Don't Go in the House

[DarkImbecile]

A legendary title from the Video Nasties era, Joseph Ellison’s relentlessly bleak and disturbing Don’t Go In The House has lost none of its power to shock in the decades since it was first censored by the BBFC and seized by UK authorities.

Donny Kohler (The Sopranos’ Dan Grimaldi in a gripping central performance), a disturbed loner unhealthily obsessed with fire, comes home from his factory job one day to find his abusive mother has died. Now all alone in the large Gothic mansion he calls home and consumed in an inferno of insanity, he is finally able to fulfil his violent revenge fantasies against her. Soon, any woman unlucky enough to enter is forced to come face to face with the worst fate imaginable in the secret steelclad chamber of death he has built in the house’s depths…

Now fully uncut and making its UK high definition premiere in a brand new 2K restoration, the film that dares to ask “What if Norman Bates had a flamethrower?” is back in a definitive collectors’ edition with both original and extended versions.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited edition Ocard featuring newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
• Reversible sleeve and foldout doublesided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
• Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Lindsay Hallam and James Flower

Disc One:

• Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative by Severin Films
• High Definition (1080p) Bluray™ presentation of two different versions of the film: the 83-minute uncut Theatrical Version, and the 89-minute Television Version with additional scenes and alternate footage
• Original lossless mono audio on both cuts
• Optional English audio description for the blind on both cuts
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both cuts
• Brand new commentary on the Theatrical Version by director Joseph Ellison and producer Ellen Hammill
• Archive commentary on the Theatrical Version by star Dan Grimaldi
• "House” Keeping, a brand new featurette by Severin Films interviewing associate producer Matthew Mallinson and cowriter/producer Joe Masefield
• We Went in the House, a brand new featurette by Severin Films with Michael Gingold revisiting the locations from the film, including the iconic house
• Playing with Fire, an archive interview with star Dan Grimaldi from 2005
• Original theatrical trailers and TV spots
• Image gallery

Disc Two:

• High Definition (1080p) Bluray presentation of the Extended Version (92 mins) of the film, with the additional scenes from the Television Version reinserted into the uncensored Theatrical Version
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English audio description for the blind
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary on the Extended Version by Stephen Thrower, author of Nightmare USA
• Minds on Fire, a brand new video essay by David Flint putting the film into context
• Burn Baby Burn and The Burning Man, two archive interviews with director Joseph Ellison
• Grindhouse AllStars: Notes From the Sleaze Cinema Underground, a documentary by High Rising Productions from 2017 interviewing exploitation filmmakers Matt Cimber, Joseph Ellison, Roy Frumkes and Jeff Lieberman

[domino harvey]

My writeup

Don't Go in the House (Joseph Ellison 1980) Disturbed man sets young women on fire in this competently-made but unnecessary Psycho ripoff. The film wisely only gives the audience one seat-squirming act of violence early on, and it's more than enough (too much, really) to "satisfy." Like Maniac, I don't buy into the wonky attempts to explain the perpetrator's actions through confused psychobabble, and this film has the added displeasure of having the pyro attack women who not only don't "deserve" it, but are just being nice to the guy. What fun.

[swo17]

But does he go in the house?

[domino harvey]

In the words of the poet, it's his house, he lives there

[Thornycroft]

It's worth noting that 'Video Nasty' edition exclusive to Arrow's webstore comes with a third disc containing even more transfers of the film.

Disc Three (Limited “Nasty” Edition Exclusive):

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Theatrical Version from a 2K scan of an uncut British internegative, in widescreen and ‘exposed open matte’ presentations with original lossless mono audio
• Cinema Mode: Watch the film with a recreation of an opening cinema programme from the early-1980s
• VHS Mode: Watch the film in a transfer of the original ‘video nasty’ VHS release, with uncut and censored options

Complete overkill? Absolutely. But if you're really nostalgic for the early '80s VHS release of the BBFC-approved cinema cut then Arrow has got you covered.

[Mario G.]

It's worth noting that 'Video Nasty' edition exclusive to Arrow's webstore comes with a third disc containing even more transfers of the film.

Disc Three (Limited “Nasty” Edition Exclusive):

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Theatrical Version from a 2K scan of an uncut British internegative, in widescreen and ‘exposed open matte’ presentations with original lossless mono audio
• Cinema Mode: Watch the film with a recreation of an opening cinema programme from the early-1980s
• VHS Mode: Watch the film in a transfer of the original ‘video nasty’ VHS release, with uncut and censored options

Complete overkill? Absolutely. But if you're really nostalgic for the early '80s VHS release of the BBFC-approved cinema cut then Arrow has got you covered.

Is there any interest in doing a group buy for the US (as has been done for the Indicator sales) of this Arrow exclusive version to cut down on shipping costs? Whoever organizes/places the order would even get the added bonus of the loyalty points! I’d offer to organize, but I’m going through a pretty stressful move right now and I know these limited editions disappear pretty quickly.

[Finch]

very thorough review by dvdcompare with a few screenshots from the various cuts thrown in

[EddieLarkin]

It's worth noting that 'Video Nasty' edition exclusive to Arrow's webstore comes with a third disc containing even more transfers of the film.

Disc Three (Limited “Nasty” Edition Exclusive):

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Theatrical Version from a 2K scan of an uncut British internegative, in widescreen and ‘exposed open matte’ presentations with original lossless mono audio
• Cinema Mode: Watch the film with a recreation of an opening cinema programme from the early-1980s
• VHS Mode: Watch the film in a transfer of the original ‘video nasty’ VHS release, with uncut and censored options

Complete overkill? Absolutely. But if you're really nostalgic for the early '80s VHS release of the BBFC-approved cinema cut then Arrow has got you covered.

After seeing the caps at caps-a-holic I think there was another reason Arrow wanted to do this special third disc: Severin's 4K scan and 2K remaster from the negative is pretty disappointing. They have surely denoised it during clean up as Arrow's 2K scan from the internegative (3rd generation material no?) shows not only finer and less clumpy grain, but better detail too, and even better retention of highlight detail, which is perhaps a sign that they have better equipment or methodology when it comes to scanning/remastering than Severin do? There's also a few instances where Severin have left out the intended colour correction for certain scenes (see comparison 12). I started with Arrow's scan when I watched the film and I'm glad I did, though it's too bad only the superior extended cut is available from Severin's results.

[tenia]

I wonder if it isn't simply all down to an excess of subsequent digital filterings at Severin (and debatable grading choices).