Vinegar Syndrome Launch Splatterific Sale So Start Stocking Up!
Jonathan Barkan
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Today through Monday, the madmen over at Vinegar Syndrome are running their “Halfway to Black Friday” sale, which sees nearly everything in their store marked down by up to 50%. When it comes to home video releases, Vinegar Syndrome ranks up there as one of the best, providing fantastic restorations with stellar special features across titles that few, if any, ever thought would get such care and attention.
Their sale extends to almost 50 different titles and also includes a heavily discounted rate on their “Halfway Package”, a package deal that will include every single Vinegar Syndrome release starting in June and lasting until the end of the year. Normally almost $1,100 for the ‘Completionist’ option, they’ve marked it down to $525, which includes 26 releases (subject to change). Honestly, that equals about $20 per Blu-ray and considering that these are normally $35 or thereabouts, this is a fantastic deal for those who want something weird, exciting, sleazy, and undeniably fun.
If you want to check out their offerings, you can head to their website. Below is a list of a few titles that definitely stand out for the uninitiated.
NIGHTBEAST
Amidst a dazzling meteor shower, the Nightbeast lands near a small East Coast town, armed with his vaporizing ray gun and a goal of killing everyone who crosses his path. As area residents are blasted to smithereens, the local sheriff and an ever-dwindling group of survivors become determined to figure out a way to defeat this fearsome alien before their entire community is wiped out.
A dazzling display of lo-fi ambition from Baltimore based cult filmmaker and underrated auteur, Don Dohler (Alien Factor, Fiend), NIGHTBEAST immediately plunges the viewer into a frenzy of wildly colorful and stunning animation techniques, homemade gore effects, and awkward sexual encounters. Made for a scant $14,000 and featuring a soundtrack partially composed by a then-teenage J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Star Wars Episode VIII), Vinegar Syndrome proudly brings this regional sci-fi/horror classic to Blu-ray in a brand new 2k restoration of its 16mm camera original!
Directed by: Don Dohler
Starring: Tom Griffith, Jamie Zemarel, Karin Kardian, George Stover, Don Leifert
1982 / 81 min / 1.33:1
• Region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 16mm camera original
• Audio commentary with writer/director Don Dohler & actor George Stover
• “An Electric Performance” – an interview with actor Jamie Zemarel
• “Crashing the Set” – an interview with visual fx artist John Ellis
• “Shooting the Nightbeast” – an interview with cinematographer Richard Geiwitz
• “Nightbeast Returns” – archival interviews with the cast and crew
• Outtakes & Bloopers
• Visual FX gallery
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
LUST IN THE DUST
Showgirl Rosie Valez (Divine; Pink Flamingos, Polyester) is making her way through the New Mexico desert to the small pioneer town of Chile Verde. But when she falls off her ass, accidentally spilling her gin in the process, Rosie is left stranded in the desert with nothing to drink. Left to fend for herself, she soon meets desperado Able Wood (Tab Hunter; Damn Yankees), and the two of them head west for Chile Verde. Upon arriving, Rosie discovers that she and Marguerita Ventura (Lainie Kazan; My Big Fat Greek Wedding), the town Madam, each have a unique tattoo on their posteriors, which they discover might be a treasure map leading to the region’s mythic gold cache…
A broad parody of westerns directed by acclaimed cult filmmaker Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul, Death Race 2000) and produced by its leading man, Tab Hunter, LUST IN THE DUST co-stars Geoffrey Lewis (I, The Jury), Henry Silva (The Manchurian Candidate), Cesar Romero (Ocean’s 11), and Woody Strode (Spartacus). Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present the world Blu-ray debut of this 80s cult favorite, newly restored in 4k from its long lost original 35mm camera negative!
Directed by: Paul Bartel
Starring: Divine, Tab Hunter, Lainie Kazan, Geoffrey Lewis, Cesar Romero, Henry Silva
1984 / 84 min / 2.35:1 & 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 4k from it’s 35mm original negative
• “Return to Chile Verde” – the making of Lust in the Dust with Tab Hunter and Allan Glaser
• “The Importance of Being Paul” – an archival featurette on the films of Paul Bartel
• “More Lust, Less Dust” – an archival making-of featurette
• Presented in two different aspect ratios: 1.85:1 and 2:35.1
• Original theatrical trailer
• Archival article gallery
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
SATAN’S SLAVE
Catherine and her family are invited to stay for the week at the Yorke family estate, a massive piece of land in the countryside owned by Catherine’s uncle, Alexander Yorke. When a mysterious accident takes the life of Catherine’s mother and father, Alexander offers for her to stay with him until she gets well. Under the care of her uncle, his mysterious assistant, and Catherine’s perverse cousin, Stephen (Martin Potter; Fellini’s Satyricon), Catherine begins growing ever suspicious of her family’s intent on keeping her at the estate. Soon she discovers that her family may be hiding dark secrets linked to their sinful past…
Director Norman J. Warren’s (PREY, TERROR) debut horror film, SATAN’S SLAVE remains one of the most shocking and controversial entries in the history of 1970s British horror. Filled with unflinching imagery of brutal violence and frequent nudity, the film suffered frequent censorship throughout its release history, including the shooting of a sanitized version of its brutal opening assault. Written by acclaimed British horror screenwriter David McGillivray (House of Whipchord) and luridly photographed in Techniscope, Vinegar Syndrome proudly offers SATAN’S SLAVE in its fully uncut and uncensored worldwide Blu-ray debut, in a new 2K restoration, and featuring a fresh commentary track with director Norman J. Warren.
