Why So Blu?

Lionsgate Announces Disc & Download Releases

Straight from Lionsgate, the studio has offered up a few release dates of some of their titles.  I do have to offer one disclaimer thought; don’t be put off by the Blu-ray prices for some of these discs.  I seriously doubt Amazon will be selling The Last Exorcism on Blu-ray for forty bucks (expect half that cost). Anyway, there’s some in-depth stuff here and it’s straight from the mouth of the Lion…

Lionsgate is proud to announce the upcoming DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Digital Download and On Demand release of The Last Exorcism, and the Blu-ray Disc releases of After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Features: Volumes 1-4, arriving on January 4th.  Lionsgate also presents the DVD and Digital Download release of LeapFrog: The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park and LeapFrog: Numbers Ahoy and the DVD, Digital Download and On Demand release of Triggerman, available on January 18th.

JANUARY 4

The Last Exorcism

Everything you believe will be changed this January as Lionsgate releases The Last Exorcism to DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Digital Download and On Demand. This clever, bone-chilling film comes from a collaboration of minds – rising director Daniel Stamm (upcoming M. Night Shyamalan’s Reincarnate), as well as all-star horror producer Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel, Hostel 2) and the producers of Dawn of the Dead. Hailed as “Scary, gripping and very intense!” (Access Hollywood), The Last Exorcism was a festival favorite chosen for the LA Film Festival, Toronto After Dark, Fright Fest and others throughout 2010. The film tells the story of a charismatic preacher expecting to perform a routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic but instead he encounters a true evil far beyond his wildest imagination. Both the Blu-ray Disc and the DVD provide a deeper look into the film with two commentaries from the actors, director and producers; a “making of” the film; the 2009 Cannes Film Festival teaser trailer and a featurette that examines those involved in real life exorcisms. The Blu-ray Disc hosts exclusive bonus materials including an additional commentary containing stories from a spiritual warfare counselor, a “haunting” victim and a clinical psychologist; audition footage from Ashley Bell and Patrick Fabian and the theatrical trailer.

After years of performing “exorcisms” and taking believers’ money, Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) travels to rural Louisiana with a film crew to document what is to be his last so he can dispel what he believes is the myth of demonic possession. The dynamic reverend is certain that this will be another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic but instead comes upon the blood-soaked farm of the Sweetzer family and a true evil he would have never thought imaginable.

Pricing: DVD $29.95

Pricing: Blu-ray Disc $39.99

After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Features: Volumes 1-4

This January marks the month of 1,000 screams with “The Best of Horrorfest” – After Dark fan favorites in High Definition for the first time as Lionsgate releases four volumes of After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Features. Each double feature volume includes two terrifying horror films along with bonus materials. The pairings include The Gravedancers and Wicked Little Things: Unrated Director’s Cut; Borderland: Unrated Director’s Cut and Crazy Eights; The Broken along with The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations; and The Graves and Zombies of Mass Destruction.

After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Feature: Volume 1

THE GRAVEDANCERS

Starring Dominic Purcell, The Gravedancers is an old-school terror about a group of

friends who realize that dancing on graves is not all fun and games. While at a wake for

an old chum, a group of friends decide to get drunk and dance on the graves, which leads

to their lives being invaded by a trio of hostile ghosts. The Gravedancers was a favorite of the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The Blu-ray contains an audio commentary, a couple of featurettes – including a “making of,” deleted scenes, storyboards and the trailer.

WICKED LITTLE THINGS: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT

Recently widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, move to a remote mountain home, which Karen has inherited from the family of her late husband. However, she is unaware that the home is situated near an old mine, the site of an early 20th century tragedy where many children were buried. The Blu-ray Disc features an audio commentary.

After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Feature: Volume 2

BORDERLAND: UNRATED DIRECTOR’S CUT

Borderland is a criminal tale of murder and ritual. The story, based on true events, blends the raw fear of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the stark reality of In Cold Blood and evokes a world soaked in paranoia, fear, and dread. Declared “a brutally suspenseful crime drama” by Variety and “a dark, disturbing gem” by Cinefantastique Magazine, the film features special effects by award-winning KNB Effects. When three Texas University students travel to a Mexican border town on the eve of their graduation, the last thing they expect to face is an ancient blood cult hell-bent on finding candidates for human sacrifice. The Blu-ray features two featurettes and an audio commentary.

CRAZY EIGHTS

Six people are brought together at the funeral of a childhood friend. While settling the estate, they discover a map, which leads them on a search for a long forgotten time capsule. At the request of their dead friend, they follow the map and what they discover reawakens repressed childhood traumas and leads them on a journey through their long abandoned childhood home…a home with a terrible secret and a mysterious dead girl who will lead them to their strange fates.

