Arrow Video has given director Frank Henenlotter’s 1982 cult classic Basket Case (watch it HERE) a couple Blu-ray releases in recent years, and now the company has announced that they’re bringing the film to 4K UHD for the first time! This release is for the US, the UK, and Canada, and the street date is April 29th. The pre-order link for the UK is HERE and the pre-order link for the US and Canada is HERE.

Basket Case has the following synopsis: Duane Bradley is a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed, fleshy lump whom he carries around in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at the seedy Hotel Broslin, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation. But tensions flare up when Duane starts spending time with a pretty blonde secretary, and Belial’s homicidal tendencies reach bloody new extremes.

The film stars Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne, Lloyd Pace, Bill Freeman, Joe Clarke, Ruth Neuman, Richard Pierce, and Sean McCabe. 

The 4K release has a ton of features, and here’s the line-up:

4K restoration from the original 16mm negative by MoMA
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin VanHentenryck
Archival audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, actor Beverly Bonner and filmmaker Scooter McRae
Basket Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley – short film by Frank Henenlotter
Me and the Bradley Boys – interview with actor Kevin VanHentenryck
A Brief Interview with Director Frank Henenlotter – a strange 2017 interview with the director
Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins – interview with actors Florence and Maryellen Schultz
Blood, Basket and Beyond – interview with actor Beverly Bonner
The Latvian Connection – featurette including interviews with producer Edgar Ievins, casting person/actor Ilze Balodis, associate producer/special effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
Belial Goes to the Drive-In – interview with film critic Joe Bob Briggs
Basket Case at MoMA – footage from the 2017 restoration premiere
What’s in the Basket? – feature-length documentary covering the three films in the Basket Case series
In Search of the Hotel Broslin – archival location featurette
The Frisson of Fission: Basket Case, Conjoined Twins, and ‘Freaks’ in Cinema – video essay by Travis Crawford
Slash of the Knife (1976, 30 mins) – short made by Frank Henenlotter featuring many of the same actors from Basket Case, including optional audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter and playwright Mike Bencivenga
Basket Case and Slash of the Knife outtakes
Belial’s Dream (2017, 5 mins) – animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
Extensive image galleries
Trailers, TV & radio spots
Limited edition slipcover featuring artwork by Graham Humphreys
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Michael Gingold and a Basket Case comic strip by artist Martin Trafford

We’re big fans of Basket Case here on Arrow in the Head, as you can tell from the fact that we covered as part of both our The Best Horror Movie You Never Saw and Best Horror Party Movies video series. Are you a fan of the film, and will you be buying a copy of the 4K release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Everyone loves an underdog story. We love them as much as sports movies and precocious kids. The only other thing we love as much as those is profanity. When you combine those together, you have a tricky project that could be masterful, or it could be a disaster. Luckily, no one can drop an f-bomb quite like Snoop Dogg, and he does that in his latest film, The Underdoggs.

In the great tradition of The Bad News Bears, Little Giants, and Hardball, The Underdoggs stars Snoop as a washed-up former NFL wide receiver who has burned all the bridges in his career. With a chance to redeem himself by coaching a group of pee-wee football players in his hometown of Long Beach, Two Js encounters more than he bargained for, as coaching is much more than just standing around basking in your greatness. Two Js must also deal with all of the kids’ challenges while also trying to woo his former high school girlfriend.

I got the chance to talk with a few involved with The Underdoggs, including stars Tika Sumpter and Kal Penn and director Charles Stone III. Tika Sumpter talked about how funny Snoop Dogg is and what it was like hearing the kids swear like an adult. Kal Penn talked about whether his character was inspired by a real agent he has met, as well as the hilarious Harold and Kumar joke in the movie. Director Charles Stone III talked about his experience directing sports movies and what set this film apart. Check out the full interviews in the embed above.

The Underdoggs is now streaming on Prime Video.

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Writer/director Thomas Walton’s 1980s-inspired slasher Camp Pleasant Lake has secured a distribution deal with DeskPop Entertainment, Deadline reports, with the plan being for DeskPop to give the film a VOD and limited theatrical release on February 27th. Since that date is only a month away, we should be seeing a trailer for this movie very soon – but in the meantime, a first look image can be found at the bottom of this article.

