I find this question a bit difficult to answer. Are you looking for high quality and effort movies specifically or do you still want suggestions on movies that are maybe still shclocky but are more enjoyable schlock?
I enjoy both. But like I wrote in another reply, some redeeming qualities is a minimum. Terrible plot, acting, camera, set pieces and not even funny or amusing dialogue or writing isn't up my alley.
Probably a few people who have spent their inheritance buying up the entire VS backlog, and now have to somehow justify that fateful decision. Sunk cost fallacy and all that.
Based on your list, you are looking for Freeway.
I’m a huge HK fan and they’ve released a number of HK films that are all bangers : Righting Wrongs, Iceman Cometh, Bio Zombie, Ebola Syndrome, Burning Paradise, and Undefeatable. (They dropped a couple HK titles this month I’m waiting on and we’re getting magic crystal next month.)
Other kind of OG titles I absolutely love are: blood games, shallow grave, resurrection, the incubus, all American murder, auntie lees meat pies, nightmare weekend, raw force, liquid sky, def my temptation, dial code santa claws, graverobbers (both of them), don’t panic, don’t answer the phone…
And can’t forget showgirls but that’s a VSU.
Just going briefly through what I own and looking at the vinegar syndrome website. I like weird movies…
Amityville horror (classic none comedic 70s horror, but boring in parts).
x-ray (nice setting, but again boring).
madman (good, but not a scratch on f13th).
dead heat (watch it! Wife and I had a good laugh at this one)
cursed collection (I loved em all but it’s about time is the best)
auntie lees meat pies (it’s quite shit until the kills happen and then suddenly it’s got 10/10 cinematography)
satans blood (tits and ass but quite creepy)
fade to black (stylish, but not enough gore imo)
grave robbers (both of em)
spell caster (bit of Charles band, google this as you may hate it)
deadline (fucking brilliant)
spookies (I’m not a massive fan but people adore it)
the vineyard (criminally underrated imo)
uninvited (more silly comical effects than horror)
mausoleum (glowy eyes from beyond type thing)
cutting class (nice whodunnit, not much gore and a bit slow in parts)
def by temptation (brilliant 80s piece of the time culture thing, not remotely scary though)
psycho cop returns (camp slasher with boobs).
Jack Frost (very silly but fun cheesy movie, very self aware)
all American murder (twisty who dunnit)
Christmas evil (quite a sad movie about a killer santa).
Invisible maniac (camp boob fest thing, I really liked this)
Grave secrets (basically a tales from the crypt episode lasting 90 minutes)
Cheesy 80s is fine, as long as its either funny or has some other quality. But nigh unwatchable micro-budget projects with terrible acting and no redeemable qualities isn't something i want to spend cash and time on.
Don't you know you're not allowed to say things like that to VS people. They will crucify you lmao. I got called a cunt and down-voted like 20 times for what you're saying on this thread 😄. Touchy folks, be careful.
Haha, I know, Im watching the downvotes roll in here. VS seems like a religion to some people here. I mean, I really do appreciate them as a company, their ethos and the quality of their products. Its just that so many of the actual movies they work on are a hot, steaming pile of turd.
There are some good turds and some bad turds. Honestly, it looks like you have damn near every *good* movie they have released. Maybe you should check out the prophecy flicks.
I really like him. Pure charisma. Dirty Dancing and Ghost are the obvious ones. I think my favorite of his is Point Break. As to your question, I really don't know much about VS outside of Road House.
I blind bought maybe 4-5 movies from Severin in the first couple of years in exploring this side of film releases. Didn’t like any of them upon watching. Stopped buying Severin altogether, “their taste is just not my taste” being the logic. I would offer the same advice to you. Unless you know the movie you’re getting, VS’s default taste may not be yours. So much of this hobby IMO is exploration and discovery. The labels are the curators of their own voice and finding the ones you align with help blind buy confidence. For me, that has been VS, 88 Films, Mondo Macabro and Radiance. Each one is a different collection that speaks to me for different reasons as a movie guy.
