Arrow Video
From the U.K., but available in the U.S., Arrow Video is yet another choice boutique Blu-ray and DVD label, and they release all kinds of goodies. One of their defining releases of 2018 is the “De Palma & De Niro: The Early Films” box set. People think of Robert De Niro as a Martin Scorsese actor, but he actually entered cinema under the aegis of filmmaker Brian De Palma. De Palma’s first three films, “The Wedding Party,” “Greetings,” and “Hi Mom!,” all feature De Niro in the lead and are all part of this set. They are low-budget, freewheeling, anarchic, radicalist and countercultural-focused—pretty much the exact opposite of what you think of when you think of De Palma, but they are a great film history lesson in that regard and a lot of fun (more context here in our De Palma Essentials piece). Arrow released a lot of great, significant, often-underappreciated classics this year including Fred Zimmerman‘s classic 1970s terrorist thriller “The Day of the Jackal,” Dario Argento’s giallo classics “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage,” and “Deep Red,” Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys” with Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis, and “Tideland,” and a special 3-disc edition of Wes Craven’s horror “The Last House On The Left” from 1972. That is of course just a taste, and Arrow Video has more, but these are our top recommendations.
READ MORE: The Essentials: The Films of Brian De Palma
Vinegar Syndrome
Named after the chemical reaction that deteriorates celluloid over time, Vinegar Syndrome is a stellar boutique Blu-ray and DVD label which specializes in cult, exploitation, sexploitation, and underground cinema. Just in time for the holidays, VS has restored two precious artifacts never before released in HD. The first is “Cutting Class,” Rospo Pallenberg’s comedic, pre-”Scream” subversive slasher flick, featuring Martin Mull and Brad Pitt, in one of his earlier film roles. The other is the classic, bonkers supernatural horror film “Mausoleum,” completely uncut and featuring all the terrific gore effects from John Carl Buechler (director of “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood”). And those are just the new releases that VS is putting out. They have had a stellar year, with gorgeous restorations of wonderful oddities such as the psychosexual alien invasion film “Prey,” “the theatre-esque exploration of gender in “Pets,” the Cronenberg-meets-Lynch media satire “Star Time,” the sexploitative and inexplicably PG-rated “Wonder Women,” the comedic slasher “Blood Hook,” and the crème de la crème of their 2018 releases, Slava Tsukerman’s punk, queer, alien-and-drug-fueled head-trip, “Liquid Sky.” Even with all these excellent aforementioned titles, they don’t even scratch the surface of what Vinegar Syndrome has put out this year, so be sure to check out their website to satisfy your relative who loves off-the-beaten-path films. – Ryan Oliver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhxH6AokASs
Severin Films
Have a friend or loved one who is looking for the more controversial and provocative fare? Look no further than Severin Films’ catalog. Dedicated to films that shock, challenge, or downright disgust, Severin does amazing work on their restorations (and more often than not, they are released with the film’s original soundtrack). Surprisingly, Severin’s best 2018 release is perhaps their most (relatively) mainstream release to date: Peter Medak’s haunting, masterfully-crafted “The Changeling” (which we discussed on an episode of The Playlist Podcast earlier this year). If you only pick up one disc from Severin (and we advise you check out more of them), “The Changeling” comes with the highest recommendation. Their other 2018 highlights include “Absurd,” Joe D’Amato’s grotesque, yet highly-entertaining video nasty that borrows heavy inspiration from “Halloween” and features a terrific George Eastman in what’s essentially the Michael Myers role. Finally, the batshit insane “Zombie 3” is one of our most enjoyable 2018 discoveries. Directorial credit goes to Lucio Fulci, but was completed by Bruno Mattei (“Shocking Dark”) and Claudio Fragasso (“Troll 2”) when Fulci became ill and had to leave the production. The result is one of the most nonsensical, insane, gratuitously gory zombie movies ever put to film. Like with Vinegar Syndrome, these titles are only a sliver of the great work that Severin has done in 2018, so check out their site for more titles. – RO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqOYI4TeGtA&t=2s
