‘Friday the 13th Collection,’ and (mostly) More Horror on Home Entertainment … Plus Giveaways!

FRIDAY THE 13TH 8 MOVIE COLLECTION. (DVD Artwork). ©Paramount.

By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

Movies

Friday the 13th 8-Movie Collection (Horror)

Take a ride down memory lane with everyone’s favorite psychotic killer Jason Voorhees in the new “Friday the 13th 8-Movie Collection” on Blu-ray, arriving Aug. 10, Paramount Home Entertainment.

Get ready for the only Friday the 13th of the year on Aug. 13th with this to-die-for collection, which includes newly remastered versions of the first four films in one of the most influential and successful horror franchises in cinematic history. This must-have set for fans of heart-stopping horror is gushing over with hours of previously released special features including slashed scenes, making of featurettes, killer commentaries and more. The set also includes access to digital copies of all eight movies, including the “uncut” edition of the original “Friday the 13th.”

Return to the terror of Camp Crystal Lake and re-experience all the screams, scares, and creative kills.  From the too-often ignored warnings of Camp Crustal Lake’s “death curse,” through an ever-increasing body-count that culminates on the streets of New York City, the hockey-masked mayhem is unleashed and unstoppable.

The eight films in the collection are: “Friday the 13th,” “Friday the 13th Part 2,” “Friday the 13th Part 3,” “Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter,” “Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning,” “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives,” “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” and “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.”

The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 (Horror/Comedy)

The horror comedy “The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2” arrives on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Aug. 10, from Lionsgate.

Carl Black (Mike Epps) is about to face off with the neighbor from hell (Katt Williams) … literally. Carl has only ever wanted the best for his family, but after surviving the events that led to his (not-so-)bestselling book, he’s moving everyone to his childhood home, where’s he’ll contend not only with his wife Lorene (Zulay Henao) and kids Allie (Bresha Webb) and Carl Jr. (Alex Henderson) but everyone who drives him crazy: Cronut (Lil Duval), Freezee (Andrew Bachelor), Rico (Tyrin Turner), and an entire neighborhood of characters who seem to attract strange activity after dark.

Nothing could be freakier than his new neighbor Dr. Mamuwalde (Williams), who very well could be a vampire. From co-writer/director Deon Taylor (“Fatale,” “The Intruder”), as the “Meet the Blacks” universe expands, it will be up to Carl to figure out what his neighbor is up to in the middle of the night before it’s too late for him and his family.

Special features include an audio commentary with the cast and crew, a “The House Next Door: Meet the Dope Cast,” featurette, “Hidden Empire: Paving a New Way,” featurette, bloopers, deleted scenes and more.

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (Horror/Thriller)

“My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To” arrives on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Aug. 10, from Dark Sky Films.

Dwight and his sister Jessie reach a crossroads over what to do about their younger brother Thomas’ mysterious illness. The increasingly dangerous task of keeping him alive weighs heavy on sensitive Dwight, and as a fiercely private and close-knit family unit, Thomas and Jessie depend on him and the rituals they’ve learned in order to keep their secret. Dwight yearns for another life, but Jessie will stop at nothing to keep her family together.

Written and Directed by: Jonathan Cuartas, this horror thriller stars Patrick Fugit (“Almost Famous”), Owen Campbell (“Super Dark Times”) and Ingrid Sophie Schram (“Phantom Thread”).

Profile (Drama/Thriller)

“Profile” arrives on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time Tuesday Aug. 10, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Inspired by true events, the drama follows an undercover British journalist (Valerie Kane) on her quest to bait and expose a terrorist recruiter through social media, while trying not to be sucked in by her recruiter and lured into becoming a militant extremist herself. The unconventional thriller plays out entirely on a computer screen in the screen life format, directed by Timur Bekmambetov (“Night Watch,” Ben-Hur”). The film also stars Shazad Latif.

“Profile” is based on the book, “In the Skin of a Jihadist [Dans la peau d’une djihadiste]” by Anne Erelle.

Till Death (Horror)

“Till Death” arrives on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday Aug. 10, from Screen Media.

Emma (Megan Fox) is stuck in a stale marriage to Mark and is surprised when he whisks her away to their secluded lake house for a romantic evening on their 10th anniversary. But everything soon changes, and Emma finds herself trapped and isolated in the dead of winter, the target of a plan that gets more sinister at every turn.

Directed by S.K. Dale from a screenplay by Jason Carvey, the film co-stars Callan Mulvey (Russo Brothers’ upcoming “The Gray Man”), Eoin Macken (George R.R. Martin’s “Nightflyers”), Aml Ameen (“I May Destroy You”) and Jack Roth (“Medici”).

Scenes from an Empty Church (Dramedy)

Arriving on DVD Tuesday Aug. 10 is the feel-good dramedy “Scenes from an Empty Church,” from MPI Media Group.

In a locked-down NYC, two priests open their church doors to those seeking salvation during the most isolating of times. From the commonplace to the truly metaphysical, their visitors reflect the full spectrum of personal crises of spirituality. Throughout their encounters with the city’s sweetest, wildest and weirdest, the two priests learn the importance of connection, empathy and open-mindedness. Sometimes a little faith is all you need to make it through the bad times.

From writer/director Onur Tukel (“Catfight”) and featuring standout performances from Kevin Corrigan (“Ray Donovan,” “Lost Girls”), Max Casella (“Applesauce,” “Inside Llewyn Davis”), and Thomas Jay Ryan (“Equals,” “Fay Grim”), “Scenes from an Empty Church” is a uniquely timely and timeless spotlight on the search for life’s meaning, told with Tukel’s trademark wit and wisdom.

Victim of Love (Horror/Thriller)

“Victim of Love” arrives on DVD Tuesday Aug. 10, from Indican Pictures.

From Danish writer/director Jesper Isaksen (“The Visitor”), the film centers on Charly (Rudi Køhnke, “The Birdcatcher’s Son”) is looking for his American girlfriend, Amy (Louise Cho, “Dark Samurai”), who disappeared under mysterious circumstances during a vacation stay at a hotel in Copenhagen. Intent on finding her, Charly decides to revisit the hotel she was in to solve the mystery once and for all. However, Charly’s investigation is quickly derailed by the mysterious and flirtatious Felicija (Siff Andersson, “Faces of Fear”), who leads him into an underground world that quickly becomes a phantasmagorical nightmare.

“Victim of Love” also is available now on Digital platforms.

You Will Die at Twenty (Drama)

Amjaad Abu Alana’s “You will Die at Twenty” arrives on DVD Tuesday Aug. 10, from Film Movement

Following a sheikh’s prediction that her baby son will die at the age of 20 during the boy’s naming ceremony, a woman becomes overly protective of her son throughout his life.

Sakina keeps Muzamil under her ever-watchful eye as he encounters friends, ideas and challenges that make him question his destiny. The film was only the eighth narrative featured filmed in Sudan and is that country’s first-ever official entry into the Academy Awards and was the winner of a prestigious Venice Golden Lion for Best Debut Feature. It’s an auspicious and visually sumptuous coming-of-death fable that presents a moving meditation on what it means to live in the present.

The DVD includes two bonus short film produced by Alana: Ahmed Abdelnaser’s “More than Two Days” and “Studio,” which he also directed. The feature film and the two short films are in Arabic with English subtitles.

Front Row Features is giving away copies of Lionsgate’s hilarious horror movie “The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2,” starring Mike Epps to two lucky winners. To enter the contest, simply email frontrowfeatures@gmail.com by Aug. 17 for your chance to win. Good luck!