Vinegar Syndrome are back with another month of releases. Below you can check out what they have set for release this April.
VS-314: Forgotten Gialli: Volume One [Blu-ray boxset] *Limited Slipcover*
*This limited edition and painstakingly crafted boxset (designed by Earl Kessler Jr.) is limited to 5,000 units and is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com!*
Note: this box includes three Blu-rays and cases (no DVDs).
The giallo remains one of the most popular sub-genres in Italian and Spanish film history. But for all of the well-known and classic films the genre has spawned, so many others have been nearly impossible to enjoy since their theatrical debuts. This first entry in our ‘Forgotten Gialli’ series presents three rarities, two from Spain and one from Italy, none of which have ever been legally available in the English speaking world.
TRAUMA
Daniel, a writer seeking seclusion to work on his new book, finds himself stranded at a rural bed and breakfast run by a strange and prudish young woman and her ailing, wheelchair-bound husband who remains shut in his room all day. However, as night falls, a psychotic, razor-wielding killer begins stalking the bed and breakfast, brutally slashing the throats of its most sex-crazed guests, whose bodies and luggage then mysteriously disappear the following morning…
A satisfyingly trashy low-budget Spanish giallo which inadvertently also ranks as one of the country’s earliest proto-slashers, León Klimovsky’s (The Vampire’s Night Orgy) TRAUMA aka Violación Fatal is filled with gratuitous sex and nudity, along with bloody killings. Barely released outside of Spain, Vinegar Syndrome presents TRAUMA on Blu-ray, in a brand new 2K restoration of its camera negative and in its longest version ever presented on home video.
Directed by: León Klimovsky
Starring: Ágata Lys, Heinrich Starhemberg, Ricardo Merino, Isabel Pisano
1978 / 87 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative
• Original Spanish language sound with newly translated English subtitles
• Historical commentary track with European cult cinema author Troy Howarth
• Promotional image gallery
KILLER IS ONE OF 13
A recent widow has invited a group of family friends to her large and secluded country home. However, what the guests don’t know, is that the reason they’ve been assembled is because their host suspects one of them might be her husband’s killer and she’s intent on uncovering the identity of his murderer. As the guests begin to suspect each other, revealing long kept and sinister secrets in the process, an unknown, black-gloved killer begins bumping them off in a variety of nasty ways.
A unique Spanish take on Agatha Christie’s oft-adapted novel, and giallo source material favorite, And Then There Were None, exploitation auteur Javier Aguirre’s (Count Dracula’s Great Love) THE KILLER IS ONE OF 13 is uncharacteristically literary-in-structure, but never skimps on its requisite bloodshed. Featuring some of Spain’s top genre film stars including Patty Shepard (Rest in Pieces), Jack Taylor (Female Vampire), and Paul Naschy in a supporting role, Vinegar Syndrome brings THE KILLER IS ONE OF 13 to Blu-ray, newly restored in 2K from its original negative and available in North America for the first time in any format.
Directed by: Javier Aguirre
Starring: Patty Shepard, Simón Andreu, José María Prada, Jack Taylor, Paul Naschy
1973 / 95 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative
• Original Spanish language sound with newly translated English subtitles
• Historical commentary with author and Editor-In-Chief of Diabolique Magazine Kat Ellinger
• Promotional image gallery
THE POLICE ARE BLUNDERING IN THE DARK
A young nude-model is violently stabbed to death with a pair of scissors. It soon emerges that three other women have already fallen prey to this unknown maniac, and that all three victims have a single and unique connection: they all served as models for an eccentric photographer named Parisi. When another young woman with a date to be photographed is murdered, her journalist boyfriend decides to investigate the crimes and quickly finds himself mixed up with Parisi, who reveals that he’s working on a camera capable of photographing people’s thoughts!
