Vinegar Syndrome has announced its February batch of releases. They are: Body of Evidence (1993), Demonwarp (1988), Bakterion a.k.a. Panic (1982), and Dead Boyz Can't Fly (1992).
When the wealthy Andrew Marsh is found dead of a heart attack in bed, the police don't know what to make of the homemade sex-tape he died watching, nor the fact that he was discovered handcuffed. As it comes out that his much younger, BDSM-inclined girlfriend Rebecca Carlson was not only on that sextape, but also in his will for an $8M inheritance, district attorney Robert Garrett goes after her. Accusing Rebecca of having cunningly made her own body the murder weapon, and with public opinion against her, only Carlson's defense attorney, Frank Dulaney, seems to believe that she's innocent. But that's before things get considerably rougher, both in the court and in the uneasy confidence between Rebecca and her chosen counsel.
Released at the height of the 1990's erotic thriller boom, BODY OF EVIDENCE took the bold step of casting a pop culture superstar arguably at the peak of her fame, Madonna (Desperately Seeking Susan). Helmed by a master of the complicated character drama, Uli Edel (Christiane F.), with a nail-biting performance from four-time Oscar® nominee Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A.), this racy noir builds tension and mood to a dizzying climax. It also boasts a stacked supporting cast including Joe Mantegna (House of Games), Anne Archer (Fatal Attraction), Jürgen Prochnow (In the Mouth of Madness), and Julianne Moore (The Big Lebowski). Vinegar Syndrome is achingly excited to present the 4K Blu-ray debut of this twist-filled thriller in both its unrated director's and R-rated theatrical cuts, in brand-new, director-approved 4K restorations.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE OF THE DIRECTOR'S CUT AND THEATRICAL VERSION
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
"Seamless, Sensual Cinematography" (12 min) - an interview with cinematographer Douglas Milsome
The Production of Provocation" (16 min) - an interview with director Uli Edel
"The Madonna and The Whore" (20 min) - a video essay by Jennifer Moorman, PhD on Body of Evidence
"Love or Murder" (6 min) - an archival making-of featurette
Still gallery
Theatrical trailer
40-page perfect-bound book with essays by Scout TaFoya, Walter Chaw, and Abbey Bender
Bill Crafton is enjoying a quiet vacation at a remote cabin with his daughter Julie when, all of a sudden, a giant, Bigfoot-like creature bursts in, killing Julie and dragging her body off into the woods. A few months later, young Jack Bergman - the nephew of the cabin's owner - arrives with his friends, under the guise of a fun-filled few days in the wilderness. However, when they find the place ransacked, Jack is forced to reveal the true purpose of the trip — to investigate the recent disappearance of his uncle Clem, amidst reports of other strange goings-on in the area. Sure enough, when night falls, Bigfoot reappears and attacks the group, dragging two of them away. As dawn breaks, Jack and the rest of his friends prepare to hunt the beast and unknowingly set off on a journey of bloody, otherworldly terror.
Based on an original story by John Carl Buechler - prolific special effects artist and director of Troll and Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood - and helmed by Emmett Alston (New Year's Evil), DEMONWARP is a delirious late 80s creature feature which throws in everything and the kitchen sink, from hulking Sasquatches, ghoulish zombies, bloody sacrifices and monstrous alien overlords. Featuring Academy Award-winner George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke, Just Before Dawn, Uninvited) and packed full of gratuitous nudity and head-ripping action, Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to unveil DEMONWARP on UHD for the very first time, restored in 4K from its original camera negative and loaded with a wealth of newly-produced bonus features.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Commentary track with director Emmett Alston and producer Richard L. Albert, moderated by Jim Branscome of Cinematic Void
"Beasts & Breasts" (19 min) - an interview with actress Michelle Bauer
"Some of It Was Stupid" (25 min) - an interview with writer Jim Bertges
"Of Aesthetic Beauty & Bigfoot" (37 min) - an interview with director of photography R. Michael Stringer
"Composing Demonwarp" (27 min) - an interview with composer Dan Slider
Audio interview with actor Hank Stratton, conducted by Ewan Cant (36 min)
FX gallery, with narration by effects supervisor Mark Wolf (10 min)
In the small English town of Newton, a pharmaceutical company's experiments with a new vaccine take a disastrous turn when a laboratory accident triggers an outbreak of a deadly virus. With head scientist Dr. Adams missing, and the authorities eager to keep the incident under wraps, Captain Kirk is drafted in to try to get the situation under control. When horrifically mutilated bodies start turning up, drained of all their blood and bearing strange radiation burns, the awful truth soon becomes clear - Dr. Adams has been transformed into a blood-drinking mutant and is on the rampage! With the area under quarantine, the pressure is on Captain Kirk to track down and eliminate Dr. Adams before the authorities take drastic action.
An Italian/Spanish co-production helmed by director Tonino Ricci (Cave of the Sharks, Rush), appearing under his regular pseudonym Anthony Richmond, BAKTERION (aka Panic) is a good old-fashioned monster-on-the-loose romp starring Euro horror regular David Warbeck (The Black Cat, The Beyond) and Swedish starlet Janet Ågren (City of the Living Dead, Eaten Alive!). Featuring plentiful scenes of monster mayhem, including the creature running amok in a movie theater and terrorizing a group of choir boys in a church, the celluloid scientists at Vinegar Syndrome are thrilled to unleash BAKTERION from the laboratory in its world 4K Blu-ray premiere, restored in 4K from the original camera negative and accompanied by a host of new bonus features.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS FROM THE 16MM ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
"The Core of the Monster" (24 min) - an interview with FX artist and actor Roberto Ricci
"Latex Memories" (18 min) - an interview with make-up artist Adriano Carboni
"Monster Kids: The Heritage of Tonino Ricci and Rino Carboni" (25 min) - featurette with Roberto Ricci and Adriano Carboni
Deadbeat amateur artist Buzz shows up at a New York office building in hopes of landing himself a job, but quickly finds himself humiliated by a sleazy employment agent in front of his glamorous new female secretary. When Buzz happens across the same woman later that night, he decides to vent his anger by viciously raping and stabbing her to death. The next day, with the police on the hunt for the woman's murderer, Buzz convinces fellow goons Jo Jo and sadistic crossdresser Goose to launch an all-out assault on the office building in order to score cash and drugs. No sooner are the trio inside the building than they begin torturing, raping, and slaughtering their way through the terror-stricken office workers, forcing janitor John, a Vietnam veteran suffering from PTSD, to launch a counter-offensive against the hoodlums.
The final film by prolific erotic filmmaker Howard Winters, aka Cecil Howard (Firestorm, Star Angel), 1992's DEAD BOYZ CAN'T FLY is a gritty, blood-soaked throwback to the mean-spiritedness of 70s exploitation movies, based on an original script by Straw Weisman, writer of notorious nasty Fight for Your Life. Blending elements of A Clockwork Orange and The Warriors alongside aspects of Vietnam War-reckoning movies such as Born on the Fourth of July, Vinegar Syndrome Archive is delighted to unleash this underseen shocker on Blu-ray for the first time, freshly restored in 4K from its original camera negative and accompanied by a host of revelatory new cast and crew interviews.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE CAMERA NEGATIVE
"On the Fly" (20 min) - an interview with actor Brad Friedman
"Fear City" (24 min) - an interview with writer Straw Weisman
"Babylon Red" (27 min) - an interview with executive producer Bradley Winters
"Family Business" (20 min) - an interview with production assistant Scott Buckwald