Vinegar Syndrome has announced its Match batch of releases. They are: Massacre (1989), Office Killer (1997), and Forgotten Gialli: Volume Nine (1991-1993).
Concerned that their latest production isn't scary enough for modern audiences, the makers of a trashy horror movie titled Dirty Blood call in a spirit medium to host a seance for the cast and crew, hoping this will add a little authenticity to the proceedings. However, the producers get a little more than they bargained for when the medium inadvertently summons the spirit of the notorious Victorian-era serial killer Jack the Ripper. As filming presses on, the real horror commences when various members of the production start winding up brutally murdered. Could this be the ongoing work of a sadistic maniac who's been preying on prostitutes in the area, or could something much more terrifying - and supernatural - be afoot?
One in a series of films made under the "Lucio Fulci presents" banner (originally developed under the title I maestri del thriller), which sought to capitalize on the name of Italy's Godfather of Gore, MASSACRE is one of the standout entries in the cycle and a pleasingly lurid slasher effort helmed by Burial Ground director Andrea Bianchi. Far sleazier than many of its late 80s horror competitors and packed full of bare skin, lesbian intrigue and hack-and-slash action (not to mention a lively score from Luigi Ceccarelli, who virtually rehashed his music from Rats: Night of Terror), Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to unfurl MASSACRE in its 4K Blu-ray premiere, newly restored in 4K from its original 16mm camera negative and loaded with new special features.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE 16MM CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
"Dr. White or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Massacre" (22 min) - an interview with actor Pier Maria Cecchini
"The Sleepless Composer" (18 min) - an interview with composer Luigi Ceccarelli
"Family Run Horror" (19 min) - an interview with soundman Davide Magara
"The Remains of the Genre" (11 min) - an archival interview with assistant director Michele De Angelis
"When Lucio Sold Off His Name" (27 min) - an interview with film historian Eugenio Ercolani
Dorine, a timid and put-upon proofreader and tech expert long employed by a fashion magazine, is informed that due to budget cuts, she will be forced to work from home. Unfortunately, her home life is dominated by caring for her cruel, elderly mother, and it lacks the vitality of the office environment and its myriad personalities. But after she unintentionally electrocutes a coworker, Dorine discovers a tidy new method to fight her boredom and loneliness: murder. Secretly transporting the body of her colleague to her suburban basement, Dorine sets about looking to add new "friends" to this growing social group amid her company's unfortunate downsizing. Pragmatically dispatching an ever-increasing number of both fellow employees and unlucky random people, Dorine maintains a convivial life with her rapidly decomposing corpses, while she's not on the clock, of course.
The only feature film directed by internationally acclaimed and award-winning photographer Cindy Sherman, OFFICE KILLER is a delectably bloody, tightly-paced contemporary slasher that offers a grimly humorous take on the serial killer thriller and a wry look at the corporate environment of the 1990s. With its bleak, lyrical photography and a score by Lounge Lizards co-founder Evan Lurie, it features Emmy®-winner Carol Kane (When a Stranger Calls) as Dorine, along with Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Basic Instinct, TV's Big Love), and a guest appearance from Eric Bogosian (The Stuff). Vinegar Syndrome is overjoyed to at last offer the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray debut of this criminally underseen horror gem, newly restored in 4K from its original 35mm camera negative and packed with extras, including all-new interviews with its cast and crew.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
TWO-DISC (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY) COMBO PACK RELEASE
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE 35MM CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Commentary track with author/journalist/programmer Heidi Honeycutt
"Return to Office" (17 min) - director Cindy Sherman and actress Molly Ringwald look back at Office Killer 30 years later
"A Pure Creative Experience" (22 min) - a new interview with actress Jeanne Tripplehorn
"High Art / Low Budget" (17 min) - a new interview with cinematographer Russell Lee Fine
"Another Kind of Monster" (13 min) - a new interview with author Dahlia Schweitzer
Behind-the-scenes footage (6 min) - courtesy of Jeanne Tripplehorn
Giovanna is a successful comic artist, and her brutal Doctor Dark comic has made her rich and somewhat notorious. While she and the comic are both under fire for possibly inciting readers to violence, a real-life murderer suddenly begins carving out the eyes of their victims only to deliver them to Giovanna. Under continuing pressure from her manager and the public, she flees to the country, eager to clear her head and distance herself from the fact that someone is making gruesome reality out of her fiction. Not only does the terror follow her, but now someone is calling Giovanna to menace her under the guise of Doctor Dark. Will the police find the killer before they reach Giovanna, or will all this nervous exhaustion do her in first?
