Just had a chat with Pete Tombs about our Halloween Sale slate of new releases. A couple of updates to what I said before -

There will be four releases instead of five. We want to make sure we can actually get them all done in a timely manner and so one of them - the Clasificada S title - has been pushed back to early next year.

And the secret 70s Eurohorror will be a UHD/Blu combo. At least that's the plan right now. The UHD will just be the film and the Blu the film, the extras, and an "uncut" version of the film taken from lesser elements. The UHD might just be part of the limited edition but it will be at least 2000 copies so everyone who wants one will definitely have the chance to get it. And of course, unlike the Death Squad UHD it will be available both in the flash pre-order and during the sale proper, as both part of the bundle and on its own.

So the slate is:

SPECIAL SILENCERS - numbered Red Case edition
DEATH SQUAD - super limited UHD/Blu ray edition exclusive to the flash pre-order, normal limited single disc Red Case edition for the sale proper and beyond
SUPER SECRET 70s EUROHORROR - limited UHD/Blu-ray edition with slipcover
SPANISH HORROR/THRILLER FILM SET - limited two disc set w/ slipcover

I'm thinking about Friday October 20th for the flash pre-order and October 30th or 31st for the sale proper.

Some of this could change but that's the plan right now.

Tentative Mondo Macabro 2024 Schedule

On sale in late Feb/early March, shipping in late March –
FATA MORGANA – 60s giallo adjacent arthouse thriller from Spanish auteur Vicente Aranda, director of BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE
SEX APOCALYPSE – utterly depraved ‘clasificada S’ sleazefest featuring Ajita Wilson and Lina Romay. Will feature the (better) softcore cut in HD and the infamous ‘hard’ version in SD

On sale in late April, shipping in May –
CAFÉ FLESH – brand new restoration of the Steven Sayadian surrealist adult cult classic. 4K is possible but we need to make sure the resto, which is from 35mm prints and not the negative, is good enough first
Triple Feature BD set from an infamous auteur of 70s French erotica

On sale in June, shipping in July –
WARRIOR TRILOGY – Triple feature BD set of some of the wildest action films ever made in Indonesia or anywhere else. Features all of the ‘Jaka Sembung’ films starring Barry Prima and produced by Rapi Films in the 1980s
Double feature of Greek exploitation – BD set featuring two TBA Greek films

On sale in August, shipping in September –
Two more utterly insane Japanese films from Toei studios. Both from the 1970s. One is making its North American disc debut, the other is making its HD debut (and yes, UHD is possible on this one, we just need to examine the new scan when it arrives)

Halloween Sale! – late Oct and early Nov, ships in either late Nov or January 2025
4 to 5 possible titles, hopefully one a UHD upgrade of a previous DVD release. Also never-on-disc giallo and Indonesian horror releases, plus more TBD/TBA

Most of the Greek stuff we have planned are significantly more 'downmarket' titles haha

Most of the Greek stuff we have planned are significantly more 'downmarket' titles haha

And then of course it's on to 2025! We're not going to stop! More Greek, more French, more Spanish, perhaps some Eastern European films, maybe more Japanese and Indonesian, and hopefully, FINALLY some films from Hong Kong! It's long been a goal of ours to do some classic 80s films from the former British colony and we are doing our damnedest to make this happen at last. Nothing set in stone yet but cross your fingers!

WELCOME TO THE 23rd MONDO MACABRO NEWSLETTER!

Greetings from Olympia WA and London England! aka the dual, multicontinental HQs of MONDO MACABRO!

We're here with you today to formally announce our next two limited edition titles!

And we'll also give you an update on the how the rest of the year's schedule is shaping up. There's been a few changes from last time ...

Get ready! Here we go!
THE USUAL WHEN AND WHERE
As per the norm, the place to pre-order the next two titles will be mondomacabro.bigcartel.com.

And the time? That's the same as it usually is as well, 9 AM Pacific/12 Noon Eastern. The day? A Thursday. We like doing it on Thursdays. Don't ask, our reasons probably wouldn't make sense to anyone but us.

But the date is unique as it always is. That is going to be March 28th!

That's a week from when this newsletter is going out. So mark your calendars now!

Now let's announce the films!


ANNOUNCEMENT #1!

Up first we have this avant/sci-fi/giallo-adjacent/eurospy marvel from the director of THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE!

FATA MORGANA (1965)

A man rehearses a lecture he is planning to give, analyzing serial killers. He claims that a woman is soon to be murdered in the city. It is inevitable, he explains, as some people are born victims while others are born to kill. He plans to identify the future victim through a series of photographs of violent acts.

