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July 7^th:

Kicking off this dry, dry month for retail horror are two straight-to-DVD shrugs; ONE MISSED CALL 3 and DEAD WOOD.  I’ve no opinion one way or the other regarding any of them.

Next up is a weird new issue of NEAR DARK, fully equipped with a TWILIGHT heavy face lift on the cover.

Slightly more interesting is the Lions Gate release of the Dennis Quad starring serial killers of the apocalypse flick HORSEMEN, which you may recall as being the first non-remake film produced by Platinum Dunes.  You may also recall that its theatrical release earlier this year was practically non-existant.

Also from Platinum Dunes today is the David Goyer scripted/directed THE UNBORN (review).  It is a dreadful movie that will no doubt receive no improvements from the unrated DVD.  But hey, at least it’s the most fun I’ve had reviewing a movie in a long time.

That brings us to the only interesting title of the week, Alex Proyas’ KNOWING.  By no means can this be qualified as horror, unless you curl up into a ball at the sight of Nicolas Cage, but it is a surprising piece of Hollywood science fiction despite starring The Forehead.  Perhaps it is because I had dismissed the movie about numbers predicting disasters as being too much CGI mumbo-jumbo, but KNOWING actually has an impressive, despotic brand of legit science fiction behind.  It still has a few goofy Hollywood inclusions, like lame lovey-dovey quirks between Cage and his son, but other than that it is a script I would not have expected a major studio to jump on.

I’ll go ahead and call KNOWING the new MOTHMAN PROPHECIES.  If you’re doubtful as I was, give it a rent, but if you’re a Blu buyer I think it gets my push.

July 14^th:

I missed THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT in theaters, though not for complete disinterest.  I like Kyle Gallner and I’m always game for poltergeists with an affinity for farmhouses, even if the general response was unenthusiastic.

For unquestionable thrills, though, you’ve gotta go with [REC] (review), which finally has its official US Region 1 DVD release on the 14th.  I actually have a copy of this stateside disc on my desk right now, which boasts a nice Making of as well as an English dub track in addition to the original language Spanish with English subs.  This was the first I’d heard of the English dub track, which really begs the question why Screen Gems didn’t just save some cash and release the dub of the release instead of spending millions on QUARANTINE (review); I think it probably would have made just as much moolah.

And for those who like to toss money around, pick up DEVIL GIRL on DVD or I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER on Blu-ray.

July 21^st:

Ugh.  Don’t even bother going to the store this week.  When the biggest title is THE MESSENGERS 2: THE SCARECROW, you know it’s a bad week.  Those still inclined to pad a Netflix queue can grab SKELETON CREW, BUNDY or GHOST MONTH.

July 28^th:

More padding, though this time with some catalog releases.  STD of the week goes to NECESSARY EVIL (damn you, Lance Henriksen!).  Troma puts out the previously mentioned special edition of COMBAT SHOCK.  Elsewhere one can find a Criterion Collection of Roman Polanski’s REPULSION, as well as non Criterion releases of THE 10TH VICTIM and TORSO.

A new, though relatively unpraised, entry to the arena of Australian shockers is ACOLYTES, about a group of teens that unwisely black mail a serial killer.  It may not have gotten a ton of supporters on the fest circuit (though I always trust Todd Brown at Twitch’s opinion, and he dug it), but I’m very intrigued by the new breed of horror coming out of Australia and New Zealand these days, so I’ll definitely be reviewing Jon Hewitt’s film by the end of the month.

Oh, and for those Whedonites out there, DOLLHOUSE Seaosn 1 is out.  Show got off to a rough start, but things smoothed out over the course of the first season.

1. ACOLYTES
2. [REC]
3. KNOWING
4. THE HORSEMEN
5. REPULSION
6. THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT

Tags: Acoyltes, Alex Proyas, Bundy, COMBAT SHOCK, Dead Wood, Devil Girl, Dollhouse, Ghost Month, Horsemen, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, KNOWING, Messengers 2, NEAR DARK, Necessary Evil, One Missed Call 3, Platinum Dunes, Repulsion, Screen Gems, SKELETON CREW, the 10th Victim, THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, THE UNBORN, Torso, [REC]