OK, full disclosure: as a sort of sommelier of the strange, I’m embarrassed to say I had never seen La Planète Sauvage (a.k.a. Fantastic Planet) until recently. But never fear, because this should prove to even the most jaded, freaky, boogie children that it’s never too late to discover something mind blowingly cool. If you haven’t seen this gorgeously animated Science Fiction philosophical allegory, seek it out immediately. Do not pass go; do not collect 200 dollars.
Our very own Brad Henderson has been unusually busy these last few months. When he’s not writing reviews for Popshifter, he’s also working on movie scripts, and producing a podcast called The ScreamCast, along with Sean Duregger and Brian Saur (a.k.a. Bob Freelander and Rupert Pupkin).
Although The Screamcast was initially created to review horror and other genre releases from Shout Factory, they have expanded the scope to cover releases from labels like Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome, Cult Epics, and others. The podcast also includes special guests, celebrity interviews, top ten lists, and more.
Now on Episode 36, The ScreamCast is something you really should be listening to. We’ll be updating you every time they put up a new podcast, so stay tuned!
Here are the most recent episodes:
Episode 36 – Soultangler (1987): Podcast includes Joe and Zach from Bleeding Skull Video who brought the movie back from VHS hell.
Episode 35 – Nekromantik (1987): Podcast includes Nico B. founder of Cult Epics.
(Check out Brad’s Popshifter review of Nekromantik, too.)
I could go on and on again about how important Vinegar Syndrome is to cinema but I’ll refrain . . . for now. Instead, I’m going to attempt to explain the awesome and completely nutty Raw Force. I first saw this film about a year and a half ago and didn’t know what to say. It has everything that I want in old cheesy B-movies: comedy, action, boobs, karate, rocket launchers, zombies, weird parties, horrendous acting, people breaking ice with their faces. (Seriously, a dude breaks a block of ice with his face, but it isn’t for show; it is actually to get ice for a drink he is making for someone. I shit you not on this.)
In 1976, a film called Snuff was exposed to the world. Snuff is vile, gross, and just plain weird, but it’s excellent at the same time. But let’s back up a bit first.
Vinegar Syndrome has been going off the rails with the films that they have recently released. I freaking love what they are picking up. Now, they’ve unleashed a somewhat lost film called Runaway Nightmare. This is by far one of the most bizarre films that Vinegar Syndrome has released so far and one of the better ones as well. I can’t even begin to tell you what you are in for with this movie.
Breakfast
Should one try to understand Death Bed: The Bed That Eats? No. Should one watch Death Bed: The Bed That Eats? Yes.
I’m in love with many distribution companies—Scream Factory, Cult Epics, Synapse, Arrow, Scorpion Releasing, and many more—but one company that stands out from all the rest is Vinegar Syndrome. It is the one company that is all over the place in terms of genres as well as the one that is releasing everything that is dead or dying. These guys truly believe in film preservation throughout all genres of film and yearn to keep them alive. The only other company that comes close is Cult Epics, who are well on their way to greatness.
I often ask myself: what is the most disturbing movie I’ve seen? I can never come up with an answer because the most disturbing things aren’t in films. We have seen countless things online that are real and have never left our minds. Nico B’s Pig and 1334 will never leave my mind . . . ever.
We all have those films that have slipped under our radar or those that we just didn’t get around to seeing yet. These films could be blockbusters, indie flicks, or just films that weren’t publicized or spoken about enough. In this feature, I’m going to be discussing three films you need to see that you probably missed or maybe even forgot about.
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.