{"id":25328,"date":"2017-05-22T15:04:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T19:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=25328"},"modified":"2017-05-22T15:04:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T19:04:12","slug":"house-two-stories-blu-ray-2-disc-limited-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/22\/house-two-stories-blu-ray-2-disc-limited-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"House: Two Stories [Blu-ray] (2-Disc Limited Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Arrow Video is easily one of the best movie distributors around, and if you ask certain movie buffs collectors, they\u2019d argue that they\u2019re the best, period. I can\u2019t decide as Arrow Video has been on a mission for the last few years to deliver fans some of the most unique movie titles on blu-ray and DVD, and offer them in deluxe collector\u2019s packages that would make most cineastes hyperventilate out of sheer excitement. Arrow Video has taken it upon themselves to offer fans the two tales of \u201cHouse,\u201d two films that were big movie rental fodder in their heydays and are now brought together for what is a heavily suggested anthology. Arrow Video combines two of the true \u201cHouse\u201d movies that are\u2014ironically\u2014about as different from each other as the last two \u201cHouse\u201d movies.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHouse\u201d is a darkly comic horror movie about personal demons, and \u201cHouse 2\u201d is a dark fantasy film about a kind old miner ghost protecting a sacred skull with his grandson. And there\u2019s a dog like worm from another world, and it\u2019s also a buddy comedy or something. In either case, they\u2019re brought together fully restored, with crisp sound and some neat special features for fans of both films.<\/p>\n

1986\u2019s \u201cHouse\u201d from Steve Miner is an oddity of a movie that\u2019s darkly comic and tends to be also very creepy at times. The eighties were filled with entertainment that vented the frustration of the Vietnam war and the accompanying trauma of young men coming out of the war. William Katt plays Roger Cobb, the very example as a man who endured a life of stress and pain. As a famed author, he\u2019s now seeking solitude after surviving the Vietnam war, losing his son in an apparent drowning at his aunt\u2019s house, and splitting up with his beloved wife. Years later he moves in to his aunt\u2019s old house after she mysteriously commits suicide and decides to buy it and use it as a means of inspiration for his writer\u2019s block. Hoping to finish a book about his experiences in Vietnam, he\u2019s still haunted by the loss of his friends.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worse is that the house he\u2019s in is seemingly alive, and is filled with all kinds of monsters. These various monsters seem hell bent on tormenting Roger about his dreaded past. What\u2019s worse is he has to put up with a nosey neighbor, as played by George Wendt, who decides to help him find out the mystery of the house. Roger is never sure if the house haunted, or if his PTSD is driving him mad, but when his aunt comes back to tell him his son is alive and in the house\u2019s dimension, he goes on an uneasy journey. Miner\u2019s film is filled with wonderful special effects, and make up effects that are still just stunning to look at. Especially considering he never hides them in the shadows, and often revels in their grotesque detail. There\u2019s even Richard Moll\u2019s iconic undead soldier who looks downright horrific when he\u2019s on a rampage.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re never sure until the final half is Roger is going insane or if the house is sentient, which increases the mystique significantly. \u201cHouse\u201d is a fine eighties amalgam of genres and sub-genres. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d call it a masterpiece, but it is fine.<\/p>\n

1987\u2019s \u201cHouse II: The Second Story\u201d is a light hearted fantasy bordering on a family film, and it\u2019s absolutely abysmal. The comedy is flat, the acting stinks, and the only sympathetic character in the bunch is whiny. It has a cute worm from another world that barks like a dog, and a cute dodo bird, as well as a kindly old miner ghost who spins yarns for our two hapless characters. This time around \u201cHouse II\u201d pairs two men about the heinous mansion and includes a lot of new devices without ever properly realizing them. The pair of characters can go in new dimensions and lands through the house but they only go as far as a jungle. Meanwhile John Ratzenberger (another \u201cCheers\u201d cast member) comes on board as an electrician\/adventurer who goes along with characters Jesse and Charlie. He has a tool box, you see, that also has a secret compartment with a cutlass sword in it. Because that\u2019s how stuff works!<\/p>\n

Jesse has a large family history with his mansion in connection to his family and seeks to uncover some mythical artifact. Meanwhile puts up with obnoxious house guests that include Amy Yasbeck, Bill Maher, and Lar Park Lincoln as his long suffering wife. \u201cHouse 2\u201d feels less like a sequel, and more like an extended segment to \u201cAmazing Stories.\u201d All of the interesting subtext and undertones are cut out in favor of whimsy, slapstick comedy, and even a scene where Jesse\u2019s great great granddad ghost\/zombie has a party in their house. All the demons and monsters and menaces are switched with \u201cOoh look a cute worm!\u201d and \u201cAw! That dodo is crabby!\u201d Ethan Wiley\u2019s \u201cHouse II\u201d is a stinker with mild camp appeal, but it\u2019s so much tougher to sit through than the first film.<\/p>\n

Both films are packed in plastic BD cases with 2K restorations each, and tucked in a box with a 60 page companion book with new writings on the \u201cHouse\u201d series by Simon Barber, along with a ton of archive material. For the \u201cHouse\u201d disc, there\u2019s an audio commentary with Director Steve Miner, Producer Sean S. Cunningham, actor William Katt and screenwriter Ethan Wiley, all of whom are fun to listen to, with Miner leading the charge. \u201cDing Dong, You\u2019re Dead! The Making of House\u201d is an over hundred minute massive documentary that makes the whole set so worth it, as the filmmakers cover the script (originally from Fred freaking Dekker), to cast, production, creature effects, right down to music and stunts.<\/p>\n

There are even appearances from George Wendt and Kane Hodder. The \u201cVintage Making Of\u201d is a twenty four minute carry over from back in the eighties and is still some retro fun. There\u2019s an SD Still Gallery, various teaser and theatrical trailers, as well as a variety of TV spots. For the \u201cHouse II\u201d disc, there\u2019s an audio commentary with Writer\/Director Ethan Wiley and producer Sean S. Cunningham. \u201cIt\u2019s Getting Weirder! The Making of House II: The Second Story\u201d is an almost hour long documentary about the making of \u201cHouse II\u201d and offers an honest look at the movie\u2019s legacy. Not even the creature effects artists know what the hell the movie is about. The documentary covers a wealth of topics for people interested in this abysmal movie. Finally, there\u2019s an old school EPK with Ratzenberger, a stills gallery, the original theatrical trailer, and a TV Spot.<\/p>\n