Get ready for plenty of laughs along with a few thrills as Scream Factory unleashes four cult classic Horror Comedies from the 70’s & 80’s in glorious high definition in the form of two new Double Feature Blu-Ray releases. The first Double Feature release includes Nicolas Cage in ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ along with Steve Guttenberg in ‘High Spirits’, while the second Double Feature release consists of George Hamilton in ‘Love at First Bite’ paired with a young Jim Carrey in ‘Once Bitten’, all four finally arriving home on Blu-Ray. Hit the jump for our full review of both these Double Feature Blu-Ray releases if you haven’t already closed the browser window and headed off to pick up your own copies.
Vampire’s Kiss & High Spirits (Double Feature) [Blu-Ray]
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 8/10
Summary:
Sink your teeth into a pair of fangtastic vampire comedies, Love At First Bite and Once Bitten, on February 10, 2015 for the first time on Blu-ray!
‘Vampire’s Kiss’ is probably best known for its zany and over the top performance by Nicolas Cage. While many are of the opinion that his over the top performance is nothing more than bad acting, for those who really pay attention (and listening to the audio commentary certainly doesn’t hurt) it becomes understandable that this really was the point, that these over the top, wild moments by Cage are intended as part of ‘the joke’ and even some moments (such as his ridiculous run) were nothing more than goofing off behind the scenes that ended up making it into the final cut. Fans of the film will surely be pretty excited to see it finally arrive home in High Definition on Blu-Ray for the first time and for those who haven’t seen the film before, I can’t imagine a better way to experience it for the first time; it’s definitely a pretty fun little ride that’s well worth a watch if you ask me.
‘High Spirits’ was a film that I had no previous knowledge of prior to this Double Feature Blu-Ray release arriving at my house and I found it to be quite a pleasant treat of a supernatural, romantic comedy of sorts. I’m a little shocked that I wasn’t previously aware of it, especially considering it was written and directed by notable filmmaker Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire, Byzantium) and features an impressive cast including the likes of Peter O’Toole, Daryl Hannah, Steve Guttenberg, Peter Gallagher, Beverly D’Angelo, Jennifer Tilly, Liam Neeson and more. For those of you (such as myself) that haven’t had the pleasure of this little 80’s gem, I would highly recommend checking it out and fans of the film will surely enjoy finally being able to own it on Blu-Ray.
VIDEO:
Scream Factory’s Double Feature Blu-Ray release of ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ & ’High Spirits’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio for both films. The video presentation looks pretty decent on both titles and hold somewhat surprisingly high bitrates, quite a pleasant surprise considering both the age of the films and the fact that the release includes two feature films on one Blu-Ray disc. There is some definite grain, pops and other miniscule artifacts noticeable on screen, but nothing so drastic as to affect the overall viewing experience in any way and for the most part both movies look quite impressive and fans should be very pleased with these high definition video presentations which are easily the best these two 80’s classics have ever looked.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release includes a lossless 2.0 stereo DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtrack for both films. Both of these lossless stereo soundtracks are more than sufficient options for these two comedic horror gems, the music, action-oriented activity and dialogue all sound crisp, clean and spot-on, better than I would have imagined. Even while other activity may be occurring simultaneously, the dialogue is always more than audible and no issues could be found on my end. These are both very solid 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA soundtracks and easily the best these two movies have sounded yet.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Scream Factory’s Double Feature Blu-Ray release of ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ & ’High Spirits’ doesn’t include too much in the way of bonus content. ‘Vampire’s Kiss’ includes an Audio Commentary with Director Robert Bierman and Actor Nicolas Cage, in addition to the Theatrical Trailer. ‘High Spirits’ on the other hand unfortunately doesn’t contain any bonus content whatsoever.
Disc Rating: 8/10
‘Vampire’s Kiss’ & ‘High Spirits’ are now available to own for the first time on Blu-Ray in this Double Feature from Scream Factory.
Purchase your copy of the Blu-Ray on Amazon at a discounted price by clicking here!
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Love At First Bite & Once Bitten (Double Feature) [Blu-Ray]
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 7.5/10
Summary:
Get ready for high-definition haunts and ha-has coming from Scream Factory on February 10, 2015! This double feature of Vampire’s Kiss and High Spirits presents a pair of paranormal favorites from the 1980s, available at last on Blu-ray. Vampire’s Kiss includes commentary with Nicolas Cage and director Robert Bierman.
‘Love At First Bite’ explores the infamous vampire legend of Dracula, but unlike you’ve ever seen him before in this hilariously goofy film from the late 70’s. Stan Dragoti (Mr. Mom) directs from a screenplay by Robert Kaufman. George Hamilton portrays Dracula in this spoof and he provides a hilarious take on the most well known creature of the night there is. Once Dracula is forced from his Castle by the Government to make room for an Olympic Training center he moves to New York to start over and hunt for the woman of his dreams, while also dealing with gang bangers, visiting night clubs and other activities common to the city but which couldn’t be more out of place for Dracula to be, yet it certainly works great in this fun spoof. Fans of the film will surely be thrilled to finally be able to own this cult classic in High Definition on Blu-Ray for the first time and it’s also a great opportunity for those who haven’t seen the movie before but would like to do so.
‘Once Bitten’ is surely best known for featuring Jim Carrey in one his earlier performances, when he was in his early 20’s and well before he made it big. Directed by Howard Storm, ‘Once Bitten’ tells the story of young Mark (Carrey) who is constantly tortured by the fact that his girlfriend wants to wait while everyone around him is having sex. Deciding to go for a random night on the town with two of his buddies, Mark ends up meeting a beautiful older woman and going home with her after a fight breaks out in the restaurant they are currently in. Little does Mark know that this woman is actually an ancient vampire who has been desperately searching (to no avail) for a virgin in order to drink their blood, something she believes she has finally found in Mark. Naturally goofy fun and craziness ensues, but you can experience that for yourself when you pick up this Double Feature Blu-Ray release from Scream Factory to add to your own collection.
VIDEO:
Scream Factory’s Double Feature Blu-Ray release of ‘Love at First Bite’ & ‘Once Bitten’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio for both films. The video presentation looks pretty good on both of these movies as well. Just as was the case with the other Double Feature release, the overall presentation and bitrate it manages to maintain is quite solid considering two feature films are included here on the same disc and of course they aren’t the most recent films either. Overall, aside from the few pops, grain and other minimal artifacts (surely a result of the source) the high definition video presentation on both titles is pretty great and should leave most fans pretty satisfied.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release includes a lossless 2.0 Dual Mono DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtrack for both films. While these two films have Mono soundtracks as opposed to the stereo soundtracks present on the other release, Scream/Shout Factory once again delivers these in the form a Dual Mono DTS-HD MA soundtrack, technically reading as DTS-HD MSTR 2/0 which also allows for folks to implement the simulated surround option if you have one on your receiver. As a whole both films sound pretty impressive for their age, the music, action, dialogue and everything else coming through crisp and clear and always easily understandable; overall both pretty solid DTS-HD MA Mono soundtracks.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Scream Factory’s Double Feature Blu-Ray release of ‘Love at First Bite’ & ‘Once Bitten’ once again doesn’t include too much in the way of bonus content. ‘Love at First Bite’ includes the Theatrical Trailer and Radio Spots, while ‘Once Bitten’ includes solely the Theatrical Trailer.