Vinegar Syndrome has announced its January batch of Blu-ray releases. They are: Satan's Blood (1978), Dark Tower (1989), Cthulhu Mansion (1992), and The House of Usher (1989). The batch also includes additional titles from partner labels.
Synopsis: An aging magician harboring a terrible occult secret and his daughter are taken hostage in their isolated mansion by teenage scumbags need- ing a place to hide out. When the captors refuse to listen to the magician's dire warning to release him unharmed, the mansion slowly releases its nightmare of horrors on the unsuspecting invaders. Directed by Juan Piquer Simón, and starring Frank Finlay, Marcia Layton, and Luis Fernando Alvés.
Synopsis: When a window-washer falls to his death from the side of a Barcelona high-rise office building (also killing a unsuspecting pedestrian), security consultant Dennis Randall is called in to investigate. Although he first believes the deaths to be accidental, he soon comes to realize that some strange force is at work inside the building. What could be causing these accidents? More importantly, is there any way it can be stopped? Directed by Freddie Francis and Ken Wiederhorn, and starring Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, Carol Lynley, Theodore Bikel, and Kevin McCarthy.
Synopsis:
Andy and Thelma, an urbanite couple living in Madrid, leave their apartment for a pleasant day around the city with their dog. They cross paths with Bruno and Anne, a strange couple who invite them to their foreboding country estate. A storm hits that evening and the two stay overnight. The couples engage in a bit of harmless communication with spirits via ouija board, but soon past conflicts arise Thelma had an affair with Andy's brother, and Anne criticizes Bruno over his attempted suicide. This is only the beginning of all the horrors that will haunts them in the house... Directed by Carlos Puerto, and starring Ángel Aranda, Sandra Alberti, Mariana Karr, and José María Guillén.
Synopsis: Ryan Usher and his girlfriend Molly visit the remote estate of his uncle Roderick, who plots to get rid of his nephew and use Molly to carry on the family bloodline while at the same time keeping his deranged brother hidden in the attic. Directed by Alan Birkinshaw, and starring Oliver Reed, Donald Pleasence, Romy Windsor, Rufus Swart, and Norman Coombes.
Synopsis: Jeremy loves horses, New York, basketball, the cello…and Susan, the new girl at school. Before they teamed in the hit film Ode to Billy Joe, Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor gained fame in this honest and moving tale of first love in "Fun City"-era New York. Benson (The Chosen and One on One) is Jeremy Jones, a shy teenager who excels in all areas of his life save for romance. After a brief encounter with dance student Susan Rollins (O'Connor, TV's The Boy in the Plastic Bubble and Baby Blue Marine) at school, Jeremy is smitten and suddenly everything else in the world seems inconsequential in comparison. All he can think of is winning Susan's heart. But, as he soon learns, new relationships can be as fleeting as they are exhilarating.
This "BIG 'little' movie" (The New York Times) would win "Best First Film" at Cannes for its writer-director Arthur Barron (Brothers). Barron and director of photography Paul Goldsmith's (Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps) backgrounds in documentary filmmaking lend the film a gritty and realistic feel, befitting its urban locations. The songs and score by Lee Holdridge (Splash and The Beastmaster) and Joseph Brooks (You Light Up My Life), some of which are sung by the stars themselves, amplify the story's tenderness and sensitivity. Shot with hand-held 16mm cameras, Jeremy has an uncommon authenticity and immediacy. Now restored for Blu-ray from its 35mm CRI, these qualities can be appreciated in a way they have not been since the film premiered in 1973.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, from its 35mm color reversal internegative
"Susan and Jeremy": A Conversation with Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor (new video interview)
Video introduction by Glynnis O'Connor
"A Phantom of Delight," a new video essay by filmmaker Chris O'Neill
Theatrical trailer
Trailers from Hell trailer commentary by Larry Karaszewski
Image gallery
Booklet with a new essay by film critic Bill Ackerman
Newly recorded audio commentary by film writers Kat Ellinger and Mike McPadden
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Synopsis: Israeli immigrant Jaacov Jaacovi rose to fame in the late 70s through a series of ambitious hardcore comedies, which capitalized on the 'similarity' of their lead actresses with those of popular Hollywood starlets. But beyond their infamous marketing, Jaacovi proved himself to be adept at crafting slick, clever, and effortlessly entertaining films, the two best of which are offered here in their fully uncensored versions.
When a group of Los Angeles street prostitutes decide that they've had enough hassles with the law, they come up with an ingenious plan to increase business while reducing busts: open a sex themed taxi service. But as their ridership exponentially grows, a group of chauvinistic hacks begin to plot a dastardly revenge… Starring Nancy Suiter and featuring supporting performances from Serena, Aubrey Nichols, John Holmes, and Jamie Gillis, TAXI GIRLS has been newly restored from its 35mm original negative.
When Mary-Lou (Seka) and Rosebud (Serena), two working girls in the Old West, are accidentally shot to death during a duel, they're revived from the dead by The Devil (Johnnie Keyes) and given an opportunity to be admitted into hooker heaven (aka, Hell) if they're able to corrupt a group of virginal sorority girls who have taken up residence in a former brothel! A completely wild sex comedy which co-stars Jamie Gillis, Eileen Wells, and Mike Ranger, HEAVENLY DESIRE is presented in a new restoration of its 35mm original negative. Starring Serena, Aubrey Nichols, John Holmes, Jamie Gillis, Seka, Johnnie Keyes, Eileen Wells, and Mike Ranger.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATIONS FROM THE 35MM ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVES
Synopsis: THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP isn't a movie -- it's a rite of passage. Easily one of the most brainbreaking sensory overloads in exploitation history, the story follows Dr. Humpp and his army of grotesque monsters as they kidnap couples and drain their "blood forces of sex" to keep the doctor eternally young. Directed by the prolific Emilio Vieyra in Argentina, this movie combines artful gothic horror with unhinged sex, comic book pulp, and a talking brain in a jar. Plus a monster who plays the guitar. Basically, this is what might have happened if Mario Bava collaborated with Doris Wishman after an acid binge. AGFA + Something Weird are thrilled to present a brand new restoration of this iconic sex-horror classic, complete with a new commentary track from filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE). Plus LA VENGANZA DEL SEXO, Vieyra's original "horror" cut of THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP in its original Spanish language -- available for the first time ever on home video with English subtitles!
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION
Commentary track with filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE)
Bonus Movie: LA VENGANZA DEL SEXO - 2K restoration of the original cut of THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP from a 35mm fine grain lab print
Brain damaged shorts and trailers from Dr. Humpp's laboratory
Synopsis: Unleashed from the dungeon of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), THE AGFA HORROR TRAILER SHOW is a senses-shattering compilation of the most spine-ripping, slime-slinging, soul-shredding horror trailers that you've never seen. Meticulously constructed by the mad scientists at AGFA to resemble an otherworldly night at the drive-in, this mixtape features rare trailers, commercials, and ephemera from the vaults -- most of which has never been seen since its original release. And it's all presented via a 2K scan from a newly struck 35mm theatrical film print of the show! Plus: The journey continues with THE AGFA HORROR TRAILER SHOW: VIDEORAGE, a full-length mixtape created exclusively for this release.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEWLY RESTORED IN 2K from a newly struck 35mm theatrical print
Commentary with the AGFA team
Short: SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR BRAIN, a found footage horror experiment
Bonus Movie: THE AGFA HORROR TRAILER SHOW: VIDEORAGE,a full-length mixtape celebrating the wildest shot-on-videoand direct-to-video trailers from AGFA's video dungeon.