New On Blu: The Resident Evil Films

New this week from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are the Resident Evil films in new Blu-ray editions.

Resident Evil

"Something rotten is brewing beneath the industrial mecca known as Raccoon City. Unknown to its millions of residents, a huge underground bioengineering facility known as The Hive has accidentally unleashed the deadly and mutating T-virus, killing all of its employees. To contain the leak, the governing supercomputer, Red Queen, has sealed all entrances and exits. Now a team of highly-trained super commandos including Rain (Michelle Rodriguez - The Fast and the Furious, Girlfight), Alice (MillaJovovich - The Fifth Element) and Matt (Eric Mabius - Cruel Intentions) must race to penetrate The Hive in order to isolate the T-virus before it overwhelms humanity. To do so, they must get past theRed Queen's deadly defenses, face the flesh-eating undead employees, fight killer mutant dogs and battle The Licker, a genetically mutated savage beast whose strength increases with each of its slain victims."

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

"After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is quickly thrust back into a war raging above ground between the living and the Undead. As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice joins a small band of elite soldiers, led by Valentine (Sienna Guillory, Love Actually) and Carlos (Oded Fehr, The Mummy Returns), enlisted to rescue the missing daughter of Dr. Ashford, the creator of the mutating T-virus. It's a heart-pounding race against time as the group faces off against hordes of blood- thirsty zombies, stealthy Lickers, mutant canines andthe most sinister foe yet. Written and produced by the visionary director of Resident Evil, Paul W.S. Anderson (AVP: Alien vs. Predator) and directed by Alexander Witt, RESIDENT EVIL: Apocalypse is a superior sci-fi suspense sequel."

Resident Evil: Extinction

"Milla Jovovich is back in the third chapter of the hugely successful Resident Evil franchise! This action-packed horror film is set in the Nevada desert and filled with intense special effects and more zombie terror! Las Vegas means fun in the sun. Well? at least the sun is still there. Except for a few rusting landmarks, it looks pretty much like the rest of the desert - or the whole country, for that matter. The crowds are now flesh-eating zombies: the mass undead, the oozing, terrifying sludge of what remains. Here, the newly upgraded Alice, along with her crew (Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Ali Larter, Ashanti) will make a final stand against evil - with one goal: to turn the undead dead again."

Resident Evil: Afterlife

"After a one-woman assault on the Umbrella Corporation's fortress, Alice's (Milla Jovovich) superhuman abilities are neutralized. Now, fleeing the Undead masses created by the T-virus, Alice reunites with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and her brother, Chris (Wentworth Miller). Together they take refuge with other survivors in an abandoned prison, where a savage zombie mob stands between them and the safety of "Arcadia." Escaping these bloodthirsty mutants will take an arsenal. But facing off with Albert Wesker and the Umbrella Corporation will take the fight for survival to a new level of danger."

Resident Evil: Retribution

"The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus is spreading across the globe, transforming ordinary people into legions of undead. Headed for extinction, the human race has just one hope: Alice (Milla Jovovich). She’s on a mission, fighting her way through cities and across continents, all inside Umbrella's prime research facility. Old friends become new enemies as she battles to escape and discovers that everything that she believes may not even be true."

New On Blu: Dead Rising: Endgame

New this week from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is Dead Rising: Endgame, directed by Pat Williams, and starring Jesse Metcalfe, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jessica Harmon, and Dennis Haysbert.

"After narrowly escaping a zombie quarantine, Chase (Jesse Metcalfe) can’t shake the guilt of having left a trusted colleague behind. Now, as he heads back into the quarantine to expose the architects of the outbreak, he will uncover a secret more evil than he could have imagined. With mass annihilation looming, Chase—along with a group of dubious allies—slices, hacks and bludgeons his way through the zombie hordes that plague the abandoned city. Our heroes will have to confront their most gruesome nightmares in order to save millions of innocent lives, including their own. Also stars Dennis Haysbert, Billy Zane, Marie Avgeropoulos (“The 100”) and Keegan Connor Tracy (“Once Upon a Time”)."

Dead Rising: Endgame is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Amazon Video.

New On Blu: Return of the Living Dead 3

New this week from Lionsgate is the Vestron Video Collector's Series edition of Return of the Living Dead 3, directed by Brian Yuzna, and starring J. Trevor Edmond, Mindy Clarke, James T. Callahan, Sarah Douglas, and Kent McCord.