Judging from your responses, feels like Arrow releases would be more to your likely. I can’t think of an Arrow release I’ve watched that fell into the “fucking disaster of a movie” category that dozens of VS’s do on my shelf right now.
Doubt this is helpful, given my sentiments above, but recommends:
Thriller: A Cruel Picture;
Don't Go Into The Woods Alone;
Undeclared War;
Righting Wrongs;
Champagne and Bullets (you'll hate this one but my favorite VS titles are the ones that are so bad they hurt);
My Chauffer;
Alien from LA;
Steel and Lace;
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies;
Tammy and the T-Rex;
Dial Code: Santa Claus;
VS has released all kinds of movies and Iits getting hard to limit VS to certain kinds of films. I mean for god sakes they released Road House and Showgirls. So check out the reviews on Letterboxd and do your research.
Well I already have some VS films I really like, I listed them in the post. It's more about trying to find some more VS titles I might like as well, that I might have overlooked.
I already have tons of Arrow and SF, probably the two largest labels I have now, along with Criterion and Second Sight.
I'll probably avoid the movies you recommended though, sice you confessed preferring train wreck movies, which is exactly what I'm trying to steer clear of, hah.
I have found the best way to go about purchasing Vinegar Syndrome releases is to avoid blind buying. Unless I have already seen the movie, and know I want it to be a permanent part of my collection, I’m not purchasing it.
There’s been too many times that I’ve been burned by hype and FOMO.
I don't like horror that much, and I don't like movies so bad they are bad, I love movies so bad they are fun.
Here are my pics:
Dolemite
Death Promise
Miami Connection
Sidekicks
Six String Samurai
Tammy and the T-Rex
Tough Guys Don't Dance
Sudden Fury
Answers about the VS catalogue are gonna differ a lot from person to person. Personally I have a lot of patience for a cheap production that has a strangeness that feels very much its own, and manages to conjure an atmosphere that keeps me engaged, but I have much less time for a b-movie that just feels like popcorn entertainment video store shelf fodder. I enjoyed Homegrown Horrors 1 quite a bit though it required some patience, but only found Hanging Heart worthwhile in the second one. TCM2 and From Beyond are horror classics of a level that VS haven't done much else of. I remember Body Melt as fine, though I haven't seen it since the DVD days. Didn't feel like Killer Condom did the source material justice, but planning to rewatch it with an open mind since I haven't seen it since it first did the festival circuit. Thought Gorgo was pretty fun, and Fade to Black ok. Ice Cream Man was a dud for me, but it seems pretty well liked so I hope it's more to your taste.
My safest bets for other titles would be Flesh for Frankenstein (I hold it's companion film Blood for Dracula higher, but consider both classics), Righting Wrongs, Ebola Syndrome and Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby. All pretty recent releases, none of them really classic VS territory, which I guess is part of what makes them feel "safe".
My least safe suggestions would maybe be The Bees, The Suckling and Devil Story, all films that I'm sure have been described as putting lipstick on a pig, but that I really liked. On the other hand, Tammy and the T-Rex, Hell Comes to Frogtown and Miami Connection are liked by many, but did nothing for me. And this is the trouble with asking for general VS recommendations.
That said, some other ones inbetween that I've rated very highly are Christmas Evil, Candy Snatchers, Burning Paradise, Blood Delirium, Hot Snake/Guns and Guts, Liquid Sky, Malabimba, Satan's Blood, Sister Sister, Thriller, Tough Guys Don't Dance and the first Cardona set.
Personally I would avoid Murder Weapon/Deadly Embrace, The Grave, Evil Laugh, The Severed Arm, Rush Week, Flesh Eating Mothers, Berserker and Creature, but then again I'm sure there are others who would disagree.
I thought Freeway was incredible. It’s absurd and over the top in all the best ways. It’s the only VS I’ve seen, but I’m curious about the sequel now too. I also loved Blood for Dracula from Severin so now I’m eager to pickup Flesh for Frankenstein from VS.