The story Walton crafted for Camp Pleasant Lake follows Rick and Darlene Rutherford, who attempt to breathe life into the eerie remnants of an old campsite, unaware of its dark past. Strange occurrences haunt the area, mirroring the tragedies of the old camp, where two decades earlier, a young girl was kidnapped and her parents brutally murdered. Amidst chilling atmospheres and long-forgotten secrets, the couple grapples with a horrifying revelation—they are entwined in the camp’s history. And as the shadows of the past collide with the present, the Rutherfords must confront the haunting histories of a sinister crime.

The film stars Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster), Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire), Michael Paré (Eddie and the Cruisers), Robert LaSardo (Death Race), Maritza Brikisak (They Turned Us Into Killers), Greg Tally (Bermuda Island), and Kelly Lynn Reiter of Maneater and Slotherhouse.

Camp Pleasant Lake is coming our way from Safier Entertainment, PhilaDreams Films, Lux Angeles Studios, Stag Mountain Films, RMR Productions, and Movies By Misfits. Walton produced the film with Jared Safier, while Jeremy Hirsch, Matthew Macur, Damien Douglas, Lenny Vitulli, Jackson Everest, and Michael Mahal serve as executive producers.

Walton had this to say about the distribution deal: “Collaborating with the DeskPop team to release Camp Pleasant Lake has been a pleasure. We’ve crafted an intense, frightening, and entertaining experience, and we’re excited for horror enthusiasts to come together in cinemas and VOD and relish the twists and turns we’ve brought to life.“

Slashers, particularly those from the ’80s, are my favorite kind of movies to watch and Friday the 13th is my favorite franchise, so I’ll definitely be watching Camp Pleasant Lake.

How does Camp Pleasant Lake sound to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and take a look at this image while you’re scrolling down:

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We know there’s going to be a follow-up to the Switch. Mostly because the other option is Nintendo just hanging up its hat and walking off into the sea, and that’d be weird. Nintendo is, as ever, entirely mute on the subject, but rumors are reaching category 5 that the console giant’s next console device will be…

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We know there’s going to be a follow-up to the Switch. Mostly because the other option is Nintendo just hanging up its hat and walking off into the sea, and that’d be weird. Nintendo is, as ever, entirely mute on the subject, but rumors are reaching category 5 that the console giant’s next console device will be…

Read more…

Pharrell Williams has come a long way from producing music as part of the Neptunes and as part of the rap/rock band N.E.R.D. Williams went on to do some of the most catchy, ear-wormy pop hits that radio and television would play ad nauseam. Pharrell would also break through into movies as he composed music for such films as the Despicable Me movies, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Hidden Figures. Additionally, his pop hits would be all over countless trailers and be featured in movies like Trolls Band Together and Sing 2.

Recently, Pharrell took to his Instagram to announce that his life story will be told in Lego form in a film from Focus Features, titled Piece by Piece. The film is due to hit theaters on October 11. On his post, Pharrell would include the teaser poster, which parodies the “evolution of man” poster with Lego pieces building up to a version of him as a figurine. The caption to his photo reads, “Who would’ve thought that playing with Legos as a kid would evolve into a movie about my life. It’s proof that anyone else can do it too… #PieceByPiece.”

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According to Deadline, Piece by Piece is produced by Morgan Neville and Caitrin Rogers (Tremolo Productions) alongside producers Pharrell Williams, Mimi Valdés, and Shani Saxon (i am OTHER). Jill Wilfert and Keith Malone are executive producing for the LEGO Group.

Peter Kujawski, the chairman of Focus Features shared his excitement about the project, “Pharrell Williams is a true trailblazer whose influence across music, art and fashion continually reshapes global culture with an undeniable sense of joy.  In partnering with the inimitable Morgan Neville and the limitless creativity of the LEGO brand his visionary spirit comes to life in a wholly unique and uplifting way that will inspire everyone to dance, to sing, and to use their voice to build the world they want to see, brick by brick, and piece by piece.”

Neville would add, “Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of helping him tell his story through LEGO animation. It was one of those rare moments where I knew in a second that this was a journey I wanted to go on. I’m grateful to our partners at Focus Features and at the LEGO Group for their belief in our crazy mission. We assembled an incredible team of creative collaborators to help make a new type of film. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

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After working together on the surprisingly good old school action movie The Beekeeper, director David Ayer and actor Jason Statham are set to reteam on another action project, Levon’s Trade. And this time they’ll be working from a screenplay that was written by Sylvester Stallone! (With some revisions by Ayer.) Levon’s Trade was announced a few months ago, and Deadline reports that it has just secured distribution through Amazon MGM. Amazon MGM will be giving the film a wide theatrical release in the U.S., while Prime Video takes streaming rights in a slew of major international territories. “Outside of the Prime Video international territories (where the film may go online only), producers Black Bear have sold the film independently to theatrical distributors in multiple overseas markets.”