"In RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: PART II, the chemical Trioxin turned people into flesh-eating zombies. Now, the government is trying to control these unstoppable cannibalistic killers in RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3. When a young man uses the chemical to bring his girlfriend back to life after a motorcycle accident, she is driven to eat the only thing that will nourish her... human brains! She tries to stop her own feeding frenzy but a chain reaction has already begun, as hordes of undead are unleashed from their graves!"

Special features include:

Audio Commentary with Director Brian Yuzna
Audio Commentary with Star Melinda Clarke and Special Effects Supervisor Tom Rainone
Ashes To Ashes – A Conversation with Director Brian Yuzna and Screenwriter John Penney
Living Dead Girl – An interview with Actress Melinda Clarke
Romeo Is Bleeding – An Interview with Actor J. Trevor Edmond
Trimark & Trioxin – Interviews with Production Executive David Tripet and Editor Chris Roth
The Resurrected Dead – Interviews with Special Make-up Effects Designers Steve Johnson and Chris Nelson
Storyboard Gallery
Still Gallery

Return of the Living Dead 3 is available now on Blu-ray.

New On Blu: Bride of Re-Animator (2-Disc Special Edition)

New this week from Arrow Video is the 2-Disc Special Edition of Bride of Re-Animator, directed by Brian Yuzna, and starring Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiana Udenio, and Kathleen Kinmont.

"The success of Stuart Gordon’s hit horror-comedy Re-animator meant that a sequel was all but inevitable. The resulting follow-up, Bride of Re-animator – this time helmed by director Brian Yuzna (Society, Return of the Living Dead 3) – would prove that there was a good deal more life left in the story of Dr. Herbert West and his ghoulish exploits.

It is 8 years since the Miskatonic massacre. Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr. West (again played by Jeffrey Combs) continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan’s dearly deceased, Meg Halsey. Surely nothing could go wrong?

With special effects master Screaming Mad George (the man behind the infamous “shunting” sequence in Society) on hand to contribute a host of characteristically weird and wonderful creations – including zombified bats and a one-eyed finger spider – Bride of re-animator is a more than worthy successor to Gordon’s original cult classic."

This special edition includes:

- Brand new 2K restoration of the Unrated version, approved by director Brian Yuzna

- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

- Brand new audio commentary with Brian Yuzna

- Audio Commentary with Brian Yuzna, star Jeffrey Combs, visual effects supervisor Tom Rainone and the effects team including John Carl Buechler, Mike Deak, Robert Kurtzman, Howard Berger and Screaming Mad George

- Audio Commentary with stars Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott

- Brian Yuzna Remembers Bride of Re-animator brand new featurette in which the director looks back at the making of the first Re-animator sequel

- Splatter Masters: The Special Effects Artists of Bride of Re-animator brand new FX featurette with a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Robert Kurtzman of KNB, Screaming Mad George, Tony Doublin and John Carl Buechler

- Getting Ahead in Horror archive making-of featurette

- Deleted Scenes

- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

Bride of Re-Animator (2-Disc Special Edition) is available now on Blu-ray.

New On Blu: The Astro-Zombies

New this week from Kino Lorber is The Astro-Zombies, directed by Ted V. Mikels, and starring Wendell Corey, John Carradine, Tom Pace, and Tura Satana.

"Newly Re-mastered in HD! A film that has it all… a mad astro-scientist (John Carradine, House of the Long Shadows) reviving corpses at his laboratory; two gore-crazed, solar-powered killer robot zombies; a bloody trail of girl-next-door victims; Chinese communist spies; deadly Mexican secret agents led by the insanely voluptuous Tura Satana (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and intrepid CIA agent Wendell Corey (The Killer is Loose) hot on their trail and trying to figure it all out! This cult favorite was written, produced and directed by cult legend, Ted Mikels (One Shocking Moment, Blood Orgy of the She-Devils) melds into a high-powered fusion the films of Ed Wood, Russ Meyer and George Romero with undead cannibal gore chills… hot-pants sexploitation thrills… '60's sci-fi mumbo-jumbo and Cold War espionage intrigue."

The Astro-Zombies is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

New On Blu: Zombie Resurrection

New this week from FilmRise is Zombie Resurrection, directed by Jake Hawkins and Andy Phelps, and starring Simon Burbage, Eric Colvin, Jim Sweeney, Danny Brown, and Jade Colucci.

