"Zombie Strippers"

According to Home Media Magazine, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced Zombie Strippers for release on DVD October 28.

The plot is pretty self-explanatory so I'll just say that Jenna Jameson and Robert Englund star.

Hopefully, it'll be cheeky fun.

"Home Sick"

According to Home Media Magazine, Synapse Films has announced Home Sick for an August 26 release on DVD.

The plot goes something like this:

A maniac with a suitcase full of razorblades unleashes a super human killer upon a group of kids in a small Alabama town.

Tiffany Shepis stars in yet another cool-sounding horror flick.

"Devil's Mercy"

According to Fangoria, PeaceArch Entertainment has set its film Devil's Mercy for an October 7 DVD street date.

The plot is as follows:

Stephen Rea stars in the story of a family who moves into a Connecticut home where their young son senses something strange about their downstairs neighbor (Rea).

Rea is an interesting actor and these type of films about the habits of people who may or may not be psychotic are usually intriguing so I look forward to the film's DVD release in what has become a characteristically crowded October for horror films.

Brief review: "Lost Boys: The Tribe"

Distributor: Warner Premiere



A quirky follow-up to the 1987 cult hit directed by Joel Schumacher, Lost Boys: The Tribe may not please die-hard fans of the original but, taken on its own, offers a fun (and often funny) experience.

Brother and sister Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser) have moved to the California coast town of Luna Bay to live with a none-too-pleased aunt after their parents die in a car accident. It isn't long before the younger and more lively sister pushes her protective brother into attending a party with her. At the party, she meets and falls in love with the mysterious Shane (Angus Sutherland, Donald's son). Of course, she had no way of knowing that he was the head of a "tribe" of vampires, let alone that drinking the drink he offered her (blood) would begin her transformation into one of his kind. After seeking advice from a man named Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman, reprising his role as the surfboard shaper and vampire hunter from the first film), Chris learns that if he can kill Shane before his sister feeds, she won't turn into a vampire and, as Frog says, her "mortal soul" will be saved.

Let's get the film's problems out of the way first. First off, P.J. Pesce, directing from a script by Hans Rodionoff, is obviously hampered by a small budget. The film was intended as a direct-to-DVD feature almost from the get-go. In spite of rumors of a theatrical release, rumors mostly started by Corey Feldman, the chances of that ever really becoming a reality were slim to none. The budget really only affects the scale of the few action sequences and a chase scene that pops up but Pesce manages to make such sequences work anyway because of sharp editing and smooth directing.

Then there is the humor. The film has a surplus of one-liners, mostly courtesy of Edgar Frog. Some may find them corny and otherwise cheesy but I thought they worked in the atmosphere established from the get-go by Pesce. The film mixes a healthy dose of comedy with gory action-horror set-pieces, much like the original. Sure, lines like "Who ordered the stake?" by Frog while brandishing two cross-shaped stakes are obvious but somehow work nonetheless because of the almost giddy directing by Pesce. The guy hasn't met a scene that he didn't think could use more fog, blood/gore, or humor, whatever the case may be.

In spite of a small budget, the affably corny writing (at times) works because of a better than could be expected assembled cast. As Chris, Hilgenbrink combines intelligence with just enough toughness to make his character believable throughout. As his sister, the cute-as-a-button Autumn Reeser is superb; her character gets some of the best comedy bits and she excels at them. As the head vampire, Angus Sutherland is quite good. Believably authoritative and a commanding screen presence, you definitely buy him as the head honcho of the undead. And then there's Feldman. With a line-delivery most similar to that of Christian Bale's Batman, a sort of deep, guttural sounding Corey is a little odd at first but once you get used to it, you realize that Feldman is clearly having fun and you are too.

Lost Boys: The Tribe is an example of an after-the-fact sequel that actually works; consistently entertaining and surprisingly well-acted. It's lots of fun.

DVD Releases: August 5/12

August 5:

Aztec Rex (Goldhill horror)
Baby Blues (Allumination FilmWorks horror)
Back At The Barnyard: When No One's Looking (Paramount comedy)
Blood And Sex Nightmare (Bloody Earth horror)
Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (Lionsgate horror)
Buds For Life (Maverick comedy)
Counterfeiters (Sony thriller)
Garfield's Fun Fest (Fox animated comedy)
Hive, The (Genius Products horror)
Lobster Tale (Trinity comedy)
Miss Conception (First Look comedy
My Brother Is An Only Child (ThinkFilm comedy)
My Mummy (Rivercoast horror-comedy)
Nim's Island (Fox adventure)
Queen Sized (Anchor Bay drama)
Rogue (Dimension Extreme horror)
Slippery Slope (Lifesize Home Entertainment comedy)
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Sony sci-fi sequel)
Wasted (Weinstein Company drama)
Webs (Image sci-fi)


August 12:

3 A.M. (York horror)
American Mall (Paramount drama)
Art Of War II: The Betrayal (Sony thriller)
Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club (Lionsgate drama)
CJ7 (Sony comedy)
Dick: The Devil Dared Me To (Vivendi Visual comedy)
Felon (Sony thriller)
Frank (First Look family comedy)
I'm Through With White Girls (Image comedy)
Juncture (MTI thriller)
Killing Gene, The (Dimension Extreme thriller)
Legacy (Weinstein comedy)
Ninja Cheerleaders (PeaceArch action/comedy)
Orange Thief (WB comedy)
Outside Sales (Echo Bridge comedy)
Resurrection Mary (Laguna Films horror)
Secret, The (Image supernatural drama)
Smart People (Miramax drama/comedy)
Survival (York horror)
Watching The Detectives (PeaceArch comedy)


A rather disappointing two weeks highlighted by a few select films worth checking out. August 5 offers the gut-wrenching thrills of "Baby Blues," the killer croc fun of "Rogue," and the cheeky B-movie charm of the third "Starship Troopers."

August 12 has a Dimension Extreme title in "The Killing Gene" and the hopefully fun "Ninja Cheerleaders" along with another Wesley Snipes film in "Art Of War II: The Betrayal."

"Wicked Lake"

According to Home Media Magazine, Shriek Show has set the film Wicked Lake for a October 7 release on DVD.

The plot is as follows:

Four beautiful but mysterious girls embark on a road trip for a relaxing weekend getaway in the woods. Unbeknownst to them, two clans of deranged male misfits follow them to their secluded and picturesque lakeside cabin in the mountains. The girls appear to be easy prey for the predatory perverts until the fateful stroke of midnight when all hell, literally , breaks loose and the tables are turned.

Intriguing if generic. Still likely worth seeing come October.

"13 Hours in a Warehouse"

According to Home Media Magazine, Maverick Entertainment has announced 13 Hours in a Warehouse for a DVD release on October 28.

The plot synopsis via Fangoria is as follows:

Written and directed by novelist Dav Kaufman, the movie takes place in the titular locale, where five thieves hole up after finishing a job. Once inside, the become haunted by strange numbers and a lot worse.

Aside from the decidedly unwieldy title, the film sounds intriguing.