The first two discs - EVIL EYE/BLACK CANDLES and PICK-UP/THE TEACHER - were released last week. Although I'm unfamiliar with the films, the price is definitely right so I'm tempted to pick them up. Any word on these?

There's a discussion over at Latarnia Forums, complete with screengrabs, which look disappointingly drab and tape-based. Also, "Squonkamatic" is proclaiming, "CUT." with no elaboration, but as I'm not always sure what he's on about at the best of times, I don't know if his assertions will be borne out.

BLACK CANDLES has plenty of simulated woman/goat sex, so I doubt it's cut, though I'm no authority. The picture quality on that double feature is awful. The quality on the Crown double feature is pretty good, although the films themselves are, well, from Crown.

I've got a bad feeling that they're PAL, as well. Are they sped-up?

On the Latarnia thread, I believe he's referring to the German disc of EVIL EYE as being cut, not the Grindhouse disc.

Ah ha! Thanks Eric.

That thread claims these aren't in Best Buy stores but I saw Pick-Up/The Teacher last Saturday at a brick & mortar.

I did too. In the Horror section.

Best Buy is at this time only carrying The Teacher / Pick-Up in store while they have Black Candles / Evil Eye only through their website. This is not the first time they have done this they did this with some of the previous BCI double features where they carry only one and not both titles.

They're 4:3 as well.

POSSIBLE EVIL EYE SPOILERS

I got this double feature today and checked out EVIL EYE this evening. Wow. This film makes THE VISITOR look coherent. Was there even a script for this? The cop-out ending is almost a necessity since the several plot threads show no sign of a cohesive joining. Did director Mario Siciliano make this up as he went along? Is it a giallo? A devil-worship flick? An EXORCIST ripoff? Softcore porn? Well, it's everything, and nothing. Why is there a nude Satanic cult running around? Why is Jorge Rivero seen from behind in one scene, with a character looking at him like he's a monster? We never see his face in this scene. What's up with the deafening noises that detective Anthony Steffen keeps hearing? Why is one character seen barfing up a frog at one point? I thought HOUSE OF EXORCISM was the only film to use that. EVIL EYE made absolutely no sense, but I enjoyed watching it.

Despite his fourth-billing, Rivero is the star of the film, with top-billed Steffen rather ill-used and ultimately not having much to do with anything, despite a great moment when he slo-mo dodges a rock that gets kicked up by a passing vehicle. A year away from his death, the great Richard Conte already looks embalmed--great actor, great face, but in this post-GODFATHER Euro phase of his career, was he victimized by the worst dye-jobs in cinema or what? On top of that, he just doesn't look good, looking at least 15 years older than the 64 years of age he was at the time (and he's dubbed by one of those all-too-familiar voices that I can't put a name to). It's too bad THE GODFATHER didn't kickstart his career again--that guy deserved better than going out on 1975's NAKED EXORCISM, that's for sure. All I'm saying is, looking at Conte here, it's hard to believe he had recently been seen in a crucial supporting role in a Oscar-winning cinematic phenomenon. Go where the work is, I suppose.

I'll check out BLACK CANDLES later this week. I'm just not in the mood for simulated goat sex tonight.