An unusually sincere effort from the prolific genre workhorse Bruno Mattei, MADNESS (Occhi senza volto aka Eyes Without a Face) plays with several giallo motifs and a few contemporary thriller elements, while delivering plentiful gore and dramatic slayings. Shot by cinematographer Luigi Ciccarese (Ænigma), it features a slew of Mattei on-screen regulars, including Emy Valentino (Phantom of Death), Fausto Lombardi (Terror Express), Gabriele Gori (Convent of Sinners), and an intense lead performance by Monica Carpanese (Anthropophagus II). Vinegar Syndrome is eager to deliver to you this rarely seen late giallo entry, newly restored from its original negative.
Special Fetaures and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM THE 35MM CAMERA NEGATIVE
Commentary track with The Hysteria Continues!
Through the Eyes of Madness (13 min) - an interview with actress Monica Carpanese
Seeing Madness (20 min) - an interview with producer Gianni Paolucci
Reversible sleeve artwork
English SDH subtitles
REIGON-FREE
BUGIE ROSSE
Television journalist Marco knows the importance of a good story, a terrific scoop, and he's willing to do the deep research to secure his reputation. When investigating murders in his city's gay underground, he doggedly sticks to posing as a man lurking in the park for night-time tricks who may give him a lead, in spite of his own marked aversion to same sex contact. Although he gets arrested after each murder, and even if he's increasingly suspicious to the police, Marco stays on the story. His connections with the paper and a local prosecutor can only keep him safe for so long, and things look dire amid increasing tension with his wife and the psychic weight of the job. But he's just come across an attractive male hustler who may provide him with the clues he needs. That is, provided Marco can uncover the deep secrets that the killer will stop at nothing to protect.
The giallo loyalist Pierfrancesco Campanella (Bad Inclination) wrote and directed BUGIE ROSSE (Red Lies aka The Final Scoop) while still in his twenties, blending the psychosexual traditions of the style with modern technology such as IRC message boards. Portraying the weight of closeted life and sexual anxiety with stylized scenes of swingers bars and dark alleys as shot by veteran Mario Vulpiani (Watch Me When I Kill), the film also features a rare score from prolific soundtrack conductor Natale Massara (conductor of Blow Out and Body Double), and a cast including Tomas Arana (The Church), Gioia Scola (Too Beautiful to Die), Natasha Hovey (Demons), and Alida Valli (Suspiria). Vinegar Syndrome ardently presents this inspired giallo rarity newly scanned from its original camera negative.
Special Fetaures and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM THE 35MM CAMERA NEGATIVE
Red Heat (29 min) - an interview with director / screenwriter Pierfrancesco Campanella
Naked Lies (12 min) - an interview with actress and co-producer Gioia Scola
The Last Temptation (14 min) - an interview with actor Tomas Arana
Lady in Red (14 min) - an interview with actress Barbara Scoppa
Red Eros (18 min) - an interview with composer Natale Massara
Reversible sleeve artwork
Newly translated English subtitles
REIGON-FREE
MURDER IN BLUE LIGHT
Top model Starlet works for some of the highest-priced ad campaigns in New York, even if part of the job is occasionally fighting off a grabby client. But she regularly drops out of her high-fashion life to secretly turn tricks as Sherry, a dominatrix and role player for men looking to play out their oddest kinks with her. She doesn't need the money; instead, she's hunting for a certain man. Meanwhile, a rash of stabbing murders keeps occurring around her. Grizzled, sarcastic NYPD sergeant Flanagan is the only one who can keep Starlet out of harm's way, though she refuses to level with him, and instead plays detective herself. When Flanagan keeps coming up with nothing, despite constantly rousting local prostitutes, he decides to apply pressure elsewhere. With creeps from both the high and low elements of New York life, and a serial murderer about, how much longer can Starlet push her luck?
A film rooted in the sleazy New York trends of Italian cinema from a decade prior, MURDER IN BLUE LIGHT showcases the ability of veteran writer/director Alfonso Brescia (Naked Girl Murdered in the Park) to jump into any required genre. Featuring a good deal of actual New York City street scenes, including Times Square, it leans into the sleaze with a twisty backstory and hints of a police procedural through its US star, David Hess (Last House on the Left). Also featuring Florence Guérin (Faceless) as Starlet, Rik Battaglia (Nightmare Castle), and Riccardo Parisio Perrotti (The Psychic), Vinegar Syndrome presents this obscure late entry in the "amateur detective" giallo newly restored from its original camera negative.
Special Fetaures and Technical Specs:
NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM THE 35MM CAMERA NEGATIVE
Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolanoi and Troy Howarth
Alternate home video cut of MURDER IN BLUE LIGHT (95 min, sourced from standard definition video)
Florence, Ma Chérie! (22 min) - an interview with actress Florence Guérin
Blue Light Topaz (31 min)- an interview with actress Sonia Topazio
The Highly Dependable Mister Bradley (25 min) - an interview with film historian Eugenio Ercolani