Product Description

Includes: (lge d22686d) borderland (lge d22671d) mulberry street (lge d22683d) crazy eights (lge d22677d) nightmare man (lge d22674d) deaths of ian stone (lge d22692d) tooth & nail (lge d22689d) lake dead (lge d22680d) unearthed Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 03/18/2008 Run time: 647 minutes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53270 in DVD
• Brand: Lions Gate
• Released on: 2008-03-18
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 8
• Running time: 647 minutes

Amazon.com
Monsters are on the minds of the eight directors whose films comprise the 2007 After Dark HorrorFest, which arrives on DVD in an eight-disc set as well as single-disc editions. And it's interesting to note that while there are plenty of traditional monsters on display, from the vengeful spirits of Crazy Eights and Nightmare Man to the rampaging alien in Unearthed, the majority of the creatures causing havoc in the 2007 HorrorFest are all too human, which underscores one of the key functions of the horror genre: to give a face to society's darkest and most pressing fears. The best showcase for these human beasts is Jim Mickle's urban creepshow Mulberry Street, which details the outbreak of a rat-borne virus that turns New York City residents into rodent-like mutants. The monsters themselves are actually the least effective part of the film; rather, it's Mickle's ability to create both a slow-boiling panic and believable characters on a shoestring budget that gives his picture the advantage over the others in the fest. Less agreeable is Borderland, a well-photographed but mildly xenophobic splatterfest about American college students who run afoul of bloodthirsty Mexican Satanists, while Lake Dead and Tooth and Nail recycle overly familiar horror tropes (mutant hillbillies vs. city folk in , and cannibals vs. apocalypse survivors in Tooth). Of the two, Tooth is the more appealing thanks to its name cast (Michael Madsen, Robert Carradine, Vinnie Jones), while Lake offers little more than unrelieved sadism and sexual violence.

The Deaths of Ian Stone offers the fest's most intriguing premise--after a terrible accident, a young man (Mike Vogel of Cloverfield) discovers that he is being reborn as different people, only to suffer an even worse fate with each reincarnation--though the reasons for his condition and the introduction of monsters to the story are ill-conceived and ill-advised. As for the remaining titles, Unearthed is simply Alien in the desert (ground already covered with panache by Feast), while Nightmare Man is a HD-lensed supernatural slasher from the usually reliable Rolfe Kanefsky (The Hazing) that's enlivened only by the presence of B-movie stalwart Tiffany Shepis. With so much varying quality in the entries, what the 2007 HorrorFest needed was a rock-solid entry by an established talent, like Nacho Cerda's The Abandoned and Takashi Shimuzi's Reincarnation, which gave some spark to the 2006 festival. Judging by the tepid box office response to this series, stronger names or more careful selection of titles will be necessary for the HorrorFest to remain an annual event. Unlike the 2006 HorrorFest DVD releases, only a handful of the 2007 festival's discs offer extras. It seems odd that two of the weakest entries--Borderland and Nightmare Man--are the only discs to feature substantial supplemental features, including director and cast commentary, deleted scenes, and making-of featurettes, as well as a short documentary on Borderland about the true-life crimes that inspired the film. However, Nightmare Man's extras have a distinct edge thanks to the participation of Shepis, who brings a salty sense of humor to the commentary and also directs an amusing making-of featurette that elicits funny (and honest) responses from the cast and crew. Included on every disc are The Miss HorrorFest Webisodes, a wan collection of reality show-style vignettes that follow a contest to find the festival's new, scantily clad spokesmodel. -- Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

On the movies, not this DVD set
I haven't seen these actual DVDs so I can't comment on the quality of the transfer or how badly they chopped the pan-and-scan. (And keep in mind that most of the films, with the notable exception of the two bigger-budget flicks, look like the directors were prepared for them to be chopped for TV presentations.)

This assortment is all over the map. I reviewed all the films in detail on my blog (the bit maelstrom) but of course those are just my opinions. I've noticed people have wildly different reactions to all the films. So whereas I was very favorably impressed by "Borderland" and thought "Lake Dead" would've been stale in the '70s, you might have the exact opposite reaction.

A short capsule:

The Unearthed: A small group of people is terrorized by a monster. High point: Lots of great outdoor shoots of southwestern desert. Low point: The actual monster. It's a CGI mess. It was about as convincing as "Large Marge" from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".

The Deaths of Ian Stone: A man is repeatedly killed, and reborn into new life situations by mysterious demonic creatures. High point: Effective SFX and a deliciously evil performance by Jaime Murray. Low point: A "Buffy"/"Angel"-esque/superhero feel to the ending.

Borderland: Surprisingly taut thriller about some American boys who run afoul of an evil Mexican cult/drug cartel. High point: Sean Astin as the movie's Dennis Hopper. Low point: Based on a true story. Also, torture porn.

Lake Dead: Inbred hillbilly psychos terrorize college-age city kids trying to collect inheritance. High point: No shocking twists and turns to upset those of a delicate constitution. Low point: They're dead serious about this.

Mulberry Street: Brooding, atmospheric tale of New York taken over by wererats. High point: Strong characterization, film treatment radiates a claustrophobic, humidity, feels like summertime in a slum. Low point: 28 Days Later Youse Guys.

Tooth and Nail: Campy post-apocalyptic survival story. High point: A lot more humor than your average post-apocalyptic film and it can't ALL be accidental, can it? Low point: As badly thought out as every other post-apocalyptic thriller. Also, a lot of the humor probably IS accidental.

Nightmare Man: Man tries to check crazy wife who believes she is possessed by demonic spirit into hospital. Car trouble ensues, adjoining cast of college-age students end up holed up with crazy lady in isolated cabin where murder and mayhem ensues. High Point: Fairly brisk treatment of topic. Some might be surprised by ending (I wasn't). Low point: Still pretty constrained by ideas that were old when Sam Raimi did them in Evil Dead.

