The Scream Factory Problem (Worst Blu-Ray Label)
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2024
- A little rambling video on why I think Scream Factory is the worst boutique blu--ray label.
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I’m not a slip cover guy but totally agree really loved the exclusive artwork and some of the 4k upgrades come out not long after the blu ray feels like cash grabs and cutting corners.
"Cutting Corners" is good description for sure
Spitting truth brother. We’ve been covering scream year by year and talk about alot of these issues and it’s only gotten worse.
Just subbed 🤙 I'll check the vids out cause these are just recent observations of mine so I wonder what other garbage they've been into...
@@JTtheTalkingHead oh man. Thanks for sub bro. Subbed as well. I’ve been getting everything from them since day one. Not so much anymore because of stuff like this. But it’s a cool show you can find in my playlists. We run through the whole history. The good the bad and the ugly. Things started getting a bit off w some stuff around year 3. It’s the worst now. I’m actually going live in a few to talk some stuff. Pop in and say Whatsup if you around. Nice meeting you man, I’m Garrett.
@Born2BeRad Likewise bro 🤙
I personally don’t like the commissioned artwork. I’d much rather have the original artwork, but to each their own.
It's really just about choice though. Some people dig it and some don't but I could almost guarantee it's not costing them much more to put the reversible art on these releases to give us that choice...
I don't have a Problem with Scream Factory . And I really do not care about all of that extra stuff that they put with all of the movies . I only care about the movies . That's all I care about
I will only buy from Scream Factory if I don't have any other options. And still when I do. I'll only buy them when their on sale. Like when Scream released Candyman in 4k. I instead bought Arrow UK's edition instead. And I got the lmtd for the same price as Scream. My favorite boutique labels are Arrow, Second Sight, Kino Lorber, Blue Underground and Vinegar Syndrome.
All great labels!
I've been getting fingerprints, and deep scratches on my discs directly sold through Scream Factory sometimes of late😢😢😢 Where's the quality control now?
While I agree with you, the 'predatory' aspect is directed at one particular customer: the superfan. A lot of these boutique titles, especially in Scream Factory's catalog, have small but rabid cult followings. You may look at that release of My Bloody Valentine or Creepshow and be "who gives a f***?" But there are enough people who are obsessed with MBV, see that pen set in a unique heart shaped box and are "Shut up and take my money".
I speak from personal experience. I absolutely love John Carpenter's The Fog. When Scream Factory put out the 4k, the bundle was being sold divided several ways so you could order what you want or nothing at all. I immediately ordered the $200 set with everything- the standard disc, the steelbook with new art, two posters, the pin set, the vinyl 45, and the exclusive NECA figure. I don't regret it for a second. That pin set is high quality and beautiful (one person's trash is another's treasure). Would I do it with any other movie? Doubtful. But then again, if they offered as big a bundle on one of the few movies I like more, who knows?
I see what you're saying, however I just can't help but look at other labels like Second Sight and see these beautiful editions they're doing, that seem to be higher quality, and they're like half the price. I get the superfan aspect of it, but I just happen to think superfans are being rear-ended here...
I did that for Big Trouble In China, because I love that movie. I got the vinyl 45, the Steelbook, the Blu-Ray with slipcover and two posters! For most part, I don't like anything that can't sit on the shelf next to the box. I'll pick up some figures and I do like the posters. I can't do that too often because of the high price-point.
I personally stopped with the scream factory upgrades because I’ve had it with the same special features just being ported over to 4K , I like the upgrade but they can’t get more interviews , more bonus commentaries that weren’t on previous Blu-ray? This would attract the fan base ALOT more than just the movie looking and sounding a little better
I see your point and it would certainly be nice, however I don't see a bunch of new features as being realistic from really any of these labels. Heck, even Arrow is bad about leaving off features from some of their upgrades for whatever reason. I think kust the upgrade would be fine for people who want it, but at a reasonable price.
Most of these 4ks already had collectors edition blu rays with new interviews. Do you really need SF to bring back the same people they interviewed for the blu to rattle off the same things they already said for the previous interviews? Like what’s Tom savini going to say about the burning that he didn’t already say for the blu ray interview?
I've been out of the movie physical media game for a while and just got back into it. I'm shocked that people pay such premium prices for bullshit that does matter. People paying an extra $50 for a Vinegar Syndrome release over the in stock version because the slipcover version is sold out is insane. This nonsense allows these companies to charge more of a premium for non-premium items, like lobby cards and covers. Stop it, people.
