Vinegar Syndrome's annual Black Friday sale is now live until Monday, December 2nd at 11:59pm EST, including 50% off nearly everything in their store and two secret Blu-ray announcements: 1973’s The Candy Snatchers and the Blu-ray debut of the 1986 cult classic Spookies (with two slipcovers to choose from)!
But that's not all! Their other phenomenal Black Friday offerings include Savage Dawn, Vice Academy 1-3, The Angel Collection, and the newly unearthed "gore cut" of Tammy and the T-Rex.
You'll find everything you need to know about the releases below!
THE CANDY SNATCHERS
Candy, a teenage heiress to a large fortune, is kidnapped by a trio of small time criminals on her way home from Catholic school. After burying her alive in an unmarked grave, the trio attempts to extort Candy’s father, a wealthy jeweler, for a hefty ransom. But, what seemed like a simple, straightforward kidnapping soon spirals out of control with violent consequences and Candy’s only hope for survival is a young mute boy who knows where she is buried.
Unflinchingly dark, violent, and merciless all the way through its notorious final shot, The Candy Snatchers remains one of the seminal pieces of early ‘70s cult filmmaking. The only theatrical feature directed by acclaimed screenwriter Guerdon Trueblood (Welcome Home Soldier Boys; Jaws 3-D), The Candy Snatchers stars Tiffany Bolling (Wicked Wicked), Ben Piazza (The Blues Brothers), Vince Martorano (Kojak), and Susan Sennett as Candy. Exquisitely shot by Robert Maxwell (Blood Mania), Vinegar Syndrome presents this key piece of drive-in cinema on Blu-ray for the very first time, newly restored in 4K from it’s camera negative.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
“A Dark Film” – an interview with director Guerdon Trueblood
“Snatching the Role” – an interview with actor Vince Martorano
“Digging up the Past” – an interview with producer Gary Adelman
Audio commentary with film historian Nathaniel Thompson
Promotional still and archival article gallery
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
SPOOKIES
After their car breaks down, a group of travelers find themselves stranded in a remote part of New England. After taking shelter in a spooky old mansion, complete with a graveyard, they discover a ouija board and decide to spend the night attempting to summon some spirits. But the group soon learns that playing with the forces of black magic isn’t fun and games, and it’s not long before they’re head-to-head with all sorts of demonic creatures, shape shifters, and other forms of evil, all of whom are more than happy to pick them off in the most gruesome of ways.
Of all of the bizarre horror films made in the 1980s, Spookies easily ranks among the weirdest. Produced by Michael Lee, founder of the adored UK home video distributor VIPCO, the film became a fan favorite thanks to its expertly rendered creature effects and notorious for its bizarre production history in which its original creators, co-writers/directors Brendan Faulkner & Thomas Doran and co-writer/producer Frank M. Farel, were fired and replaced by Eugenie Joseph, who added new scenes and re-edited the previously shot footage, resulting in the legendary oddity Spookies has become.
Vinegar Syndrome proudly brings Spookies to Blu-ray for the first time, newly restored in 4K from its long lost original negative and including a brand new, feature-length ‘making of’ documentary, charting its incredible and often unbelievable production history.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray (2-disc set)
Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
“Twisted Tale – The Unmaking of Spookies” – a feature-length making-of documentary, including a commentary track with documentary co-directors Michael Gingold & Glen Baisley and extensive deleted scenes.
“VIPCO – The Untold Story” – a feature-length documentary on the notorious UK home video label, including extended interview footage with Michael Lee (founder of VIPCO) and a trailer.
