Arrow Video's belated AMERICAN HORROR PROJECT VOLUME TWO delivers two arty oddities and a grindhouse favorite on Blu-ray.

DREAM NO EVIL: Growing up in an orphanage surrounded by cruel children and strict staff, Grace McDonald dreams that her father will come to rescue her even though everyone tells her he is dead. Adopted by the minister of a traveling church, Grace grows into a beautiful young woman (Brooke Mills, LEGACY OF BLOOD) who becomes engaged to the late Reverend Bundy's younger son Patrick (Paul Prokop, THE VELVET VAMPIRE) who has gone off to medical school and participates in the high dive into the flames of hell acrobatic act of elder son Jessie (Michael Pataki, MANSION OF THE DOOMED) who has turned the church into a traveling faith healer show. Determined to remain pure until marriage to Patrick, Grace is still searching for her father, and her journey takes her to a hotel for retired men where she encounters a pimp/undertaker (Marc Lawrence, NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR) who informs her that her father Tom McDonald (Edmond O'Brien, THE WILD BUNCH) died the day before. He takes her to see the body and does not believe her when she insists that her father is still alive; that is, until Tom sits up and stabs the other man. Fearing that they will be separated again, Grace hides her father at an abandoned ranch that they fix up and turn into a happy home. When she brings Jessie to meet her father, he is stunned by her seeming blossoming into womanhood and admits his desire for her only to incur the violent wrath of her father. When Jessie disappears, the local sheriff (William Guhl, KISS OF THE TARANTULA) starts looking into Grace's story as relayed by Patrick. Grace hopes that her father will be more pleased by fiancé Patrick, but how will he react when Grace discovers that her fiancé has fallen for longtime colleague Shirley (Donna Anders, COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE).

Relatively restrained in bloodshed and rather coy about its nudity – especially surprising considering director John Hayes' filmography which encompassed softcore sexploitation and later hardcore pornography – DREAM NO EVIL manages to be constantly diverting and throws into question the nature of many of the twists typical to the repressed female psychosis films made in the wake of REPULSION. Here, even Grace seems to recognize that the question of knowing her father is a barrier to her own emotional and sexual maturity but also is lucid enough at times to question whether he is actually alive or if it is her own delusion; and Hayes makes believable the possibility that what is usually revealed as the harsh reality might be a paranoid projection of a protagonist who expects the happiness she has found to be only illusory (it also helps that this film has a requisite "fat sheriff" who for a change is not a moron). Like THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA from the first AMERICAN HORROR PROJECT volume, DREAM NO EVIL's sympathies lie entirely with its protagonist rather than gawking at her delusions and the horrors they perpetrate. Arthur Franz (MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS) narrates and appears as a psychiatrist who provides the concluding PSYCHO-type explanation. Hayes fixture Tony Vorno (THE HANG-UP) stays behind the camera this time around as production manager. Although obviously a low budget production, the film benefits from the attractive photography of Paul Hipp (THE BOOGENS), one of many 1970s technicians who shot exploitation films on the side while collecting a regular paycheck from family-friendly documentarians Sunn Classics. Prolific 1970s composer Jaime Mendoza-Nava (THE WITCHMAKER) provides a lyrical score that emphasizes the arrested development of its progatonist. Actor Lawrence would later star in and direct the arty grindhouse pic PIGS which also centered around a vaguely incestuous relationship between a man and a young woman.

Given scant theatrical release three years after it was shot, DREAM NO EVIL's 1980s VHS release from Active Home Video was equally nondescript. Preceding the "Hayes renaissance" of DVD and Blu-ray by roughly a decade, VCI's DVD release also fell under the radar packaged as it was in one of their PSYCHOTRONICA double feature volumes. Transferred from a 2K scan of original elements, DREAM NO EVIL's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen presentation is wonderfully colorful and free of damage, emphasizing the ways in which the film was a touch above much of its contemporaries (only looking a tad coarser during the Van Der Veer Photo Effects swirling opticals under the titles). The LPCM 1.0 mono track is also free of defects with clear dialogue and scoring. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

