"No slasher has been more requested" than Fatal Games. I watched it on YouTube...

My most requested movies are Elves, Skyscraper, and Hamburger the Motion Picture. All three movies would be perfectly in line with the type of movies that Vinegar Syndrome releases. I'd like to preorder the "Lost Film" set and D.A.R.Y.L but im going to wait due to financial reasons of being unemployed.

I don't think that means what you think it means.

They have a gift for making deservedly forgotten movies seem like they were undeservedly forgotten (the preservation efforts are commendable, of course). All of these boutiques have it, really. Undiscovered masterpieces! And then people fork over increasingly outrageous sums for slips and boxes and goodies that only increase the allure, the significance! And then they actually watch the stuff . . .

It’s not good. I don’t see why it’s the most requested of all the possible slashers.

Probably some combination of “it’s not” and “of what’s left”. There are plenty of Golden Age slashers in need of a remaster, but there aren’t a lot of prized slashers that haven’t already made their way to Blu-ray.

Of the slashers I see brought up the most that haven’t been released or announced — Home Sweet Home, Open House, The Last Slumber Party, To All a Good Night, Iced — the reception seems to be pretty mixed.

My very first Vinegar Syndrome movie was Jack Frost. A movie I had seen and knew already from renting it on VHS. The more I watch the movies put out by the label the more I enjoy exploring some of the history of trash cinema. With a few exceptions modern day movies are boring to me. There have only been a few movies I've regretted buying and I sold them immediately.

My previous comment was posted as someone who has purchased more of the VS library than not, and has likewise explored trash cinema since the era when many of us could only dream about one day seeing such fare thanks to ‘cult film’ books, mags, and fanzines (pre-web). I have likewise listed and/or sold off the titles that weren’t worth keeping, which for me hovers around half. Two things justify the purchases, though: their sales, and the resale value in Canada (especially for OOP stuff). I’d imagine the same is true in the US, and based on orders posted in the various VS sales threads, I know I’m not alone in waiting for sales. What irks me somewhat, however, is that while I respect the effort and technologies that all of these companies invest into ‘saving’ movies that were otherwise rightfully or wrongfully forgotten — or sometimes never forgotten because they were released repeatedly, albeit much more cheaply, during the DVD era from the likes of Anchor Bay, BCI, Mill Creek, etc., in which case any ‘rarity’ argument goes out the window, and I often wonder how anyone truly interested could’ve missed this stuff back then) — I find the bells-and-whistles packaging (and the huge mark-ups they allow) and the “it’s a classic!” marketing spiels to be eye-rolling. Its just a personal thing, and I’m well aware of why they have to do it, and the effect is has on blind buys.

Not to be too contrarian here, but I find much to enjoy in modern day movies, but that’s all thanks to the Toronto library system having a massive, ever-expanding, well-curated collection of discs comprised of high- and low-profile new releases, foreign films, plus a surprising amount of trash cinema from VS and other labels. Because most of the modern day movies I watch are essentially ‘free’ (yes, I know, my taxes help pay for the library) and perpetually available, I feel less compelled to own any of them, which frees up a lot of cash to blow on the likes of Vinegar Syndrome, Severin, Kino, etc. 👍

My only beef with modern movies is the sheer quantity of them. Anyone can make them now. There’s more generic shitty movies being cranked than ever before because of streamers’ lust for content. But there’s also equally as many compelling, quality movies being cranked around the world now that technology and training aren’t barriers to entry. But my heart has always been with the B-movies — old and new — since just before my teenage years, so even while I gripe about these boutiques gouging us, I do still buy their products . . . eventually. 🙂

Honestly, I collect VS titles more for the bonus materials than the films themselves in most cases. They're like the Criterion of shlock film.

Exactly! My only grumble here is absolutely not with the label, just the marketing and culture of FOMO they’ve all pulled the remaining niche of collectors into (and others have brought up in this forum before). There’s no question they treat these films with as much respect as any high-end boutiques. It’s honestly stunning sometimes. It doesn’t hurt that the people who made these low-end films often didn’t have prodigious careers and are readily available to contribute to the supplements. But little will prevent me from simply lamenting the day when VS and the others simply released one edition for a given film, maybe with a slip. It’s just weird reading about folks (not so much here, it seems) plunking down top dollar for debatably-priced pre-orders of tricked-out uber-package-y editions of films that they probably avoided – or never knew existed? – back in the days when companies like Something Weird, Shriek Show, Media Blasters, Sinister Cinema, et al were ‘unearthing’ a lot of this stuff the first time around, sometimes with decent supplements. Even weirder when I find myself fighting that same temptation because oooh, pretty. Standard editions, on sale, have allowed me to own a huge portion of VS’s library, either temporarily or permanently. The only downside, I suppose, is the longer wait for them these days.

To follow up on the comment above I did a blind buy of Spookies from a local store that carries VS movies. No I had never seen it but read things in a Facebook group it's a "so bad it's good" kind of movie. I can say after watching it its a piece of shit but equally hilarious. The plot makes no sense but it has farting zombies. 🤣 It would have been cool to have the slipcover but I'd never pay the prices being asked for it on ebay. It's also one of the most extras packed releases they have ever done.

Everything one could possibly want to know about that film was covered in those bonus features, and then some. The back story was infinitely more interesting than the film itself. Its cult status is secure, though, but entirely undeserved thanks to that release! Careers were not made. Despite how educational it was, it had to go. Years ago, like early 00’s, just about the only way to get ‘insider’ info on it was when various production people posted about it in the long-gone IMDb message boards, so it was great to see a lot of them officially back on the record in the supplements.

