Coming to DVD & Blu-ray in May: Mama and ABCs of Death!

Next month, you can snap up either of these two major horror releases wherever movies are sold: The Guillermo del Toro produced MAMA comes to DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Home Video. I haven't seen it myself but it seems that most people liked it... until they saw the disappointing ending. Here's more info on the film and the specs on the DVD and Blu-ray:

From Academy Award® nominated actress Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Help) comes the pulse-pounding tale of one mother’s twisted love in MAMA. Brought to life by Academy Award® nominee Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and also starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”), MAMA will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on May 7, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Also available on Digital Download on April 23, 2013.

MAMA is the haunting tale of two little girls who vanish without a trace from their suburban neighborhood the day that their parents were killed. But when the young sisters are found alive years later in a decrepit cabin, their uncle (Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Chastain), take them in. As they try to introduce the children to a normal life, Annabel begins to wonder if the traumatized girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home or if someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night.

The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack allows fans to watch MAMA anytime, anywhere on the device of their choice. It includes a Blu-ray™ disc, a DVD, a Digital Copy and UltraViolet™ for the ultimate, complete viewing experience.

· Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound.

· Digital Copy provides fans with a choice of digital options to watch on devices such as iPhone®, iPad®, Android™, computers and more.

· DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing the movie in more places, both at home and while away.

· UltraViolet™ is a revolutionary new way for fans to collect their moves and TV shows in the cloud. UltraViolet™ lets consumers instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers and TVs. Now available in both the United States and Canada.

BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY™ and DVD):
* MATRIARCAL SECRETS BD EXCLUSIVE: An in-depth exploration of the digital and practical effects employed to shape the film’s phantom presence.

* DELETED SCENES with Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti.

* ORIGINAL SHORT WITH INTRODUCTION BY GUILLERMO DEL TORO with Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti.

* THE BIRTH OF MAMA: MAMA began as a chilling short that announced a new voice in the horror genre. Exclusive interviews with Executive Producer Guillermo del Toro and the filmmakers track the bloodline of the feature and explore changes needed to make the transition to a film.

* FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti.

PRE-ORDER ON DVD AT AMAZON.COM FOR $19.86!
PRE-ORDER ON BLU-RAY AT AMAZON.COM FOR $23.86!

What?! They removed the baby from the cover art?!

Also coming out in May is "The ABCs of Death" (read my review HERE) which has built itself a sturdy cult May 21st, and features 26 short films from 26 different directors from around the world.
following. This (in my opinion) failed cinematic experiment is coming to DVD and Blu-ray through Magnet Releasing on

Here are the special features that both the DVD and Blu-ray releases will contain:

* 11(DVD)/14 (BR) Behind the Scenes, Making-ofs and Deleted Scenes.

* Filmmaker Commentary (Over 30 Filmmakers).

* BD-Live Feature Exclusive to Blu-ray – Additional Short Film Contest Submissions.

I'd probably pick it up for the making-ofs and commentaries alone, just to get some insight into why all of these filmmakers chose the topics and made the artistic decisions that were displayed in their final products. While I admittedly only enjoyed a handful of the short films (about six out of the twenty-six), I'd love to have some of my curiosity sated.

Also, not to be a stickler, but why was the baby photoshopped out of the cover art? That sort of propelled me to actively seek the movie out and watch it... now the artwork just looks... generic.

Once again, THE ABCS OF DEATH hits DVD and Blu-ray on May 21st. You can pre-order yourself a copy by clicking on the links below.

PRE-ORDER THE DVD AT AMAZON.COM FOR $24.28!
PRE-ORDER THE BLU-RAY AT AMAZON.COM FOR $19.99!

Quickie Review: "The ABCs of Death"

As you may recall, I wrote about "The ABCs of Death" a while back in my last INDIE FILMS YOU SHOULD BE STOKED FOR article. When I first heard of the project, I was quite excited for it. The poster was extremely cool, and the concept was something that hasn't really been done before (at least not on such a large scale). Twenty-six Horror directors signed on, got a letter of the alphabet, and had to come up with a short based off the letter. (For example: A is for Apocalypse.)

