Empire Pictures: Part One

In this episode, we take a look back at Empire Pictures, one of the more successful independent film distributors of the 1980s, responsible for two classic adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft stories, Re-Animator and From Beyond, the Gremlins ripoff Ghoulies (that wasn't actually a ripoff of Gremlins), and some of the most titillating movie titles to ever exist.

 

Barbara Crampton in a scene from Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator

 

The titles discussed during this episode include:

The Alchemist (1985, Charles Band)
Breeders (1986, Tim Kincaid)
Crawlspace (1986, David Schmoeller)
Creepozoids (1987, David DeCoteau)
Dolls (1987, Stuart Gordon)
Dreamaniac (1986, David DeCoteau)
Dungeonmaster (1984, Dave Allen and Charles Band and John Carl Buechler and Steven Ford and Peter Manoogian and Ted Nicolaou and Rosemarie Turko)
Eliminators (1986, Peter Manoogian)
From Beyond (1986, Stuart Gordon)

The original theatrical one-sheet for From Beyond

 

Ghoulies (1985, Luca Bercovici)
Ghoulies II (1987, Albert Band)
The Princess Academy (1987, Bruce Block)
Psychos in Love (1987, Gorman Bechard)
Rawhead Rex (1987, George Pavlou)
Re-Animator (1985, Stuart Gordon)

The original theatrical one-sheet for Re-Animator

 

Savage Island (1985, Ted Nicolaou)
Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity (1987, Ken Dixon)

The original theatrical one sheet for Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity

 

Terrorvision (1986, Ted Nicolaou)
Trancers (1985, Charles Band)
Transmutations (1986, George Pavlou)
Troll (1986, John Carl Buechler)
Walking the Edge (1985, Norbert Meisel)
White Slave (1985, Mario Gariazzo [under the name Roy Garrett])
Wicked Lips (1986, Albert Pyun)
Zone Troopers (1985, Danny Bilson)