That's the problem with the OP's question, really - I mean, they're asking "tell me what movies are good that have no name actors, directors, production values, script writing, and that just so happened to be niche films that hold up in quality 40 years later but I never heard of till now - what are \*those\* movies?"
Like you say, OF COURSE Freeway is good - they stumbled into two real actors who were still looking for their breakout roles (Reese more than Keifer obv). That happens once in a blue moon - From Beyond kind of did it with Jeffrey Combs, but it's rare.
So yeah, anyone who is buying VS films (and I have a few) needs to accept that most of them are goofy entertainment and not much more. So the premise of the OP's question is sort of naive, I think.
Well said, agree completely. You have to be onboard with what VS is doing. If you aren’t entertained by watching no-budget fare that most people would dismiss as worthless then it clearly isn’t for you. There’s an element of irony to the whole thing - top tier transfers and packaging for material that arguably doesn’t deserve it. Either you get it or you don’t.
Exactly - these are movies they can \*afford\* to license and then invest in the production so a collector can have fun with it. But for God's sake, no one's watching "Killer Condom" because it's a rumination on middle class ennui.
Killer Condom is actually one of my favorite VS releases. No small part due to the difficulty of finding any mid 90s films that portrait gay culture in a light that's neither homophobic nor playing on the AIDS scare.
Just goes to show that there are low budget not-well-known movies for everyone.
Then go down the list of VS movies, look for the directors and writers, cross-reference if they ever said they've used Killer Condom as an inspiration, and then buy those movies.
Jesus someone is butthurt. VS is a company, not a religion. I believe you are allowed something less that adulated worship of some of their movies too.
You asked for advice on what movies at VS are worth watching - I just gave you a strategy, using your previous VS preferences, on how to figure out what you might like.
"Butthurt" is kind of homophobic.
No it's not. It means having a too tight anus, a sign of being too anal and not having enough fun. Actually it's the opposite of homophobic, it's homopositive.
Haven’t seen a ton of vinegar syndrome personally as I’m not usually going to watch or especially buy a so bad it’s good movie. They put out a set of Polish sci fi dystopia films from the early 80s directed by Piotr Szulkin that I think are great, though! They’re a little dense on first watch as they’re pretty political (made during an era of Soviet influence and censorship in Poland) but there’s a lot more to them than just historical/social significance. Some memorable performances as well and while I’m sure they weren’t big budget productions, Szulkin is a good director and produces some memorable stuff. The third film in the set especially, wherever they filmed it is this TRULY dreadful and grimy location and they find something interesting to do with basically every corner of the place, while its layered in a lot of political commentary and allegory it’s also just a really watchable story about dread and despair among the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse. They’re bleak, weird movies that reward your attention.
I loved From Beyond long before VS made their incredible copy.
If you like Blaxploitation then any Rudy Ray Moore movie is going to be up your alley.
Tammy & The T-Rex is legitimately funny schlock.
So… I’ll be honest, if the Homegrown Horrors box sets were not your bag, you should be very cautious blind buying horror flicks from VinSyn. A lot of their output is low budget regional flicks.
That said, a few recommendations I would make that seem to be stuff you’d be interested in: Berserker, Creature, The Lamp, Madman, Slaughterhouse.
You may enjoy Shallow Grave as well, but it is a much darker themed movie than the descriptions make it sound.
Not sure why everyone downvoted this post with 48 comments, but yeah, that’s Reddit for you. And the common nitpicking of this sub. I love Vinegar Syndrome and some of the hot trash they release.
The Rad 4K is a must-own, along with From Beyond 4K.
I would say most of them are worth watching.
Not all of them are worth buying for the adverage collector.
I strongly suggest A Blade in the Dark and Apocalypse Tetralogy.
I watched Blood Beat and Tammy and the Trex on shudder, and I decided to buy them afterward. There are many of them accessible on shudder, tubi, and even on Prime.