The film is accompanied by an audio commentary by film historians Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan – writers for Diabolique Magazine and co-hosts of the podcast Daughters of Darkness – who discuss Hayes' diverse career and the ways in which DREAM NO EVIL stands out from the rest of his filmography. The two commentators, experts in the gothic tradition in literature and cinema, make an argument for the film as a "desert gothic" and its look at female psychosis does indeed seem to reach beyond the influence of REPULSION with its childhood trauma, the harsh background of its heroine, the intimations of incestuous desire, its spectral horse, and even the ranch as crumbling family estate. In "Melancholy Dreamer" (9:16), a filmed appreciation by NIGHTMARE U.S.A.'s Stephen Thrower, the author too distinguishes the film not only from Hayes sexploitation and pornographic works but also from his two other horror productions GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE and GARDEN OF THE DEAD (which was thrown together for double billing with the former film). He also notes Hayes' decision to cut the film for a PG rating, suggesting more artistic and mainstream ambitions for the film. He also discusses the biographical aspects of the film – his sister was raised in a convent school and developed schizophrenia and religious fanaticism – as well as how the film marked the end of his partnership with producer Daniel Cady (DOLLY DEAREST) with whom he produced a number of industrial films alongside some of their late sixties feature output.

Thrower also appears in "Hollywood After Dark: The Early Films of John Hayes, 1959-1971" (34:09) providing an overview of Hayes' career leading up to his three horror films. In discussing Hayes' childhood and young adulthood in which he fell in love with acting and cinema when his mother suggested after getting out of the army that he expose himself to culture, Thrower notes the ways in which Hayes keeps returning back to his childhood in his depiction of the family throughout his work. Thrower discusses films both lost and little seen, including a number of early collaborations with actress Rue McClanahan (THE GOLDEN GIRLS) like the Oscar-nominated short THE KISS, actor/producer Paul Leder (APE), and Vorno including the interesting-sounding WALK THE ANGRY BEACH which was unreleased until a later issue as HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK and FIVE MINUTES TO LOVE (which also featured McClanahan's husband at the time Norman Hartweg), the better-known HELP WANTED: FEMALE, and the lost BABY VICKIE which was remade as the hardcore BABY ROSEMARY. "Edmund O'Brien: An Actor for All Seasons" (22:08) is a discussion with writer Chris Poggiali on the actor, discussing his collaborations with his writer brother Liam (including a screenplay for what would later be filmed as THE REDHEAD AND THE COWBOY), the actor's popularity in film noir, and arguing that he seemed an odd fit for the few westerns he appeared in during the fifties but more suited to the ones in the sixties when he had filled out and went from star to grizzled character actor. Also present is the full audio interview with actress Rue McClanahan (29:44) conducted by Thrower focusing on her collaborations and affair with Hayes that was excerpted throughout the above Hayes featurette.

DARK AUGUST: Having abandoned the big city and his wife and kids for the Vermont countryside, illustrator Sal Devito (J.J. Barry, THIS IS SPINAL TAP) has a gallery owner girlfriend Jackie (Carole Shelyne, OUT OF SIGHT) who nurtures his greater artistic ambitions, potter friend Theo (Frank Bongiorno, THE IDOLMAKER) with whom he can commiserate, and is building his own workshop for his planned projects. Although he was found innocent in a road accident that killed the granddaughter of area hermit Ned McDermott (William Robertson, CHRISTMAS EVIL), Sal thinks that the man is persecuting him, seeing him lurking around his property along with a dark, cloaked figure that causes an accident that nearly kills Jackie's brother (Richard Allan Fay). Frank believes that Sal is just being paranoid but his wife Lesley (Kate McKeown, SWEET KILL) divines danger in her Tarot cards and consults white witch Adrianna Putnam (Kim Hunter, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) who tells Sal that he has been cursed and the dark figure following him is a demon. When Sal's efforts to protect himself with spells provided by Adrianna fail, she attempts an exorcism that nevertheless requires a great sacrifice to be made.