"Fifteen months after the apocalypse, a group of survivors is forced to take refuge in an abandoned school, where they encounter a mysterious zombie with the power to bring the undead back to life."

Zombie Resurrection is available now on Blu-ray.

New On Blu: How to Kill a Zombie

New this week from FilmRise is How to Kill a Zombie, directed by Tiffany McLean, and starring Bill Steven McLean, Ben McLean, and Hannah Elaine Perry.

"Mack and Jesse are a father-son survivalist team in the making. A sudden outbreak of zombies centers on an office building, trapping the occupants. Mack and Jesse happen upon the scene on their way to their underground bunker. Against Mack's better judgment, they stop to try to help. The situation becomes grim as zombies breach the building and the office workers are picked off. Mack and Jesse lead the remaining group to safety as they plow through the zombie-infested garage in the company van."

How to Kill a Zombie is available now on Blu-ray.

New On Blu: The Return of the Living Dead (Collector's Edition)

New this week from Scream Factory is The Return of the Living Dead (Collector's Edition), directed by  Dan O'Bannon, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Jewel Shepard, and Linnea Quigley.

"On his first day on the job at a medical supply warehouse, poor Freddy (Thom Mathews) unwittingly releases toxic gas from a secret U.S. military canister, unleashing an unbelievable terror. The gas reanimates an army of corpses, who arise from their graves with a ravenous hunger... for human brains! And luckily for those carnivorous cadavers, there is a group of partying teens nearby, just waiting to be eaten!"

Special features include:

• • 2K Scan Of The Interpositive
  • Audio Commentary With Gary Smart (Co-author Of The Complete History Of The Return Of The Living Dead) And Chris Griffiths
  •  Audio Commentary With Actors Thom Mathews, John Philbin And Make-up Effects Artist Tony Gardner
  • Audio Commentary With Director Dan O'Bannon And Production Designer William Stout
  • Audio Commentary With The Cast And Crew Featuring Production Designer William Stout And Actors Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Brian Peck, Beverly Randolph, Allan Trautman
  • The Decade Of Darkness – Featurette On '80s Horror Films (23 minutes)
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Still Gallery – Posters, Lobby Cards, Movie Stills And Behind-The-Scenes Photos
  • Still Gallery – Behind-The-Scenes Photos From Special Make-up Effects Artist Kenny Myers' Personal Collection
  • Zombie Subtitles For The Film
  • In Their Own Words – The Zombies Speak
  • NEW The FX Of The Living Dead With Production Designer William Stout, FX Make-up Artists William Munns, Tony Gardner, Kenny Myers And Craig Caton-Largnet, Visual Effects Artists Bret Mixon And Gene Warren Jr. And Actor Brian Peck (Expanded Version) (30 minutes)
  • Party Time: The Music Of The Return Of The Living Dead With Music Consultants Budd Carr And Steve Pross And Soundtrack Artists Dinah Cancer (45 Grave), Chris D (The Flesh Eaters), Roky Erickson, Karl Moet (SSQ), Joe Wood (T.S.O.L.), Mark Robertson (Tall Boys) Plus Musicians Greg Hetson (Circle Jerks) And John Sox (The F.U.'s, Straw Dogs) (Expanded Version) (30 minutes)
  • HORROR'S HALLOWED GROUNDS – Revisiting The Locations Of The Film
  • The Return Of The Living Dead Workprint – Includes 20 minutes Of Additional Footage (In Standard Definition)
  • More Brains: A Return To The Living Dead – The Definitive Documentary On The Return Of The Living Dead (120 minutes)
  • A Conversation With Dan O'Bannon – His Final Interview (28 minutes)
  • The Origins Of The Living Dead – An Interview With John A. Russo (16 minutes)
  • The Return Of The Living Dead – The Dead Have Risen – Interviews With Cast Members Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Brian Peck, Thom Mathews, Beverly Randolph, Linnea Quigley And More… (21 minutes)
  • Designing The Dead – Interviews With Writer/Director Dan O'Bannon And Production Designer William Stout (15 minutes)

Scream Factory notes:

"For our new transfer, we went back to the original audio tracks to create a new soundtrack. Unfortunately, one song – “Dead Beat Dance” by The Damned – could not be cleared for inclusion on our release. However, the rest of the soundtrack will contain the audio as heard during the film’s original theatrical run."

The Return of the Living Dead (Collector's Edition) is available now on Blu-ray.