THE DVD PREMIERE OF THE 1980s HORROR CLASSIC!
One of the great and most fondly remembered "lost" classics of 1980s horror, DEATH SHIP finally gets its long awaited and first ever UK DVD release in February 2007 courtesy of Nucleus Films.
Written by genre movie legend Jack Hill (writer-director of a seemingly endless list of cult favourites including SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, FOXY BROWN, COFFY and SPIDER BABY) and starring Oscar winning actor George Kennedy (JUST BEFORE DAWN and CREEPSHOW 2), Richard Crenna (THE EVIL and FIRST BLOOD), Nick Mancuso (NIGHTWING), Sally Ann Howes (CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG) and Saul Rubinek (TRUE ROMANCE and UNFORGIVEN), DEATH SHIP gives an effectively creepy, nautical spin to the archetypal "haunted house" theme.
Unknown to the vacationing passengers partying the night away aboard a luxury ocean liner, their holiday is about to come to a very abrupt and watery end. Veiled in the darkness of the open sea, a mysterious vessel is approaching on a deadly collision course with the cruise ship.
Despite a desperate attempt to avert disaster, the warning comes too late and the liner goes down with all passengers and crew on board save for nine survivors, including the ship's soon-to-be-retired captain, Ashland (George Kennedy), his successor Trevor Marshall (Richard Crenna), and Marshall's wife (Sally Ann Howes) and two young children. Left adrift at sea, the castaways are given a lifeline when they manage to clamber aboard a passing freighter. But, once aboard the obviously derelict vessel, they soon realize they may be facing an even worse fate than their late fellow passengers. The ship is revealed formely to have been a floatingr Nazi interrogation unit and now appears to host a malevolent presence intent on destroying its newly arrived guests in the most gruesome and terrifying ways imaginable.
DEATH SHIP (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by Nucleus Films on 12th March 2007. Special Features include: newly created widescreen (1.85:1) presentation enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs; audio commentary by director Alvin Rakoff, moderated by English Gothic author Jonathan Rigby; "Stormy Seas: The Journey From Blood Star To Death Ship" – an all-new featurette featuring director Alvin Rakoff, writer Jack Hill and actors Nick Mancuso and George Kennedy; deleted scenes (from early 1980s TV version); the "uncensored" Bloody Shower scene; picture gallery (posters, stills, press books, video art); Jack Hill's original "Blood Star" story – selected pages from the vaults of Jack Hill; theatrical trailers (3); English 2.0 (original Mono); optional subtitles for the hard of hearing; Nucleus Films promo reel; Nucleus Films trailers.
Here are a few sample clips:
