From time to time we will have home video and streaming release news here on Genre Grinder and I can think of no better place to start than with Scream Factory's latest Hammer and Universal horror Blu-ray announcements, as recently seen on the studio's Facebook and Twitter.
First up is Terence Fisher's Frankenstein Created Woman with a planned release date of June 11th. Scream Factory states the following:
• Release will come with a slipcover (guaranteed for three months after its original release date).
• The newly-commissioned artwork pictured comes to us from Mark Maddox (Dracula: Prince of Darkness). This art will be front-facing and the reverse side of the wrap will the original theatrical poster design.
• Extras and specs are still in progress and will be announced later in May.
John Gilling's The Reptile will arrive on July 30th: "A deadly epidemic is spreading through the remote Cornish village of Clagmoor Heath. As darkness falls, its victims are found foaming at the mouth with savage wounds on their necks. After his brother falls prey to the "black death," Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett, Terror From Under The House) travels with his new wife (Jennifer Daniel, The Kiss of the Vampire) to Clagmoor to investigate his sibling's mysterious death. With little help from the unfriendly locals, Harry follows a trail of clues that leads him to the sinister Dr. Franklyn (Noel Willman, The Vengeance Of She), the doctor's strange, but beautiful daughter (Jacqueline Pearce, Doctor Who) ...and a horrific family secret."
Jimmy Sangster's Lust for a Vampire also arrives July 30th:
"A mysterious man performs the rites of black magic ... bringing the notorious female vampire Carmilla Karnstein back to life. Looking to quench her bloodlust for the fairer sex, she enrolls at an exclusive girl's school as the young debutante Mircalla (Yutte Stensgaard), and begins to feast on her fellow students as well as indulging in her unholy desires for a teacher ...With the death toll mounting at both the school and the nearby village, can anyone stop Carmilla's evil ways?"
Originally revealed as a Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi Collection, Volume 1 of what is said to be an ongoing series of Universal Horror Collections will be released on June 18th. It will include the following films:
Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat
Lew Landers' The Raven
Lambert Hillyer's The Invisible Ray
Arthur Lubin's Black Friday
A second Universal Horror Collection (Volume 2) will be released on July 23rd. The films will include:
A. Edward Sutherland's Murders in the Zoo
Joseph H. Lewis' The Mad Doctor of Market Street
William Nigh's The Strange Case of Doctor RX
James P. Hogan's The Mad Ghoul
And one more for the road, Jacques Tourneur's The Leopard Man (which we talked about in the Proto-Slasher Podcast), from RKO, is getting its US BD debut on July 16th:
"Is it man, beast or both behind a string of savage maulings and murders? An escaped leopard provides the catalyst for a foray into fear in which a cemetery is the rendezvous for death and love, and a closed door heightens rather than hides the horror of a young girl's fate. The Leopard Man once again teams producer Val Lewton with director Jacques Tourneur (Cat People). This thriller stars Dennis O'Keefe (T-Men, Raw Deal), Margo (Lost Horizon) and Jean Brooks (The Seventh Victim)."
