With 31 Nights Of Terror we're always looking for ways to deliver the chills. One lucky Upcomingdiscs fan will get door to door creeps when we send out Crimson Winter. It's the story of an ancient vampire clan and a modern group of environmentalists. Aren't they just the most tasty treats? It's all on high definition Blu-ray.

To win just follow these instructions.

31 Nights Of Terror can also be educational. Scholastic Storybook Treasures brings you The Halloween Stories Collection. It’s a 3 DVD set that includes 14 Halloween stories for early and pre-readers. It’s completely family safe. It also encourages creativity and music appreciation. You can win the set for your little ghoul thanks to Scholastic Storybook Treasures and Upcomingdiscs.

To win just follow these instructions.

It’s October, which means there’s probably a new, spine-tingling offering coming at you every day. (That’s certainly the case here at UpcomingDiscs.) Kill the Messenger — a thoroughly compelling, true-life drama that channels the crusading spirit of All the President’s Men and The Insider — is no one’s idea of a horror movie. Unless you’re like me, and you happen to be a newspaper reporter.

“National security and crack cocaine in the same sentence…does that not sound strange to you?”

With the Marvel universe taking off and scoring at the box office for many years now, studios are digging for franchises they can start up or reboot to cash in on the craze.  Warner Brothers is stumbling a bit with DC comics, but Universal has remained quiet, that is until someone in the creative department realized they own the properties to the greatest horror characters of all time.  When Dracula, The Wolfman, and The Mummy were in their heyday, actors like Karloff and Lugosi became instant icons of cinema.  Now when special FX have never been better and makeup has come along so far, it seems there could be no better time for Universal to open their vaults of horror and unleash their monsters upon the masses where we can witness Dracula and the Mummy sharing the screen together with Frankenstein’s Monster.

Dracula Untold is supposed to be the first film of this monster revival, and the film’s success could determine the fate of these future monster films.  I’m not sure if it’s a sign of confidence or a red flag when the man you have helming your film is a relatively unknown director, but it seems Universal has a lot of faith in their man Gary Shore.  Sure, finding a director is crucial to making your film, but finding the right actor to fill the shoes that so many legends have filled before in the role of Dracula can make or break your film, and in the case of Dracula Untold we have Luke Evans stepping in as the infamous vampire.

By John Delia

Most every child knows the story of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty from early video, books and DVD.  Unless you went to see the movie at a theater back in the 1959, however, you probably saw a version that was not crisp and colorful. Finally, after what seems forever, the family animated fantasy has been Blu-ray remastered and digitally restored in super widescreen. The Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD have new bonus features and include the DVD release’s special extras as well.

“You know what you just did, don’t you? You jumped the shark.”

People have been mocking SyFy original films since the days when the network spelled its own name properly. But staying home on a Saturday night to “MST3K” your way through flicks with D-list actors and Z-grade visual effects has been replaced by Twitter, which practically blew up when the impossibly campy Sharknado premiered last year. SyFy recognized that social media has made it possible for anyone with Internet access to trade yuks and one-liners on a global scale; more importantly, it has allowed the network to be in on the joke in an unprecedented way.

"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true?

Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory. The idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even spacemen. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.

By John Delia

The History Channel’s biography of Houdini is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. The exciting drama delivers a fascinating story of the greatest magician and escape artist the world over.  The transfer from cable to home video is nearly flawless, and the extra 20 minutes of story in the extended version adds a nice touch to the famous entertainer’s prolific story. Special bonus features add credence with actual photos and video of the real Houdini doing some of his most dangerous stunts.

The werewolf continues to be the one monster that just can’t seem to get the film that it deserves.  There has been The Howling and of course An American Werewolf in London, but in the past decade has there been a better werewolf film than Dog Soldiers?  It’s a monster than promises so much violence and can incite so much fear, but instead we are given terrible zombie and vampire films.  With one look at the cover I knew what I was getting into with Werewolf Rising, a low-budget attempt at the monster genre. Though it may not boast a large budget, I can’t help but appreciate this micro-budget attempt that avoids falling back on CGI effects.

Emma (Melissa Carnell) returns to the hometown she grew up in to recover from being an alcoholic.  We don’t get much in the way of how her disease affected her work or social life before making her big move; all we do know is that the alcohol affected her dreams.  These dreams have her being pursued through the woods by some crazed madman who seems to want to kill her.

"What I am about to tell you sounds crazy. But you have to listen to me. Your very lives depend on it. You see, this isn't the first time."

No, this isn't the first time. Tom Cruise seems to be making a habit of these science fiction action movies of late. There was Oblivion and War Of The Worlds, and quite frankly Edge Of Tomorrow looked to be pretty much more of the same. But there's a huge difference between this film and the previous two. Edge Of Tomorrow is actually good. What looks on the surface to be just Groundhog Day with futuristic toys turns out to be a redemption story that I actually never saw coming.