Even though Scream Factory isn’t as great as they once were I still love their stuff. I’m not a completist so I prefer slips but it’s not a dealbreaker for me.
I do still enjoy their products when they do well. I want them to succeed, which I why I wanna call out BS when I see it lol. I've purchased quite a few discs and I am happy with all of them for the most part.
Region locking is especially insidious. SF already refuse to ship internationally and have a bunch of site exclusive movies that can't be purchased elsewhere. Many of these are Corman titles that SF owns the international rights to. At this point, they're behaviour is antithetical to film distribution because they are going out of their way to prevent films from being seen. I presume the idea is to create artificial scarcity and drive up prices. That's just cynical and undermines the work the boutiques do. As for my favourite labels - Severin, Mondo Macabro and Umbrella are all fantastic.
Man, I didn't even realize the severity of most of that... Thanks for pointing that out... 😞
The biggest issue I have with their releases is that their transfers usually are not very good. They're not on the level of Arrow or Criterion imo. Like I've seen a lot of their Blu-rays that use less-than-ideal sources and mediocre encoding.
I hate buying the blu-ray, and then a few months later they put out the movie on 4K,and I feel compelled to double dip. And I feel that the 4K is priced too high.
I completely agree I would rather have a nice big box set rather than cheap trinkets. I have so many international discs that just work even though it says region b. region locking sucks easy enough to get around with a region free player but if it’s going to be solely on the backs of collectors everything should be region free. So many movies got foreign Blu-ray’s and we still only have the dvd
Hey , brother I live in England and I was absolutely looking forward to that 4k release of People Under the Stairs and I am so disappointed that it was region locked. I really like horror and boutique labels. I really hope that won't become a regular thing to region locked their 4ks as I have quite a number of their releases and want a 4k collection of my favourite horror movies. Thanks for pointing that out as most reviewers in the U.S didn't mention the region lock. I've got a nightbreed 4k coming and I hope thats gonna work in my region. Appreciate you.
I don't believe they're going to keep doing it as I've since been informed that they've said it was a mistake. However, they aren't offering replacements to those affected, which I find to be dumb. Just purchase with caution from now on...
So, the add ons (sticker, poster, pin sets) are all extra pricing. The MSRP pricing is all inflated for profit for both SF & Gutter garbs.
If you don’t want that stuff, you don’t need to buy it. It’s that simple. Buy the standard editions from other retailers to lower your cost.
I literally said that in the video. My problem is the fact that the pin sets, stickers and everything turn out to be more than the price of the actual MSRP of the movie. They're banking on the exclusivity and limited quantities of the items, which I understand, it's a collector's market, however the price they charge does not match my perceived value of the items. 🤷♂️
@@JTtheTalkingHead they obviously are charging for profit and “limited quantities”. Half that stuff is useless to me too, which is why I don’t buy it.
@deanrenner Sure, and I understand the marketing strategy. I just don't like it and I wanted to talk about it. Out of all the labels they're the most in your face when it comes to these sales tactics and I think it makes the industry look bad, as well as harms the growth of physical media. Turns a lot of consumers off from the product. I know I harp on SF a lot here but I really do like them and their products (when they do well), but I think it's up to the consumer to vote with their wallets in order to *check* these companies when we see something out of pocket, which I'm glad you yourself are obviously doing by choosing not to purchase the extras for these insane prices.
@@JTtheTalkingHead it’s very easy for people to pick and choose how they spend their money. 4K is an upscale market, the work that goes into a 4K transfer & restoration is very time consuming. An audio upgrade is also just as time consuming. So the amount of work going into bringing something to 4K is labor intense. It takes Months to complete.
As far as what SF does, the Creepshow example is good to use, I paid $45 and got the 4K, with the sticker, 2 posters & an extra slip. That’s not a lot to me to get those few extra inclusions.
@@deanrennerinsane cope
In the UK there's a label called 88 films, they charge £16.00 for a really high quality folo slip cover art cards double sided poster and reversible cover art. , I own one shout select. Nothing inside nothing included no slip cover cost me £35.00
They have a lot of bad quality control issues as well and they refuse to fix a lot of them. Night/Demons 4K apparently has audio sync issues and people have complained but SF doesn't seem to really care about it.
