Review by Roger Carpenter
My guess is that all true movie lovers have a list of films which remain unavailable on a decent DVD or Blu-Ray release and for which they are waiting for some company to pick up and give it a nice release. This was true for me regarding The Slayer. I first saw the film in the early-to-mid-eighties on a VHS double-bill with Fred Olen Ray’s Scalps. Both films were pretty terrible quality but both were fun in their own way and I duped both and kept them for a long time. Scalps has long since been on DVD (and recently Blu-Ray), and I have long owned a copy of that film which I still pull out from time to time and watch again. But my dupe of The Slayer died decades ago and I hadn’t viewed the film in a long time…...
My guess is that all true movie lovers have a list of films which remain unavailable on a decent DVD or Blu-Ray release and for which they are waiting for some company to pick up and give it a nice release. This was true for me regarding The Slayer. I first saw the film in the early-to-mid-eighties on a VHS double-bill with Fred Olen Ray’s Scalps. Both films were pretty terrible quality but both were fun in their own way and I duped both and kept them for a long time. Scalps has long since been on DVD (and recently Blu-Ray), and I have long owned a copy of that film which I still pull out from time to time and watch again. But my dupe of The Slayer died decades ago and I hadn’t viewed the film in a long time…...
- 10/12/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Is It A Nightmare? Or Is It… The Slayer?
The Slayer (1983) will be available on Blu-ray + DVD August 29th From Arrow Video
One of the most sought-after titles for slasher fans everywhere, The Slayer finally rises from the ashes of obscurity in a brand new 4K transfer courtesy of Arrow Video.
Two young couples set off to a secluded island for what promises to be a restful retreat. But the peace is short-lived: as a storm batters the island, troubled artist Kay begins to sense that a malevolent presence is here with them, stalking them at every turn. Is she losing her mind, or are her childhood nightmares of a demonic assailant coming to terrifying life?
Previously only available on home video in truncated or full screen versions, The Slayer – whose nightmares-seeping-into-reality theme predates a certain Wes Craven classic by several years – comes lovingly restored from the original negative in...
The Slayer (1983) will be available on Blu-ray + DVD August 29th From Arrow Video
One of the most sought-after titles for slasher fans everywhere, The Slayer finally rises from the ashes of obscurity in a brand new 4K transfer courtesy of Arrow Video.
Two young couples set off to a secluded island for what promises to be a restful retreat. But the peace is short-lived: as a storm batters the island, troubled artist Kay begins to sense that a malevolent presence is here with them, stalking them at every turn. Is she losing her mind, or are her childhood nightmares of a demonic assailant coming to terrifying life?
Previously only available on home video in truncated or full screen versions, The Slayer – whose nightmares-seeping-into-reality theme predates a certain Wes Craven classic by several years – comes lovingly restored from the original negative in...
- 8/15/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This August, Arrow Video enters the deranged mind of Herbert West with their limited edition 4K restoration of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (which was initially slated for a July 25th release), and we now have the full list of special features for the anticipated release, along with two other horror Blu-rays coming out this month from Arrow: The Slayer and a limited edition steelbook of Society.
Press Release: The summer really hots up in August, as Arrow Video releases a special edition of an 80s classic, a white-knuckle thriller, a splatter horror masterpiece, a box set of crime classics, a rare Italian sword-and-sandal epic, and an amazing new limited edition steelbook.
First up, one of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon's enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features. According to the distributor (Mvd), this awesome package is officially sold out already,...
Press Release: The summer really hots up in August, as Arrow Video releases a special edition of an 80s classic, a white-knuckle thriller, a splatter horror masterpiece, a box set of crime classics, a rare Italian sword-and-sandal epic, and an amazing new limited edition steelbook.
First up, one of the most wildly popular horror movies of all-time, Stuart Gordon's enduring splatter-comedy classic Re-Animator returns to Blu-ray in a stunning restoration packed with special features. According to the distributor (Mvd), this awesome package is officially sold out already,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
NEW YORK -- Early on in "The Covenant", one of the main characters, a teenager with supernatural powers, performs a dangerous stunt and proclaims, "Harry Potter can kiss my ass!"
Fat chance. This woeful horror flick directed by the formerly estimable Renny Harlin is mainly notable for the good looks of its hard-bodied young stars. Not that you get to see too much of them because like so many recent horror films, this one was kept to the gore and nudity restrictions of a PG-13. The film opened Friday sans press screenings.
The story, such as it is, has to do with a group of male students, dubbed the Sons of Ipswich, at a tony New England private school. These youngsters, descendants of the original settlers of the Ipswich Colony in the 1600s (the time of the Salem Witch Trials, natch), are gifted with supernatural powers that really kick in when they hit 18, or as they put it, "ascend." The problem is, the powers come with a price because any time they are used, they cause premature aging. Of course, this doesn't stop the rambunctious youths from employing them for such handy purposes as starting a stalled car and lifting up a woman's skirt.
