Halloween is upon us and so are Count Zad’s picks for a few of the scarier, episodic television Blu-ray and DVD sets available for binge-watching.
Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete Third Season (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Not Rated, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $19.99) — One of the best comedy horror television shows to ever air wound down in its final season on the Starz cable network.
Featuring the further adventures of a beer-chugging misogynist Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) and his battle against the Deadites, all 10 episodes are now available on a two Blu-ray discs.
The season’s story continued to focus on the one-handed Ash battling ferocious demons (mainly with a chainsaw and shotgun) while confronting the current keeper of the Necronomicon, Ruby (Lucy Lawless), and a doppelganger threatening to take over his beloved town of Elk Grove, Michigan.
Life gets complicated when his daughter Brandy (Arielle Carver-O’Neill) shows up as well as a multi-story monster but he takes all in pompous stride with an intoxicating hubris and help from Pablo (Ray Santiago), Dana (Kelly Maxwell) and the new Knights of Sumaria.
The series consistently reveled in politically incorrectness and the sophomoric hijinks of its hero, when not embracing gratuitous violence amid gallons of spilt blood. Suffice it to report, his fans will sorely miss Ashy Slashy’s cable adventures.
Frightening extras: Fans get an optional commentary track for every episode filled with nonstop chatter from such series cast and crew such as Miss Carver-O’Neill, Miss Lawless, Mr. Campbell, visual effects supervisor Tim Capper and director Rick Jacobson.
Of course, the quartet of episodes featuring Mr. Campbell shine as his brand of nonplussed humor and stream of sarcasm kept his cohorts and listeners in stitches.
Also, a short wrap up of every episode (roughly 2 minutes long each) offers doses of behind-the-scenes fodder featuring more interviews with cast and crew including executive producer Rob Tapert (co-architect of the “Evil Dead” film franchise).
Charmed: The Complete First Season (CBS Home Entertainment, not rated, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $41.99) — The longest-running, female-led series in the history of television returns for former devotees and new fans through a fresh, screen-filling, wide-screen remastering of its inaugural season.
Running for a whopping eight season between 1998 and 2007, the series focused on the Halliwell sisters — Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) — a trio of young, budding witches in San Francisco honing their powers to battle the forces of demonic evil.
Much like the work done by CBS Digital team of artisans to update the format of classic “Star Trek” series such as “The Next Generation,” the same nearly holds true for this 22-episode, first season run of “Charmed” contained on five Blu-ray discs.
The cleanup for interior scenes is meticulous and reveals excellent clarity, nearly zero grain and some vibrant colors. However, any stock footage showing the outdoors of San Francisco, sans cast, is an often grainy and blemished mess. The sharp contrast in quality is really odd considering the obvious work put into restoring the series.
Frightening extras: Unfortunately, viewers get zero bonus content. Not even an explanation of the process of upgrading the series. So, a great show that now also looks great, but the package could have been better.
The Walking Dead: The Complete Eighth Season (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, not rated, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $42.99) — The chronic thinning of Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) trusted human herd reached an unwelcomed climax in the latest season of the once mega-popular AMC zombie apocalypse series.
This 5-disc Blu-ray set compiles all 16 episodes that found Mr. Grimes, his gritty survivors of Alexandria and a patchwork of local communities waging a final war against the Saviors led by the charmingly despicable Neegan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), wielder of that famous barbed-wire-covered bat nicknamed Lucille.
The show’s horrors are not just about the decaying undead attacking when least expected but more about the unabashed ferocity of the humans against one another, readily able to slaughter to protect or reap personal gains.
As far as inexcusable horrors, equally can be said about showrunner Scott Gimple and the behind-the-scenes “lack of” creative team killing beloved characters on a whim and causing a plunging in ratings as loyal viewers get disgusted by Mr. Gimple’s choices of who lives and dies. SPOILER ALERT: Rest in peace Shiva and Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs).
Frightening extras: Optional commentary tracks on the episodes “Monsters,” “Some Guy” and “Wrath” all include Mr. Gimple yammering in the group with either a writer or director and a conspicuous absence of actors.
Three featurettes (roughly 30 minutes in total) cover the season’s themes, the characters killed in the shows and the legacy of Carl Grimes.
American Horror Story: Cult (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, not rated, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $29.98) — The seventh season of the FX channel’s macabre anthology series got way too political for my tastes but still managed to deliver the terrifying goods during the later part of its 10-episode run.
The story focuses on a city in Michigan divided after the latest presidential election and chronicled through a phobia riddled woman Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson) versus a political opportunist turned budding cult leader Kai Anderson (Evan Peters)
Once viewers get past the slanting of current events tied to Donald Trump’s win and the overbearing themes of marginalization, they can appreciate Kai controlling an army of underground followers dressed as clowns to gratuitously murder opponents.
That’s vintage “American Horror Story” and gleefully embellished through moments when Twisty the Clown stops by or Mr. Peters assumes the role of many famous cult leaders (especially Charles Manson) in scenes that will occasionally scare, shock and curdle the skin of unassuming watchers.
This three-disc, DVD set contains the entire season ready for quick binging of the show and features some chilling performances by Alison Pill as Ally’s devoted wife Ivy, Billie Lourd as Kai’s sister Winter, and of course, the insanity of Mr. Peters and Miss Paulson.
Frightening extras: Most terrifying of the collection is the lack of extras, down to only a few FX promotional spots, and its mediocre presentation on the near antiquated DVD format. This award-winning series needs to be seen in high definition at minimum for maximum impact.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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