Every year, people are usually asked, or post something about what we’re thankful for. It usually ranges in being thankful for their family, a good job, being healthy, or a variety of subjects of that nature. A lot of those things are stuff we tend to take for granted every other day of the year. But when you really look, I’m sure you’ll find a little more light than dark in one’s life. Even for us evil horror fanatics!
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Another very successful Turkey Day in the books. As usual, we got through 7 features, some hitting the low point, many hitting some high points, and one hitting so far off the grid that it would be tough to explain! But we managed through, because we are, after all, professional lovers of cinema! And if you can’t find enjoyment in some of the strangest films out there, you’re just looking too hard at them. These films are the ones that you just sit back and bask in the wonderment, that someone thought that not only was the story good enough to proceed, but that they actually found backers willing to put up the money!
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Starting on our 3rd decade of Turkey Day Marathons, with this one being our 10th Turkey Day in May event, there just seems to be no stopping us. There are several things about these events that continue to amaze me. First and foremost, is the number of my friends that are crazy enough to continue to come out and sit through whatever I throw at them. Keep in mind, the titles are never announced until I hit play on the player. But they still come out. Sure, every once in a while, there might be a film where a mutiny is maybe thought about, but it is soon forgotten, and we move on to the next film. It reminds me that cinephiles are a different breed of people, ones that can look at what most people would scoff at, look down at, or even wonder why we’re wasting our title with that particular title. But the people that continue to come out see the real value and entertainment in these pictures. I am honored and so grateful to call them my friends.
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During conversations with serious film collectors, you might hear terms like inter-positive, or first negative, or even OCN, and have no clue to what they actually mean. Don’t feel bad because a lot of us are in the same boat. These are some of the many terms used when discussing the preservation and archiving of films, not to mention the amount of work that goes into doing just that. Plus, we’re not talking about the latest title coming from the MCU, but ones that were made for pennies a half a century ago, or longer, that got very little distribution, sometimes not even here in the states. But due to the thankless job (that we’re hoping to change) of some dedicated cinephiles, they are doing their best to bring those titles back from nearly being a lost film.
To help educate us on some of those terms, the processes, and just the sheer craziness of it all, we’ve asked Vault Manager and Archivist Oscar Becher from Vinegar Syndrome to do just that. While we’re not covering films, I’m pretty sure you’re going to learn a thing or two, maybe be even amazed at hearing some of this stuff, about the processes that go into bringing you that nice and spiffy new Blu-Ray of one of your favorite films.
Titles mentioned in this episode:
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As always, it was a struggle getting my list down to ten films. It was even stranger because when I first started going through my list of movies I watched this year, at first, I thought I was going to have trouble even coming up with five titles. But the more I looked into them, the more I realized that not only did I have more than ten, but almost like last year, most of the films I have listed here came out in the last few years. I’ve only got two “old” ones and the rest from 2020 to 2023. I would like to say that it gives me hope for modern films, but really mainly if you look outside the country! Six of my films are from foreign countries, which does give me a LOT of hope of the horror genre as a whole.
Let’s get started, shall we? These are listed in alphabetical order to make it a little easier for me, since narrowing it down to ten was hard enough!
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There are few events in horrordom quite as joyfully gluttonous as the Black Friday sales put on by our favorite boutique film labels. As the season approaches, speculation on social media and in rapid-fire in-person conversations reaches a fever pitch. What new films? What new merch? What great deals? We dream of horrors we might own someday like we’re kids again hunched over a wish book or staring at a toy display from outside a shop window. Black Friday has become a defining annual event in our annual calendar of events and involves so many people in the fandom, and yet very few of us have any idea what goes into making one of these sales happen.
Because it’s our mission to give you new ways to see and think about all things horror, we wanted to give you a peek inside one of those boutique labels and have a look at the Black Friday sale. So, our guest on this episode is Justin Tsantsa, Director of Publishing for Vinegar Syndrome, and we are also joined by Jennie Osterman, Lead Shipping Specialist for Vinegar Syndrome. They guide us through exactly what goes into the whole process and talk a bit about their astonishing new venture, Vinegar Syndrome Publishing, which will be bringing some new horror to all our bookshelves in the near future.
