Whether we like it or not the Nicholas Sparks movies haven’t lost steam. Even when they’re flops, they’re still somehow tapping in to the life line of female movie goers, giving movie studios even more of a reason to adapt Sparks’ dramas about gorgeous Caucasian people with no actual problems, that find love with one another. Their love is, of course, chaste, pure, and innocent, with no real raw looks at the passionate love that become the focus of many of Sparks’ movies. Even posters for his movies show people on the verge of kissing. Nothing more. If aliens ever found these movies as a last remnant of humanity, they’d be convinced humans kissed and mated by rubbing noses together and meeting eyes intently.
Category Archives: Collector’s Den
Cat People (1982): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
When Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneaur conceived “Cat People,” the budget was low for anything truly spectacular, thus allowing them to get creative. Director Paul Schrader definitely has a larger budget and wider scope to deal with, resulting in a fairly forgettable remake. If you can call it a remake, mind you. All the mythology is lost in favor of a hyper sexual retelling that keeps the cat people and removes everything else. “Cat People” definitely fits the nostalgia bill for people who find Nastassja Kinski especially sexy, as Schrader soaks the film in a palette of neon colors and bold bright pastels while Giorgio Moroder’s score blares non-stop.
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (2010) [Blu-Ray]
If you’re still convinced that you’ve read everything to do with “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” then tune in to “Never Sleep Again,” and you might find a surprise or two. As a jaded horror geek convinced he’d heard it all, “Never Sleep Again” spared many a shocking anecdote about the making of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and its entire legacy. From its sequels, spin off, and misguided but notable cultural influence, “Never Sleep Again” never misses a beat and promises something entirely new for the horror fan interested in a refresher course in Freddy Krueger. After being on DVD since 2010, Image Entertainment releases the acclaimed and award winning documentary on Blu-Ray for folks anxious to indulge in Krueger on Blu.
Nightbreed (1990): The Director’s Cut [Blu-ray/DVD]
Thanks to the advent of home entertainment and a wonderful company like Scream Factory, director Clive Barker is finally able to realize his original vision for the cult horror film “Nightbreed.” While the film itself has gained momentum and respect over the years as a dark and morbid tale of monsters from the underworld facing human cruelty, Barker’s experience making the movie was a bitter one he often recollected with anger and sadness. With his Director’s Cut, he’s not only able to salvage old footage that he was forced to edit out of his narrative, but he re-structures “Nightbreed” in to practically an entirely new movie. One that’s better than the original cut.
Big Ass Spider! (2013) (DVD)
Greg Grunberg is usually the go to guy to play your empathetic average Joe turned hero, and director Mike Mendez’s horror comedy, Grunberg is at his best. Playing under appreciated exterminator Alex Mathis, he’s prone to taking his job very seriously and provided with little to no rewards for his hard work. After a spider bite lands him in the hospital, little does he or anyone know that a vicious venomous spider has hijacked a corpse and has now broken loose.
4 Movie Collection: Return of the Vampire/Revenge of Frankenstein/Mr. Sardonicus/Brotherhood of Satan (DVD)
Mill Creek offers up a cheapie four movie set for horror fans looking to save bucks while also collecting four interesting horror movies. The four movie set here garners three really notable horror movies, and one horror movie that’s simply there to take up a slot, I assume. There are no perfect movie sets, of course. Even ones for the cheap skate horror fans looking to rake in the volume for little money.
Crave (2013)
I really wanted to like Charles de Lauzirika’s “Crave,” because while it is painfully boring, it plants seeds for some chaos and havoc when it begins. The problem is that it never follows through on those seedlings of story potential. At least Charles de Lauzirika doesn’t seem to know how. What could be a demented look at a descent in to darkness turns in to a soapy, dripping melodrama with a hint of violence added all for a very lame pay off.