An even artier entry in the set than DREAM NO EVIL, DARK AUGUST is perhaps more comparable to the first Arrow set's THE PREMONITION – while also seemingly inspired in part by Robert Altman's IMAGES with hits photography that often captures characters through windows and other glass surfaces – is a horror-tinged examination of encroaching middle age and the fear of not living up to one's potential (although writer/star Barry was over 40 at the time, it is noted in the film that his character is 38). While he is persecuted by his guilt over the accident he caused, there is also the sense of illusory nature of the "back to basics" movement of the seventies – a more middle-aged parallel to the hippie movement which had moved the countryside in communes that sometimes celebrated pagan belief as part of the counter-culture – contaminated as it is here with Sal's reliance on tranquilizers and his rifle being transformed from a hunting tool to a weapon for protection as he searches the maddening silence of the countryside for signs of intrusion. The realistic nature of the story is quite believable and possibly more than a bit autobiographical for both Barry and director Martin Goldman (THE LEGEND OF NIGGER CHARLEY) who had been working as a Madison Avenue TV commercial director while keeping a cabin in Vermont. While name stars in low budget and regional horror films usually seemed like they had fallen on hard times, Hunter gets a dignified and seemingly fulfilling supporting character bit, dominating the final quarter of the film.

Given a small release by Howard Mahler Films (DEEP RED), DARK AUGUST remained fairly obscure with only a 1980s VHS release from Lightning Video, bypassing the DVD era entirely. Transferred from what may be the original camera negative, Arrow Video's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen presentation looks flawless with only heavy grain during a couple of low-lit sequences treated to TVC Labs' combined chemical fogging/push-processing Chemtone process like the bar scene following Sal's attack in the general store. The LPCM 1.0 mono track vividly conveys the dialogue, sound design, and especially the scoring from the stabbing electronic notes to the ear-battering drums and clanging metal and chimes (the latter also seemingly by IMAGES). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

The film is accompanied by an audio commentary by writer/director Goldman who is fortunately supported by two prompters since he is soft-spoken and focuses on the onscreen action with some "trivial" trivia but also has a lot to say about the literal family atmosphere of the shoot from his friendship with Barry – who married co-star Shelyne during the shoot – the use of his Vermont cottage, the contributions of editorial consultant Ralph Rosenblum (ANNIE HALL) to the film's structure – future editor Bill Pankow (BODY DOUBLE) also worked on the film – and also points out some of the film's understated humor by way of Second City alums Barry and Bongiorno. "Revisiting DARK AUGUST" (10:35) is another filmed appreciation by Thrower who provides some more background on Goldman's sporadic directing career, tying in the film with other films from the era where a combination of paranoia, anxiety, and regret left protagonists vulnerable to the paranormal, and also notes actress Hunter's local promotion of the film despite her own anxieties about dabbling in the supernatural.

"Mad Ave to Mad Dogs" (15:06) is a video interview with Goldman who provides more background on his career as a TV commercial director, the core "family" of the film's production, and the remark that he served as the film's producer without even realizing he was doing all of that work which seems odd since we also get "Don't Mess with the Psychic" (9:15), an interview with producer Marianne Kanter who quit acting at age thirty and fell into film production. She discusses the shoot with SAG actors and non-union crew, pursuing Hunter for the film, and an accident she attributes to the locals who warned the production not to mess with psychic phenomena. DARK AUGUST cinematographer Richard E. Brooks later shot the Kanter-produced BLOOD RAGE. "The Hills Are Alive: Dark August and Vermont Folk Horror" (34:23) is a discussion with author and artist Stephen R. Bissette on DARK AUGUST and its context within the wider realm of genre filmmaking out of Vermont. He sometimes has to stretch to find films to include, including films that were set in Vermont but not shot there – or the Italian WEREWOLF IN THE GIRL'S DORMITORY which was set in Scotland but had a character from Vermont – but also unearths some interesting lesser-known works like the underground experimental films of Walter Ungerer including THE ANIMAL made the same year as the Goldman film.

THE CHILD: Ever since the murder of her mother ostensibly by tramps who hang out in the cemetery, lonely young Rosalie (Rosalie Cole) has also taken to frequenting the cemetery at night and conjuring imaginary but frightening friends out her twisted imagination. Hoping to prevent his daughter from inheriting her mother's insanity, Nordon (Frank Janson) hires young Alicianne Del Mar (Laurel Barnett, GOODBYE NORMA JEAN) to be Rosalie's teacher and companion. An orphan herself, Alicianne believes that she can get through to the sullen girl; however, Rosalie's pranks are considerably more deadly than anticipated from the gossip of busybody neighbor Mrs. Whitfield (Ruth Ballan) who is terrorized at night by Rosalie's friends who may also be responsible for the deaths of local pets and other disappearances. When Alicianne starts spending more time with Rosalie's grown brother Len (Richard Hanners), Rosalie grows jealous, but it is her anger in the face of another betrayal that leads to her family and Alicianne discovering that her friends are indeed very real and very hungry.

