A Love Letter to Arrow Video

Horror fans always go on about the glory days of Anchor Bay Entertainment. I too love the DVDs they released during the early to mid 2000s, and I also have a great appreciation for the rate at which the released them. At that time, they were like a geyser of fantastic DVDs for great and, at that time, unappreciated films that desperately needed a company like Anchor Bay to come along and save them from obscurity.

For me, the "Dawn of the Dead" four-disc ultimate edition DVD was their last great release, and is indeed one of, if not the greatest, DVDs ever released in the U.S. However, after that point, they slowed down with the classics and started putting out independent horror films. I can't say that this is a bad thing, because, at that point, the well had seemingly run dry for little-known classics, and these independents would probably go completely unreleased and unnoticed if it had not been for Anchor Bay. However, since that time, Anchor Bay has somewhat fallen by the wayside to companies like Blue Underground, Synapse Films, and Severin Films, these are all very good companies as well, but, for me at least, there seemed to be something missing. I don't know, maybe I'm just not a fan of extremely disturbing films or sexy euro-sleaze, and don't get it, but I felt like a company needed to come along and truly pick up the slack for Anchor Bay. Thankfully, Arrow Video came along and did just that.

If you don't already know, the aforementioned company is certainly a gem of one that specializes in cult, horror, classic, and world cinema. They seem to release at least a couple of titles each month. What is so fantastic about them, however, is that you can tell that they truly care about the films they release and want to put them out in the best editions possible. The packaging is always top-notch and they usually load their releases with a whole host of wonderful features. Sure, they're a British company, so that means you will have to pay just a bit more for shipping and you'll have to break out your region-free player, but come on, if you are reading this blog, then you most likely already have one.

In closing, please support Arrow Video so that they can stay alive and keep releasing horror gems in editions that truly do them justice. As always, I'll see you next time.

May in July? You bet.

Last night I had the pleasure of stumbling upon a film which has somehow eluded me for years. That film is a great one that deserves much more praise than it receives.

That film is May. Oh yes, if you haven't seen it, I know what you're thinking, "Isn't that the movie about the vet and the doll?" Well, yes, it is, but there are many reasons why this movie is one that is very worthy of your time. Some of these reasons include but are not limited to: Angela Bettis' at times wonderfully quirky, at times horrifyingly lonely portrayal of May, a girl who just wants a friend, Lucky Mckee's wonderful way of presenting how madness can slowly envelope of a person, and the great, moody soundtrack that, in a way, punctuates the film's scenes of love, sadness, and maddening rage.

However, what really makes this movie stand out is its very clever structure. The story in itself is so interesting and moving, that I, for one, completely forgot about it being a horror film until the last fifteen hit me like a ton of bricks. Also, if you have OnDemand, you can check out may for free on FearNet So, there you go. I hope this is an honorable inaugural blog post. lease tell me what you think. Rock on, friends!