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Here is a shot of budget-conscious hor­ror news just in time for Halloween: Shout! Factory will be issu­ing a 2-for-1 DVD con­tain­ing The Evil and Twice Dead on October 5th as part of their ongo­ing “Roger Corman Cult Classics” line.  Both titles deal with ghost-infected real estate: The Evil is a late 1970’s cult fave about a haunted house that fea­tures Richard Crenna and Joanna Pettet while Twice Dead is a late 1980’s ver­sion of a sim­i­lar premise.  Both films are pre­sented on DVD for the first time in anamor­phic trans­fers and both will fea­ture com­men­tary tracks involv­ing the direc­tors plus addi­tional extras.  Read on for all the spectral-schlocking details:

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME — ESPECIALLY IF IT’S HAUNTED

JOIN SHOUT! FACTORY AND ROGER CORMAN FOR A PAIR OF FILMS DESIGNED TO GIVE HOMEOWNERS NIGHTMARES


THE EVIL/TWICE DEAD

DOUBLE-FEATURE DVD

BE PREPARED TO SPEND SOME TIME IN A COUPLE OF MANSIONS THAT WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY — LITERALLY.

The home inva­sion begins October 5, 2010

from Shout! Factory

Forget about the hous­ing cri­sis. Don’t worry about toxic mort­gages. Here’s a cou­ple of films that will have you run­ning to your real estate agent to rene­go­ti­ate your lease — on life! Fans of Roger Corman’s cult-film clas­sics will appre­ci­ate these two B-film guilty plea­sures, brought to DVD for the first time as a dou­ble fea­ture from Shout! Factory in asso­ci­a­tion with New Horizons Picture Corporation. Beginning October 5, cozy up to the hearth with these two Roger Corman’s Cult Classics sure to keep your heart pump­ing fast: The Evil (1978) and Twice Dead (1988) on Double Feature DVD for $19.93 SRP.

In the vein of The Legend of Hell House, Burnt Offerings, The Haunting and The Amityville Horror, The Evil and Twice Dead will rock you to your foun­da­tion with unex­pected twists and hor­rors. Both films come with such bonus fea­tures as com­men­taries and interviews.

In Gus Trikonis’ The Evil, psy­chol­o­gist C.J. Arnold (Richard Crenna) and his wife Caroline (Joanna Pettet) buy a dilap­i­dated man­sion with a dark past in the hopes of restor­ing the estate and turn­ing it into a drug reha­bil­i­ta­tion clinic. With the help of some of his stu­dents and cur­rent patients, the doc­tor begins work on the man­sion — but things take a nasty turn when an ancient spirit starts attack­ing peo­ple. When he opens a secret door in the base­ment of the house, the psy­chol­o­gist inad­ver­tently releases the malev­o­lent pres­ence … and all hell breaks loose. Also stars Victor Buono, Andrew Prine and Cassie Yates. Includes com­men­tary by direc­tor Gus Trikonis, writer Donald Thompson and direc­tor of pho­tog­ra­phy Mario Di Leo.

In Twice Dead, a fam­ily inher­its a man­sion that once belonged to an actor who com­mit­ted sui­cide and whose ghost now haunts the house. But the ghost isn’t the only thing the fam­ily needs to watch out for: There’s also a street gang roam­ing the area look­ing for trou­ble and harass­ing the family’s high school-aged son and daugh­ter. When the gang invades the house one night, the ghost decides to take out his anger on the punks. Stars Tom Bresnahan (“Ski School”), Jill Whitlow (“Night of the Creeps”) and Todd Bridges (“Diff’rent Strokes”). Special fea­tures include audio com­men­tary by direc­tor /co-writer Bert Dragin and actor Tom Bresnahan, an inter­view with actress Jill Whitlow, and trailers.

THE EVIL (1978)

(aka “House of Evil” and “The Evil Below”)

New World Pictures

Starring Richard Crenna, Joanna Pettet, Andrew Prine, Cassie Yates, George O’Hanlon Jr. and Victor Buono as “The Evil”

Directed by Gus Trikonis

Screenplay by Donald G. Thompson

Produced by Ed Carlin

Executive Producers: Paul A. Joseph and Malcolm Levinthal

Running time: 89 minutes

Rated: R

Special Features:

New anamor­phic widescreen trans­fer (1.78:1)

Audio com­men­tary with direc­tor Gus Trikonis, writer Donald Thompson and direc­tor of pho­tog­ra­phy Mario Di Leo

Trailers

TWICE DEAD (1988)

Concorde Pictures

Starring Tom Bresnahan, Jill Whitlow, Jonathan Chapin, Christopher Burgard, Sam Melville, Brooke Bundy, Joleen Lutz and Todd Bridges as Pete

Directed by Bert Dragin

Screenplay by Bert Dragin and Robert McDonnell

Produced by Guy Louthan and Robert McDonnell

Cinematographer: Zoran Hochstatter

Edited by Patrick Rand

Music com­posed by David Bergeaud

Casting by Kevin Alber

Running time: 85 minutes

Rated: R

Special Features:

New anamor­phic widescreen trans­fer (1.78:1)

Audio com­men­tary with director/co-writer Bert Dragin and actor Tom Bresnahan

Interview with actress Jill Whitlow

Trailers

The Evil / Twice Dead [Double Feature]

The Evil / Twice Dead [Double Feature]

First time on DVD for both titles! Two chill­ing tales of sus­pense and sur­vival in haunted houses!The Evil: When a doc­tor rents a haunted house to use as a clinic, he and his asso­ciates are vic­tim­ized by super­nat­ural pow­ers within.Director: Gus TrikonisStars: Richard Crenna, Victor Buono, Joanna PettetBonus Features:New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.78:1)Commentary With Director Gus Trikonis, Writer Donald Thompson And Director Of Photography Mario Di LeoTrailersTwice Dead: A fam­ily is thrilled to learn they have inher­ited the old man­sion of the deranged, stage actor. They arrive to dis­cover that the man­sion has turned into a play­ground for a local street gang and is haunted by a ghost.Director: Bert L. DraginStars: Tom Bresnahan, Jill Whitlow, Todd Bridges (Diff’rent Strokes)Bonus Features:Audio Commentary With Cowriter/Director Bert Dragin And Actor Tom BresnahanInterview With Actress Jill WhitlowTrailers