Vinegar Syndrome in August

Alright, movie fans. August is just a couple weeks away, so let's take a look at what Vinegar Syndrome has coming out. I've set the mood appropriately by throwing on the 1979 Chuck Vincent trash classic "Summer Camp" (featuring a young Linnea Quigley!), so I'm ready to talk some weird cinema!

Vinegar Syndrome has been distributing the releases from the American Genre Film Archive for a while now, and its been a revelation to dive into these movies. AGFA dives deep to release some truly amazing films, from the work of Ugandan auteur IGG to Ed Wood sexploitation to scare film compilations. Their newest release is the lone directorial release from Z-movie goddess Tina Krause, 1999's "Limbo". This shot-on-video release looks sounds totally batshit, with a murder triggering a decent into hell for the protagonist. If you're a fan of surrealist horror and no budget filmmaking from the 90s, this is right in your wheelhouse.

Fun City Editions is a brand-new reissue label focusing on reissues of maverick repertory cinema and music that can best be described as works that exist "outside of their time." When your first release is Amos Poe's 1984 neo-noir "Alphabet City", it tells me that your taste is worth paying attention to. Poe's work from the 70s and 80s always captures that era of pre-Guiliani New York City that a lot of people both romanticize and bemoan. The cast has some great names in it: Vincent Spano, Kate Vernon, Jami Gertz, and a pre-"Police Academy" Michael Winslow. The score was written and performed by Nile Rodgers as one of his first works after the breakup of Chic. This sounds like a pretty cool crime thriller to satisfy your lust for the days of cheap rent and cheaper heroin on the Lower East Side. If you needed one more excuse: well, that slipcover is pretty fantastic looking.

The first of three VS releases in August is the first ever digital release of 1982's "Pandemonium", an incredible horror parody from Alfred Sole, who directed "Alice, Sweet Alice" and "Tanya's Island". This feels like a forgotten classic to me, with a cast list including Carol Kane, Paul Reubens, Tom Smothers, and Phil Hartman. I was super surprised to hear this hadn't been available since the days of VHS. The film gets a 2K restoration; the proud owner also gets an interview with writer/director Sole. THIS is my pick of the month. Fun fact: Sole left directing after this, his third theatrical release, and became a production designer of some renown. Trivia, everyone!

Vinegar Syndrome also brings another lost 80s "classic" to Blu-ray in August with the release of 1987's "The Caller". Would it surprise you to learn that a film starring Malcolm McDowell in 1987 is super weird? It shouldn't. I've never seen this, but in my quick "judge a movie by its cover" judgement, the VS website's description of "The Caller" as "a labyrinthine mystery tinged with horror and science fiction elements" also is not surprising. I'd be disappointed if this wasn't feverishly odd.

August's smut release has a fun link to my favorite director, Orson Welles. Welles' cinematographer on "The Other Side of the Wind" and one of his latter-day collaborators, Gary Graver, directed and shot 1981's "Indecent Exposure" under the name Robert McCallum. Graver worked with a ton of different stars and directors over the years: Welles, Robert Corman, Ron Howard, Al Adamson. But many fans would argue his finest period occurred in the early 80s in adult films. His run of directorial efforts from "'V': The Hot One" to "10 1/2 Weeks" is as strong a body of work as you'll find in the Golden Age of Porn. I'll always mark out for a Georgina Spelvin appearance; add in Veronica Hart, Jessie St. James, and Eric Edwards, and you have the recipe for a very sexy Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.

That's it for August. As is the custom in their part of the woods, any orders made at vinegarsyndrome.com will get you a limited edition slipcover along with your disc of choice. Ralf Krause handled design on "Pandemonium" and "The Caller"; Earl Kessler Jr. returns with the cover for "Indecent Exposure". You can also save $35 by ordering all three Vinegar Syndrome releases this month at once as part of the August 2020 Package.