Vinegar Syndrome in October

From "Dial Code Santa Claus" (René Manzor, 1989)

Nothing makes me happier than to see something I like grow in stature. Whether it's their audience, their regard, or in their ability to bring new product to market, it's been awesome to experience Vinegar Syndrome as they've gone from a label who actually cared about restoring Golden Age porn (a noble pursuit, to be honest) to one on the bleeding edge of protecting and restoring independent cinema from around the world. Pretty cool for a company named after dissolving film.

AGFA returns to Baltimore with another no-budget classic in October. Doug Ulrich was influenced by his predecessor Don Dohler, and his 1993 shot-on-video classic, "Scary Tales", is getting a restoration and release I never would have imagined could have happened. "Scary Tales" belongs to a lost era of Baltimore; one filled with arty weirdos, dark, cramped video stores, white trash, and kids (literally) playing with fire. I don't remember the particulars of how I saw this: was it a rental from Reptilian when Chris X still rented videos? Or did we drive down to Goucher and pick it up from Video Americain? Were we introduced via Atomic TV? This is a killer anthology that's deserved a bigger audience for years. Added to this Blu-ray release is Ulrich's 1994 follow-up, "Darkest Soul", a demo reel for "Scary Tales" shot in 1987, and multiple shorts. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Fun City Editions got off to a good start with its debut release of Amos Poe's "Alphabet City" a couple months ago. They return with an early Jenny Agutter film, 1969's "I Start Counting!" This thriller is uncomfortable and edgy, not just for its period, but even today. A teenage girl, secretly in love with her much older foster brother, finds evidence he may be the serial killer murdering her fellow schoolgirls. It's a quality watch that I'm pretty surprised hasn't ever really been highlighted on video. Director David Greene was better known as a TV film director, having won four Emmys for his work on "Roots" and "Rich Man, Poor Man". But his theatrical run is absolutely worth exploring; he had a knack for exploring taboo family stories without resorting to exploitation. This, along with "Madame Sin" and "The Shuttered Room", are the sort of underseen British movies from the 60s that get ignored in favor of Hammer releases from the same period. Add in a Basil Kirchin score and this equals a really interesting sophomore release for Fun City.

Utopia, the newest addition to the VS family, presents their first release, 2020s "Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets", from the brother team of Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross. The Ross's documentaries have, for the last ten years, told stories that I would have never thought to explore, whether it's been tales of a border town in "Western" or David Byrne's celebration of color guard in "Contemporary Color". "Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets" is set in a Las Vegas bar last day of operation on the night of the 2016 election. The storyline looks interesting, and the filmmakers have always put out intriguing work, so this is an easy sale for me. Utopia will be focusing on new film distribution. I think this is a great debut release for them. The slipcover release is already sold out, so keep that in mind.

Now, let's bathe ourselves in the grindhouse releases from Vinegar Syndrome. First up: the first ever digital release of 1982's "Whodunit?", also known as "Island of Blood". This is one of the wilder adaptations of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", chock full of slashings, thrashing, and the occasional boob. It's a total gore fest, with one of my favorite murders being the one by nail gun to the face. The team from the Hysteria Continues provides commentary for a brand-new 4K restoration from the 35mm negative. Also included are interviews with a number of the cast and crew. As always, Earl Kessler Jr. provides a quality new cover and slipcover. I think this'll be a fun double feature along with this year's Scream Factory release of "April Fool's Day".

"Whodunit?" director Bill Naud would re-emerge six years later as director of 1988's "Rocky" parody, "Ricky 1" and scribe of this month's Vinegar Syndrome Archives release, "Necromancer".  This is B-movie gold, a supernatural reading of "I Spit On Your Grave!". Directed by Pittsburgh native Rocky Nelson, and starring 80s scream queen Elizabeth Kaitan ("Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2"), this is a welcome spin on the rape revenge flick, a sub-genre that's not that easy to watch any more. Russ Tamblyn pops up as a creepy professor and just owns every scene he's in. This 4K restoration is the first time "Necromancer" has ever been available on disc, and if the trailer is to be believed, it's the best it's ever looked. This is limited to just 4,000 pieces, and comes with the now-standard VSA bottom-loading slipcase and poster.

If you know any work by the director José Ramón Larraz, it's probably his 1974 magnum opus, "Vampyres", easily in my top ten of sexy lesbian vampire movies. After a career in Western Europe making Euro-sleaze, he moved to the US in the late 80s, and made a pair of horror movies under the pseudonym Joseph Braunstein. The first of these is 1987's "Rest In Pieces" ("Descanse en piezas"). This is a quintessential piece of late 80s direct-to-video slime. It has boobs, drownings, decapitations, more boobs, blood sprinklers, and...a haunted mansion? "Rest In Pieces" debuts on disc with a 4K restoration, an interview with lead actor Scott Thompson Baker, and a commentary track featuring Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger from Diabolique Magazine. There's no one better in the biz to walk you through this late-period film from a trash auteur.

While I haven't gotten my copy of "Grave Robbers" in the mail yet, I'm stoked to see Vinegar Syndrome return to the work of Mexican director Rubén Galindo Jr., this time with his 1985 debut "Cemetery of Terror" ("Cementerio del terror"). Last time, we encountered some Satan worship; now, we get...MORE Satan worship! With ZOMBIES! Viva la diferencia! The Hysteria Continues returns with another commentary, and Galindo Jr. also provides a separate track. I may wait another week or so to order this 4K restoration, but "Cemetery of Terror" looks to be right in my wheelhouse. This is some prime Halloween craziness, the kind of film that should have a place in our regular holiday rotation at the MSO Compound.

And speaking of holidays: let's wrap with a piece of cult French cinema. Vinegar Syndrome's third 4K UHD/Blu-ray release is the first American disc release of "Dial Code Santa Claus" ("36.15 code Père Noël"). Released in English-speaking countries as "Game Over" and "Deadly Games", writer/director René Manzor created a would-be holiday classic that, unfortunately, got buried by the success of the very-similar "Home Alone". Manzor is best known in the States for having helmed a pair of episodes of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", but this 1989 cult classic looks and sounds amazing. It's the horror twist that really sets "Dial Code" apart; instead of a pair of bumbling burglars, the antagonist is an escapee from an asylum, dressed up as Father Christmas. This release is packed full of extras: Manzor sits for a 90-minutes interview, provides storyboards and commentary, and presents both one of his short films and his Bonnie Tyler (!) music video. Child lead Alain Musy also sits for an interview; I'm excited to hear how he transitioned from acting into producing visual effects for the likes of "Edge of Tomorrow" and "Dark Phoenix". I'd love to see more of this kind of release from Vinegar Syndrome: their "Tammy & the T-Rex" and "Rad" releases have been top notch, so I'm hoping this is a trend.

From "Necromancer" (Dusty Nelson, 1988)

There's only one package deal this month: it'll get you all four Vinegar Syndrome releases and "Necromancer" for a bargain $130.00. It's also welcome news to hear that all domestic shipments are now postage paid: while VS's postage rates have always been fair, who doesn't like saving a few quid to get their cult movies? I'll be preordering "Dial Code Santa Claus", and plan to snag "Scary Tales" when I have a few extra bucks. It's also fair to remind everyone that VS always does a Black Friday sale, with fun exclusives and cheap prices for everyone...so don't feel bad to hold off on a few titles.