At once an old fashioned-seeming both in content and the period setting and very seventies in terms of gore and the "evil child" genre – the film predated both THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN in production but the advertising upon release in 1976 was definitely inspired by them with "the face of angel, the heart of a killer, and the powers of the devil" – THE CHILD is atmospheric and dream-like with its own clunkiness contributing to the other-worldly feel: from the bluntness of the editing and gory reveals of mutilated faces, to the partially post-synched soundtrack and uneven performances. Bits involving a scarecrow and early glimpses of the creatures – as well as a bit involving a jack o'lantern that should be laughable but is actually creepy – make up for a child actor who is more annoying than sinister, and the siege climax has a few effective jumps in addition to a heaping of splattery gore. Dialogue from the film was sampled in the Rob Zombie song "What?"

Released theatrically by Harry Novak's Box Office International and reissued by Novak's Valiant International as KILL AND GO HIDE (the film's original tagline) as well as ZOMBIE CHILD (also its 1982 UK release title), THE CHILD initially came to VHS in compromised form from Best Film & Video as an abridged double feature with Jean Rollin's REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE (as DUNGEON OF TERROR) – one of a handful of Novak-licensed VHS double features from the company – and later in uncut form from Monterey Home Video as KILL AND GO HIDE (the onscreen title remained THE CHILD). Image Entertainment's 2001 DVD on their Something Weird Video line was an improvement over the VHS even though the source print was in variable condition, and the same print material appears to have been used for Arrow's Blu-ray which features 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC encodes in both 1.37:1 pillarboxed fullscreen and 1.85:1 widescreen (mislabeled on the menu as 1.78:1). The fullscreen option should be the viewing option of choice since the widescreen version clips heads in some long shots and the widescreen framing does not particularly enhance the film (easy comparisons can be made by skipping back and forth between the two presentations with your remote's "angle" feature). Sharpness is dependent upon the original cinematography and colors are still a tad faded and the blacks are diluted occasionally by light leaks, while one repair is evident in a few seconds of slow motion to cover up frame damage. This may not be what one hoped for of a high definition presentation of THE CHILD but it is the best viewing option.

The film is accompanied by an audio commentary by director Robert Voskanian and producer Robert Dadashian moderated by Stephen Thrower who had written a chapter on the film in his NIGHTMARE U.S.A. The two Armenian immigrants discuss how they each got into film, meeting at Columbia College Hollywood where Voskanian had already directed a well-received action short film and going the popular way of getting into features with a horror film. They recall being inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, getting funding from their families – who also provided the catering and some of the antique furniture used in the film – finding locations including a disused convent and the main house on the Standard Oil property where the climax was also staged, and actress Barnett not only auditioning in vintage clothes but also acquiring the wardrobe for the rest of the cast. They also discuss their dealings with Novak and trouble getting the various pieces of the film back when Box Office International went bankrupt.

"The Zombie Child" (13:13) is another filmed appreciation by Thrower who provides some additional background from his book and interviews including the original script's title "Children of the Night" and announcements as "Child of the Living Dead" and "Child of the Screaming Dead" as well as the UK video release with the filmed title card ZOMBIE CHILD suggesting another reissue beyond KILL AND GO HIDE. He discusses the strangeness of pretty much all elements of the film and its "accidental mismatches of style" that lead to the "dream within a dream" feel. He also provides some background on the subsequent careers of Voskanian who is in the restaurant business and Dadashian who worked for Artisan Entertainment (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT). "Fathers of THE CHILD" (12:48) is comprised of separate intercut interviews with Voskanian and Dadashian, reiterating much of what is on the commentary track but also discussing attempts to market the film to Universal Pictures and Roger Corman's New World Pictures. The film's original theatrical trailer is also (2:25) also available in both 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 viewing options (the latter also mislabeled as 1.78:1).