Vinegar Syndrome & Sub-Labels; January 2025
One of the main things I love about Vinegar Syndrome - that, to me, is probably most applicable to them versus all of the other ‘boutique labels’ - is that they release so many movies that I would otherwise have never heard of, never mind seen.
This months line-up consists of some 70s Spanish horror, a couple of Golden Harvest wonders, the greatly requested and eagerly anticipated ‘Iced’ and much more. The only title that I’d heard of this month is Ryan Kruger’s Street Trash - and that’s partly because it’s a recent (2024) title, and because I own the original already.
But that, in my opinion, is what makes Vinegar Syndrome special. They introduce me to so many new (old) titles that I could have missed out on, giving these movies a chance at grabbing some new fans. Likewise, through OCN, Vinegar Syndrome continues to delight by delivering titles from a variety of Partner Labels to new audiences, giving me - and others - the chance to fall in love with all of these weird and wonderful movies, and the labels bringing these releases to life.
Vinegar Syndrome now has over 30 Partner Labels on their books - not including any that have since moved on from OCN - with more no doubt expected to join in the future. Instead of including all of those releases within this post, I’ve decided to do a separate release post for the Partner Labels, what with VS already having the main line-up and 7 Sub Labels included here, things might just have gotten a bit too messy.
Standard Editions are available for some titles too, just visit the link and there should be a drop-down to switch to Standard if you so choose… but since this is the place for collecting, well, you know I’ve got to focus on the Limiteds :)
So without further ado, here are the January 2025 Vinegar Syndrome (and Sub-Label) releases for your perusal…
The Seventh Curse / The Witch from Nepal: $39.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Two movies. Directed by Ngai Choi Lam and Siu-Tung Ching respectively. Limited to 6000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
The Seventh Curse: Dr. Yuan is a world-famous adventurer whose exploits have found him playing everything from hostage negotiator to exploring the most offbeat corners of the globe. While in the jungles of Thailand, Dr. Yuan rescues a young woman from a bloodthirsty supernatural sect named the "Worm Tribe," as they attempt to sacrifice her to their ancient evil deity. After a Worm Tribe elder forces the doctor to swallow a handful of bullets, Dr. Yuan becomes afflicted by the “seven blood curses,” which cause the bullets to burst from his body. Determined to find a cure before the seventh and final curse takes his life, Dr. Yuan returns to the jungle, where he must defeat the Worm Tribe and other unexpected supernatural obstacles.
The Witch from Nepal: Joe and his girlfriend travel to Nepal to escape their busy lives. However, their vacation takes an unwelcome turn when Joe is injured while on safari and goes missing. Once found, he is brought to a hospital where a mysterious woman tells him that he's been chosen to be the leader of a mystical tribe in order to fight against an evil sorcerer. Upon returning to Hong Kong, Joe tries to forget about his ordeal. However, the mysterious woman tracks him down, and the two soon fall madly in love. Unfortunately, the sorcerer is also in Hong Kong searching for the mysterious woman, and Joe soon finds himself embroiled in a savage fight between good and evil.
Curse of the Devil / The Vampires Night Orgy / Demon Witch Child: $42.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Three movies. Directed by Carlos Aured, León Klimovsky, Amando de Ossorio respectively. Limited to 6000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Curse of the Devil: In CURSE OF THE DEVIL (El Retorno de Walpurgis), director Carlos Aured's (Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll) second collaboration with star Paul Naschy (Frankenstein's Bloody Terror), lycanthrope Waldemar Daninsky is back; doomed to become a bloodthirsty werewolf as punishment for his family's involvement in centuries-old witch trials. Co-written by Naschy and focusing on his familiar blend of carefully constructed characters juxtaposed with gruesome gore, CURSE OF THE DEVIL has been newly restored in 4K. It is presented in its uncensored original version, which features extended nudity and bloodier violence as compared to the more commonly seen international cut.