Fashion model Gim, played by iconic Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera, finds herself alone in a Barcelona that seems almost deserted. She seeks out her lover, Alvaro, for help. On her way to meet him she is harassed by a series of men and followed by a huge and menacing silver truck with blacked out windows. Through a loudspeaker on the truck a mechanical voice orders all persons to leave the city immediately.

Gim finds that Alvaro’s former girlfriend, Miriam, is staying in his house having just returned from London where a terrible but unexplained event occurred. In Alvaro’s “art chamber”, an obviously disturbed Miriam finds a large knife disguised as a metallic silver fish.

Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys cut out a picture of Gim from a huge advertising billboard. They carry it through the empty city streets in a silent procession.

Directed in 1965 by Vicente Aranda, FATA MORGANA is a hallucinogenic mixture of chase thriller, science fiction, art film and comic-book inspired puzzle. Filled with garishly colored visuals and with a hypnotic jazzy soundtrack, the film is a unique and highly entertaining first feature from one of world cinema’s most renowned creators.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Region Free
Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
Spanish audio with optional English subtitles
Interview with actress Teresa Gimpera
Interview with Angel Sala, director of the Sitges Film Festival
Audio commentary by Eurocult expert Rachael Nisbet
Alternative opening sequence

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Reversible sleeve with brand new cover art by Justin Coffee; 24-page booklet with brand new writing on the film and director Aranda by Spanish film expert Ismael Fernandez; 1500 numbered copies in the usual red case


ANNOUNCEMENT #2!

Our 2nd reveal is for one of the sleaziest of all the Spanish “Clasificada S” films, directed by Paul Naschy collaborator Carlos Aured …

SEX APOCALYPSE (1982)

A kinky gang of free-loving criminals, three women and two men, come into possession of the keys to a large and luxurious villa belonging to a man travelling abroad for an extended period of time. Taking advantage of the extra space and security of their new home, they decide to try a shot at the big-time and kidnap a rich man’s daughter, intending to hold her for a million-dollar ransom. Discovering that the girl has enjoyed a privileged and sheltered upbringing and is also a virgin, two of the female members of the gang decide to induct the hostage into their own sexually liberated ways. But they find out that she may be a lot wiser than they thought. And soon a dangerous power struggle is set in motion, a struggle that ends in a deadly and shocking “apocalypse” of sex and violence.

In Spain from the late 1970s, after the law was liberalized, there was an explosion of sex films on the country’s screens. These films were classified by the censor as “S”, meaning that they might offend the sensibilities of the viewer. Carlos Aured - director of four films starring horror icon Paul Naschy - made SEX APOCALYPSE, one of the most notorious of all the “S” movies. The film was released in two versions, the “S” rated softcore original and a hardcore version for distribution in Italy. This two-disc limited edition Blu-ray includes both versions of the film and should not be watched by the easily offended.

NOTE ABOUT THE VERSIONS OF THE FILM IN THIS RELEASE –

SEX APOCALYPSE was originally produced as a strong soft-core movie, to be released in Spain within the “S” film classification. That’s the version you can see on disc one of this package. Towards the end of production, the film was sold to an Italian company who asked for some hardcore sequences to be created for a version that would only be distributed in Italy. This was done after an agreement with the female cast. For the parts requiring male involvement a specialist actor was hired who spent a day providing the necessary inserts (pun unavoidable).

The version on disc two is a composite of the original “S” rated film with these added hardcore shots. This material was taken from four different VHS sources as we were unable to locate the negative of these additional shots. We believe that the extended version on this disc incorporates all the extra material that was shot on that busy day in Spain back in 1982.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Region Free
Spanish language with optional English subtitles
Brand new 2K restoration of the ‘S’ rated version of the film from the original negative
Interview with Carlos Aured biographer Miguel Angel Plana
Interview with Spanish writer and director Ricard Reguant on the history of ‘S’ films
Audio commentary by Eurocult experts Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Bonus Blu-ray disc with uncut 108-minute version of the film (this disc is ONLY part of this package and will not be part of the retail release); slipcover with new original design; inner sleeve with brand (and uncensored) new art by Rick Melton; 20-page booklet by Spanish film expert Ismael Fernandez; 2000 numbered copies

Please note that this will be listed at our webstore under the abbreviated title “S. APOCALYPSE” to avoid any trouble with PayPal.
WHAT ELSE YA GOT??
So that's not enough for you? I mean, those are two pretty far-out Eurocult titles, neither one ever available before officially on video in the US. But OK. As it happens, we do have a few more things going up that day!

