Vinegar Syndrome: October Blu-ray announcements

Vinegar Syndrome has a Blu-ray lineup bound to appeal to horror fans seeking something different for the Halloween season.

Halloween will be here soon, and for those of us who still collect physical media, there are many boutique labels offering off-beat alternatives to the endless seasonal same-old, same-old. Vinegar Syndrome is one such label.

Not only do they restore bizarre features that had little to no exposure during their initial release, they have a keen grasp of the collector mentality that’s carried over from the VHS and DVD eras. (We love movies, sure…but we also love how they look on our shelves.)

The folks at Vinegar Syndrome know that presentation goes a long way. In addition to creating an automatic, “you gotta see this” demand through their acquisition of obscure or otherwise cast-off titles, they create limited-edition embossed slipcovers (which have garnered their own demand in collector circles), curate intriguing supplemental material, and, above all, put painstaking effort into the restoration process.

There are some who might argue that certain Vinegar Syndrome releases never deserved to see the light of day, but for those who eat up bizarro titles like entrails at a cannibal buffet, they sparkle on Blu-ray.

Since its inception in 2012, VS has consistently released new titles each month. They also offer annual subscriptions, monthly “bundle” discounts, and a hugely popular Black Friday sale. Their lineup for October promises to be yet another eclectic selection for genre fans:

• Whodunit? (aka Island of Blood) (1982)
• Dial Code Santa Claus (aka 3615 code Père Noël) (1989)
• Rest in Pieces (1987)
• Cemetery of Terror (1985)
• Necromancer (1988)

While Dial Code Santa Claus looks like an intriguing blend of Rare Exports and John Wick, my eye is on Rest in Pieces, directed by the late José Ramón Larraz (Vampyres). Arrow Video recently released several of his films in nice special editions, and I’m eager to see more of his work.

Regardless of where your personal interests lie, all titles will be available on October 27, and are currently up for pre-order at the Vinegar Syndrome website.

What titles will you be purchasing? Let us know in the comments.