Arrow Video USA bringing Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive to Blu-ray!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Earlier in the year we received the glorious news that Arrow Video – long one of the UK’s best distributors of obscure genre releases – would be invading North American shores and giving us Blu-ray upgrades of some of our favorite cult classics. (Sorry, Scream Factory – we still love ya too!) Their initial slate was fantastic, with titles like SOCIETY, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE and SPIDER BABY being the highlights; today we’ve gotten the news that they’ll be serving Tobe Hooper’s nasty 1977 thriller EATEN ALIVE to us on a silver platter this summer!

If you haven’t seen EATEN ALIVE, you must correct that, if not immediately then with Arrow’s new release in July. Hooper’s bleak, grimy yet morbidly amusing follow-up to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is the very definition of “grindhouse,” and features an excellent cast hamming it up mercilessly. When people talk about movies that make them want to take a hot shower, they mean this one. (That’s a compliment.)

Here’s the synopsis:

Deep in the Louisiana bayou sits the ramshackle Starlight Hotel, destination of choice for those who like to check in but not check out! Presided over by the bumbling, mumbling Judd (and his pet croc which he keeps in a large pond out front), the patron of this particular establishment may seem like a good-natured ol’ Southern gent – but he has a mean temper on him, and a mighty large scythe to boot… 

Arrow Video has packed their release with many alluring extras, including:

Brand new 2K transfer from the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with co-writer and producer Mardi Rustam, make-up artist Craig Reardon and stars Roberta Collins, William Finley and Kyle Richards
New introduction to the film by director Tobe Hooper
Brand new interview with Hooper
My Name is Buck: Star Robert Englund discusses his acting career
The Butcher of Elmendorf: The Legend of Joe Ball – The story of the South Texas bar owner on whom Eaten Alive is loosely based
5ive Minutes with Marilyn Burns – The star of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre talks about working on Eaten Alive
The Gator Creator: archival interview with Hooper
Original theatrical trailers for the film under its various titles Eaten Alive, Death Trap, Starlight Slaughter and Horror Hotel
US TV and Radio Spots
Alternate credits sequence
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

There are more special features to be announced. EATEN ALIVE hits the streets on July 29th.

Source: Arrow in the Head

About the Author

Eric Walkuski is a longtime writer, critic, and reporter for JoBlo.com. He's been a contributor for over 15 years, having written dozens of reviews and hundreds of news articles for the site. In addition, he's conducted almost 100 interviews as JoBlo's New York correspondent.