When I was desperately trying to scrabble together NEODROME (my riff n the MOVIEDROME concept), DONT GO IN THE HOUSE was top of the pile. A deliciously perverse vision of America that has more than its fair share of PSYCHO, about it. Joseph Ellison best known and most loved film, is one of the better video nasties and also, one of the best slasher films that circled everyone’s VCR’s in the UK in the 1980s. Bobby (Dan Grimaldi), is a meek and mild guy that has a rather unhealthy relationship with fire. His mother, abused him when he was younger, trying to burn evil out of him and now, as she lays dead upstairs, he gets ideas of burning away sin from woman that have rejected him in the past. He starts by luring a florist into his house and then burning her alive. Moving swiftly on from corpse to charred corpse, his acts are bringing horrors to the fore. As he stalks the streets, so panic strikes.

Well you know I love the film, but the real question is to do with Arrow release. They last sent this out on DVD, some 10 years back and now, taking Severin’s restored version and released it. Be warned here, it is good but there are two versions of this around and we are looking at the two disc but I will be buying the three disc edition. This has the VHS cut, which allows for all the ghastly recreations of the past, to come back to haunt us! Any way. This HD version of the 2K is very nice. Colour corrected. Haze gone. The little issues of field clarity have been partially resolved and out of the two versions, the TV one stands up. The extras floating around on the set are all Severin (I know Arrow have a deal with them), the best is the Joseph Ellison and producer Ellen Hammill commentary. He is cynical and honest, she is informative and explorative.  Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA commentary on disc two is exceptional but doesn’t break much new ground, if you have his book or have listened to his work before. However, he really is exceptionally gifted at getting to the grim details and rationales of the art behind the awfulness…

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

•        Limited edition O-card featuring newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
•        Reversible sleeve and fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
•        Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lindsay Hallam and James Flower

DISC ONE

•        Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative by Severin Films
•        High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation of two different versions of the film: the 83-minute uncut Theatrical Version, and the 89-minute Television Version with additional scenes and alternate footage
•        Original lossless mono audio on both cuts
•        Optional English audio description for the blind on both cuts
•        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both cuts
•        Brand new commentary on the Theatrical Version by director Joseph Ellison and producer Ellen Hammill
•        Archive commentary on the Theatrical Version by star Dan Grimaldi
•        “House” Keeping, a brand new featurette by Severin Films interviewing associate producer Matthew Mallinson and co-writer/producer Joe Masefield
•        We Went in the House, a brand new featurette by Severin Films with Michael Gingold revisiting the locations from the film, including the iconic house
•        Playing with Fire, an archive interview with star Dan Grimaldi from 2005
•        Original theatrical trailers and TV spots
•        Image gallery

DISC TWO (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)

•        High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Extended Version (92 mins) of the film, with the additional scenes from the Television Version re-inserted into the uncensored Theatrical Version
•        Original lossless mono audio
•        Optional English audio description for the blind
•        Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
•        Brand new audio commentary on the Extended Version by Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA
•        Minds on Fire, a brand new video essay by David Flint putting the film into context
•        Burn Baby Burn and The Burning Man, two archive interviews with director Joseph Ellison
•        Grindhouse All-Stars: Notes From the Sleaze Cinema Underground, a documentary by High Rising Productions from 2017 interviewing exploitation filmmakers Matt Cimber, Joseph Ellison, Roy Frumkes and Jeff Lieberman