By Brad Henderson

Ted V. Mikels is one of the best things to ever happen to film. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but Mikels did have a couple of cool films back in the day that have recently been released in a collection from Vinegar Syndrome: The Doll Squad and Mission: Killfast. Vinegar Syndrome put these two films in a beautiful Blu-Ray combo and it is definitely the highlight of my year so far. Until they released this Blu-Ray, I had seen Mikels’s film The Corpse Grinders, but nothing else, and now I want to seek out everything that he has ever done.

Vinegar Syndrome, along with Scream Factory and Scorpion Releasing, is shaping up to be one of the best distributors in recent years. These three companies are getting the job done and doing it extremely well. It’s great because each company specializes in something different so we get top product for a barrage of films that have nothing to do with one another.

Vinegar Syndrome is pretty much all about skin flicks, but I hear they’ll be releasing more horror this year and I’m totally OK with that. Going through their catalogue you’ll see a lot of vintage porn but they still have quite the collection.

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed their recent DVD transfer of Wakefield Poole’s Bible! and it knocked me on my ass (review). Now, a film like that isn’t exactly my style, but it really got to me and I’ve thought about it every day since I’ve seen it. Now I have Ted U. Mikels’s The Doll Squad and Mission: Killfast burned into my eyeballs and I never want them to leave.

First, we have The Doll Squad, which is probably Andy Sidaris’s bible. (If you don’t know Andy Sidaris, I strongly suggest looking him up after you check out Vinegar Syndrome and all the beauties they have for sale.) The Doll Squad is pretty self-explanatory and I probably don’t need to go into much detail about it because it’s exactly what you think it is. Are you thinking it’s about a group of girls that kick ass? Yeah, that it is and it is glorious. Picture a version of The Expendables with a $100 budget, women instead of men, and straight out of the corny 1970s. The Doll Squad is a film that I probably won’t shut up about for the next couple of years because I was so freaking entertained and pleased with it. I also appreciate the fact that Vinegar Syndrome stayed true to the film and left in its little glitches and goofs. I was very glad to see they didn’t “tamper” with it at all. They worked with the negative they were supplied and gave us the best looking version possible.

Second, there is Mission: Killfast. This is a great paring. No, this film doesn’t have beautiful women kicking ass, but instead it has men kicking ass with their kung-fu skills! Actually, I should say Tiger and his black belts! Ha! It does have women in it as well because I have a feeling that Mikels liked to see his women in bikinis. I personally have no beef with that at all and in fact, it pleases me to see this. (Andy Sidaris probably didn’t mind, either.) Mission: Killfast is filled with action, explosions, kung fu, action, women, and action. The transfer on this is excellent as well and looks incredible. Also, there is a small but awesome set of special features on this disc plus commentary and interviews with the director. If you don’t care for the artwork for The Doll Squad it comes with reverse cover art for Mission: Killfast on the other side.

Did I mention that Tura Satana is in the The Doll Squad? Because she is. She isn’t a lead but it was a pleasure to see her again and this time in HD. For those who don’t know who Tura Satana is, she is Varla in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Vinegar Syndrome is killing it. Hardly anyone knows it yet so I can’t wait for people to discover these “lost” films and have them feel exactly what I felt tonight. Yes, I literally just watched both of these in a double feature tonight and was completely in a trance for three hours, drooling at my screen. I can’t wait to go through the rest of their catalogue and discover their other gems.

Thank you Vinegar Syndrome, for doing what you do.

The Doll Squad and Mission: Killfast were released on Blu-Ray from Vinegar Syndrome on September 10, 2013.