The only film credit from ‘one-and-done’ director, Helia Colombo, THE POLICE ARE BLUNDERING IN THE DARK is a satisfyingly sleazy and decidedly oddball giallo rarity, filled with bloody killings, plentiful nudity, wild plot twists, and plenty of general weirdness. Unseen outside of its native Italy, Vinegar Syndrome presents THE POLICE ARE BLUNDERING IN THE DARK in a fresh, 2K restoration of its original negative and in its first official home video release anywhere in the world.
Directed by: Helia Colombo
Starring: Joseph Arkim, Francisco Cortéz, Gabriella Giorgelli, Elena Veronese
1978 / 87 min / 1.85:1
• Region Free Blu-ray
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative
• Original Italian language sound with newly translated English subtitles
• Historical audio essay with film historian and critic Rachael Nisbet
• Promotional image gallery
VS-315: Dolly Dearest [BD/DVD Combo] *Limited Slipcover*
*This special limited edition embossed slipcover (designed by Earl Kessler Jr.) is limited to 2,500 units and is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com!*
American family Elliot and Marilyn Wade, along with their young children Jessica and Jimmy, have just relocated to Mexico, where Elliot has taken over a doll factory. As they settle into their fresh surroundings, Jessica forms a special bond with her new doll, spending hours with it in her large playhouse. But soon, her mother and older brother sense that something isn’t quite right with the sweetly faced toy. It’s not long before strange and frightening events start to occur, and members of the household begin turning up dead in a series of apparent ‘accidents’.
The sole horror feature directed by veteran exploitation crew-woman and actress, Maria Lease, and produced by Dan Cady (Grave of the Vampire), DOLLY DEAREST, takes a thematic nod from Child’s Play while upping the weirdness. Starring Denise Crosby (Pet Sematary), Sam Bottoms (Apocalypse Now), and featuring a memorable supporting performance from Rip Torn (Men in Black), Vinegar Syndrome brings this early 90s cult favorite to Blu-ray for the very first time, in a brand new 2K restoration.
Directed by: Maria Lease
Starring: Denise Crosby, Sam Bottoms, Rip Torn, Lupe Ontiveros
1991 / 94 min / 1.85:1
Special Features:
• Region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm interpositive
• “Playing With Dolls” – an interview with lead actress Denise Crosby
• “Dressing the Part” – an interview with actor Ed Gale
• Reversible cover artwork
• SDH English subtitles
VS-316: Pale Blood [BD/DVD Combo] *Limited Slipcover*
*This special limited edition embossed slipcover (designed by Earl Kessler Jr.) is limited to 2,000 units and is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com!*
Michael Fury (George Chakiris, West Side Story) is a vampire. But contrary to myth and legend, he does not stalk innocent victims to drain them of blood – and life – rather he only drinks what he needs to survive. But when a vicious, and very human, killer begins murdering young women in Los Angeles by biting them and draining their blood, sparking fears that a vampire is prowling the city, Michael realizes that it will be up to him to unmask the fiend behind these deaths to save the good name of his vampire brethren.
A tense and sensual blending of supernatural mysticism and horror set in the neon tinged world of early 90s Hollywood, V.V. Dachin Hsu’s PALE BLOOD breathes depth and originality into the vampire genre. Colorfully photographed by Gerry Livley (Waxwork) and featuring supporting performances from Wings Hauser (Vice Squad) and Darcy DeMoss (Hardbodies), Vinegar Syndrome presents the world Blu-ray debut of PALE BLOOD in a brand new 2K restoration.
Directed by: V.V. Dachin Hsu
Starring: George Chakiris, Wings Hauser, Pamela Ludwig, Diana Frank, Darcy DeMoss
1990 / 93 min / 1.85:1
Special Features:
• Region A Blu-ray/DVD combo
• Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm interpositive
• “Understanding Immortality” – an interview with director V.V. Dachin Hsu
• “Acting With Eggs” – an interview with actress Darcy DeMoss
• Reversible cover artwork
• SDH English subtitles
You can buy these releases and many more on Vinegar Syndrome’s website.
Release date is set for 28th April 2020.