Anchor Bay Upfront: March 2007

Re-animate this Haunted Prison

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Wednesday, March 28th 2007 at 9:21 PM

Last month we took a look at a selection of new DVDs from Anchor Bay and this month we have a whole new selection, at least one of which is sure to excite plenty of you.

First up we have Death Row, the horrifying live action film based on the short story by Kevin VanHook-takes place at Isla de la Roca Penitentiary. Rumor has it the Devil himself spat up the place out of the depths of hell, and man turned it into a prison for the most dangerous prisoners in the South. The monstrous building is steeped in the evil created by centuries of murder and injustice and is haunted by vengeful ghosts. Isla de la Roca was abandoned after being soaked in blood by a horrific massacre of inmates and guards. A gang of fugitives from a cop-killing robbery seek refuge within the razor wire of the prison walls at the same time as a documentary film crew arrives to tell the story of the penitentiary. When these groups cross paths within the cruel walls of Isla de la Roca, will anyone get out alive?

The disc comes equipped with the film along with featurettes, an audio commentary from director Kevin VanHook, stills, deleted scenes, production art and a DVD-Rom script. You can pick up a copy for yourself here.

Next we have an interesting title from the Masters of Horror collection, Pro-Life. For you online "geeks" you may recognize Drew McWeeny more informally as Moriarty from the popular website Ain't It Cool News. Well, he penned the script for this 57 minute horror which stars Ron Perlman and Emmauelle Vaugier and is directed by John Carpenter himself. Perlman stars as a crazed anti-abortion ‘terrorist’ about to launch a siege with his three sons. Inside the clinic? His pregnant 15 year-old daughter and a host of pro-choicers.

The disc features the film in widescreen along with making-of and FX featurettes, storyboards, still galleries and audio commentaries as well as a Carpenter Bio and a DVD-Rom script. You can pick up a copy for yourself here.

Next is one that I have no idea about, Tokko: Volume 1, an anime feature, which includes hardcore violence and gore based on the Manga from the author of the very popular GTO series and was a top rated show on Japanese TV.

The film is set five years ago when a portal to another dimension opened in an apartment building, unleashing monsters that killed 300 people. Survivor Ranmaru Shindo has become a member of the elite Mobile Investigation Force. Ranmaru’s dreams of his parents’ death begin to come to life as the same mysterious creatures that killed his parents return to claim more victims. Ranmaru’s investigations of the murders are interrupted by a secret branch of the police known only as Tokko. Will Ranmaru be able to unravel the mystery behind his parents’ death while investigating this mysterious police force?
Find out in the horror-packed first volume of Tokko.

The disc features the first 5 episodes of the series in 16×9 Widescreen in original Japanese audio with English subtitles. Also included are a cast forum excerpt, opening and closing them songs, an image gallery and a DVD-ROM screensaver. Personally I am not all that into anime horror, but if you are, get your own copy here.

Finally we come to the one truly recognizeable title and probably the one most of you will be interested in. Re-animator is considered a cult classic and loved by many. Once I got this disc I will say it wasn't my cup-o-tea. I know it isn't meant to be taken seriously, and I did enjoy portions of it, but even at a mere 86 minutes it felt way too long.

The film is based on the classic story by H.P. Lovecraft in which Dr. Herbert West has discovered the secret of re-animating dead tissue, effectively negating Death itself. Only problem is, he needs to perfect it. He needs to experiment, and to do that he needs dead bodies. First he begins with his old mentor, that goes awry. Next he moves onto his new roommate's cat, that gets a bit bumpy. Finally he goes into the morgue at the hospital and that is when the shit really hits the fan.

The film is very tongue-in-cheek and I can see why several people like it, as a matter of fact I can see people sitting down with someone that loved it and actually enjoying it more. That is if they have a fifth of Jack with them…

This 2-disc special edition includes a ton of features beginning with an all-new 70 minute documentary on the film, two audio commentaries with cast and crew, trailers, still galleries, interviews, a music dissection with composer Richard Band, deleted scenes, extended scenes, storyboards, DVD-ROM screenplay and "Herbert West, Re-Animator" by H.P. Lovecraft. It is packed with goodies for the lovers so if you want it click here to get it.

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