Based on a novel by prolific comic book writer Chuck Dixon, Levon’s Trade will show us that Levon Cade (Statham) left his “profession” behind him to go ‘straight’ and work in construction. He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.

If all goes well, this could turn out to be a new franchise for Statham, because there are currently twelve books in Dixon’s Levon Cade series.

Levon’s Trade is expected to start filming in London this spring. Ayer and Chris Long are producing for Cedar Park Entertainment, Statham is producing for Punch Palace Productions, and Stallone is producing for Balboa Productions, while John Friedberg does the same for Black Bear and Bill Block produces for BlockFilm.

Statham and Stallone have, of course, collaborated on the Expendables films, but back in 2013 Statham also starred in a movie called Homefront, which Gary Fleder directed from a screenplay by Stallone (based on a novel like Chuck Logan). I really enjoyed that movie and The Beekeeper, so I’m excited to see Levon’s Trade.

Are you interested in Levon’s Trade? Let us know what you think of this one, and the Amazon MGM distribution deal, by leaving a comment below.

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In a 2022 interview for Variety, actor, writer, and director Christopher Guest said, “When I met (Jennifer Coolidge), I knew there was something going on that was special. And I was right, fortunately.” He praised her ability to command attention without commanding the dialogue. “This person stands out. Everyone else to me is invisible. You want to see her.”

We have seen her on our television and theater screens since the early 90s. And 2023 may have been her best year yet.

So, what happened to Jennifer Coolidge, the self-deprecating eccentric humorist and sometimes sex symbol, who owns over 100 credits in television and film? To know that, we must do what we always do: start at the beginning where the beginning began.

Jennifer Coolidge was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 28, 1961. She says she always looked old for her age, so she was able to buy a case of beer when she was 11 with her neighbor’s wig. Coolidge once went on vacation and dated two guys who knew each other. She told them she had an identical twin and went out with both. These sound like stories from one of the many sitcoms she’s been featured in.

She grew up wanting to be a singer and grew to idolize Meryl Streep while earning her bachelor’s degree in theatre from Emerson College. Jennifer wasn’t considered funny by her family growing up, so she long expected to pursue a life of dramatic acting. Luckily for us, she found her calling in comedy, starting with improv groups in New York and LA. She made her television debut in 1993 on Seinfeld in a guest role as Jerry’s masseuse girlfriend. She would go on to guest spots on Fraiser, Friends, and Sex and the City and a recurring role on Joey.

Coolidge first graced the silver screen in 1995’s Not of This Earth. She worked steadily before truly entering the public consciousness for her role as Stifler’s Mom in 1999’s American Pie, a role she would reprise in 2001’s American Pie 2, 2003’s American Wedding, and 2012’s American Reunion. Her other prominent role from around this time was that of Paulette, from 2001’s Legally Blonde and 2003’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

She began working with frequent collaborator Christopher Guest with 2000’s Best in Show. They would also work together on 2003’s A Mighty Wind, 2006’s For Your Consideration and 2016’s Mascots. Guest is known for enabling his actors to improvise dialogue, so this teaming up allowed Coolidge to tap into her improv background and stretch her comedy chops.

Jennifer Coolidge played a supporting role in the television sitcom Two Broke Girls, which ran from 2012 to 2017. Depending on your perspective, she may have been the only good thing about that show, but it maintained great ratings and solid reviews throughout its run.

After the show’s run, Coolidge, by her own standards, briefly stepped out of the limelight. It’s arguable if she ever left, as there are no real gaps in her prolific resume, but as many of you know, the truth doesn’t always affect how we feel. Coolidge herself, referring to this time, told Vogue in 2021, “I feel like that self-centered misery can be really hard to climb out of sometimes. You can meet someone doing even worse than you, but you can barely see it because you’re clouded in your own dark cloak or whatever.”