Mine was perfectly fine... tgat sucks though and I have just about every 4k they put out so far and the 1080p bly ray version before with the previous release. I've had four bad disc's out all of my Scream factory purchases... I love Scream factory, but I do agree with this guy though. I love Arrow video, Kino Lorber, second sight, Vinegar syndrome and Synapse. Arrow is my Favorite and go all out when you purchase their initial release.... Arrow is Kung in my book, but Scream had all the movies that I really want, so I have to buy their 4k version, because no one else had it...
@@DinoJazz13 The Night of the Demons 4K audio sync issue is only on the 2.0 track apparently and not the 5.1.
Totally agree, I started out loving Scream Factory but they have now dropped to about the bottom of the barrel for me. I've got so many new 4ks from them with bad scratches all over and had to get replacements, and their pricing is laughable. I love those random 1500 run blus they are dropping now for $30 a pop and after shipping/taxes it's $40+ lol.
Agreed! Btw I just subbed to you, we're mutuals on tiktok. Dig the content, keep up the good work 🤙
@@JTtheTalkingHead awesome thx!
Stop blaming the companies for overcharging. They wouldn’t be doing it if people weren’t paying it. Start blaming people for having zero self control and taking a stand by not buying it. If you have a table at a flea market and one guy offers you $10 for something and another guy offers $20, who are you selling it to? Exactly. Now does that make you an asshole? Reality is physical media is niche now so expect to pay niche prices. Want to blame someone? Blame Best Buy. Them getting rid of physical media took away consumer options and less consumer options means less competition and less competition means higher prices.
I Purchased Carrie, the 4k edition from them...I'm from Brazil, I had to wait forever for the arrival of it, I paid a lot of taxes for it and my Special features blu-ray disc from that edition just doesn't work...And I can't ask a replacemente disc from Brazil...either way it would cost a lot because of the international fees and taxes...I had to buy a used edition (that way I know the discs are working fine) and I am currently waiting for it...but it's absurd that a company that charges a lot for its products doens't offer quality control for their public...
Scream Factory said that The People Under The Stairs being region locked was done in error
Yes, I have since been made aware of this. I think they should fix it though, which they don't seem to be doing.
@@JTtheTalkingHead they are known for fuck ups tho how many times have they released something that needed a replacement disc
Shout factory has had issues since day one. I remember the DVD sets of DiC cartoons that they were coming out with from 2005-2011 being plagued with problems. They were overpriced, had audio issues, tape dropouts, lackluster extras and the distribution of them was pretty terrible. Glad to see people finally waking up after all this time.
I just ordered several Scream Factory blurays for the first time. I bought them from Amazon because they were significantly cheaper than the Scream Factory website. Even though they came from Amazon, the slipcovers and inserts were horribly dog eared and dented. Fortunately I don't mind these things, the disc is what matters to me, but I know this is a major gripe for most collectors.
Amazon is another beast of its own...
Amazons shite packaging is to blame for that I have seen in some cases them actually ship the item with the postage stamp on the actual item with no shipping box or bubble mailer
Do these Scream Factory blurays with a premium price attached have a film restoration done to the film? To me, that justifies the higher cost because of the paid labor involved. Pins and knick knacks are worthless to me. I'll be like, 'Wow cool' the first time I see it, then just sit on the shelf never to be seen again.
Most of the time but that isn't my complaint. The premium there lies in the $40 price tag for the film alone, my gripe comes with them charging an extra $60 sometimes more on top of that $40 for the physical junk. That stuff is cool and to each their own, but it isn't worth the price they're asking for it.
@@JTtheTalkingHeadthe Creepshow one cost over £200 to have it shipped via alternative means to UK as Scream Factory don't ship internationally another gripe with me how I always have to buy their releases I do want via proxy or off some ripoff merchant on Ebay
Vinegar Syndrome and Severin really kicked it into gear with their releases!
Scream factory/shout factory and Kino Lorber are taking over now. Many good 4ks
Scream Factory is my favorite label hands down, I've had very few issues with them. But that's me, I think Vinegar Syndrome is going down hill far faster.