After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Feature: Volume 3

THE BROKEN

The life of a successful radiologist spirals out of control when she sees the spitting image of herself driving down a London street. Attempting to discover the identity of her double, she stumbles into a terrifying mystery that involves her family and closest friends, leaving her with no one to trust.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT 3: REVELATIONS

The latest entry in The Butterfly Effect franchise tells the story of Sam who possesses an extraordinary talent: the ability to travel through time. He can use his gift to help police solve cases, but he must never intervene with the past as it could alter the present in horrific ways. When a woman from Sam’s past begs him to help her find her sister’s killer, Sam breaks his own rule…and all Hell breaks loose

After Dark Horrorfest Blu-ray Double Feature: Volume 4

THE GRAVES

From the creator of the legendary comics Evil Ernie and Lady Death, comes The Graves. On their last weekend together, Megan and Abby Graves are lost in a remote part of the Arizona desert where they are lured to Skull City Mine, an abandoned mine town. But they soon learn Skull City is anything but abandoned – and there’s no way out. The sisters are now prey, forced to unleash their most primitive instincts in a desperate, all-out battle for survival against unspeakable horrors – both human and supernatural. The Blu-ray Disc features two audio commentaries, numerous featurettes, “spot the gnome” game, auditions, a music video and more!

ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION

A conservative island community is under attack! Port Gamble, Washington is being overrun with brain eaters, and the people seem powerless to stave them off. A rag tag band of rebels led by Frida, an Iranian college student suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, and Tom, a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother, tries to turn the tide and push the invading hoards of undead back. Called “the best of its type since Shaun of the Dead,” filmthreat.com states, “Zombies of Mass Destruction is a limb-shucking, eye-gouging hoot, full of both disemboweled stomachs and belly laughs.” The Blu-ray Disc includes a “making of” featurette.

Pricing: Blu-ray Disc $19.99 each

JANUARY 18

LeapFrog: The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park / Numbers Ahoy
Parents and preschoolers alike can celebrate 2011 with the first new LeapFrog productions to hit stores in nearly a year. Lionsgate Home Entertainment and top educational toy maker LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc., have teamed up again to release LeapFrog: The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park and LeapFrog: Numbers Ahoy this January. The all-new DVDs provide a unique combination of education and fun for kids and also include beneficial bonus features that reinforce the learning such as a parental curriculum, sing-along songs and more. The releases also introduce Scout the puppy, an animated character in the LeapFrog world who made his debut in 2008 and has since become the central character in LeapFrog infant, toddler, and preschool products. Both titles will also be available for Digital Download.

LeapFrog, a leader in learning DVDs, remains a perennial favorite, year after year, and the brand continues to grow. LeapFrog is a leader in education innovation – creating award-winning toys and reading and mobile learning systems that bring together robust technology, curriculum and characters from popular entertainment to create engaging and interactive learning experiences that make play and learning even more fun. LeapFrog’s mission is to inspire a lifelong love of learning. With more than 120 million educational systems, books and games in homes worldwide, in 4 languages at major retailers in more than 44 countries, plus multisensory technology in more than 100,000 U.S. classrooms, the LeapFrog brand is trusted by parents, valued by teachers and loved by children. Many of LeapFrog’s newest products connect to the internet to expand and enhance on-the-go play with additional interactive experiences. And all our products are a strategic part of our proprietary, online Learning Path, where available – empowering parents by providing personalized insights and recommendations to help them see and share in their child’s learning progress.

· LeapFrog: The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park (Ages 3-6)

When their firefly friend, Edison, takes Tad, Lily and Scout to the place of his childhood dreams, the gang is shocked to discover that Alistair Alphabelly’s Amazing Amusement Park is… closed! To make matters worse, Edison has gotten himself stuck atop the Fantastical Ferris Wheel. The only way to save him is to turn on the rides in the park with the magic of the alphabet. Now the children must learn all of the letters, big and small, to save their friend, save the day and perhaps even meet the rhyme master himself, Alistair Alphabelly! The DVD includes 3 sing-along songs, short vowel shorts, a curriculum commentary for parents and a music video, “Being a Puppy” featuring Scout.

· LeapFrog: Numbers Ahoy (Ages 3-6)

Tad and Lily need a little number sense to help them get through a complicated game. So their magical firefly friend, Edison, takes them on a fantastical journey under the sea! When a pirate mistakenly captures their cute puppy pal Scout, they must use their new understanding of counting, grouping and estimating to rescue him. Join them as they navigate the deep and face foes such as sharks, crab henchmen-even Pirate Pythagoras himself-and begin to see numbers in a whole new way! The DVD includes 4 sing-along songs, short vowel shorts, a curriculum commentary for parents and a music video, “Being a Puppy” featuring Scout.

Pricing: DVD $14.98 each

Triggerman

Western legend Western legend Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity) and veteran character actor Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) meet again as Lionsgate premieres Triggerman on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand this January. Fans of the Spaghetti Western will enjoy this compelling story of a legendary poker playing outlaw, Triggerman, who saddles up to take on the wildest gambling tournament in the west. Not one to let anything come between him and a winning hand, Triggerman sees action away from the cards in a violent showdown as bandits try to cheat their way to the finals.

Pricing: DVD $26.98