Fog by now, gonna watch anything else? Also, I want that album too. I managed to score a copy of the Zombie (Lucio Fulci) soundtrack on vinyl for Christmas… it’s been on my turntable at least once a week since then.
I don’t buy DVDs in the digital era BUT I am pretty much thinking of picking it up at that price as a lot of those are rare horror movies that haven’t quite hit the streaming market yet.
my husband and I, are fave horror movie seems to never be in these packs…Tourist Trap(1970 something) this guy kills people by filling their bodies with plaster and makes them into mannequins that he pretends are his family…young adults get a flat tire, or run out of gas…and wouldn’t ya know it…this guy’s business is right there…
There was another weird one, where a guy was a baby…the mom and sisters infantilized him all his life…and then the mom dies, and a social worker finds him….
All that is missing to complete this is Hobgoblins. How could they be so foolish as to leave that one out?
“I managed to score a copy of the Zombie (Lucio Fulci) soundtrack on vinyl for Christmas”
—Davey D.
Now that is some serious awesome right there. I’ve just got it on a CD (it has to be a bootleg—it’s ridiculously unofficial looking) that has the Zombi score along with Budy Maglione’s score for Cannibal Ferox, as well as some really dodgy sounding remixes.
Damnit I’m late to the SNT. Did Rev get wild and put a lampshade on her head? If so I hope someone got a picture.
This is a great collection Matt, and I’m looking for it right now between typing this and doing research for my new book “Matt, Why Won’t He Let Me Live In His Basement?”
Phanstasm 2 is one of my all time favorites. I would move to Perigord, Oregon tomorrow if they’d have me. WHich they won’t. I’m on some kind of undesirables list.
Purchased. You should get some sort of kickback for hitting their target market so squarely over the head. Chopping Mall and Slaughter High were enough to seal the deal for me, the others are just extras (even though I needed Ghoulies 3 to complete the trilogy).
Late to the party here but this is my sort of stuff! In high school some schlep traded me a coverless Marvel Comics adaptation of House II. Must have read it at least three dozen times in study hall that year. Only movie on this set I’ve seen for certain is Chopping Mall which is freaking great. I loved C.H.U.D. but never seen the sequel. Can’t remember if Class of 1999 is the one but I remember this or a similarly titled movie being a lot of fun on cable back in the day and recreating scenes on my backyard b-ball court. The library actually carries a few of these multi-movie packs I recently discovered and got a few including one that had Hellraiser 7 (!) on it.
Chopping Mall is awesome. The kill bots are an icon. I remember one really shocking scene where the pretty lady gets shot and her head explodes. Horror movie teens should never hide somewhere overnight to party. I’m afraid I am lacking in 80s horror and have not seen any of the other movies.
How would I be able to follow the intricacies of 976-Evil 2, Ghoulies III, and C.H.U.D. II without seeing 976-Evil, Ghoulies 1 and 2, or C.H.U.D.???
I’ve never been a big horror fan, but I’m working on making up for that, very slowly but surely. My Netflix queue is full of horror movies, both classics and some that sound so ridiculous, I have to see them (Poultrygeist, Killer Condom, The Gingerdead Man).
Good call watching UHF, Annette. You deserve a Twinkie weiner sandwich.
Looks like a great collection. I didn’t know they made a sequel to 976-Evil. I always loved the first one and watched it on USA Up All Night. I’m also very familiar with Chopping Mall and The Unholy. Both worth watching. I always found the title of Chopping Mall to be extremely misleading, which it is.
Phantasm II is easily the worst of the series since A. Michael Baldwin wasn’t allowed to be in it, and the studio also prevented Coscarelli from using any kind of dream or abstract scenes(which is what MAKES these movies).
The first time I saw House of 1000 Corpses I was like…WTF? It’s a complete clusterfuck. It’s like Rob Zombie figured he would only get the chance to make one movie and tried to squeeze as many of his ideas as possible into it. With every consecutive viewing I’ve grown to love it more and I think it’s very well done and easily his best film.
I was pretty shocked to find this and a similar collection (which includes Blood Diner) at Wal-Mart, as most of these movies have never been released on DVD before, and werent really ever expected. I’m shocked that alot of these actually got released, let alone all one 2 discs, and without any prerelease announcement. Usually horror flicks coming out on DVD for the first time get a decent amount of hype before they drop. There are alot of people who would have bought some of the movies separately for $10 a pop. To get them all for $5 was a pleasant surprise
“I don’t buy DVDs in the digital era” – Catherine
DVD = digital versatile disc.
@Teddy Ray: Poultrygeist is awesome! From the fine folks at Troma who put out some of the finest garbage you’ll ever see inc. Class of Nuke ‘Em High and The Toxic Avenger.
Chopping Mall has the greatest “freeze frame” of the cast in the end credits of all time.
Like, Jesse posted, got it for $5 at Wal-Mart. Too good to pass up.
Keep on keeping it real, Matt!
Bought!