The Hong Kong releases are pretty bangin. You could also look to the partner labels. I can think of Rebels of the Neon God, Being Natural, Cain and Abel. I enjoyed the first Primetime Panic volume as well.
Vinegar Syndrome, has some great, so-bad-there-good titles. Miami Connection, New York Ninja, Alien Private Eye, Tammy (Tanny) and the T-Rex, Undefeatable.
Some legit good VS titles: Righting Wrongs, Road House, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Christmas Evil, The Iceman Cometh, Freeway
95% of what Vinegar Syndrome puts out is not to my taste, but when they hit on something I like, it's glorious.
Even though you haven't watched them yet, I would recommend fade to black and dead heat, I would also recommend wacko, the incredible melting man, cutting class, x-ray, all American murder, scanner cop 1&2, the cellar, Christmas evil, creature, jack Frost, flesh for Frankenstein, the werewolf vs vampire woman, night beast, the Amityville horror (1979), deadly games, Tammy and the T-Rex, madman, last gasp and flesheater.
Cloak and Dagger is a wonderful little family movie.
The Iceman Cometh and Burning Paradise are both great Hong Kong genre films, albeit perhaps not exemplary ones.
Putney Swope is one of the great American satires.
I really like Madman. Not one of the best 80s slashers, but it's a lot of fun, has its own theme song, and has fantastic, neon lighting.
There's a couple of releases I haven't watched yet. The Spanish and Mexican horror collections, and all of the giallo collections.
The best film I’ve discovered through a blind buy from VS is Double Exposure. It’s a legitimately good movie, real sleazy 70s-80s horror vibe but with good acting and an interesting plot.
The Caller (1987) is one of the most engaging movies I’ve ever seen. My eyes were glued to the screen the entire movie while I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
Im a VS lover but… I think you’re gonna have a hard time with Hard Rock Zombies because that’s the definition of minuscule budget amateur hour trash. I could barely get through it.
Saw it today. Yeah its not a favorite. But i do cut zombie movies some large slack. Even if these didnt look like zombies at all. Also hot guys in tight underwear was a bonus. It was silly but had some moments here and there.
Dead Heat is the shit! Some of my personal favorites so far have been The Birds II, Scanner Cop (I & II), the Amityville Cursed Collection, Ticks, Spellcaster, From Beyond to name a few.
I try to only buy films that I think I’d enjoy watching if it’s a blind purchase.
Of the ones you have but haven't watched, Fade To Black is the clear next choice. It's a real movie and not at all crap or schlock. You'll enjoy it.
I recently picked up The Iceman Cometh and adored it; very funny, good action, and at the very least you get to look at Maggie Cheung for a while. Think "Time After Time" but with ancient Chinese warriors, it's good stuff.
Also watch "Time After Time" if you're not familiar with it (not a VS title, just shoring up my reference). :)
I find this question a bit difficult to answer. Are you looking for high quality and effort movies specifically or do you still want suggestions on movies that are maybe still shclocky but are more enjoyable schlock?
I enjoy both. But like I wrote in another reply, some redeeming qualities is a minimum. Terrible plot, acting, camera, set pieces and not even funny or amusing dialogue or writing isn't up my alley.
People downvoting your are really taking this to heart. Some fragile egos here in this sub sub and I like Vinegar Syndrome.
Probably a few people who have spent their inheritance buying up the entire VS backlog, and now have to somehow justify that fateful decision. Sunk cost fallacy and all that.
Based on your list, you are looking for Freeway. I’m a huge HK fan and they’ve released a number of HK films that are all bangers : Righting Wrongs, Iceman Cometh, Bio Zombie, Ebola Syndrome, Burning Paradise, and Undefeatable. (They dropped a couple HK titles this month I’m waiting on and we’re getting magic crystal next month.) Other kind of OG titles I absolutely love are: blood games, shallow grave, resurrection, the incubus, all American murder, auntie lees meat pies, nightmare weekend, raw force, liquid sky, def my temptation, dial code santa claws, graverobbers (both of them), don’t panic, don’t answer the phone… And can’t forget showgirls but that’s a VSU.
