This Week in Horror DVD Releases

Gravestoned —
Eager to make a low-budget horror film, unemployed pot farmers Shark (Joe Glass) and Coltrane (Ivan Jones) saw off the arm of a cadaver to use as a prop, but their “half-baked” plan backfires when the zombie wants his arm back. Before long, our heroes are caught up in a trippy adventure with a gorgeous actress, a cadaver salesmen, cheerleaders with a secret, a cannibal redneck and a lusty dog in this stoner-centric horror comedy.

Command Performance —
Dolph Lundgren directs and stars in this high-octane thriller as rock drummer Joe, whose band is playing the biggest show of its career in Russia when mercenaries storm the stage and take hostages, thrusting Joe into an unexpected rescue mission. With American pop star Venus (Melissa Smith) and the Russian first family captive, Joe teams with agent Mikhail (Zahary Baharov) in a daring attempt to end a madman’s (Dave Legeno) bloody siege.

Beast Within —
Terror catapults onto the screen as a new form of avian flu turns its unsuspecting victims into voracious zombies. Pleasure-seeking 20-somethings partying in a remote mansion must then battle the flesh-eating monsters and the infected birds. Armed with flamethrowers, brawn and scientific know-how, the friends barricade themselves against the horrors of the night, but will any of them live to see the morning light?

Cairo Station —
The lustful fantasies of crippled Qinawi (Youssef Chahine) — a newsstand vendor in a Cairo train depot — morph into a dangerous fixation with a seductive but scheming lemonade seller (Hind Rostom) just as a serial killer begins terrorizing the city in this Egyptian thriller. Also directed by Chahine, the film met with a chorus of condemnation upon its 1958 release but is now considered a masterwork by many cinephiles and critics.