Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 (2018) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment - October 14, 2018

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 Blu-Ray

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 (aka HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION)
Starring the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Jim Gaffigan, Kathryn Hahn, Chris Parnell, Chrissy Teigen
Screenplay by Michael McCullers, Genndy Tartakovsky (based on characters created by Todd Durham)
Edited by Joyce Arrastia
Produced by Michelle Murdocca, Carey A. Smith, Genevieve West
Directed bu Genndy Tartakovsky
Released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Welcome to spooky Day 13 of my Halloween Horror Watch! So for today, I decided to veer off from my normal criteria and watch something that was fun for my whole family. My kid is only six years old, but I'm trying to teach him about the classic horror films, more specifically the Universal Monster Films of the 1930's. In the modern age, these monsters have found a new lease on life in the form of the HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA franchise, which features characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolfman, etc. This past week, I picked up the latest installment of the franchise HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 for all of us to watch!

The film's official synopsis: Join your favorite monster family as they embark on a vacation adventure on a luxury monster cruise ship so Drac can finally take a break from handling everyone else's vacation at the hotel. It's smooth sailing for Drac's Pack as the monsters indulge in all of the shipboard fun the cruise has to offer, from monster volleyball to exotic excursions, and catching up on their moon tans. But they hit rocky waters when Mavis realizes that Drac has fallen for the mysterious captain of the ship, Ericka, who hides a dangerous secret that could sink their plans for a dream vacation.

The whole gang is back to voice these iconic and hilariously entertaining characters that I have been a fan of since I was a kid. Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, and Keegan-Michael Key all return to voice their respective characters that I've enjoyed from the past two movies, but this time we are introduced to a couple of newbies to the series. Funnyman Jim Gaffigan comes on board to voice Dracula's long time enemy Abraham Van Helsing. If you have ever caught his stand-up specials, then you know what to expect from the man! Joining him on his mission is is great-granddaughter Ericka Van Helsing, voiced by the extremely talented Kathryn Hahn, who can see in films like WE'RE THE MILLERS, AFTERNOON DELIGHT, BAD MOMS, and its sequel A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS. Also lending his voice is Chris Parnell from Saturday Night Live as Stan and the rest of the Fishmen. Parnell has also voiced several other characters in the previous films.

Original Theatrical Poster (2018)

The movie was released to theaters on July 13 of this year and it performed extremely well! The film's budget was a staggering $80 million (cause of the star power paychecks the studio had to pay) but is grossed a worldwide boxoffice total of $426,104,170!! So it's safe to say that we'll probably get more sequels later on down the road, especially since the film's ending was left wide open for more movies.

The Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack comes with a lot of special features for the kids to watch: Three All New Scary-Oke Sing Alongs: Sing along to three HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 inspired songs with your favorite characters: “Dennis Had a Giant Dog” – Sung by Dennis & Winnie, “Monsters Like to Party Down” – Sung by Johnny, “Oh These Wolf Pups” – Sung by Wanda Werewolf, Plan Your Own Spook-tacular Sleepover: This feature will give you all details on how to make your own sleepover spook-tacular! From snacks to crafts to games and more, follow these steps to create a Hotel T sleep-over with your friends and family, the perfect setting to binge watch all 3 Hotel Transylvania movies, Vampire Make Over: Mavis and Drac Tutorial: Learn how to turn yourself into your favorite HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 characters, Behind the Screams – The Voices of HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: Step behind the "screams" with the returning stars and hilarious new cast to see how these characters are brought to life in the recording booth, Johnny’s Home Movies (Franchise Recap): Johnny brings viewers up to speed on what’s happened in the Hotel Transylvania franchise so far, “I See Love” Monster Dance Party Dance Along: Get up and get moving to this haunting monster mash, Drac’s Zing-tastic Read Along: It's storytime with your favorite characters have a silly tale about Drac's search for a Zing!, and Two Mini Movies: Puppy and Goodnight Mr. Foot.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 is a family fun movie that will make fans of the franchise laugh with joy while fans of classic horror monsters will get a kick out of the modern interpretations! There's also a message that everyone can relate to: Nothing's more important than your family! And you can Zing! more than once! If you don't get the last one, then you better get your kids to have you watch the two previous chapters of the series!! And what better way to spend the Halloween season with this monster-filled family fun film!! 4 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 is available in a Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital combo and DVD + Digital from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. To purchase a copy for your family, visit your local retailer. The movie is also on VOD, iTunes and other streaming platforms.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the horror!