Well it came out on Video on Demand this past week, and I couldn't help myself. I just had to give this a look! Plus, I'd rather spend ten bucks now instead of twenty-five later when it came out on Blu-ray, especially if it sucked. Last night, I took the plunge, paid my "pre-theatrical rental" fee, and sat through two hours of total "what the f*ck" cinema.

So how was it you may be wondering? Well... pretty disappointing actually. I'd say that out of the twenty-six shorts, I only really liked about five or six of them. I'm not saying the rest were all horrible, but some were just too weird (all of the Asian ones) or too artsy ("O is for Orgasm") for their own good. Here are some of the better shorts:

C is for CYCLE
This one was kind of cool; I was honestly expecting this one to be C for Clone. Multiple realities merge when a guy witnesses his own murder.... by himself. Is he having a glimpse of the future? Is he about to be replaced by an evil doppelganger or twisted twin brother? It is never really revealed, but hey I'm cool with that because this was a cool idea.

D is for Dogfight
This one was pretty weird. A guy prepares for an underground dogfight against an actual dog. As he and the hound trade blows and bites, they eventually stop and turn on their abusive masters. This was gritty and cool. Still wondering if the guy that was fighting the dog, was actually a dog the entire time?

H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion
This one was INSANE and I loved it! It's World War II and a fighter pilot walks into a bar to catch a stripshow. The twist? The pilot is an anthropomorphic dog, and the stripper is a fox... literally! It's a twisted cartoon brought to life, with the brave pilot being captured and nearly tortured to death by the Nazi fox-woman in disguise. Is is weird for me to find a weird human/fox hybrid sexy? Hahaha.

This ain't Disney's "Fox and the Hound!"

Q is for Quack
Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett think outside the box on this one. Filmed as a "behind-the-scenes" video of their creation of their "Q short," the two brainstorm but can't come up with anything. Eventually they decide to snuff a duck on camera with some funny results.

T is for Toilet
After sitting through a lot of toilet and sh*t-themed shorts (seriously, a lot of these directors have a toilet/bodily fluids fetish), here was one that I could get behind. Lee Hardcastle, the genius behind "The Thing" and "The Raid" with claymation cats,  tells us the story of a child that's afraid to use the toilet. This short was picked in a contest hosted by Drafthouse Films; you can check it out for yourself below.


V is for Vagitus
This one really took the ball and ran with it. Set in a dystopian future where childbirth is controlled by the people in power, we watch as a police officer and her GIANT ROBOTIC PARTNER WITH A FORE-ARM MOUNTED MINI-GUN break into a warehouse and start gunning people down. The crime? Having a child without government consent. There's a lot more to this short film that I won't spoil, but after all the other toilet humor and weirdness, this one was a breath of fresh air.

So what about the rest? Well some are mediocre, some are OK, and many are just plain... f*cked.... up. Noboru Iguchi's "F is for Fart" is insanely bizarre and had me staring slack-jawed at the screen. Timo Tjahjanto's "L is for Libido" is perhaps the most f*cked up short in the entire anthology. A guy is stuck in a life-or-death game where he has to masturbate and reach climax before his competitor. The thing is, they have to whack-off to some truly disturbing stuff, like masturbating amputees and child rape. It's really disturbing and shocking and kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

"X is for XXL" features an overweight woman being brutally picked on by everyone that sees her. When she arrives home, she stuffs her face with food, then goes into the bathroom with a knife and begins hacking off her fatty flesh. Then there's "W is for WTF!" which totally lives up to its name, and "Z is for Zetsumetsu" which is full of mutants, penises, and capped off with a parody of "Dr. Strangelove."

Now I'm all for filmmakers taking a chance on making something different, and like I said earlier, the concept is really cool, but in the end "The ABCs of Death" just didn't do it for me. The good shorts are too few, and the majority of them are obsessed with bodily-fluids other than blood. It's a movie that'll have you laughing one minute, staring in shock another, and will ultimately have you asking "What the f*ck is wrong with Asians?!"

Do I recommend "The ABCs of Death?" No, not really, but there are a few diamonds in the rough so it isn't a total waste of two hours. In the end, it was all one gloriously failed experiment. There is definite room for improvement in the future though, and I am totally ready to embrace a followup film. But next time guys and gals, could you please toss more blood and less poop at the screen?