Jesus literally wept when Arrow video announced to their loyal commercial fanbase, this set of video shop shelf stunners. They asked us ‘Remember the shelves of your local video store?’ and as you well know, dear reader, I remembered them well. Living them everyday for 3 years. Now I wasn’t there when producer and director Charles Band founded Empire International Pictures, pumping out classics like THE DUNGEONMASTER, CELLAR DWELLER which featured Jeffrey Combs and of course DOLLS (which I watched on video in the VHS heyday!). I was there for his later hits, ROBOT JOX and ARENA. Both titles flew off the shelves in orderly fashion for the film fan. Band believed that films needed to be cheap, effective and give audiences a good time. Like Roger Corman before him, he succeeded in many of these things!

If you know the films, then I need not trouble you with a sense of what they are , nor a worked over review. The best film here is hands down, DOLLS, followed by CELLAR DWELLER and then ARENA. THE DUNGEONMASTER is a time capsule that made me remember fondly the past. Arrow have allowed all these films a new coat of paint. The 2K that is actually HD suits ROBOT JOX best, tightening that frame (an issue with ARENA is that it is sourced from a copy that is a little off centre). ARENA fairs the worst, as the darkness, I believed , used to hide some of the production savings, now become paramount. The extras add a lot and do some respect to the films. CELLAR DWELLER has the best single extra, a commentary by Michael Deak. He is funny and reveals a lot of technique and torture involved in the work of making flesh crawl.  For those with a keen sense of what they missed in the past, THE DUNGEONMASTER Three different versions of the film, show us how it was handled as RAGEWAR. It also shows the UK/US/ EURO definitions with a little more sex here and there. I really have been getting into the commentary from those who made the decisions and so loved Peter Manoogian commentary. I love how Matty Budrewicz gives time and air but also focus. You feel that somewhere a lot wanted to be said and wasnt.

Product Features

• High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of all five films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Laurie Greasley
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
• Double sided posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
• 15 postcard-sized reproduction artcards
• Arrow Video store “membership card”
• 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing on the films by Lee Gambin, Dave Jay, Megan Navarro, and John Harrison plus select archival material

DISC ONE – THE DUNGEONMASTER

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original negative
• Three different versions of the film via seamless branching: the US theatrical version (The Dungeonmaster), the pre-release version and the international version (Ragewar)
• Original lossless mono audio
• New audio commentary with star Jeffrey Byron, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own, a new interview with star Jeffrey Byron
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery

DISC TWO – DOLLS

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original interpositive
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary by David Decoteau, Empire alumnus and friend of Stuart Gordon
• Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon and writer Ed Naha
• Archive audio commentary with cast members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee, Carrie Lorraine, and Ian Patrick Williams
• Assembling Dolls, a new interview with Lee Percy, editor of Dolls, Re-Animator and From Beyond
• Toys of Terror: The Making of Dolls, an archive featurette with Gordon, Yuzna, Purdy-Gordon, Williams, Brian Yuzna, Charles Band and Gabe Bartalos
• Film-to-storyboard comparison
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery

DISC THREE – CELLAR DWELLER

• Additional picture restoration by Arrow Films
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary by special make-up effects artist Michael Deak who inhabited the Cellar Dweller creature suit, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Grabbed by the Ghoulies, a new appreciation of John Carl Buechler, special make-up effects artist of many Empire Pictures films and director of Cellar Dweller, by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Inside the Cellar, a new interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
• Original sales sheet
• Original production notes
• VHS trailer
• Empire Pictures trailer reel
• Image galleries, including behind the scenes photos courtesy of special make-up effects artist Michael Deak

DISC FOUR – ARENA

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the last known surviving 35mm elements
• Original lossless stereo audio
• New audio commentary with director Peter Manoogian, moderated by film critics Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain
• Alternative fullframe presentation
• Not His Arena, a new interview with co-screenwriter Danny Bilson
• Empire of Creatures, a new interview with special make-up effects artist Michael Deak
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC FIVE – ROBOT JOX

• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original negative
• Original lossless stereo audio
• Archive audio commentary with director Stuart Gordon
• Archive audio commentary with associate effects director Paul Gentry, mechanical effects artist Mark Rappaport, and stop-motion animator Paul Jessell
• Crash and Burn, a new interview with actor Gary Graham
• Her Name is Athena, a new Interview with actor Anne-Marie Johnson
• The Scale of Battle: David Allen and the FX of Robot Jox, a new appreciation of stop motion animator David Allen by those who knew him, featuring contributions from fellow visual effects artists Steve Burg, Yancy Calzeda, Paul Gentry, Kevin Kutchaver, Dennis Muren and John Vincent
• Looking Back, an archival interview with actor Paul Koslo
• Original sales sheet
• Original production notes
• Theatrical trailer
• Image galleries, including behind the scenes stills courtesy of associate effects director Paul Gentry