Firstly, we'll have the standard editions of two of our Halloween Sale titles, the French shocker DEATH SQUAD and the Indonesian schlocker SPECIAL SILENCERS! These will be in stock and ready to ship when the pre-order event goes live. (Though keep in mind if you order them along with new pre-orders your order will only ship when all items are in stock.)

Additionally, we'll also have the first two releases from our cousin label Neon Eagle Video! The standard edition Blu-rays of KILL BUTTERFLY KILL and ZERO WOMAN: RED HANDCUFFS! In case you didn't know, NEV was co-founded by our own Jared Auner and specializes in 1970s/80s Asian action and exploitation films. If you like MM, chances are you'll like Neon Eagle!

And of course we'll have the rest of our in-print catalog available to purchase as well, including remaining copies of the BOLLYWOOD HORROR box set, the SECRETS & MYSTERIES: FILMS BY PEDRO OLEA double BD set, and the last red case copies of NIGHT OF THE EXECUTIONER, RAVISHING DANY, SHADOW OF DEATH, SINISTER DR ORLOFF, and APOCALYPSE AFTER!

Again, this pre-order event will go live on Thursday, March 28th at 9 AM Pacific (google what time that is where you live), only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!


THE EVER-EVOLVING 2024 SCHEDULE
So, if you recall our last newsletter, we gave a basic rundown of what the rest of the year might look like. Well, a lot can change in a short amount of time. We've done some condensing and moving things around in the hopes that it makes the schedule more workable, and we'll be able to get the year-end titles out a bit sooner. The long waits for the Halloween '22 and '23 titles hurt us even more than it hurt you and we'd like to avoid that happening again.

So, in that spirit here's what our schedule currently looks like. But of course, keep in mind that it can (and probably will) change again:

Early Summer - THE WARRIOR Trilogy 2-disc slipcover set; 70s French Erotica 2-disc slipcover set; possibly one more release but likely just these two

Late Summer - Four new LE titles, all for the first time on US home video: An Indonesian horror, a Spanish giallo, and Japanese and French 70s exploitation shockers

Halloween Sale - Three big UHD releases! Including CAFE FLESH!

Lots to look forward to! And we're working on our 2025 line up as well! Expect the unexpected!

That's all for now! See you next time!

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT #1! Going up for pre-order on Thursday, June 20th at 9 AM PST/12 noon EST, only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!
First up for today’s announcements is a collection of three cult classics from the Golden era of French Erotic Cinema, directed by one of the masters of the genre!

THE MAX PECAS COLLECTION!
Featuring I AM A NYMPHOMANIAC, I AM FRIGID … WHY?, and PRIVATE CLUB!

DISC ONE FEATURES
Region Free

I AM A NYMPHOMANIAC (France, 1970); 95 min; 1.66:1
French or English audio options with English subtitles

“I whispered it again and again: I am a nymphomaniac. Whenever I passed a man in the street, I felt the same craving burning inside me…”
Carole is an ordinary girl leading an ordinary life. Then one day it happens. She has an accident and falls down a lift shaft. Miraculously, she survives. But after she recovers in the hospital, she finds herself obsessed with her body, sex and sin. Will she ever be free from the torment of her passionate desires?
A classic piece of adult cinema from the golden age of French erotica. The film stars the gorgeous Sandra Jullien (Le frisson des vampires) as Carole alongside Janine Reynaud and Michel Lemoine (Jess Franco’s Succubus)

I AM FRIGID … WHY? (France, 1972); 101 min; 1.66:1
French or English audio options with English subtitles

In this follow up to his classic I Am a Nymphomaniac, Max Pécas takes us inside the mind of a girl searching for satisfaction. No matter how many times she does it, or with whom, Doris can never find the fulfilment she seeks.
Her search leads from her convent school to 1970's Paris, where she falls in with an outrageous theatre group, finally ending up as a high-class call girl in a house run by a lesbian dominatrix.
A riot of lava lamps, garish fashions and deliciously daft dialogue...
This is an extended version of the feature with two extra scenes not included in the original French release of the film.

