As December revs up and we creep closer to Christmas, no doubt you’re scrambling to find a killer gift for the horror-loving freak in your family. It’s okay. Horror fans and collectors are hard to buy for. Why? Because they have everything. It’s just the law of strange cinema culture.
To help you out, we have selected a short list of our favorite items that crossed our desks this year for our 2016 Holiday Horror Gift Guide a darker companion to our expansive 2016 home entertainment gift guide.
You’ll find a handful of indispensable items here and we’ve thrown in enough oddball treats that are guaranteed to surprise and delight even the most hardened shock junkie.
Have a look below and for gods sake… get shopping, ya lazy bugger!
Holiday Gift Guide
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Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast Box Set
A staggering, splattery gift from the gore gods! This monolithic 17 disc set chronicles most of the work of exploitation movie godfather H.G. Lewis and comes jam-packed with extras. Arrow Video has outdone themselves with this Blu-ray set. Even if you don;t worship the world of the now sadly departed Lewis, this is a loving, lurid testament to the power and endurance of independent filmmaking. Amazing. Pick it for the best price via Amazon here.
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Count Dracula's Great Love Blu-ray
Javier Aguirre and Paul Naschy's long-loved erotic vampire opus has never had a proper home video release, much to the dismay of its legion of devoted fans. Vinegar Syndrome has righted this wrong. This sumptuous new Blu-ray release is a show-stopper, presenting the delirious Gothic drama in lush widescreen with a clean, HD print and loading the back end with extras. They don't make movies like this anymore. They didn't make them like this then, either. A must buy for Eurohorror fans. Pick it up here.
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The Walking Dead Season 6 Tru
We may be saturated with The Walking Dead on this site and everywhere else but there's a very good reason that the show is so popular. It's a landmark and season 6 was one of the most intense and upsetting of them all. Anchor Bay have released the complete 6th season in an incredible 3D "truck walker" edition featuring a zombie crushed and struggling. These are the kind of things horror fans dreamed of having as kids. Let's not take it for granted. The ultimate gift this year for the TWD fan in your world. Grab it on sale here.
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Satan's Slave
After an early career in sex films, UK filmmaker Norman J. Warren moved into horror (albeit erotic horror) with 1976’s Satan’s Slave (aka Evil Heritage), written by David McGillivray and starring U.K. genre legend and Hammer horror vet Michael Gough. Eerie, atmospheric, risqué and violent, Satan’s Slave was driven by a rather brilliant score by jazz musician John Scott. And now, that stunning soundtrack has been released by label Moscovitch Music in both gorgeously packaged 12’ vinyl and CD. Grab this amazing limited edition soundtrack here.
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Jess Franco's 99 Women 3 Disc Collection
Cult filmmaker Jess Franco's legendary 1969 women in prison shocker 99 Women is a major work of Eurotrash and the first WIP exploitation film. Blue Underground goes all out with this release, offering a Blu-ray, DVD and full CD score by maestro Bruno Nicolai and arming the release with a plethora of new and classic bonus features. This is a must own for Franco-philes and people looking to start exploring his universe.
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Aliens: The Set Photography Book
If you're a fan of James Cameron's high-octane sequel Aliens you'll want to own this book. So ask Santa for it. Or buy it here and get it for someone else. Wall-to-wall shots behind the scenes from the film coupled with warm memories from select cast and crew. A lush loveletter to an essential genre film. Out now from Titan Books.
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Feeding Hannibal: A Connosiseur's Cookbook
We were on the set of NBC's lamented series Hannibal a few times and met the lovely Janice Poon, the chef who sculpted all of the Cannibal killer's culinary indulgences. She's a veritable artist and this self-penned cook book is a real deal trip. Get it for the budding chef in your life or the "Fannibal" with a sick sense of humor.
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American Horror Project Blu-ray Boxset
Though it's been out for almost a year, Arrow's American Horror Project boxset is still a hot commodity and one of the most unique horror film culture releases in years. Collecting three obscure downmarket American titles - Malatesta's Carnival of Blood, The Witch Who Came From the Sea and The Premonition - the set comes packed with extras, a detailed supplemental book and of course, handsome transfers of the remarkable films themselves.
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Year of Fear 2017 Calandar
LA-based creative photographer and filmmaker Ama Lea got sick of seeing nothing but cheesecake in her beloved horror genre so she lovingly put this crazy awesome calendar together. It's 12 months of buff lads riffing onn horror movie iconography. Hot stuff and a real deal work of vision, humor and skill. Pick this sucker up and start next year right!