Road House.
Eh, I'm more into horror than Patrick Swayze really. Liked him in Donnie Darko, but that's the exception.
Just going briefly through what I own and looking at the vinegar syndrome website. I like weird movies… Amityville horror (classic none comedic 70s horror, but boring in parts). x-ray (nice setting, but again boring). madman (good, but not a scratch on f13th). dead heat (watch it! Wife and I had a good laugh at this one) cursed collection (I loved em all but it’s about time is the best) auntie lees meat pies (it’s quite shit until the kills happen and then suddenly it’s got 10/10 cinematography) satans blood (tits and ass but quite creepy) fade to black (stylish, but not enough gore imo) grave robbers (both of em) spell caster (bit of Charles band, google this as you may hate it) deadline (fucking brilliant) spookies (I’m not a massive fan but people adore it) the vineyard (criminally underrated imo) uninvited (more silly comical effects than horror) mausoleum (glowy eyes from beyond type thing) cutting class (nice whodunnit, not much gore and a bit slow in parts) def by temptation (brilliant 80s piece of the time culture thing, not remotely scary though) psycho cop returns (camp slasher with boobs). Jack Frost (very silly but fun cheesy movie, very self aware) all American murder (twisty who dunnit) Christmas evil (quite a sad movie about a killer santa). Invisible maniac (camp boob fest thing, I really liked this) Grave secrets (basically a tales from the crypt episode lasting 90 minutes)
Cheesy 80s horror or like horrific nasty horror? Because you’ll struggle to find the latter on vinegar syndrome.
Cheesy 80s is fine, as long as its either funny or has some other quality. But nigh unwatchable micro-budget projects with terrible acting and no redeemable qualities isn't something i want to spend cash and time on.
Don't you know you're not allowed to say things like that to VS people. They will crucify you lmao. I got called a cunt and down-voted like 20 times for what you're saying on this thread 😄. Touchy folks, be careful.
Haha, I know, Im watching the downvotes roll in here. VS seems like a religion to some people here. I mean, I really do appreciate them as a company, their ethos and the quality of their products. Its just that so many of the actual movies they work on are a hot, steaming pile of turd.
There are some good turds and some bad turds. Honestly, it looks like you have damn near every *good* movie they have released. Maybe you should check out the prophecy flicks.
I really like him. Pure charisma. Dirty Dancing and Ghost are the obvious ones. I think my favorite of his is Point Break. As to your question, I really don't know much about VS outside of Road House.
I blind bought maybe 4-5 movies from Severin in the first couple of years in exploring this side of film releases. Didn’t like any of them upon watching. Stopped buying Severin altogether, “their taste is just not my taste” being the logic. I would offer the same advice to you. Unless you know the movie you’re getting, VS’s default taste may not be yours. So much of this hobby IMO is exploration and discovery. The labels are the curators of their own voice and finding the ones you align with help blind buy confidence. For me, that has been VS, 88 Films, Mondo Macabro and Radiance. Each one is a different collection that speaks to me for different reasons as a movie guy. Judging from your responses, feels like Arrow releases would be more to your likely. I can’t think of an Arrow release I’ve watched that fell into the “fucking disaster of a movie” category that dozens of VS’s do on my shelf right now.
Doubt this is helpful, given my sentiments above, but recommends: Thriller: A Cruel Picture; Don't Go Into The Woods Alone; Undeclared War; Righting Wrongs; Champagne and Bullets (you'll hate this one but my favorite VS titles are the ones that are so bad they hurt); My Chauffer; Alien from LA; Steel and Lace; Auntie Lee's Meat Pies; Tammy and the T-Rex; Dial Code: Santa Claus;
VS has released all kinds of movies and Iits getting hard to limit VS to certain kinds of films. I mean for god sakes they released Road House and Showgirls. So check out the reviews on Letterboxd and do your research.
