We have just received some information from Synapse Films about some upcoming new DVD releases, scheduled for April. Here’s the scoop…

From Kevin Smith and View Askew Productions comes the critically acclaimed and controversial film, A Better Place. It is a film about Barret Michaelson who is having a bad first day at his new high school – he is badgered, ridiculed, and nearly beaten up. He finds an unlikely ally in local loner, Ryan Walker, an intelligent but misanthropic youth with a dark family past. A friendship quickly develops, but Barret begins to worry as Ryan’s philosophical ranting turns increasingly violent. When Barret does the unthinkable and makes peace with the local teenagers Ryan so despises, Ryan loses all control and attempts to drag Barret down into his world of hatred and destruction-and Barret must find a way to escape.

A Better Place will come in an anamorphic widescreen presentation with a newly remixed 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. It will be the film’s Director’s Cut featuring scenes that were not included in festival prints. A commentary track and deleted scenes will also be part of this exciting DVD release that will come on April 25.

The second film in preparation is The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, a cult film classic that will be released in its original, complete and uncut form on this DVD. Dr. Bill Cortner is a surgeon like his father. After reviving a patient using experimental techniques his father is nervous. “Don’t try to play God,” he warns him. But, Dr. Cortner obviously isn’t listening. He is obsessed with performing surgical transplants and continues to experiment with amputated limbs he steals from the local hospital. While driving to his secret mountain laboratory to tend to an emergency, Cortner’s reckless driving causes an accident and his car careens off the road, killing his fiancée. Not one to pass up the opportunity, Cortner steals her decapitated head from the burning wreckage and tries to keep it alive long enough to find a suitable body to reattach it to.

Synapse will present the film that inspired “Re-Animator” and others in its original form, containing almost 20 minutes of additional footage! The DVD will contain a non-anamorphic widescreen presentation and the film’s theatrical trailer. “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” will be available on DVD on April 18, carrying a suggested retail price of $24.98