Directed by: Norman J. Warren
Starring: Michael Gough, Martin Potter, Candace Glendenning, Barbara Kellerman, Michael Craze
1976 / 90 min / 2.35:1
• Region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 4k from 35mm negative elements
• Audio commentary with director Norman J. Warren & composer John Scott
• Audio commentary with film historians Samm Deighan & Kat Ellinger
• “Creating Satan” – making-of featurette
• “All You Need is Blood” – archival making-of featurette
• “Devilish Music” – composer John Scott on his score for Satan’s Slave
• “Fragment” – a short film written & directed by Norman J. Warren
• Multiple theatrical trailers
• Multiple deleted scenes
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE
Evelyn (Anna Chappell) runs the Mountaintop Motel, a cluster of ramshackle cabins nestled deep in the Texas countryside. But Evelyn isn’t ‘all there;’ instead tormented by ghastly voices and visions which cause her to periodically lose her grip on reality, until one fateful day, lost in a bout of insanity, she unwittingly murders her young daughter.
Although the police rule it an accident, Evelyn’s guilt soon overtakes her, plunging her deeper and deeper into a world of violent paranoia. When a group of travelers arrive to spend the night at the motel, Evelyn completely detaches from reality and, viewing her new guests as a threat, begins to terrorize and dispatch them one by one, with the help of her trusty sickle…
An atmospheric regional slasher from director Jim McCullough Sr. (The Creature From Black Lake), MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE blends suspenseful psychological drama with gory killings. Filled with gorgeously gelled cinematography from Joseph Wilcots (Roots), Vinegar Syndrome brings this unsettling horror classic to Blu-ray in a brand new 2K restoration.
Directed by: Jim McCullough Sr.
Starring: Anna Chappell, Bill Thurman, Will Mitchell, Virginia Loridans, Major Brock
1983 / 96 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from 35mm negative elements
• “Under the Influence” – an interview with assistant cameraman David Akin
• “Mountaintop Motel Memories” an interview with production designer Drew Edward Hunter
• Original theatrical trailer
• Stills gallery
• Article gallery
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
SAVAGE HARBOR
Joe (Frank Stallone; Barfly) and Chris (Christopher Mitchum; Executioner Pt. 2) live a life of high seas adventures, working as merchant seamen. But after arriving in port in Los Angeles for a brief leave, Joe meets Anne, a desperate young woman with a sordid history of prostitution and heroin addiction. As their romance builds, Joe realizes that he’s falling in love, but soon Anne’s former pimp, Harry, tracks her down, kidnapping and brutalizing her with the intent of forcing her back under his control and into her old ways of life. Determined not to let her go, Joe and Harry form a two-man army to rescue Anne and take down Harry and his thugs, once and for all.
A brain-busting mid-80s action extravaganza in the Executioner Pt. 2 vein of mind-numbing sleaze, Savage Harbor (also known as Death Feud) also stars Greta Blackburn (Party Line), Anthony Caruso (Zebra Force, Claws), Nicholas Worth (Don’t Answer The Phone, Swamp Thing) and Lisa Loring (The Addams Family). Directed by notorious exploitation film auteur, Carl Monson (A Scream in the Streets), Vinegar Syndrome Archive presents the worldwide disc debut of Savage Harbor, presented in a new 2K restoration of its original camera negative!
Directed by: Carl Monson
Starring: Frank Stallone, Christopher Mitchum, Greta Blackburn, Lisa Loring, Anthony Caruso, Nicholas Worth
1987 / 90 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm camera original
• “Do You Like Avocados?” – a video interview with actor Frank Stallone
• Audio interview with cinematographer Jack Beckett
• Double-sided poster
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
EVIL TOWN
A group of four friends traveling the West Coast arrive in a small town with a strange history of its residents disappearing mysteriously. What’s more is that the town’s elusive doctor, Dr. Schaeffer (Dean Jagger), is rumored to be conducting sinister experiments on the town’s youth so as to combat the aging process. As the group of young travelers find themselves embroiled in a diabolical scheme of medical madness, they realize – perhaps too late – that they are Dr. Schaeffer’s ideal specimens.
A troubled production from its mid-70s beginnings, EVIL TOWN started life as ‘Dr Shagetz’ and was helmed by various directors at different points, including a young Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential). In the early 80s, producer Mardi Rustam bought the film and further retooled it, adding additional moments of sleaze and a strange subplot brewed from his own film, EVILS OF THE NIGHT, eventually retitling it EVIL TOWN. This bizarro mutant film epitomizes the lengths producers would go to re-market their work for the video era. Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present EVIL TOWN on Blu-ray for the first time, featuring a fresh 2K restoration of the original camera negative!
Directed by: Mardi Rustam, Larry Spiegel, Curtis Hanson, et al.
Starring: Dean Jagger, James Keach, Robert Walker Jr., Doria Cook-Nelson, Michele Marsh
1985 / 82 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm camera original
• Audio interview with director Larry Spiegel
• “Compare and Contrast” – a comparison between Evil Town and Evils of the Night
• Double-sided poster
• Reversible cover artwork
• English SDH subtitles
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