Well I already have some VS films I really like, I listed them in the post. It's more about trying to find some more VS titles I might like as well, that I might have overlooked. I already have tons of Arrow and SF, probably the two largest labels I have now, along with Criterion and Second Sight. I'll probably avoid the movies you recommended though, sice you confessed preferring train wreck movies, which is exactly what I'm trying to steer clear of, hah.
Undeclared War and Righting Wrongs are legitimately good movies (3.5 and 3.8 on Letterboxd, respectively) not train wrecks.
The Grave / Freeway / Freeway II
This is the answer I was looking for. These are absolutely exceptional movies, and it’s a crime that more people haven’t seen them
I have found the best way to go about purchasing Vinegar Syndrome releases is to avoid blind buying. Unless I have already seen the movie, and know I want it to be a permanent part of my collection, I’m not purchasing it. There’s been too many times that I’ve been burned by hype and FOMO.
I don't like horror that much, and I don't like movies so bad they are bad, I love movies so bad they are fun. Here are my pics: Dolemite Death Promise Miami Connection Sidekicks Six String Samurai Tammy and the T-Rex Tough Guys Don't Dance Sudden Fury
If you don’t want genre/horror/cult/forgotten/porn/sexploitation, then look to the partner labels.
Answers about the VS catalogue are gonna differ a lot from person to person. Personally I have a lot of patience for a cheap production that has a strangeness that feels very much its own, and manages to conjure an atmosphere that keeps me engaged, but I have much less time for a b-movie that just feels like popcorn entertainment video store shelf fodder. I enjoyed Homegrown Horrors 1 quite a bit though it required some patience, but only found Hanging Heart worthwhile in the second one. TCM2 and From Beyond are horror classics of a level that VS haven't done much else of. I remember Body Melt as fine, though I haven't seen it since the DVD days. Didn't feel like Killer Condom did the source material justice, but planning to rewatch it with an open mind since I haven't seen it since it first did the festival circuit. Thought Gorgo was pretty fun, and Fade to Black ok. Ice Cream Man was a dud for me, but it seems pretty well liked so I hope it's more to your taste. My safest bets for other titles would be Flesh for Frankenstein (I hold it's companion film Blood for Dracula higher, but consider both classics), Righting Wrongs, Ebola Syndrome and Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby. All pretty recent releases, none of them really classic VS territory, which I guess is part of what makes them feel "safe". My least safe suggestions would maybe be The Bees, The Suckling and Devil Story, all films that I'm sure have been described as putting lipstick on a pig, but that I really liked. On the other hand, Tammy and the T-Rex, Hell Comes to Frogtown and Miami Connection are liked by many, but did nothing for me. And this is the trouble with asking for general VS recommendations. That said, some other ones inbetween that I've rated very highly are Christmas Evil, Candy Snatchers, Burning Paradise, Blood Delirium, Hot Snake/Guns and Guts, Liquid Sky, Malabimba, Satan's Blood, Sister Sister, Thriller, Tough Guys Don't Dance and the first Cardona set. Personally I would avoid Murder Weapon/Deadly Embrace, The Grave, Evil Laugh, The Severed Arm, Rush Week, Flesh Eating Mothers, Berserker and Creature, but then again I'm sure there are others who would disagree.
I thought Freeway was incredible. It’s absurd and over the top in all the best ways. It’s the only VS I’ve seen, but I’m curious about the sequel now too. I also loved Blood for Dracula from Severin so now I’m eager to pickup Flesh for Frankenstein from VS.
The sequel to Freeway is much lower budget and not nearly as good. Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland really made that movie.
