Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Vapors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 5, 2021

Note: This film is available as part of The Dungeon of Andy Milligan.

Lovers of what might be charitably termed Grade Z Cinema have had a number of outstanding releases by a variety of labels over the past few years. Arrow has offered fans surprisingly deluxe-ified (that's a word, I insist) editions of The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection, among others, while Severin Films has gotten into exploring this decidedly odd nook and/or cranny with releases like Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection. Severin's back with more, um, "masterpieces" with this inventively packaged homage to the late Andy Milligan, a kinda sorta auteur whose professional life had more than its fair share of hurdles, and whose personal life unfortunately ended up not being much better. The 14 films (with one bonus film in HD, Toga Party) aggregated in this set are exploitation outings at their "finest" (?), which means those with more patrician tastes are probably well advised to steer completely clear of this release. Those with grittier sensibilities will find some at times oddly entertaining movies and Severin's usual supply of appealing supplements.

William Friedkin's filmography includes such iconic titles as The Exorcist and The French Connection, but in 1970 he released an at that time fairly daring film version of Matt Crowley's The Boys in the Band, a theatrical smash that ostensibly showed what "real" gay men were like (this perception may or may not have changed in the intervening years). It's not hard to imagine that Andy Milligan was aware of The Boys in the Band, not just due to Milligan's own theatrical background but also due to his sexuality, and you can almost imagine Milligan laughing to himself and saying, "Yeah, I got there first."

The steam referred to in the film's title of course is supposed to be part of the ambience of the gay bathhouse where Vapors is set, although in true Milligan fashion the set utilized here looks like an abandoned basement (which it may well have been, all things considered). Kind of like The Boys in the Band would do a few years later, Vapors throws together a handful of gay men and various interrelationships and personal histories, and the film is kind of commendably honest in some ways, including offering a closeted character. This was evidently culled from a play (not by Milligan), and it betrays its theatrical roots, without Milligan trying to "open things up", but that perhaps only adds to the appropriately claustrophobic ambience of the story.

Vapors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vapors is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's booklet included with this release has the following information on the transfer:

Vapors was scanned and restored in 4K by Vinegar Syndrome from its 35mm blow-up dupe negative.

This presentation boasts generally great detail levels and some well modulated gray scale, though as tends to be the case with Milligan's films, both framing issues and technical aspects like focus pulling can temporarily affect things. There are some very slight flirtations with crush that tend to accrue mostly in the corners of the frame in some of the less well lit moments. Close-ups offer nice fine detail levels on the characters' faces. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Vapors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps to save a little room, Severin offers only a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track here, while it looks like Vinegar Syndrome's previous release of this title on Blu-ray may have had lossless audio. Regular readers of my reviews know I am a strong proponent of Blu-ray releases having at least one lossless audio option available, but within the context of lossy audio, Vapors has such a minimal sound design and such limited overall sonic ambitions that a lossy track is probably not that objectionable. Dialogue is rendered without any major problems, and there are optional English subtitles for those encountering any difficulties.

Vapors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This film shares a disc with Seeds and Fleshpot on 42nd Street, but there are no supplements associated with Vapors.

Vapors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vapors probably could have benefited from having been filled out a bit (it's by far the shortest film in this set), but it's a rather viscerally engaging portrait of gay characters in crisis. Technical merits are generally solid, though Severin has included only lossy audio for this film, for those who are considering making a purchase.