A similar example is the VS release of GIRLS SCHOOL SCREAMERS, a good looking but unbearably dull “horror” show that only earned that status when producers spliced in bits of incongruous gore. The featurette and both commentaries are more interesting than the movie, so again it had to go. My biggest regret with that one was accidentally ordering it twice because sometimes I forget how much of their stuff I already have. Ordered standard both times, but one came with a slip anyway. Lucky me. 🙄

I’m just glad they didn’t feel compelled to release either of these films as $50 hardcase + slip + book editions. People would pony up, though, and it’s getting to be a bit much.

I have had a copy of Spookies for several years and always meant to watch it for the Horror challenge and then for some reason didn't. I plan to correct that this year!

I will give it credit that the creature effects are very cool.

Haha, I still haven't watched Girls School Screamers yet, but I'm keeping an open mind. As much as I hate schlock (my motto is "sleaze, not cheese") I'd be lying if I said that I've never enjoyed a schlocky VS release. Like both Shriek of the Mutilated and Disconnected are the types of movies I abhor, yet I somehow found both to be very enjoyable.

I think at least some of this is due to the evolution of the 'Vinegar Syndrome treatment' (and really, Severin, Synapse, Mondo, Error 4444, and on and on). The amount of effort they put into legitimizing both good crap and bad crap, and often topping the efforts of previous disc companies, is commendable, even if what they charge us for it out of the gate is not (to wit, 'upscale' retro fare like DARYL . . . for only $45.00. Forty . . . five . . . dollars!! ). They practically dare you to disrespect these things, which probably explains the lack of bad or mixed reviews for most of their releases, even when the films have been slagged for decades and were generally only used by mom n' pop video stores to pad out their shelves on the cheap. These companies know they can probably only stay afloat by hijacking and upselling our sense of nostalgia for those eras, especially if we actually watched a lot of this drive-in-trashy stuff back then, which I certainly did, for better and for worse. I've had an affinity for b-movie junk since before the home video era. To that end, I even had my review column in a daily newspaper spiked (decades ago) because the editor realized one day just how much of it I was actually reviewing every week. And yet, as I type this, I have a big NEW YORK NINJA magno-box doorstopper sitting on the table beside me, so clearly I've taken the bait (don't recall that ever lasting until a sale). I finally listed on Amazon because even though the supplements are phenomenal (except the atrocious commentary), it's just a bad movie, and wouldn't have been any better had John Liu finished back in the 80's. Knowing what a scumbag he allegedly turned out to be in real life certainly made unloading it easier, but honestly, it was inevitable.

Ahh, SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED - another phenomenal treatment of a truly shitty film. I swear, I often find myself struggling with keeping these kinds of special editions purely because of the extras, even when I know I couldn't survive watching the movies themselves one more time!

Meanwhile, another box of titles from the last Vinegar Syndrome sale arrived yesterday, so I should probably open it up . . .

New Titles are up:

MOTHER'S DAY 4K Combo
MARK OF THE DEVIL 4K Combo
BLOODSUCKING FREAKS 4K Combo
RABID GRANNIES - Blu-ray
MAGIC CRYSTAL (HK) - Blu-ray*
MICHAEL FINDLAY'S "FLESH" TRILOGY (Touch Of, Curse Of, Kiss Of) - Blu-ray

Some possible future sale items there for me there, but it's a lot of stuff that's been released ad infinitum over the years. Still, these do seem to be the definitive editions.

* not surprisingly, different extras than the UK edition, and different commentary from the same guy. Sigh . . .

Jeff from Films at Home had Oscar Bechar who's the archivist from Vinegar Syndrome on his podcast. They go into detail about the "lost film" box set.

It gets a lot of crap for good reason (specifically the mother cheering on her sons as they rape and torture), but I like Mother's Day mostly because of a seldom-used trope in horror; a victim trying to escape a maniac/killer/monster, but their injuries hamper them. I mean, it's such a no-brainer, it's easy to implement, and it makes escape from the antagonist that much harder, as well as giving an excuse as to why the protagonist doesn't "just run away". Conversely, I know all about adrenalin and desire to survive, but it annoys me when horror film protagonists become invulnerable video game super heroes, breaking a leg or getting shot or stabbed, and it merely slows them down for 30 seconds. The French film Revenge is most guilty of this, where the main character is dropped from a 100 ft cliff, impaled on a tree below (impaled!), gets up, dusts herself off, and sprints after the killers.

i agree that ruined the movie for me when she got up after falling off the cliff..absurd is an under statement..

Saw that at TIFF and had to roll my eyes at that bit. I get that they wanted to toughen her up really quick, and make the audience feel her pain, but that was a catastrophic impalement and she just ‘fixes the problem’ and gets back up to speed in no time. That, plus the gallons of blood she loses throughout the climax were just silly. I mean, she leaves a long continuous smear throughout the house as I recall (I think the ex-BF does too?) and still has enough strength to fight! I suspect that movie probably got Matilda Lutz the lead role (eventually!) in RED SONJA, but that’s been crawling along for so long I think her buzz kinda died.

Have you gotten to watch Spookies yet?

Not yet. It will definitely be seen this month.

Which I am actually glad you asked because I wondered, is it better to watch the movie first and then the documentary? Or watch the documentary first and then the movie.

I didn't know if I would get more enjoyment out of the movie if I watched the documentary first.

Kinda like Troll 2. That movie is horrible but if you watch the documentary Best Worst Movie (2009), it makes you appreciate the movie and enjoy it a little more. Or at least it did for me.

I would say watch the movie first and then the documentary will help you make sense of it.🤣

I watched the movie first and had a what the fuck did I just watch experience.
Then I picked up the VS release, watched the Documentary followed by the movie again and I laughed a lot more and it sort of made sense.

It’s a tough call. I did kinda like that first viewing.