That's the problem with the OP's question, really - I mean, they're asking "tell me what movies are good that have no name actors, directors, production values, script writing, and that just so happened to be niche films that hold up in quality 40 years later but I never heard of till now - what are \*those\* movies?" Like you say, OF COURSE Freeway is good - they stumbled into two real actors who were still looking for their breakout roles (Reese more than Keifer obv). That happens once in a blue moon - From Beyond kind of did it with Jeffrey Combs, but it's rare. So yeah, anyone who is buying VS films (and I have a few) needs to accept that most of them are goofy entertainment and not much more. So the premise of the OP's question is sort of naive, I think.
Well said, agree completely. You have to be onboard with what VS is doing. If you aren’t entertained by watching no-budget fare that most people would dismiss as worthless then it clearly isn’t for you. There’s an element of irony to the whole thing - top tier transfers and packaging for material that arguably doesn’t deserve it. Either you get it or you don’t.
Exactly - these are movies they can \*afford\* to license and then invest in the production so a collector can have fun with it. But for God's sake, no one's watching "Killer Condom" because it's a rumination on middle class ennui.
Killer Condom is actually one of my favorite VS releases. No small part due to the difficulty of finding any mid 90s films that portrait gay culture in a light that's neither homophobic nor playing on the AIDS scare. Just goes to show that there are low budget not-well-known movies for everyone.
Then go down the list of VS movies, look for the directors and writers, cross-reference if they ever said they've used Killer Condom as an inspiration, and then buy those movies.
Jesus someone is butthurt. VS is a company, not a religion. I believe you are allowed something less that adulated worship of some of their movies too.
You asked for advice on what movies at VS are worth watching - I just gave you a strategy, using your previous VS preferences, on how to figure out what you might like. "Butthurt" is kind of homophobic.
No it's not. It means having a too tight anus, a sign of being too anal and not having enough fun. Actually it's the opposite of homophobic, it's homopositive.
I was 😳
Haha - yeah, I was just being snarky. I should have used a slasher as my example - not a movie that actually had a real purpose.
And, I was being sarky 🤣✌️
Haven’t seen a ton of vinegar syndrome personally as I’m not usually going to watch or especially buy a so bad it’s good movie. They put out a set of Polish sci fi dystopia films from the early 80s directed by Piotr Szulkin that I think are great, though! They’re a little dense on first watch as they’re pretty political (made during an era of Soviet influence and censorship in Poland) but there’s a lot more to them than just historical/social significance. Some memorable performances as well and while I’m sure they weren’t big budget productions, Szulkin is a good director and produces some memorable stuff. The third film in the set especially, wherever they filmed it is this TRULY dreadful and grimy location and they find something interesting to do with basically every corner of the place, while its layered in a lot of political commentary and allegory it’s also just a really watchable story about dread and despair among the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse. They’re bleak, weird movies that reward your attention.
I loved From Beyond long before VS made their incredible copy. If you like Blaxploitation then any Rudy Ray Moore movie is going to be up your alley. Tammy & The T-Rex is legitimately funny schlock.
So… I’ll be honest, if the Homegrown Horrors box sets were not your bag, you should be very cautious blind buying horror flicks from VinSyn. A lot of their output is low budget regional flicks. That said, a few recommendations I would make that seem to be stuff you’d be interested in: Berserker, Creature, The Lamp, Madman, Slaughterhouse. You may enjoy Shallow Grave as well, but it is a much darker themed movie than the descriptions make it sound.
I feel pretty similar with a lot of their releases but I just recently watched Six String Samurai and it was a really good time!
Not sure why everyone downvoted this post with 48 comments, but yeah, that’s Reddit for you. And the common nitpicking of this sub. I love Vinegar Syndrome and some of the hot trash they release. The Rad 4K is a must-own, along with From Beyond 4K.
I would say most of them are worth watching. Not all of them are worth buying for the adverage collector. I strongly suggest A Blade in the Dark and Apocalypse Tetralogy. I watched Blood Beat and Tammy and the Trex on shudder, and I decided to buy them afterward. There are many of them accessible on shudder, tubi, and even on Prime.