When Chase (Sebastian Stan), a new transfer student, arrives at the school, it becomes evident that he is the long-lost fifth descendent of the Sons of Ipswich and that he is up to no good. This is particularly worrisome to Caleb (Steven Strait), who is all too aware of the danger of his powers because they caused his father's downfall. He and Chase are soon locking horns, with the latter threatening to harm Caleb's beautiful new girlfriend (Laura Ramsey).
Shot in the sort of dark tones that are supposed to convey an air of menace but instead makes one think that the light bulbs are fading in the theater's projector, "Covenant" is devoid of any real scares. Yes, once in a while the boys summon their powers (suggested via the insertion of dark contact lenses) and fly around on wires, and a sequence involving multitudes of spiders might be disturbing for those with arachnophobia. But for the most part, the proceedings are slow, solemn and tedious. The film's most nifty visual effect, depicting the destruction and immediate reassembling of a car after a head-on collision, already has been seen to death in the coming attractions. By the time of the film's climactic battle -- cue the heavy metal music -- most of the audience members at the AMC 42nd Street Theater had settled into a heavy torpor.
The Covenant
Screen Gems Lakeshore Entertainment/Sandstorm Films
Credits:
Director: Renny Harlin
Screenwriter: J.S. Cardone
Executive producers: J.S. Cardone, Andre Lamal, Roger Mincheff, James McQuade, Carol Kottenbrook, Scott Einbinder
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Pierre Gill
Editor: Nicolas de Toth
Production designer: Anne Pritchard
Costume designer: April Napier
Music: Tomandandy
Cast:
Caleb Danvers: Steven Strait
Chase Collins: Sebastian Stan
Sarah Wenham: Laura Ramsey
Pogue Parry: Taylor Kitsch
Reid Garwin: Toby Hemingway
Kate Tunney: Jessica Lucas
Tyler Sims: Chase Crawford
Evelyn Danvers: Wendy Crewson
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 95 minutes...
Fat chance. This woeful horror flick directed by the formerly estimable Renny Harlin is mainly notable for the good looks of its hard-bodied young stars. Not that you get to see too much of them because like so many recent horror films, this one was kept to the gore and nudity restrictions of a PG-13. The film opened Friday sans press screenings.
The story, such as it is, has to do with a group of male students, dubbed the Sons of Ipswich, at a tony New England private school. These youngsters, descendants of the original settlers of the Ipswich Colony in the 1600s (the time of the Salem Witch Trials, natch), are gifted with supernatural powers that really kick in when they hit 18, or as they put it, "ascend." The problem is, the powers come with a price because any time they are used, they cause premature aging. Of course, this doesn't stop the rambunctious youths from employing them for such handy purposes as starting a stalled car and lifting up a woman's skirt.
When Chase (Sebastian Stan), a new transfer student, arrives at the school, it becomes evident that he is the long-lost fifth descendent of the Sons of Ipswich and that he is up to no good. This is particularly worrisome to Caleb (Steven Strait), who is all too aware of the danger of his powers because they caused his father's downfall. He and Chase are soon locking horns, with the latter threatening to harm Caleb's beautiful new girlfriend (Laura Ramsey).
Shot in the sort of dark tones that are supposed to convey an air of menace but instead makes one think that the light bulbs are fading in the theater's projector, "Covenant" is devoid of any real scares. Yes, once in a while the boys summon their powers (suggested via the insertion of dark contact lenses) and fly around on wires, and a sequence involving multitudes of spiders might be disturbing for those with arachnophobia. But for the most part, the proceedings are slow, solemn and tedious. The film's most nifty visual effect, depicting the destruction and immediate reassembling of a car after a head-on collision, already has been seen to death in the coming attractions. By the time of the film's climactic battle -- cue the heavy metal music -- most of the audience members at the AMC 42nd Street Theater had settled into a heavy torpor.
The Covenant
Screen Gems Lakeshore Entertainment/Sandstorm Films
Credits:
Director: Renny Harlin
Screenwriter: J.S. Cardone
Executive producers: J.S. Cardone, Andre Lamal, Roger Mincheff, James McQuade, Carol Kottenbrook, Scott Einbinder
Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi
Director of photography: Pierre Gill
Editor: Nicolas de Toth
Production designer: Anne Pritchard
Costume designer: April Napier
Music: Tomandandy
Cast:
Caleb Danvers: Steven Strait
Chase Collins: Sebastian Stan
Sarah Wenham: Laura Ramsey
Pogue Parry: Taylor Kitsch
Reid Garwin: Toby Hemingway
Kate Tunney: Jessica Lucas
Tyler Sims: Chase Crawford
Evelyn Danvers: Wendy Crewson
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time -- 95 minutes...
- 9/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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