Movies mentioned in this episode:
Abomination (1986), Beyond the Darkness (1979), A Blade in the Dark (1983), Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), A Cold Night’s Death (1973), The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973), D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Deep Inside (1968), Emanuelle in Bangkok (1976), The Exorcist (1973), Fortress (1985), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982), Fright Night (1985), The Funhouse (1981), Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), The House that Dreaded Sundown (1976), Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972), Madman (1981), Maniac (1980), Mother’s Day (1980), New York Ninja (2021), Phantasm (1978), The Prophecy (1995), The Prophecy II (1998), The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000), Red Spirit Lake (1993), Sweet Sugar (1972), Trapped (1977), What’s Up, Tiger Lily (1966), Zombie (1979)
Let’s face it: horror fans are, as a group, a little bit obsessive. When we sink our teeth into something we do not do it barely or easily, we take a big, honkin’ bite. If we become infatuated with a director, we want to see every film they’ve made, read a book about them, hear people talk about them, watch documentaries about them, and so on. And the same is true for national horror cinemas, regional American horror cinemas, important eras, actors, subgenres, and the like. And in recent years, a handful of visionary producers of physical media have recognized an opportunity in our longing and have invented and are currently inundating us with boxed sets. These comprehensive, exhaustive, wonderful monsters have become a gravitational center point for our genre. But just a handful of years ago they mostly didn’t exist or were announced only every few years. Nowadays, we get several per year from companies like Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Indicator, Arrow, and Scream! Factory, just to name a few. So, we figured it was time for Discover the Horror to take a long look at the history and impact of these monolithic pieces of film history.
Movies mentioned:
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The full lineup for this year’s Music Box of Horrors has been announced on their website, and it looks like one hell of a 24 hours to spend with other like-minded horror fans! Although, the ones crazy enough to come out for a 24-hour marathon aren’t just fans, but dedicated deviants that want to revel and dwell in these amazing horror titles. And I love them for that!
To make the marathon even better, the Music Box has once again filled up their lobby and lounge with a wide variety of vendors to help you pick up some great stuff! I know we are so excited to make our return to vending at this event, but there are plenty of other great vendors like Pretty Spooky Handmades, House of Monsters, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin Films, Graveface Records, and more! Make sure you stop by and check all the vendors out! And of course, stop by and see us at the Kitley’s Krypt booth!
For all the latest information, head over to the Music Box’s page for this event HERE, and also check out their main site (HERE) to see all the other great stuff they are screening!
Below is the full lineup with the start times:
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Directed by Stuart Gordon
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, Ted Sorel, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunny Summers
For horror fans, the ‘80s were a time of sheer wonderment when it came to special effects. With the constant advancement of special makeup effects, it was a time of foam rubber, latex, and slime, with the only boundaries being imagination. One film that represents that more than most is Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond.
When I worked at the theater back in the ‘80s, Re-Animator (1985) played there and it just blew me away, between the gore and just the outrageousness of the whole story. I had already been reading Fangoria by that time, so when From Beyond was coming out, I was already excited about seeing it. And luckily for me, it played at my theater as well, so I spent a lot of time in there watching it over and over. I had recently started reading horror fiction, and thanks to Stephen King, had already started to dive into the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and had read the very short story that From Beyond was based on. In fact, the pre-credit sequence in the film is pretty much the whole story. But I think writer Dennis Paoli, along with producer Brian Yuzna and director Gordon, fleshed out the rest of the plot that, while way gorier and gooier than Lovecraft would have spelled out, I think it still felt it could be in the same universe.
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(1985)
Directed by Michael Stanley.
Starring Robert Nolfi, Robert Lengyel, Julia Rust, Lisa Pak
I first came across this title while roaming the video stores back in the day and rented it simply because of the title and the box art. I mean, how could it be bad? It says right on the box that a group of shipwreck survivors end up on a deserted island, and “a living hell breaks loose when the survivors encounter gruesome, flesh-eating Beast Creatures!” I was totally sold. And after watching it, I was amazed that no one else was talking about it. Everybody remembers the little Zuni Fetish doll from Trilogy of Terror, right? Just imagine a whole island filled with them!
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