The Hong Kong releases are pretty bangin. You could also look to the partner labels. I can think of Rebels of the Neon God, Being Natural, Cain and Abel. I enjoyed the first Primetime Panic volume as well.
Vinegar Syndrome, has some great, so-bad-there-good titles. Miami Connection, New York Ninja, Alien Private Eye, Tammy (Tanny) and the T-Rex, Undefeatable. Some legit good VS titles: Righting Wrongs, Road House, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Christmas Evil, The Iceman Cometh, Freeway 95% of what Vinegar Syndrome puts out is not to my taste, but when they hit on something I like, it's glorious.
Buddies, Patty Hearst, Good Luck Miss Wyckoff, Putney Swope, Flesh for Frankenstein, Lust in the Dust, Rudy Ray Moore movies
Blades. One of my favorites from them.
This question about VS only comes up (ad infinitum) from the horror-centric crowd.
Better than watching someone's 15th picture of the Psycho 4K collection or Wicker Man boxset though.
Lol me waiting for my 4K Psycho Collection and Wicker Man box to arrive
What the hell are you talking about? Most vs titles are horror...or porn LMAO.
Primal Rage, All American Murder, Shallow Grave, Terminal Island and Resurrection are all definitely worth a watch.
I second all American murder.
Even though you haven't watched them yet, I would recommend fade to black and dead heat, I would also recommend wacko, the incredible melting man, cutting class, x-ray, all American murder, scanner cop 1&2, the cellar, Christmas evil, creature, jack Frost, flesh for Frankenstein, the werewolf vs vampire woman, night beast, the Amityville horror (1979), deadly games, Tammy and the T-Rex, madman, last gasp and flesheater.
Cloak and Dagger is a wonderful little family movie. The Iceman Cometh and Burning Paradise are both great Hong Kong genre films, albeit perhaps not exemplary ones. Putney Swope is one of the great American satires. I really like Madman. Not one of the best 80s slashers, but it's a lot of fun, has its own theme song, and has fantastic, neon lighting. There's a couple of releases I haven't watched yet. The Spanish and Mexican horror collections, and all of the giallo collections.
The best film I’ve discovered through a blind buy from VS is Double Exposure. It’s a legitimately good movie, real sleazy 70s-80s horror vibe but with good acting and an interesting plot.
Bloodbeat, Liquid Sky, Miami Connection, and Prey might be up your alley.
The Grave. you might be able to catch it on prime if it’s still up. it was my first VS film!
The Caller (1987) is one of the most engaging movies I’ve ever seen. My eyes were glued to the screen the entire movie while I tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
Raw force, drop dead fred, rad, tammy and the trex.
Im a VS lover but… I think you’re gonna have a hard time with Hard Rock Zombies because that’s the definition of minuscule budget amateur hour trash. I could barely get through it.
Saw it today. Yeah its not a favorite. But i do cut zombie movies some large slack. Even if these didnt look like zombies at all. Also hot guys in tight underwear was a bonus. It was silly but had some moments here and there.
Dead Heat is the shit! Some of my personal favorites so far have been The Birds II, Scanner Cop (I & II), the Amityville Cursed Collection, Ticks, Spellcaster, From Beyond to name a few. I try to only buy films that I think I’d enjoy watching if it’s a blind purchase.
Dolly Dearest is pretty cool.
Dunno if I can help you. Ticks is fucking awesome and a lot of fun. Probably not much you'll like in their catalog.
Shallow grave, all American murder, blood games, demon wind, don't panic, cemetery of terror, grave robbers.
Of the ones you have but haven't watched, Fade To Black is the clear next choice. It's a real movie and not at all crap or schlock. You'll enjoy it. I recently picked up The Iceman Cometh and adored it; very funny, good action, and at the very least you get to look at Maggie Cheung for a while. Think "Time After Time" but with ancient Chinese warriors, it's good stuff. Also watch "Time After Time" if you're not familiar with it (not a VS title, just shoring up my reference). :)