I can dig it.

Got that one not long after it came out. And the barebones Olive Blu-ray before it. And the barebones Paramount DVD before that. And I tended to watch it or parts of it if I caught it on TV back in the olden days. I think it’s a highly watchable and unique movie (in no small part due to its director coming from adjacent mediums). Plus VS finally brought the longer version back to light. Money well spent, I say. I didn’t even see it come up in the Syntober deals, but I did miss a few toward the end and ultimately tapped out with just the two HK double features from early on.

This is more nightmare fuel from AGFA and Something Weird. The Krazy Kidz Video Party.

Crap. I had to add this to my Timecrimes order. I am a sucker for almost anything from AGFA.

Thanks a lot. You just cost me 30 more bucks. 😐

Ive got a lot of those AGFa releases to buy but the Santa Claus Conquers the Martians bluray is next on my buy list.

These AGFA releases really are about as close as we’ll ever get to the wonderfully hodgepodge nature of Something Weird in its VHS/DVD era prime (Cinepix runs a close second on the softcore stuff). I still can’t part with most of my old SW discs despite upgrading some of their content. That kiddie one indeed looks like nightmare fuel. I’ve got all the AGFA/SW pairings so far, so that’ll have to be added eventually. I had BLACK PANTHER OF SHAOLIN (which has nearly eight hours of content thanks to those trailer comps!) and DRUG-A-RAMA in my cart for the last few weeks, watching the slip versions slowly tick downward. I thought the latter might get discounted for Black Friday since it feels a bit older, but probably too early. When I took a bunch of trade-in stuff to the VS store yesterday, I ended getting both of them for a decent discount along with the MEN FROM THE GUTTER mentioned earlier and one other item (VS is a little more generous with genre trade-ins than most places in this town). The only drawback is the lack of points at the store, which I do wish they’d rectify somehow. Not sure if it’s the same at the U.S. stores.

I had that first Drug-O Rama release and it wasn't as entertaining or fun as I had hoped so I sold mine with the slip and passed on the second one. I am thinking I should have been stoned when I watched it.

I watched part of the X-Mas release they did last year but I plan to revisit it early in December and if I like it enough, it will stick around but if I find it isn't something I care to ever rewatch, it will go to the for-sale pile as well. At least if you get the ones with slips, you will always make your money back with a little extra for a future release.

That’d be an instant preorder but looks like they’re using old masters with that hideous SWV watermark. My eyes are still in pain from watching that “Extra Weird Sampler” DVD years ago (and I would have smashed it if I didn’t believe in saving everything.)

I have that disc and it is so awesome, I can easily overlook the watermark.

I'm glad I don't go for those bizarre films from that era. But yeah, they're freakin' weird.

I’ve also held on to that one despite the watermark (AGFA should re-release it, frankly). I always thought Something Weird’s watermark was stupid and often too big, but I kinda understood why Mike Vraney did it originally because there were other operators (like Sinister Cinema) essentially dealing in the same kinds of bottom-drawer, legally grey-area cult stuff so he presumably just wanted to protect his interests (and the rights he actually paid for in some cases) but ultimately the watermarks didn’t prevent various fly-by-night ‘public domain’ companies from just slapping SW-watermarked prints on their discs and releasing them anyway. I doubt he had deep enough pockets to sue on a regular basis, which made the watermarks seem rather unnecessary. Some of the AGFA releases have removed them (like the Intermission Time set and others) so I hope it’s not a plan to leave them intact on future releases as some sort of bogus “hey, it’s part of the nostalgia” routine. They have tools now to remove them pretty cleanly.

I saw a movie when I was 10. As an adult I could never remember the name but remembered some specific scenes. Flash forward to me watching the Sampler. Suddenly, I was watching the trailer for that movie. Couldn't believe it. Soon afterward I found and bought the movie. That is how I acquired The Bloody Pit of Horror on DVD.

That movie is arguably more entertaining than it should be! I still have the Something Weird DVD, but I also picked up Severin’s Blu-ray on sale years later. It doesn’t have as many bonus goodies but it does add a fun commentary by the Davids (Del Valle and DeCoteau), who are clearly fans but aren’t afraid to poke some fun at it.

