April 29, 2013

'Motel Hell' coming to Blu-ray from Arrow


May 13th will see one of my favorite films hit Blu-ray for the first time. That's right, Arrow Video will be releasing Motel Hell on to Blu-ray and DVD. The release comes with a reversible sleeve and a ton of extras, so let's round up those critters and make Farmer Francis some fritters!


WORLDWIDE BLU-RAY PREMIERE!
MONDAY 13th MAY 2013

Arrow Video are pleased to announce the long-awaited UK Blu-ray & DVD release of Kevin Connor’s horror-comedy masterpiece MOTEL HELL on Monday May 13th 2013.
Fully restored and finally available on Blu-ray for the very first time (anywhere in the world),MOTEL HELL is a prime cut of 1980’s cult cinema. Directed by Englishman Kevin Connorand starring a host of drive-in movie legends, it’s a bloody, gruesome and horrific barrel of laughs.

As with previous critically acclaimed releases, including George A. Romero’s “Knightriders”, Mario Bava’s “Baron Blood” and Lucio Fulci’s “Zombie Flesh Eaters”MOTEL HELL has been given the “Arrow treatment”. In addition to the beautiful high-def restoration, this deluxe Blu-ray & DVD dual format edition will come complete with a wealth of special features and bonus material, including director’s audio commentary and filmed interviews with cast members, three brand new and exclusive featurettes, original trailers and promotional material, and a collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film by renowned critic Kim Newman alongside extracts from MOTEL HELL the comic book.

Even the packaging is a collector’s item; it features a reversible sleeve with both original and newly commissioned artwork by the fantastic Jeff Zornow.

“It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent fritters” cackle Vincent and Ida Smith, the brother-and-sister team behind the finest smoked meats in the county. 
Set in a fictitious town in the Deep South, people come from far and wide to sample Vincent's distinctively flavoured produce, but one might well ask why so few of them decide to stay at the near-by motel the family also runs.

Affectionately named “Motel Hello” (although the ‘o’ in the neon sign frequently goes on the blink), passers-by do occasionally check-in... but they NEVER check-out! Something to do with Farmer Vincent’s secret ingredient perhaps, the thing that makes his fritters taste so darn good?
Western veteran Rory Calhoun gives a lipsmackingly demented performance as Farmer Vincent, whose twinkling bonhomie conceals a deeply depraved secret...


- High Def Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the film.

- Uncompressed original 2.0 Stereo PCM audio [Blu-ray].

- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

- Audio commentary with director Kevin Connor moderated by Calum Waddell.

- “Another Head on the Chopping Block” - Interview with star Paul Linke.

- “From Glamour to Gore” - Interview with co-star, and former Playboy Playmate, Rosanne Katon

- “Ida, Be Thy Name” - A look back at Motel Hell’s frightful female protagonist Ida Smith and the secrets of creating a convincing slasher siren, with Scream Queens Elissa Dowling and Chantelle Albers, genre commentator Staci Layne Wilson and critic Shelagh Rowan-Legg.

- “Back to the Backwoods” - Director Dave Parker (The Hills Run Red) speaks about the importance of Motel Hell.

- Original Trailer

- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Zornow.

- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kim Newman, illustrated with original archive stills and posters, plus Motel Hell comic book extracts and exclusive interview with artist Chris Moreno.







1 comment:

Joel H said...

Looking forward to this. MOTEL HELL is an old favourite of mine. Loving Arrow's re-releases, of late.