STUDIOS TO RELEASE MONSTER LINEUP

RANDY WEDDINGTON

This season retailers can choose from an abundance of scary titles that should provide them with a strong selling event.

"There's a lot of product which should sell well," said Ken Stilling, vice president of sales at ETD Entertainment Distributing, Houston.

The following is a roundup of what some of the studios will be releasing related to Halloween in the upcoming weeks.

"The end of the third quarter is packed, on through the fourth quarter," said Rick Rhoades, a spokesman for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Fox is including some R-rated material for holiday sell-through. "From an adult perspective we have the 'Omen' series," said Todd Rowan, Fox vice president of marketing. "They're available individually and in a four-pack, on DVD for the first time and VHS as well. It's a classic horror franchise for us."

Another classic Fox character, "The Fly," arrives in a swarm of configurations. "We're releasing two sets of 'Fly' movies," said Rowan, "the 1958 'The Fly,' and its sequel, 'Return of the Fly,' are in one, and the 1986 Jeff Goldblum remake and its 1989 sequel are in the other. They're available singly at a suggested retail of $9.98 and in twin shrinkwrapped video value packs at $14.98."

On DVD the films are getting special treatment. "We're introducing Fox Double Features with these titles," said Rowan. "The two old films will be on one disc and the two remakes will be on another, at a low suggested retail of $34.98." Another upcoming combo includes "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and "Fantastic Voyage."

Other Fox franchises show up in the children's market. "Our Simpsons property is always great for Halloween," said Rowan. "This year's 'Trick or Treehouse' has three Halloween-themed tapes in a gift pack or individually. And 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' is available now on VHS, with DVD perhaps soon. We have a new lower $9.98 on 'Casper: A Spirited Beginning' and 'Casper Meets Wendy' as well as six 'Goosebumps' titles, plus the new-to-video 'Night of the Headless Horseman.' The price point on these titles fits perfectly with the grocery class of trade."

Also from Fox is the 10th anniversary edition of "Edward Scissorhands" Sept. 5 at $14.98 on VHS and $29.98 on DVD.

New Line Home Video, Los Angeles, has a major rental release for the market. "Final Destination," which grossed more than $50 million theatrically, arrives Sept. 26 as part of Warner's Rental Direct program. The film's day-and-date DVD release sports innovative additions.

"We're including a documentary about premonitions," said Mike Mulvihill, New Line vice president of concept development, "as a way of expanding the themes of the film and broadening its appreciation." A second documentary "shows how the movie was changed as the result of test screenings," said Mulvihill. "We have deleted scenes that show the different turns the film took as a result of audience participation." The release also has DVD-ROM features, including the original screenplay and two interactive games that "can be played on a DVD player with a traditional remote control," said Mulvihill.

For Halloween sell-through New Line has "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3: Leatherface" on VHS at $14.98, plus its enduring "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise on tape and disc. "This is the first time all seven 'Nightmare' films are being released as single DVDs," said Mulvihill. "They will have screenplays and other DVD-ROM enhanced features as well."

Paramount Home Entertainment, Hollywood, is releasing classic titles for sell-through with an emphasis on DVD. "'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' will be available Sept. 12 for the first time on DVD," said Martin Blythe, a spokesman for Paramount. The VHS version also streets then. Other DVD debuts, Sept. 19, are the Stephen King titles "Pet Sematary" and "The Dead Zone." These will street on VHS three weeks earlier as part of a $9.98-priced collection that includes "The Addams Family," "Addams Family Values," "April Fool's Day," "Body Parts," "Jack's Back," "My Bloody Valentine," "Pet Sematary 2," "Silver Bullet," "Tales From the Darkside," "Tales That Witness Madness" and "The Temp."

MGM Home Entertainment, Santa Monica, Calif., is currently marketing a DVD collection of horror films for Halloween sell-through at $19.98. New to DVD are "Misery," "Phantasm IV: The Oblivion," "Pumpkinhead," "Swamp Thing" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2." Other titles, repriced from $24.98, include "Carrie," "The Rage: Carrie 2," "Child's Play," "The Dark Half," "Disturbing Behavior," "Leviathan," "Monkey Shines," "Phantasm," "Species" and "Species 2."