Speaking of AGFA / SW crossovers I’ve also got my eye on the TRUE CRIME TRIPLE RIPPER announced last month (I think?). I had a copy in my little stack at the VS store on Friday but decided to grab it on a future trade-in trip. THE SADIST is remarkably good for its era (and for being an Arch Hall movie in general). I’ve had a couple of DVDs of that over the years and both looked really good, but AGFA has two versions on their release. SECRET LIFE OF BONNIE AND CLYDE is one of Texas auteur Larry Buchanan’s better efforts (technically that’s not saying much so take it with a grain of salt, but it is better than usual for him) and was part of a more appropriate Something Weird double-feature DVD with his earlier TRIAL OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD (an interesting concept, but so-so production), and they did port over his audio commentary, which is cool. My only beef is with the “noir” version of ZODIAC KILLER. I’m generally not fond of the retroactive tampering that goes on with some modern-day ‘classics’ but I think old drive-in stuff should really be immune from it as well. The mitigating factor here is that AGFA already did justice to this one in an earlier Blu-ray special edition (which is still available, btw) that includes an audio commentary and interview with the director that cover the fascinating history behind the film, so I suppose I can cut them some slack for taking liberties with their b&w version.

I still wonder how I saw it at 10 years old. Must've been the drive-in but who took me? I doubt my parents would but maybe a friend's older brother or sister. I still have the DVD somewhere in a box of other DVDs. It's on Prime but I wonder if I should pick up the Severin Blu at $24.

Don’t pay that much for the Severin disc! It’s been on sale at least a couple of times, and it will surely drop again. I got it in the July 2024 Summer Sale for $7.50 US. Got the DVD version before that for $3 when they were blowing out all of their DVDs after abandoning the format. In practically every sale now they mark a huge selection of random stuff down to $7.50 (and not stuff that’s going OOP, either), so with Severin I strongly advise never paying regular website pricing. I’ve amassed much of their catalog at some of their deepest reductions (which is great for sampling and even better for resale if they’re not worth keeping). No guarantee that BLOODY PIT will be that price in the next sale (presumably Black Friday) but it will most likely be discounted to some degree.

Okay thanks for the info

Dug into my Syntober haul, finally.

Not sure what to make of Phase IV. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy it, but it might be one of those movies that if I hit up the booklet and some of the critical response to it, I'll enjoy it more. Looks like there's a lot going on that I missed.

Black Room was good, surprisingly good. I honestly expected it to be an example of me falling for VS's hype, but this one is actually one of those "hidden gem" movies I look for so often. Will be getting a rewatch. Only complaint is that for a movie with so much sex in it (and Linnea Quigley fer chrissakes), there's suprisingly very little nudity.

Alas:

Interesting. I didn’t realize that one sold out. Still not that keen on the concept but obviously it worked for them. I’m sure the title will be spoiled online within minutes of someone getting it, but I must admit the creeping curiosity might make me grab one at the store on Friday if I can. Their BF sale is also supposedly matching all discounts on the website, which is a first for them. Previously they basically matched the half-off items only (more like 30% here, but when you factor in the exchange rates it was a wash) but they never equaled the 60% to 80% discounts, so this might save me an online order this time around. Knowing me, probably not.

Hoping to keep it below $100 this weekend. There's 4 titles I want that should be in the half-off section, none list for more than $50.

But then they'll put a few tempters in the more-than-half-off section and I fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

I hear that! In the last couple of sales I’ve been tempted more than I should admit by stuff in the 70 - 80% off sections that I wouldn’t otherwise bother with, even when I’ve read good things about them. Life’s just too sort, etc etc, until they’re suddenly seven or eight bucks! At that price, I can too easily justify anything. It’s probably a good thing that those sections aren’t huge . . . so far. On the plus side, I rarely keep those ones even if they’re good, so any depreciation in selling them onward or trading them in is easier to bear.

Dumb question since it has been a bit since I ordered from VS. I ordered some titles a few weeks ago and added them to the "ship together" option when the Black Friday title I ordered gets released.

So if a title or two drops in price that I order before the sale, do they price match that or do you have to cancel and reorder? Or can you even cancel a title at that point?

Yes, if you have an "unfulfilled" order and the item goes down in price, you can get it for the new lower price. I think you have to E-mail them though.

ETA: Here's the official policy from VS:

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer partial refunds on fulfilled orders or price match on existing orders. If your full price item hasn’t been fulfilled yet, please place an order for the product at the discounted price and reach out to customer service. We can cancel and refund the original full price item.

I was prepared to be let down by the last couple of reveals, and they drop Troll 2 and The Stendhal Syndrome on me!

And for Brian T:

I love The Stendhal Syndrome, but I think I can wait to get it a little cheaper.

I've always said, it's the concluding chapter in Argento's "Art Trilogy", which is much more sensical than the people who call his first three films the "Animal Trilogy" only because the titles reference an animal. Other than that, they're all completely different films.

The Art Trilogy consists of:
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage
Deep Red
The Stendhal Syndrome