2015 Alamo Drafthouse screening introductions with Spookies director Thomas Doran and co-writer/producer Frank M. Farel.
Q&A from a 2015 Hudson Horror Show screening with actor Peter Iasillo, actor Anthony Valbiro and production assistant Tom Sciacca
Archival locations featurette with actor Peter Iasillo
Pinreel outtakes and bloopers
Behind the scenes still gallery
Theatrical trailer
Reversible cover artwork with new artwork by Gary Pullin
English SDH subtitles
SAVAGE DAWN
The residents of a small border town find themselves under siege by a vicious biker gang who get their kicks from unfettered brutality. When Stryker, a hardened Vietnam veteran who’s in the area visiting an old friend, learns of the goings-on, he becomes determined to put an end to the violence by any means necessary, and begins to assemble a ragtag militia…
A rough n’ tumble biker themed action film which evokes the feeling of AIP’s 60s classics, though filtered through a nudity, violence, and crazy stunt fueled Cannon-era sensibility, Simon Nuchtern’s Savage Dawn stars Lance Henriksen (The Terminator, Aliens), George Kennedy (Death Ship), Karen Black (Easy Rider), and Richard Lynch (Invasion USA). Featuring heavily gelled cinematography by Gerald Fiel and a score by Pino Donaggio (Dressed to Kill), Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present the world Blu-ray debut of Savage Dawn, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative
Commentary track with director Simon Nuchtern
Original theatrical trailer
Limited edition of 4,000
Double-sided poster
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
VICE ACADEMY
Following the trend of raunchy direct-to-video sex comedies popularized in the early to mid 80s, director Rick Sloane (Hobgoblins) decided to take his own stab at the sub-genre, creating the surprise hit franchise Vice Academy in 1989. Featuring the comedic exploits of undercover female vice cops who go head-to-head with everything from smut film producers to arch villainesses with plans for sexual world domination, each film mixes T&A with broad slapstick humor and hijinks.
Starring iconic scream queen Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons) and erotic film legend Ginger Lynn Allen (Trashy Lady), the Vice Academy series was a staple of late-night TV throughout the early to mid 90s. Known for their absurd plot lines and surprisingly robust and colorful visuals, Vinegar Syndrome Archive presents Vice Academy 1-3 all newly restored in 2K from their original 35mm camera negatives and together in one handy collection.
Special features:
Region Free 2-disc Blu-ray Set
Newly scanned & restored in 2K from their 35mm original camera negatives
Newly recorded commentary tracks by director Rick Sloane for all three films
“Head of the Class” – an interview with co-star Linnea Quigley
“Going Undercover” – an interview with co-star Ginger Lynn Allen
Limited edition of 3,000
Brand new artwork by Tom Hodge of The Dude Designs
Double-sided poster
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
TAMMY AND THE T-REX
Tammy is a popular high school cheerleader whose new boyfriend, Michael, might be the love of her life. But Tammy’s jealous ex, Billy, won’t stand for anyone coming between him and ‘his’ girl, so he and his friends kidnap Michael, leaving him to be mauled by a lion in a local wildlife reserve. Comatose and at death’s door, Michael’s body is stolen from the hospital by mad scientist Dr. Wachenstein, who extracts his brain and implants it into a giant robotic T-Rex. Horrified by his predicament and new dinosaur body, he escapes from the doctor’s lab and begins brutally killing his former bullies. Meanwhile Tammy and her best friend Byron start searching for a suitable human corpse in which to re-transplant Michael’s brain…
A jaw-dropping assault on good taste from the whacked out mind of cult filmmaker Stewart Raffill (The Ice Pirates; Mac & Me), Tammy and the T-Rex features Denise Richards (Wild Things) in her first starring role, alongside Paul Walker (The Fast & the Furious), Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie’s), George “Buck” Flower (They Live), and John F. Goff (Drive-In Massacre). Primarily seen in its heavily censored PG-13 version, Vinegar Syndrome brings Tammy and the T-Rex to Blu-ray fully uncut for the first time on home video, with all of its gross-out gags and gratuitous decapitations, gut-rippings, and head-smashings, courtesy of special effects wizard John Carl Buechler (Mausoleum), completely intact.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
Audio commentary with director Stewart Raffill and producer Diane Kirman
“Blood, Brains and a Teenage T-Rex” – an interview with director Stewart Raffill
“A Blast from the Past” – an interview with actress Denise Richards
“Having the Guts” – an interview with actor Sean Whalen
“A Testicular Stand-Off” – an interview with actor George Pilgrim
Full length PG-13 cut of Tammy and the T-Rex (sourced from video)
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
THE ANGEL COLLECTION
One of the most popular exploitation film franchises of the 1980s, The Angel Collection follows the adventures of high school student by day, teenage prostitute by night, Molly Stewart, as she takes on serial killers, mobsters, sex slaves, and more! All three films in the series are presented here in brand new restorations, and featuring revealing new interviews with their cast and crew.