Great video! I totally agree with you on most points... Scream/Shout have been going downhill in a big way. Some of the decisions they are making over there are absolutely baffling and mind-boggling. Overall, they are acting like a company that is desperate and dying... or at least in significant decline. I've always appreciated the titles that they have (they do have a great selection), but they have so many other issues with their releases that they are really leaving a bad taste in my mouth (including quality control issues during production). I do disagree a little bit about their slipcovers... I don't think they're very good, honestly. The standard SF slips usually have nice artwork, but aside from that, they are some of the worst quality slips I've seen on the market -- very flimsy and cheap, and sometimes the glue separates and the slip starts to come undone. Once I discovered the kind of slipcovers we get from Vinegar Syndrome and compared them to Scream Factory, the quality differences became very apparent (VS slips use a much thicker paper stock and usually have embossing and/or spot-gloss, etc. SF never doesn't anything like that for their standard slipcovers).
As far as the slips are concerned, I don't think they're necessarily low quality but I will agree that other labels in the game like VS do it bigger and better!
Scratched discs with their 4K releases is my biggest issue with them. Six out of the seven 4K's I've purchased all needed replacement discs, thankfully I'm done with their 4K upgrades. I rarely ever order directly from them so those bundles are of no interest to me. I do think it's lazy that they don't include the alternate artwork from the Blu-ray collector's editions over to the 4K's. It kinda makes the slipcover pointless if the artwork is the same as the case artwork.
I agree they have very sadly fallen off over the last few years… the problem with all this is that Scream Factory has THE BEST library out of ANY of the boutique labels. They just do. So it is what it is.
Good video. Extra slips is ridiculous. Child's Play 2 & 3 come to mind for me. Instead of the slips it could have been reversible artwork. Love the titles they licence, but not a fan of the company. Their releases carry a premium price, without feeling premium for the most part
Agreed.. 😮💨
Also quantities are too damn limited on a lot of their releases.
I have spent lots of cash on Scream Factory products, but they are price gouging no doubt.
That's why I get all my collectors edition s from amazon all under 29 and if I have issues I can take it back and get another one
This is the way
I have a big problem with bouquet labels that do not offer reversible cover art. Even aggravating spending huge money upgrading to four k certain close from warner brothers and the artwork is absolutely putrid. I now have a system that if I don't like the cover art I will make a copy Of the blu ray cover and slide it in over the Putrid new Artwork. I'm much prefer original movie art on my films that's just how I am wired.
Can we get another SF rant? They frustrate the hell outta me! Cheers!
Hahahah we'll see 🤣 I'm sure they'll piss me off again eventually.
Hi just letting people know i live in uk and own this scream factory people under the staires and never knew it was the first 4k locked disc. Totally wrong that!!!!!! Ive just tried on my uk ub9000 and it wont play region locked😤 but tried on my chipped ub820 and plays fine. Which is great but had it chipped to play any region blu ray. So it obv makes 4k discs which are locked (shouldent be!!) play also. But thanks for letting me know this👍🏻
I agree! I love the reversible artwork and slipcovers. I also do like Lobby Cards, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I don't care about other goodies like dogtags, pins, or stickers. I'm not going to use a sticker.
I'm also not into collecting most figurines. I did get the Jurassic Park Figurine for the DVD Trilogy years ago. That was well done. But, I've been burned a few times on cheaply made figures that feels like something off the shelf in Wal-Mart. Scream Factory did a nice set for Chucky, but it was too pricey for me and I'm not the biggest fan of the series beyond a few entries.
Upgrades:
It does annoy me when they put out a 4K and they don't include all of the features of the Blu-Ray release. Or at least include the former Blu-Ray as a second disc. I am holding back on upgrading unless there is a reason to do so like a new Commentary or new documentary included. But, I also want everything released in the past so I can replace my Blu-Ray on the shelf.
When I looked into the Big Touble in Little China release as just one example they did I was not happy. They did no restoration no audio upgrade nothing from the previous release from the other company. So im paying a premium price for what interviews. This seems to be a trend with them on titles now put a pretty cover on it add a few extras jack up the price. It's sad i have to research everything from them now. Vinegar Syndrome i don't Synapse i dont or criterion and Arrow. Now i constantly hear about damaged discs and busted cases ond oil. I'm Not looking for everything just not cheap cash grabs.
Agreed... And it's sad too because sometimes SF hits it out of the park but I'm seeing homers become more and more of a rarity these days...
Were they allowed to remaster it though? Sometimes they are not allowed to tweak the masters they are given depending on the licensor.
some of the 4K have reverse art like the fog tbf
This is news to me. But if that's the case then in fairness I will cut them a small bit of slack on the issue.
