A fully restored 4K Argento classic, a spectacular occult horror, a unique and unforgettable Spanish debut, a collection of three unmissable, lesser-known giallos, and a fantastic 80s slasher like you’ve never seen it before round out the month of July.
Tenebrae, Italy’s iconic master of horror Dario Argento (Deep Red, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) returned to the giallo thriller genre in which he first earned his reputation for his most bloody and self-reflexive offering to date, was released in July.
This one-time Video Nasty, starring (Anthony Franciosa, Death Wish II), Daria Nicolodi (Phenomena), and John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and featuring stark, modernist photography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria), updates the classic giallo blueprint for a new decade – now fully restored in 4K alongside a plethora of extras old and new, including, for A deluxe Limited Edition Arte Originale edition is also available.
The Righteous, a dark occult horror that infiltrates the skin with an intellectual storyline, crisp direction, and superb performances, will be released in July. In his stunning directorial debut, writer and actor Mark O’Brien (Ready or Not) pulls no punches as he addresses loss, remorse, faith, and atonement. The Righteous is a sombre supernatural chiller set among the bleak and forbidding landscapes of Newfoundland, crisply captured in tenebrous monochrome by cinematographer Scott McClellan, and featuring robust performances from all of its cast members, and signals the emergence of a major new filmmaking talent. The Blu-ray edition includes a collector’s booklet and a brand new audio commentary by O’Brien.
The Sacred Spirit, the astounding debut movie from Spanish writer-director Chema Garcia Ibarra, combines the weird, the unnerving, and the unexpected to terrible effect. The Sacred Spirit is a bold, humanistic, and unsparing vision that signals the advent of a unique new voice in genre cinema, as if Ken Loach and Aki Kaurismaki rebuilt The X-Files. A collection of award-winning short films by Ibarra are included in the Limited Edition 2-disc Blu-ray, as well as a lavishly decorated collector’s booklet with fresh material about the film and a fold-out poster.\
Hell High, a stalk-and-slash that stands out from the rest with its ferocity, will be released in July. It stars rowdy teenagers and a teacher with a dreadful secret. The combination of primal horror themes, supernatural horror, and ruthlessly nasty characters in this oft-overlooked slasher from 1989 makes this an outstanding title that won’t leave you on the side of the road. A brand new 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative is included, as well as a brand new audio commentary with Director Douglas Grossman, a slew of other new goodies, and an illustrated collector’s handbook. As an Arrow Store Exclusive, it’s also available on Limited Edition Blu-ray with an O-card featuring alternate title artwork.
Finally, in July, the Giallo Essentials Collection features three lesser-known films from the genre’s early 1970s heyday: Silvio Amadio’s Smile Before Death, Francesco Mazzei’s The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive, and Giuseppe Bennati’s The Killer Reserved Nine Seats. All three of these often-overlooked gialli are restored in 2K from their original camera negatives, including brand-new, Arrow-exclusive restorations of Smile Before Death and The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive, as well as a variety of in-depth special materials. The release is packaged in a windowed Giallo Essentials Collection slipcover with original poster artwork.
