While it’s getting cold outside, Shout! Factory is coming out with quite a few hot titles to make sure you don’t sweat the snow forecast. During the San Diego Comic Con, the company made a big announcement that they were bringing Hammer horror films to their Scream Factory line. They had picked up the titles that 20th Century Fox had distributed in the USA back in the mid-’60s from the English studio. Now the first three titles have been announced for once a month releases starting in December. First up is Dracula: Prince of Darkness that marked the return of Christopher Lee as the legendary vampire since he originally flashed fangs in the Horror of Dracula. The film is noted in that Lee’s Dracula speaks no lines. The January release is Plague of Zombies which was original released as part of a double feature with Dracula: Prince of Darkness. Back in 1966 a few theaters gave out vampire fangs and zombie eyes to lucky viewers. The film has a town being struck by a plague except the recently departed are being turned into zombies to work in the mines. This is more about soul control and not brain eating. Finally in February arrives The Vengeance of She. This was the follow up to She that starred Ursula Andress (Dr. No). The new She is
Olinka Berova (Lemonade Joe). She gets mentally sucked to an ancient city of of Kuma to reincarnate Andress. John Richardson returns in this tale of a journey to gain immortality.
Equally exciting news is that Shout Factory is putting out all three of Sonny Chiba’s Street Fighter films as part of a boxset on Shout Select in February. You might remember these Chiba kick butt classics playing as a triple feature in True Romance. This set includes The Street Fighter, Return Of The Street Fighter and The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge. In True Romance the triple feature wrapped up with Sister Street Fighter. Why isn’t that here? Turns out Sister Street Fighter was part of its own trilogy with Etsuko Shihomi. Maybe if we’re lucky that will be coming in 2019.
Currently there’s no news of the bonus features for the Hammer or Street Fighter releases. InsidePulse will post them when they the press release arrives. Here’s the descriptions of the Blu-rays from Shout! Factory:
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness [Collector’s Edition] + Exclusive Poster
Released: December 18, 2018 • Available in US & Canada
Order from ShoutFactory.com and get a FREE 18″ X 24″ ROLLED POSTER featuring our brand new artwork (limited edition of 500 posters)!
“Dracula: Prince of Darkness, more than any of the Hammer Draculas, embodies the recurrent image of sexual repression threatening … to tear Victorian society apart …” – Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
Four English tourists find themselves stranded in the mysterious village of Karlsbad, a sinister and remote place with a deadly, dark legend. Their journey leads them to an abandoned castle where a nightmarish destiny awaits them: an evil in need of resurrection, a blood-craving beast known only as Count Dracula, Prince of Darkness (Christopher Lee, The Lord Of The Rings films, Wicker Man). Released in 1966, this film presents the legendary Lee’s second outing as Dracula, with Hammer Films pushing the cinematic boundaries of graphic gore and terror.
The Plague Of The Zombies
Released: January 15, 2019 • Available in US & Canada
In a remote 19th-century Cornish village, an evil presence lurks within the darkness of the witching hour. A mysterious plague relentlessly consumes lives at an unstoppable rate. Unable to find the cause, Dr. Peter Tompson enlists the help of his mentor, Sir James Forbes. Desperate to find an antidote, they instead find inexplicable horror: empty coffins with the diseased corpses missing! Following a series of strange and frightening clues, they discover a deserted mine where they discover a world of black magic and a doomed legion of flesh-eating slaves … the walking dead!
The Street Fighter Collection + Exclusive Poster
Released: February 19, 2019
Order from ShoutFactory.com and get an EXCLUSIVE 18″ X 24″ ROLLED POSTER featuring our brand new artwork, available while supplies last!
Meet the meanest and most lethal karate master ever to rule the streets. He’s Sonny Chiba, one of the greatest martial arts actors to ignite the screen. In The Street Fighter, Chiba stars as Terry Tsurugi, a mercenary who has been hired by both the yakuza and the mafia to kidnap a wealthy heiress, but when he isn’t paid, a violent clash will ensue. Chiba is back in Return Of The Street Fighter. This time Tsurugi is hired by the mob to kill two informants, but when he realizes one is an old friend, he refuses, and now he is the one being hunted. When Tsurugi is double crossed by the Ôwada clan, he takes off with something they want in The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge. Soon he is being chased by a group of deadly assassins.
The Vengeance Of She
Released: February 26, 2019
She used her beauty to bring kingdoms to their downfall and men to their knees!
A young beautiful woman named Carol (Olinka Berova) is plagued by hallucinatory voices calling her “Ayesha” and is drawn by a mysterious force toward the east. During her voyage, she meets Dr. Philip Smith (Edward Judd) who decides to accompany Carol to her unknown destination. Eventually the two reach the lost city of Kuma where Carol is greeted as the reincarnation of Queen Ayesha, the beloved of King Killikrates (John Richardson). Philip is imprisoned and meets Za-Tor (Noel Willman) who tells him of the high priest’s deceitful plan to obtain the secret of immortality by bringing back Ayesha to King Killikrates. Will Philip escape in time to reveal the truth and save Carol from destruction?