ANGEL
Molly Stewart (Donna Wilkes, Jaws 2) is at the top of her class at the prestigious private high school she attends. But what her classmates and teachers don’t know is that Molly survives by working nights as a prostitute on Hollywood Blvd, in the company of her friends: a worldly transvestite, a retired cowboy movie star, and her cantankerous but kind-hearted landlady. However, her world begins to fall apart when a depraved, necrophiliac serial killer begins targeting LA’s streetwalkers. As more and more women fall victim to this vicious killer, Molly realizes that it’ll be up to her and her friends to take on the maniac before they too find themselves in his murderous sights…
Mixing brutal, slasher styled killing scenes with the sweetness of an afterschool special, Robert Vincent O’Neil’s (Blood Mania, Wonder Women) Angel is one of the seminal exploitation films of the early 80s. Co-starring Dick Shawn (The Producers), Rory Calhoun (Motel Hell), Susan Tyrrell (Cry Baby), Cliff Gorman (All That Jazz), and featuring beautiful cinematography by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) along with a memorable score by Craig Safan (Cheers), Vinegar Syndrome proudly brings Angel to Blu-ray, newly restored in 4K.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm interpositive
“Discovering an Angel” – an interview with co-writer/director Robert Vincent O’Neil
“Playing Both Sides” – an interview with actress Donna Wilkes
“A Chance Meeting” – an interview with co-writer Joseph Cala
“Angel’s Theme” – an interview with composer Craig Safan
Theatrical trailers for Angel, Avenging Angel and Angel III
Deleted scenes and outtakes (no sound)
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
AVENGING ANGEL
Years have gone by since Molly Stewart (Betsy Russell, Saw 3-7) worked as a teenage prostitute. Now a law student at UCLA, Molly is determined to leave her past behind. But after learning that Lieutenant Andrews, the detective who helped save her life, has been murdered as a result of witnessing a mob related hit, Molly decides its time to return to her old neighborhood to avenge his death. With the help of her surviving friends, Molly quickly finds herself pitted against underworld and mob figures who might be a lot harder to defeat than she’s bargained for…
The second film in the Angel series, Robert Vincent O’Neil’s Avenging Angel is a fast paced, Cannon-esque action-thriller. Featuring Susan Tyrrell and Rory Calhoun reprising their roles, alongside Ossie Davis (Do the Right Thing) and Robert F. Lyons (Death Wish 2), and photographed by Peter Lyons Collister (The Amityville Horror), Vinegar Syndrome presents Avenging Angel on Blu-ray, from a brand new 2K restoration.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm interpositive
An interview with co-writer/director Robert Vincent O’Neil and co-writer Joseph Cala
An interview with actress Betsy Russell
Theatrical trailers for Angel, Avenging Angel and Angel III
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
ANGEL III
Molly Stewart (Mitzi Kapture) is now a successful freelance photographer and is living in New York. After seeing a familiar woman at an art gallery, Molly begins to suspect that she might be, in fact, her long missing mother. Following her trail to Los Angeles, Molly confronts the woman who confesses to being her mother, also telling her that she has a younger sister who’s in danger of being sold into sex slavery. Despite her mother’s request she go home, Molly is determined to help rescue her sister, but not long after her mother is murdered and Molly finds herself in the center of a major crime syndicate who will stop at nothing to execute their diabolical plans.
Directed by notorious exploitation auteur Tom DeSimone (Hell Night, Chatterbox) Angel III: The Final Chapter was the last official entry in the franchise. Sleazier and more outrageous than its predecessors, Angel III co-stars Richard Roundtree and features cinematography by Andy Sedaris’ regular DP, Howard Wexler. Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present the world Blu-ray debut of this 80s trash classic in a brand new restoration from its original negative.
Special features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative
Audio commentary with writer/director Tom DeSimone, moderated by David Decoteau of RapidHeart.tv
Stills gallery
Theatrical trailers for Angel, Avenging Angel and Angel III
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
Visit VinegarSyndrome.com to browse their insane Black Friday deals!
Additionally, Vinegar Syndrome teased their Blu-ray release slate for 2020, including Rest in Pieces (1987), Dolly Dearest, Hollywood Horror House, and many more!
January 2020: Dolly Dearest, Zombie Island Massacre, A Thousand and One Erotic Nights 1&2
February 2020: Xtro 3, Public Affairs and one other
March 2020: Malabimba, a 3-Film Spanish Horror Box Set featuring Satan's Blood and one other
May 2020: A 4K UHD, a 3-Film Euro Horror/Giallo Box Set and three others (includes two Halfway to Black Friday surprise titles)
June 2020: Hollywood Horror House and two others
September 2020: Deadline, a 3-Film Euro Horror/Giallo Box Set and one other
October 2020: Rest in Pieces, a 4K UHD and others
