Scream Factory takes great care to present classic horror films in the best quality possible. Their ability to take films from the 90s, 80s, and even 70s and then modernize them is impressive. Furthermore, the fact that the films can look modernized while retaining their original visual aesthetics makes SF releases akin to works of art.
From discovering new favorite horrors to mountains of bonus features, the Blu-rays from this sub-label of Shout! Factory are worthy purchases for the horror aficionados of the world. What are their best releases from the 70s?
Orca: The Killer Whale (1977)
Orca: The Killer Whale isn't the best imitation of a certain movie that shouldn't be watched on boats, but it's close.
Orca has several qualities that make it a midnight favorite. The film's similarities to Jaws are noticeable, yet somewhat endearing. There's also a dynamite performance from Richard Harris, who earns every dollar of his paycheck. In fact, he notoriously took umbrage with comparisons to Jaws, finding it to be far more reminiscent of Moby-Dick. As for the disc, there are no new bonus features, but Orca is still a fine addition to a young SF collection.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
The Town That Dreaded Sundown was an early Scream Factory release, and it comes with some interesting features. First off is the second disc, which is a DVD copy of a similar yet lesser film titled The Evictors.
Dreaded Sundown is an intentionally grimy film à la The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, so there's only so much high definition can do for it. Considering that, the film looks exactly as it should. Furthermore, the affordability of this release makes it a good starting point for collectors, provided they can handle its occasionally upsetting realism.
Willard (1971)
Willard's availability in and of itself puts it towards the top of Scream Factory's 1970s releases. Hardly available on DVD, it was also the film's first time on Blu-ray.
The fact that it is presented via a 4K scan and contains a commentary with lead actor Bruce Davison (X-Men) makes it even more appealing. The sequel, Ben (1972), and Willard (2003) starring Crispin Glover, are also available from Scream Factory. Michael Jackson performed the title song for Ben's soundtrack, while the 2003 version was an underrated psychological horror movie and arguably Glover's best lead role to date.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
The 2016 Collector's Edition created for Invasion of the Body Snatchers is impressive and a worthy addition to an SF collection, if it can be found. First, the cover art is eerie and perfectly captures the tone of the film.
Then there are the bonus features; Like most Scream Factory Blu-rays, the new scan is a significant improvement over the previous release from a different distributor. It also comes loaded with a host of interviews including with Brooke Adams (The Dead Zone).
Black Christmas (1974)
Bob Clark's Black Christmas has inspired other horror movies for good reason; it's one of the scariest films of all time. The atmospheric visuals and chilling phone calls that benefitted from lower quality VHS and DVD viewings are held in full all throughout the Collector's Edition.
On the downside, it's a release almost devoid of new bonus features, but it's an example of how some Scream Factory releases can be like rewatching a classic for the first time. In addition, the cover art is among the best from Shout! Factory's horror wing.
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
Few will hop to the defense of Exorcist II: The Heretic in comparison to the original, or even to The Exorcist III. However, it receives a top-of-the-line release with two versions of the film.
One is the version to hit theaters while the other is the one that was cut shortly before the film's release. Roughly 16 minutes longer than the theatrical cut, it's admittedly not a massive improvement, but it does add some coherence. The 118-minute version also includes a director's commentary with John Boorman (King Kong).
Prophecy (1979)
Prophecy is almost an excellent horror film, but it gets bogged down in some preachy and even outright unnecessary subplots. As it stands, though, it's a neat little creature feature starring Rocky's Talia Shire.
The film's bear monster doesn't hold up in terms of scares, but once it does enter the picture it becomes a fairly wild ride. Quality of the film aside, the disc comes loaded with interviews featuring Shire, lead actor Robert Foxworth, the writer, and special effects make-up artists.
Carrie (1976)
Brian De Palma's great adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie has been released on Blu-ray before, but it contained no bonus features outside of a theatrical trailer. The Scream Factory release has all of the special features from the DVD release as well as some new interviews with Piper Laurie ("Margaret White"), Nancy Allen ("Chris Hargensen"), William Katt ("Tommy Ross"), and P.J. Soles ("Norma Watson").
There was also a Wal-Mart exclusive release that came bundled with Misery. However, two full-length features on one disc will always lead to compression issues, even if the quality is already higher.
King Kong (1976)
The highest-grossing action movie the year of its release, King Kong also works fairly well as a straight horror film. Unlike a few other incarnations of the character, John Boorman's is fearsome and guided by some noteworthy animatronics.
King Kong could probably be seen as one of Scream Factory's higher-profile releases and certainly ranks amongst the top in terms of films from the 70s. The Collector's Edition comes loaded with interviews, primarily with the great Rick Baker and many other members of the film's production team. It's a remake with a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes information, so every mini-doc is welcome. As a cherry on the ice cream sundae, the release comes loaded with the 3-hour TV cut. However, that works more as a one-time curiosity watch.
Halloween (1978)
Scream Factory released the first 10 films back in 2014 in the form of a very cool box set that, unfortunately, runs about $500 now. The recent group release of the first five installments in 4K is a worthy and stunning tribute to the release of Halloween Kills.
Carpenter's original gets a fresh 4K scan of the original negative and it stands head and shoulders above the standard edition released by Artisan and Lionsgate in 2018. The sequels also get new scans and Dolby Atmos tracks. This is SF's third go-round with Halloween II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch. These two installments of the franchise were actually Scream Factory's very first two Blu-ray releases. Halloween 4 arguably receives the biggest bump in quality but it's Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers that has the best bonus features. On the Blu-ray disc is some uncut footage as well as the thought-lost alternate opening scene. The packaging for the five films is outstanding, too. A booklike presentation with sturdy construction, they look terrific headlining any Scream Factory collection alongside the Friday the 13th collection.