Coolidge told a Sydney crowd in 2023, “I want everyone to know all my depressing stories. Because I think it will help people. I do feel like I am a good story. I had a very hard time functioning for many years, because I just didn’t think I had a shot in hell.” In an industry with a history of ageism, especially toward women, Jennifer Coolidge experienced maybe the best years of her storied career in 2022 and 2023. She was an Entertainment Weekly “Entertainer of the Year,” alongside her back-to-back Emmys.

At the long-delayed 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards on January 15, 2024, Jennifer Coolidge is presented with her second Emmy in a row for The White Lotus. She beat out 4 of her White Lotus co-stars for the award. I don’t know if that speaks to the brilliance of The White Lotus or the shortage of shows of competitive quality. Her acceptance speech plays on her speech from the year before, where the orchestra played her off the stage for running on a bit too long.

In her acceptance speech, Coolidge thanks White Lotus showrunner Mike White (yeah, Ned Schneebly) for his part in her career resurgence. But are thanks also owed to pop princess Ariana Grande? Ariana Grande’s impression of Coolidge on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon went viral 5. It sparked a friendship between the two stars, culminating in Coolidge being featured in Grande’s music video for Thank You, Next in 2018 and a joint interview for the Entertainment Weekly feature in 2022.

Jennifer Coolidge’s White Lotus role may end up being the one she’s most fondly remembered for, but she’s not stopping anytime soon. She comes off as newly content and confident. Legally, Blonde 3 is in pre-production as of early 2024, and she continues to be one of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood. Coolidge is a lot of things to a lot of people. “Stifler’s Mom”, “Paulette”, “Tanya”, one of the best comedic character actors of our time, the second best “wow” in Hollywood. So nobody should give a fuck about what the fuck happened to Jennifer Coolidge cuz she’s doing just fine… better than ever, actually.

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Fourteen years have gone by since director Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi horror film Splice (watch it HERE) reached theatres – and now Fangoria has broken the news that Splice is finally getting the novelization treatment! This novelization has been written by  Claire Donner, “New York City and online branch director of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, who has written essays for Severin Films’ releases of Michele Soavi’s Dellamorte Dellamore, The Sect, and The Church“, and is coming our way from Encyclopocalypse Publications, the company that’s also behind such novelizations as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Redneck Zombies, Re-Animator, Wishmaster, Fright Night, and more.

Scripted by Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, and Doug Taylor, Splice had the following synopsis: Genetic engineers Clive Nicoli and Elsa Kast hope to achieve fame by splicing animal DNA to create hybrids for medical use at the company N.E.R.D. (Nucleic Exchange Research and Development). Their work has yielded Fred and Ginger, two large vermiform creatures intended as mates for each other.

The film stars Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac, and David Hewlett.

Donner had this to say about the novelization: “I did not add anything new to the course of events in Splice, but the film provides so much room to explore psychology and memory that I’d like to think the novelization will feel fresh and provocative for fans. Vincenzo flatters his audience by never saying too much, allowing for some amount of collaboration between the viewer’s imagination and the nuanced performances of the cast. My challenge was to engage with the story’s tantalizing mysteries without totally violating them; in a lot of ways, Splice is about privacy and the emotional boundaries that its characters cannot or will not cross. Some of what I have fleshed out was derived from unfilmed scenes in a preliminary version of the script, but this was really in the service of creating convincing inner worlds for the characters. It would be too easy to say that Clive and Elsa are driven by hubris, or a craving for knowledge that undermines their own humanity. All the stock motivations of a Frankenstein story are joined here by something more profoundly personal. For example, the film makes insinuations about Elsa’s childhood, which she is apparently unable to discuss even with her beloved partner, that are just as disturbing as any of the proper horror elements. It was really important for me to delve into this, to get to the heart of what kind of person she is, to hopefully complement the complex screen depiction of this individual.“

More from Donner can be found at the Fangoria link. Her work on the novelization met with Natali’s approval, as he tweeted, “Claire Donner has written a deeply psychological and perverse novelization of Splice. I loved it.”

Copies of the Splice novelization are available for pre-order through the Encyclopocalypse Publications website. The release date is August 20th. Will you be picking up a copy? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Microsoft slashed nearly 2,000 jobs across its gaming division on January 25, impacting staff at Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Xbox. And now, we’ve learned that an in-development survival game from Blizzard, codenamed “Odyssey,” has been canceled and most of the team working on the game were let go.

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