This disc also includes -
Episode of the EUROTIKA TV series about Max Pecas
Deleted Scenes

DISC TWO FEATURES
Region Free

PRIVATE CLUB (France, 1974); 87 min; 1.66:1
French or English audio options with English subtitles

Marcel is a taxi driver who works in the center of Paris. He’s a romantic and is deeply in love with his photo-model girlfriend, Lise, but is still not averse to exchanging comments with his taxi driving pal Charlie whenever a pretty girl passes by. One day a gorgeous woman hires his taxi. She surprises him by undressing in the back seat of the cab. Soon she leads him to a private club where, forgetting all about Lise, Marcel spends the afternoon with the girls who work there. But he is in for a shock, one which will shatter his blinkered view of the world and male/female relationships.
A portrait of a long-vanished world of swinging sex clubs, shameless voyeurs and free love, Private Club marked the end of an era for Max Pecas who was soon to move on to a very different genre of cinema.

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
2 disc set with a slipcover featuring brand new art by Justin Coffee; reversible inner sleeve with original ad art on each side; 20 page color booklet with new writing on the film by Pete Tombs; 10 double sided art cards; 1500 numbered copies (numbers will be sent out randomly)

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT #2! Going up for pre-order on Thursday, June 20th at 9 AM PST/12 noon EST, only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!

Today’s 2nd announcement is for the utterly insane and amazing WARRIOR TRILOGY! Three absolutely gonzo anti-imperialist fantasy/martial arts classics representing the high point of the 80s Indonesian exploitation explosion. All featuring Indo movie star Barry Prima as the legendary Jaka Sembung!

DISC ONE FEATURES
Region Free

THE WARRIOR (Indonesia, 1981); 94 min; 2.35:1
English or Indonesian audio options with English subtitles
Directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra

Witchcraft and black magic versus mystical martial arts
This outrageously entertaining fantasy flick stars Indonesian action hero Barry Prima. He plays Jaka Sembung, a kind of Robin Hood figure who possesses mystical powers. As a leader of his country’s rebellion against the oppressive Dutch colonialists, Jaka Sembung is captured, tortured and left for dead. But he returns, even more powerful than before. In desperation the invaders resurrect an evil wizard and set him against Jaka Sembung in a fierce fight to the death.
Packed with jaw dropping action scenes and astonishing special effects, The Warrior is the ultimate cult classic. This is the first Blu-ray release of the film in the US and is fully remastered and completely uncut.

* HD transfer from the original negative
* New Interview with film maker Joko Anwar
* New Interview with SFX maestro EL Badrun
* New Interview with writer/assistant director Imam Tantowi
* Archive interview with Imam Tantowi
* Interview with producer Gope Samtani
* Trailers for The Warrior, The Warrior and the Blind Swordsman and The Warrior and the Ninja

DISC TWO FEATURES
Region Free

THE WARRIOR AND THE BLIND SWORDSMAN (Indonesia, 1983); 95 min; 2.35:1
English or Indonesian audio options with English subtitles
Directed by Dasri Yacob

In this explosive sequel to The Warrior, Jaka Sembung is back, organizing resistance to the Dutch colonialist army in West Java and spreading the message of rebellion throughout the land. The Dutch commander organizes a martial arts tournament to select the best warrior to defeat Jaka Sembung. The winner is Si Buta, a mysterious blind swordsman from a place Called Devil’s Mountain. For a chest full of gold coins, Sin Buta returns with Jaka Sembungs’s decapitated head. However, things are not quite what they seem and they become even more complicated when a seductive sorceress, Dewi Magi, sets her sights on the blind swordsman and demands Jaka Sembung as her sex slave. The Dutch send in their heavily armed troops and an apocalyptic battle ensues, filled with magic, mayhem and mystical martial arts.

THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA (Indonesia, 1985); 99 min; 2.35:1
English or Indonesian audio options with English subtitles
Directed by H. Tjut Djalil

In this final entry in Rapi Films’ Warrior Trilogy, Jaka Sembung teams up with a female freedom fighter known as The Black Squirrel.
The film opens with a spectacular volcanic explosion and from there on the tension never lets up. Numerous high energy scenes of brutal martial arts are interspersed with sustained action, gore, and outrageous special effects sequences. This may well be the most action packed of all the films in the series and is directed by MYSTICS IN BALI helmer H. Tjut Djalil.
Jaka Sembung comes up against one of his most fearsome opponents in the seemingly invincible, iron skinned Balung Wesi. The film features one of the most over the top scenes in the entire trilogy when one of the villains has her face ripped off by the Black Squirrel.

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
2 disc set with slipcover and reversible inner sleeve featuring brand new art by Jolyon Yates; 20 page color booklet with new writing on the films by Pete Tombs; 1500 numbered copies (numbers will be sent out randomly)