Turkey Day in May 2023

The first part of our Turkey Day 20th Anniversary was yesterday, and I have survived to tell the tale! In fact, we all did! It was a little different this time out because we spent some time doing a little filming here and there for a documentary about just how crazy we are for doing these little get-togethers for the last two decades, all in celebration of these cinematic shipwrecks. We had around 15 people joining in this year, most of which stayed here from the very beginning right to the very last film, knocking out SIX features (and about 21 pizzas!) before it was all said and done.

It is really hard to believe that not only have I continued this crazy tradition, but that I have more than a few die-hard friends that actually look forward to these little marathons with great joy and excitement. Yes, we are all mad cinephiles. It really is hard to explain to most people what exactly the reasoning is behind these, and even more importantly, why they are so much damn fun. But if you know, then you know and don’t need the explanation.

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Vinegar Syndrome Unleashes Curucu!

Now what exactly is the big deal that Vinegar Syndrome is releasing a film that is rated at a 3.7 on IMDB? Could it be because that Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, an extremely rare film, had never gotten a release on DVD or even VHS? Or maybe because it was written and directed by Curt Siodmak, who wrote countless classics like The Wolf Man (1941) or Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)? Or maybe because it stars Beverly Garland, a favorite amongst fans of the sci-fi / horror films of the ’50s? Or maybe because the main character’s name is Rock Dean! Or maybe it is simply because VS has found this almost lost film, taken the time to make a newly scanned and restored print in 2K from its 35mm dupe negative and saved this title from becoming another one of those lost films. I say for that alone, VS deserves our gratitude!

Now I had a bootleg copy of this on VHS, that not only was in black and white, but the quality was so bad that I never could get through it! When I saw the trailer and the quality of the print, I was blown away. Sure, this is not supposed to be that great of a movie. Doesn’t matter. With a title like Curucu, Beast of the Amazon, with some freaking amazing poster art, plus with some of the people involved in it, I know there will be a copy in my collection. We all know that a lot of the older movies never lived up to the hype the posters and trailers made it out to be, but we still enjoyed them. I know I can’t wait to finally get to see this, in a print quality that probably looks the best it has since its initial release!

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