Crazy Eights: Relatively "big budget" cast (Frank Whaley, Dina Meyer, Gabrielle Anwar, Traci Lords) return with childhood friends to the asylum/laboratory/habitrail where they were raised. High Point: Good editing highlights the good acting. Low Point: Unfocused story makes the whole thing feel static.

There ya have it folks. I watch these things so you don't have to, folks. But most of the movies have something to recommend them, though I'd be hard-pressed to say that about "Lake Dead". That and the very professional, not low-budget at-all feeling "Unearthed" struck me as particularly boring.

Suggested serving: Get together with 6-10 of your similarly deranged friends and buy the set between you for the cost of a movie ticket each. Hold your own "After Dark" film festival (with popcorn! and hookers! In fact, forget the movies and the popcorn.)

I did the math and the second set of Horrorfest films are a step down from the first
Last year I went to see the first batch of After Dark Horrorfest Films to Die For in the theater. Then I rented all (but one) of them when they came out on DVD, and then I picked up all (but one) of them when the DVDs went on super sale. However, the second set of films did not come to a theater near me in the Zenith City and I decided to do the all 8 films 2 die 4 for $70 bucks when they came out on DVD and forego renting them to check them out. So I certainly spent less money on Horrorfest 2007 than I did on Horrorfest 2006, which may well explain why I am left feeling I definitely got less for my money. Note: This time the ratings get to involve decimals because I am a college professor and I want to assign numbers between a B- and a D-.

"Borderland": Once again the first Horrorfest movie I saw was the one I ended up thinking was the best of the bunch, but I still pick last year's "Reincarnation" as my top choice (I like it more each time I watch it and I love the ending). "Borderland" about a trio of Texas University students, male I should point out, who make the mistake of going south of the border, where they run afoul of a gang of drug runners who engage in human sacrifice so they will be invisible to the police. Based on a true story this is not a great horror film but the most solid of the octet (Ranked #1, Rating: 4.3).

"Unearthed": Trapped in a town in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, some unlucky travelers and the hot babes who hold key positions in the town have to deal with creatures unearthed from an archeological dig. Nothing really interesting ever happens and the explanation for the monster really cuts against the grain. At least it is all uphill from here (Ranked #8, Rating: 2.3).

"Tooth & Nail": This is the movie I have talked about the most, but only because the premise for this post-apocalyptic tale is that in the year 2012 we run out of gas, and that ends up destroying civilization. Fortunately little happens in the first part of the movie so you can spend your time thinking of all the massive holes in the set up before we get to the action. However, the payoff (or should I say punch line?) is decent enough to redeem this one in the end (Ranked #5, Rating 3.3).

"Crazy Eights": An impressive cast for a B-horror flick and a pretty good creepy location where most of the action takes place, but the script gives them little to do. A bunch of twenty-somethings who have been friends since they were kids (but forgotten the being kids part), confront their haunted past in an abandoned hospital. Are they guilty and deserve their fates or are they innocent blood? Damned if I could figure it out (Ranked #6, Rating 3.2).

"The Deaths of Ian Stone": This is really a science-fiction film and while the premise is good--why is the title character reliving the same day only to die in a different way each time?--the explanation is too convoluted and the villainess too hokey for this one to really work (Ranked #4, Rating 3.4).

"Nightmare Man": The masked figure from a woman's nightmares shows starts chasing her through the woods where she stumbles on a cabin with a couple of couples who become the entrees for the killer. The obvious answer turns out to be too obvious in this one, but the problem is the ending, which suddenly takes things seriously and can be accused of going way too far (Ranked #7, Rating: 2.5).

"Lake Dead": Clearly the bottom choice for a lot of people and the most sicko movie of the bunch, but that is why it actually sticks out for me as one of the most memorable movies and therefore deserves to finish ahead of more forgettable fare. This is a splatter flick where the rationale for why people are dying is sick and twisted, but the hero actually keeps his head and uses his brains to get back into the game, always a plus with me. Just be warned that what will gross you out here is not the blood and gore (Ranked #3, Rating 3.4).

"Mulberry Street": Whatever those rats are carrying it turns human beings feral and a half-dozen poor souls are stuck in their crappy apartment building trying to stay alive. This movie has the best job by a director and a cast, and if it did not take too long to get to the action it would have been the cream of the crop (Ranked #2, Rating: 4.2).

Without the decimal ratings I gave two 4s, four 3s, and two 2s to the Horrorfest 2007 films for an average rating of 3.0. My averaging rating for last year's films was a 3.7, so that would be empirical support for the contention that this year's crop was a step down. That is not to say that these movies saved from the DTV bin are the dregs of the Lionsgate library because I made a point of going out and rating the last eight DTV Lionsgate horror films I saw that were not part of either Horrorfest and their average rating was 2.6. It might be depressing to think that these are the best of the lot, but that seems to be the case. Still, I have already decided that I am renting before buying next year.

P.S. Hey, people, decide if it is "Horrofest" or "Horror Fest" once and for all and stick to it, okay?

MUCH BETTER THAN LAST 2006!
I was able to catch 2-3 of these in theaters and I've got to say they are a HUGE improvement from 2006's mediocre to horrible line-up. Also it's nice the 8 films to die for are being released in a pack w/ all 8 films instead of 7 films + you have to go buy the most popular one (The Abandoned) and pay extra for it.
Special effects are tons better as are the plots and the acting. I have high hopes for 2008 after seeing these! Don't let the mess than was the 2006 horrorfest turn you off of these!