@@JTtheTalkingHead its only certain releases i think the funhouse has it too im not defending them though IT should be there regardless scream factory are just being lazy no excuse for that
@@JTtheTalkingHead The new Blob 4K has reversible art as well and it's the old VHS cover surprisingly.
Doesn’t matter to me about the slipcovers, I don’t keep any
Well shiiiiit send 'em my way! 👀😂
Personally i think Scream Factory needs to be knocked down a peg or 2... They have simply gotten a way to big an ego at this point. They are way overpriced with everything, they screw up releases way more then any other company and they bairly care cause.... we keep buying them, so i guess you can't really blame them. The artwork deal is pretty much the same as Arrow simply re-using the excact same art for the 4k releases that they used on the bluray releases so in that case i guess it's just a case of being lazy on both parts. Scream overall has great titles, but for me that's all they got goin for them... Companies like Arrow and Vinegar Syndrome does wayyyyyyy better releases overall. I would much rather have the hardcase boxes they use over the flimsy slips scream use.
At least with Arrow, they still give us the reversible cover art... Scream Factory commissions these artworks for their releases and then omits them completely from 4K upgrades...
I dont but all their pins, posters,custom slip covers and B.S. stickers.... People who buy it for super top dollar then complain ... just don't buy it and theyll stop ripping us off on extra crap. I just buy the 4k blu rays movie only and I buy it from Amazon which is 97% of the time cheaper then Scream factory, also prine delivery blows Scream factory out of the water. In the end, I love most of their 4k upgrades ... picture quality is beautiful fir the most part.
Everything you said my brother is so true. 💯 Scream factory is becoming a joke. It's all about the money and nothing else.
I mean, at the end of the day these labels are all pretty money hungry, but SF just feels a bit more in your face with it..
At the end of the day, they Are A Business. The prime goal is sales & profit.
@@deanrenner Not gonna be any sales and profit if they keep spitting on their consumer base. 🤙
@@JTtheTalkingHead with the amount of options they offer, they’re not.
The benefit of ordering directly from them is getting your titles before street date, and an extra poster.
Then they offer the different bundles, which is the consumers choice to buy or not. And if none of those options are suitable, there’s online retailers selling Just the title itself at MSRP.
There’s plenty of ways to choose to spend your dollars.
People are never happy no matter what they do I have noticed this as well. All preference depending on each individual.
No need to upgrade to 4k anyway when you already own the Blu Ray. Why? Do you really need the 4k? I mean how many times are you gonna buy thee same movie? Its ridiculous.
Can't agree here. I enjoy watching my movies in the best picture possible so when a 4K release comes through and it looks better than blu I'ma jump on it. Especially in the case of these boutique labels, a lot of these scans were director approved, so I wanna see the flick the way the director intended it.
@@JTtheTalkingHead eh.
Because you want the best version of said film you can get I like Blu Ray too but 4K especially Dolby Vision makes better in most cases
Be careful buy from scream for that price. If it’s successful everyone will follow suit
8:11 Speaking of slipcovers, why can’t the new artwork slipcover come with creepshow by default like all the other collectors editions in the past. So tired of them doing that. Wish you would of brought up their annoying overpriced site exclusive blu rays they’ve been doing for the last two years to hear your thoughts on that. Other than that good video man.
I was really just calling out what I've personally seen/experienced but since posting this there has been a bunch of new issues with them brought to my attention. :/ I don't like being negative on my channel but their problems seemingly go much deeper than I realized initially...
Scream Factory is crazy with its prices. 20 bucks for the ghost and darkness blue ray. No features.🤬
Wait.. None? Like not even trailers or an interview or something?
@@JTtheTalkingHead new transfer. One trailer. That's it.
Hey Jim " The Anvil" Neidhart!! What's happening brother??
Aye that's a pretty honerable comparison. Rip 😞
I could definitely kill a man with my Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest Arrow book. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
I'd take that and Second Sight's TCM box set into battle with me 😂 Blunt force trauma
This man is say what where all thinking! IM VOTING JT FOR NEXT PRESIDENT!!!!!!!
I swore off ever buying any Shout Factory products in general last year and hope that they will soon meet their demise as a company.
Not happening. They just rebranded to Shout! Studios. Sorry, but I love Shout!. I think they are one of the best companies we have in the US.
I’m done with Scream Factory
You strike me as being related to a certain female singer.
the only issue i hAVE WITH SHOUT FACTORY IS IT BEING LAZY WITH NEW CONTENT
I totally agree.