Other MGM Halloween sell-through product is derived largely from its American International Pictures library. Sept. 5 "Bucket of Blood," "Frogs" and "Tales of Terror" come to DVD at $19.98 each, with $12.95 VHS releases of "The Amazing Transparent Man," "The Brain That Wouldn't Die," "The Incredible Melting Man," "It! The Terror From Beyond Space," "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," "Konga," "The Return of Count Yorga," "Scream and Scream Again," "Strange Invaders" and "The Vampire Lovers."

Columbia TriStar Home Video, Culver City, Calif., is repricing the VHS "The Eighteenth Angel" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" to $9.95 Aug. 29, with a $12.98 Halloween episode of "The Bear in the Big Blue House" on the same date. Sept. 5 come volumes 1 through 4 of "Animorphs" on VHS at $9.98 each, as well as the reissued "Men In Black." A special edition of this blockbuster is at $14.98 on tape, while two different DVDs will debut. The first, a basic edition, is priced at $29.98; the second, an elaborate, limited, collector's edition, retails for $39.98. A special edition DVD of "The Craft" follows Sept. 12, which also brings a 15th anniversary edition of "Ghostbusters" on VHS at $14.98.

Universal Studios Home Video, Universal City, Calif., "has a strong lineup of Halloween titles," said Bill Bryant, vice president of sales, grocery and drug for Ingram Entertainment, La Vergne, Tenn.

Several classic titles street Aug. 29 on both VHS and DVD, at $14.98 and $29.98 respectively. These are "Creature From the Black Lagoon," "The Mummy," "The Invisible Man," "The Bride of Frankenstein," "The Wolfman," "Frankenstein," "Phantom of the Opera," "Dracula" and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

Other titles on VHS only are "The Creature Walks Among Us," "Revenge of the Creature," "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy," "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man."

Another Universal DVD collection on the same date consists of $29.98 collector's editions of "Psycho," "The Thing" and "Tremors," as well as $24.98 editions of "The Bone Collector," "End of Days," "In Dreams" and the newest versions of "The Haunting" and "The Mummy."

Also available are boxed sets of horror product. The "Classic Creature Collection" has three tapes for $39.98. The "Classic Monster Collection" has eight films for $99.98, and is also available on DVD for $119.98. And the "Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters" set contains four tapes for $59.98.

Universal has also set Aug. 29 as the VHS release date for "You'll Like My Mother," a home video premiere for a spooky gem starring Patty Duke Astin and Richard Thomas, directed by Lamont Johnson ("That Certain Summer," "Execution of Private Slovik"). Johnson called the film his "first entry into the Old Dark House genre."

Children's VHS product from Universal includes "Casper's Spooktacular," a new cartoon collection at $9.98, plus the new "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman" and the reissued "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein," both at $14.98.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Burbank, Calif., reissues "The Prophecy" and "Prophecy 3" on VHS at $14.98 Sept. 19. Then, Sept. 26, comes a boxed set of the "Scream" trilogy at $89.98.

Warner Home Video, Burbank, Calif., is releasing children's product in August for Halloween. This includes "Bugs Bunny's Halloween Hijinks," "Casper Saves Halloween," "Scooby's Creepiest Capers" and the new animated film "The Scarecrow." All are available on VHS at $14.95, in either clamshell or slipsleeve packaging.

Anchor Bay Entertainment, Troy, Mich., has seasonal product on both tape and DVD. "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" and "Evil Dead 2," both streeting in August, have DVDs in both basic and limited, collector's editions.

HBO Home Video, New York, issues Sept. 12 DVDs of "Night Flier" and "Tales From the Hood" at $19.98, plus "The Changeling" at $24.98. There are also the first three volumes of the animated "Spawn," available individually at $19.98 or in a $49.98 boxed set.