Sep 2, 2021
“Death Screams” Gets a Blu-Ray Upgrade from Arrow Video
Deep cut slasher fans will have something to celebrate later this year. A brand-new transfer of Death Screams will be available on disc soon, September 14th from Arrow Video and then on their streaming service Arrow Player in October!
The film follows a small community during the last night of a local carnival a day after a young couple is murdered near the town’s riverbank. The bodies float downriver, still to be discovered, but the town’s priorities rest with giving the carnival a proper sendoff. Couples young and old attempt to impress their better halves, dates and so on by demonstrating their prowess of the usual carnival games, the narrative weaving between the different characters as they interact naturally with each other.
Later that evening, a group of kids get together to spend time at the nearby river for an old-fashioned bonfire party. But among them may be the killer looking for their next victim — of which they blame for every misfortune in their life, and they are in the perfect secluded spot for the killer to make the next move.
Death Screams has less of a traditional procedural nature to its relatives in the slasher sub-genre. It instead gives way to a picture of a day in the life of the small-town community. It’s an intriguing framing of something that would otherwise be so forgettable but for the fact that the characters truly feel real, as well as their desires and fears.
It does what a lot of slashers try to accomplish and fail and that’s introduce characters in a way that feels natural and not as a two-dimensional instrument that exists to further plot. There is in fact no real plot, and by being placed in the middle of this small community you feel immersed in it even when you’re hanging out with the kids at the carnival with their mating displays, the riverbank getting drunk and stoned, and the cemetery listening to spooky stories. It’s a successfully spun hangout slasher that reads as an ode to the twilight of summer.
The upcoming physical and streaming release from Arrow will be a must-watch for all slasher fans, whether for the die-hard completionist or those who want to explore new avenues the horror genre can offer.
Details on the physical release are below, as well as a link to preorder the physical release from Arrow directly.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
Brand new 2K restoration from an archival 35mm print
Original uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with producer Charles Ison and special effects artist Worth Keeter moderated by filmmaker Phil Smoot
Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
All the Fun of the Scare: The Making of Death Screams — newly-produced making-of documentary featuring interviews with producer Charles Ison, special effects artist Worth Keeter, writer Paul Elliott, actors Hanns Manship and Curt Rector, actor/producer’s assistant/assistant supervising editor Sharon Alley and actor/talent wrangler Robert “Billy Bob” Melton
TV and Radio Spots
Image Galleries
House of Death Alternate VHS Opening Titles
Two versions of the screenplay under the original title of Night Screams [BD-ROM content]
Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork and a newly-commissioned reimagining of the original VHS artwork by Sadist Art Designs presented with die-cut slipcover
Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brian Albright
