The VHS Archives: Bob Clark's DEATHDREAM (1974)

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DEATHDREAM

Bob Clark's Dead of Night (1974)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Gorgon Video

Catalog: MP3054

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: ?

Runtime: 88:03

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: None

About the Film

Director: Bob Clark

Year of Release: 1974

Country of Origin: Canada

Stars: Richard Backus, John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Anya Ormsby, Jane Daly

AKAs: Death Dream, Dead of Night, The Night Andy Came Home, The Dead Walk, The Veteran, Death Behind the Door, Blood Lust

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Imagine the horror of a family receiving the news that their son was killed in action while fighting in Vietnam. Now imagine what happens when the young man returns home. The result is initial joy, followed by a creeping terror as local women are ruthlessly murdered in the night, their bodies drained of all blood! Now imagine the ultimate horror -- a father, played Academy Award winner John Marley, who realizes his only son is a murdering vampire!

Can he bring himself to drive a stake through the heart of his only child? The answer to that lies in one of the most shocking climaxes you will ever see. A well crafted thriller with special make-up effects by Tom Savini (Creepshow, Dawn of the Dead), Deathdream is the stuff that nightmares are made of. 

U.S Gorgon Video / MPI sleeve! 

Original U.S. Gorgon Video artwork, recently unearthed by MPI!

Japanese Victor sleeve! 

U.K. Intervision Video Limited sleeve, taken from Critical Condition!

U.K. Exploited sleeve, courtesy of It's Only a Movie! 

Dutch Video for Pleasure sleeve, originally scanned by "brucecampbell"! 

Dutch WM Video sleeve, courtesy Hans-Jorn Reimer and his Danish Ex-Rental VHS Appreciation Group!

Swedish Mac Video sleeve. originally scanned by "videohunter"! 

Danish Krone Video sleeve, also from Critical Condition!

Finnish Wolftracks KY sleeve, courtesy of Joe Spina!

French Fantastic Video / RCA sleeve, originally scanned by "anarkotiko21"! 

French GCR Distribution sleeve, originally scanned by "ROTOR"!

German Skyline Video sleeve, courtesy of Monster Brains! 

Spanish Crown Films & Home Video sleeve!

Theatrical trailer, uploaded by Blue Underground!

Looking for Deathdream on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. There's also a nice special edition DVD available from Blue Underground.

Investigate more titles with Project: MPI!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2012 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

It's Name that Movie Monday! Challenge #11!

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Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

It's time for Challenge #11 here at the ol' Arcana! Can you identify this week's mystery photo, scanned direct from The Holecheck Archives? If you think you recognize it, post a comment below. As the week goes on, if no one guesses correctly I'll begin adding some pretty useless hints. Easy, right? (Or not so much?  For two weeks and running Challenge #9 is still up for grabs!  I've already added a few hints; maybe another picture is in order?)

Anyway, here ya' go -- good luck!

UPDATE:

Congrats go out to Todd Bridges for scoring his second win (in a single day!) by identifying George A. Romero's Martin (1977) as this week's challenge.  A melancholic tale of a maladjusted teen who may or may not be a vampire, Romero claims the film as his favorite, and it's hard to argue.  (Ask me next week, and I might name Knightriders or The Crazies as his true masterpiece, but for now, it's Martin!)

Released to theater screens in 1978 by Ben Barenholtz's Libra Films, it eventually made its way to home video from Thorn/EMI (with various reissues from its parents/subsidiaries) in the '80s.  There was even a laserdisc, for those lucky enough to get one.  In 2000, Anchor Bay Entertainment gave Martin its DVD debut (and again issued a VHS) in the director's preferred 1.33:1 ratio; the subsequent 2004 producer-approved disc from Lionsgate mattes things to a tight 1.85:1.  Both are worth getting, just for the different perspectives presented in their commentary tracks.  One can hope someday we'll see a definitive edition on Blu Ray, including the Italian variant (which was restructured and scored with Goblin tracks!) and the long-lost 165-minute original cut! (A pipe dream, I know...)

Poster scan courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art.

For a look at last week's entry, click here. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and preorder some cool stuff!

 
© 2010 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.