As Halloween nears, here are 5 Horror gems of 2009 to check out:

If you’re like me, the whole month of October is pretty much Halloween.  I love the holiday and start celebrating it on October 1st by beginning to watch mass amounts of scary movies.  So, in order to help you plan  your Halloween viewing parties, here is a list of my top 5 Horror Blu Ray/DVD releases of 2009.  I’ll even include Netflix links so you can easily add them to your list.

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Let The Right One In Blu Ray Finally Gets a Stellar Release.

Earlier this year US Distribution company Magnolia Pictures dropped the ball and gave us a crappy release of a brilliant Swedish Horror flick called Let the Right One In.  Long story short, they put a dumbed down Subtitle track in place of the nuanced Subtitles that people saw in theaters.

Deciding to wait until their current inventories ran out before fixing the issue and refusing any sort of trade-in program, Magnolia has failed to show any sort of concern for their customer.  (Let it be noted that “fixed” DVD copies are slowly making their ways into stores, but not Blu Ray copies).

Enter UK’s Momentum Pictures.  On August 3rd they released the finest Blu Ray you can purchase.  Plus, it’s REGION FREE, DTS-HD Master Audio, and has a DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY with novelist and screenplay writer John Ajvide Lindqvist and director Tomas Alfredson.  Combine that with fairly cheap import costs via Amazon.uk and we all can give Magnolia Pictures the collective finger and send our U. S. Dollars overseas.

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Let The Right One In Available on Netflix Watch Instantly With Theatrical Subtitles

Even though we can’t OWN Let the Right One In with the correct Theatrical subtitles, at least we can view it on Netflix Watch Instantly in HD.  Thanks to Russ Fischner over at Chud for bringing this to light!

This is one of the best vampire movies I have ever seen.  Too bad we can’t own a good copy of this yet.  Until I can actually purchase a Blu-Ray worth having, this will tide me over, for sure.

[Source: Chud]

Magnolia Annoyed At Blogosphere With “Let The Right One In” Outrage

As reported earlier, there is much outrage to Magnolia Pictures genre label Magnet’s DVD/Blu-Ray release of the much loved Swedish vampire film, Let the Right One In.  The subtitles were dumbed down and were significantly different than what appeared in the Theatrical Release.

Today I got wind of an internal email sent from a Magnolia rep to the Canadian distributor Mongrel, who used the same source material as Magnolia for their release.

Yes the bloggers are having a field day on this one. Normally they like to pick on the English Dub tracks, but in this case it’s the subtitles. Obviously online tend to get rowdy and bandwagon mentality without knowing all the details. The current subtitle track is not altering the context of the film at all, in fact it’s a more literal translation than any prior version of subtitles. It’s not a defective or faulty subtitle file. Just more literal and larger in size for the small screen. Both English and Spanish subtitle files were produced for this dvd release. Frankly it’s not all that uncommon to have the subs vary from prior releases, typically go unnoticed as subs are purely a translation of film dialogue. This wouldn’t have been a blip had it not been for one particular horror blog doing a side by side and claiming that they are wrong. They are not. We are not doing a recall or anything of that nature, again, these are not defective. Title came out two weeks ago and general public don’t notice and don’t care – bloggers are well known for jumping on something, making an issue of it and moving on. We have decided that based on the feedback that we will be making a running change, so that going forward (once inventories deplete), we will be making that subtitle version available. Options in set up will be; English Subtitles / English (theatrical) Subtitles / Spanish Subtitles”

So, they’re not handling this matter in a customer service related matter.  Basically, the error will eventually be fixed, but not soon.  I’d encourage all of you to keep emailing and calling.  See below for all of Magnolia’s contacts:

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Magnet’s “Let the Right One In” Subtitle Fiasco

Update:

According to people who have done so, Amazon will let you return this DVD/Blu-ray as defective, even if it’s been opened, for a full refund.  Do that and wait until the corrected version comes out and buy it.

IconsOfFright broke the story over the weekend that Magnet had encoded inferior subtitles on the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Let the Right One In.  This subtitle change “dumbed down” the subtleties and richness of the characters and story.  Head over to IconsOfFright to view the full comparisons.

Yesterday, Magnet released a statement on the DVD website Digital Bits:

“We’ve been made aware that there are several fans that don’t like the version of the subtitles on the DVD/BR. We had an alternate translation that we went with. Obviously a lot of fans thought we should have stuck with the original theatrical version. We are listening to the fans feedback, and going forward we will be manufacturing the discs with the subtitles from the theatrical version.”

However:

“There are no exchanges. We are going to make an alternate version available however. For those that wish to purchase a version with the theatrical subtitles, it will be called out in the tech specs box at the back/bottom of the package where it will list SUBTITLES: ENGLISH (Theatrical), SPANISH.”

So, all of us that bought the DVD/Blu-Ray already are basically stuck with the inferior subtitles. This is a classic example on how to ruin all credibility of your company.  Hopefully Magnet wises up and offers a disc exchange program. You can email Magnet at: [email protected]. I have numerous times already.

UPDATE:

From an Anonymous comment on /Film:

If you are still frustrated about Magnet not offering an exchange program I would recommend emailing Mark Cuban who owns Magnet/Magnolia/2929/Landmark and let him know your frustrations.

He’s the one guy who actually has the authority to make the exchange program happen. Explain to him how you think it is unreasonable to purchase two copies of a movie just so you can get the correct one, and that because of it it is going to adversely effect your opinion and your willingness to purchase products from his other media brands that distribute his films

[email protected]

Movie Review: Let The Right One In

Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In)

Rating:  

Directed By: Tomas Alfredson

Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson

Screenplay: John Ajvide Lindqvist (based on his novel)

Plot Synopsis:

Oskar is a 12 year-old schoolboy from a sleepy Swedish suburb who longs to stand up to a group of bullies making his life hell. When he gets a new and unusual neighbour in the form of a young girl called Eli, she holds a secret that may be just what Oskar needs to make his stand. But as he begins to fall for her, dark consequences lie ahead. (TrailerAddict)

Review:

Horror movies are generally known for their unsettling content, the gore, monsters or sense of dread.  Rarely are they known for their stillness and beauty.  Tomas Alfredson‘s Let The Right One In, based on the novel of the same name (LÃ¥t den rätte komma in in Swedish) by John Ajvide Lindqvist, is a rare film that combines all the above.  I have never seen a horror film as beautiful as Let The Right One In.

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Must Buy: Let the Right One In on DVD/Blu-Ray

This is on the MUST BUY list for me this week.  I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Let the Right One In (LÃ¥t den rätte komma in).  It’s out on DVD or Blu-Ray and available everywhere, so what are you waiting for?!

Hopefully I’ll have a review up by the weekend.  Until then, enjoy the red band trailer!

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