In the twisted tradition of classic anthology horror films such as TALES FROM THE CRYPT and CREEPSHOW, TRAPPED ASHES features four stories of the surreal, macabre and terrifying, helmed by five of Hollywood’s most unique directors: Joe Dante (GREMLINS, THE HOWLING), Ken Russell (ALTERED STATES, THE DEVILS), Monte Hellman (TWO-LANE BLACKTOP), Sean Cunningham (FRIDAY the 13th), and John Gaeta (Oscar winner for Visual F/X on THE MATRIX Trilogy). Seven strangers (including legendary character actors John Saxon and Henry Gibson) are trapped inside an infamous Roger Corman/AIP-style House of Horrors during a Hollywood movie studio tour, and forced to confess their most disturbing personal memories to get out alive. In Ken Russell’s “The Girl With The Golden Breasts,” a struggling actress (Rachel Veltri) decides to get gel implants made from reprocessed human cadavers – with monstrous results for her and her boyfriend (Jayce Bartok). In Sean Cunningham’s “Jibaku,” an unhappily-married woman (Lara Harris) and her architect husband (Scott Lowell) have a nightmarish encounter with a dead monk on a visit to Japan. In Monte Hellman’s “Stanley’s Girlfriend,” , two ambitious young filmmakers become unlikely friends in 1950s Hollywood: Leo (Tahmoh Penikett), writer of sadistic little B-pictures like “The Strangler,” and a soon-to-be-famous director named Stanley Kubrick (Tygh Runyan). When they both fall in love with the same eerie, irresistible woman (Amelia Cooke), it unleashes a decades-long mystery involving desire and celluloid. And in John Gaeta’s “My Twin The Worm,” a young Goth woman (Michele-Barbara Pelletier) reveals the horrific, Cronenberg-like tale of the inhuman “twin” that grew alongside her in her mother’s womb. With marvelous visual F/X by multi-Academy Award winner Robert Skotak (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, ALIENS) and a superb, haunting soundtrack is by acclaimed Japanese composer Kenji Kawai (THE RING, GHOST IN THE SHELL), TRAPPED ASHES is a dark and surreal love letter to classic genre filmmakers like Mario Bava, to the phantoms (literal and figurative) of the film industry, and to the art of telling scary stories. Newly restored in 4K for its first-ever U.S. 4K UHD and Blu-ray release! Special Features New 4K restoration from 35mm OCN/IP by Craig Rogers of Deaf Crocodile New HDR Dolby Vision color grading by Tyler Fagerstrom Director’s Cut of Monte Hellman’s “Stanley’s Girlfriend” episode (SD) Original full-length cut of Ken Russell’s “The Girl with Golden Breasts” episode (SD) Original 5-part Making Of video with cast and crew interviews (SD) New commentary track by comics artist (Swamp Thing), film historian, and author Stephen R. Bissette. “Hollywood Parasite: Hysteria in Trapped Ashes” - New visual essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson. Three new video interviews with: Director John Gaeta, cast members Jayce Bartok, Scott Lowell and Lisi Tribble, producers Yuko Yoshikawa & Yoshifumi Hosoya, and cinematographer Zoran Popovic, moderated by producer/writer Dennis Bartok for Deaf Crocodile Cast members Tahmoh Penikett & Tygh Runyan and production designer Robb Wilson King Producer Mike Frislev of Nomadic Pictures