The Vampires Night Orgy: In THE VAMPIRES NIGHT ORGY (La Orgía Nocturna de los Vampiros), director León Klimovsky (The Werewolf Versus the Vampire Woman) skillfully integrates a suspenseful vampire film with a tense survival thriller as a busload of travelers become stranded in an eerie village where, each night after dark, the townspeople transform into ravenous bloodsuckers. Featuring a cast of Spanish genre-cinema luminaries, including Jack Taylor (Female Vampire) and Helga Liné (Horror Express), this atmosphere-drenched drive-in hit comes newly restored in 4K and presented in its nude export version.
Demon Witch Child: In DEMON WITCH CHILD (La endemoniada), one of the first and most shameless European "re-imaginings" of The Exorcist, director Amando de Ossorio (Tombs of the Blind Dead) revels in over-the-top trashiness as innocent tween Susan Barnes becomes possessed by demonic forces after a vengeful witch gives her a strange, cursed doll. From low-fi spinning torsos to late-night human sacrifices, career horror filmmaker Ossorio keeps the entertainment value high, enhanced by a cast of veteran Spanish character actors, including Daniel Martín (A Fistful of Dollars) and Fernando Sancho (Voodoo Black Exorcist), while the film looks better than ever, having been newly scanned and restored in 4K.
Deranged: $39.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome)
4K UHD & Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Jeff Gillen & Alan Ormsby. Limited to 6000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Deranged: Ezra Cobb leads a simple life on an isolated family farm with his overbearing, god-fearing mother, who spends her days ranting about the evils of women and the sins of the flesh. When Ma Cobb suddenly and violently expires, Ezra is plunged into a deep despair, and his already troubled mind crosses over into full-blown psychopathy. Wracked with loneliness, Ezra begins plundering the local graveyard to obtain companions to bring home with him, starting with his dear mother, whom he props up in her bed and holds conversations with. But soon, even this collection of cadavers isn’t company enough for old Ez’, and he decides to turn his attention to fresher subjects…
Vinegar Syndrome Archive
Crack House Limited Edition: $32.98 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Michael Fischa. Limited to 4000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Crack House: Teenage sweethearts Melissa and Rick are looking forward to graduating high school so they can at last escape the violent inner city neighborhood in which they grew up. Despite trying to distance himself from his past gang affiliations, Rick ends up being thrown into prison after seeking violent vengeance on the rival gang that murdered his cousin. Now alone and left to fend for herself, Melissa is targeted by a charming low-level drug dealer named B.T., who manipulates her into joining his world of sex and drugs. As Melissa’s life begins spiraling out of control, Rick offers to help the police take down a notorious drug kingpin named Steadman in exchange for immunity, but will he be able to save Melissa before she is pulled deeper into a deadly lifestyle from which few can escape?
Vinegar Syndrome Labs
The Terrornauts Limited Edition: $29.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Montgomery Tully. Limited to 3000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
The Terrornauts: Scientist Joe Burke is determined to prove the existence of alien life and has set up a powerful radio telescope to look for signs. One night, after months of failure, he detects a clear but faint communication emerging from the deepest reaches of space. Excited by his findings, he rushes to his nearby research quarters. No sooner than arriving, the entire building, including its occupants, is lifted into space by a mysterious extraterrestrial force. After docking on a spacecraft, the frightened abductees realize that they have been selected to participate in a dangerous mission, the success of which will determine the fate and survival of Earth...
Vinegar Syndrome Pictures
Street Trash (2024) Limited Edition: $29.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Ryan Kruger. Limited to 3000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Street Trash: In the year 2050, global economic turmoil has destroyed the middle class in Cape Town, South Africa, which is now divided between the ultra-rich and the extremely poor, whose squalid existences are relegated to filthy encampments besieged by ongoing turf wars. Newcomer Alex, who’s on the run from local crime boss the Rat King, is rescued by long-time street-dweller Ronald and given refuge at his compound, inhabited by a ragtag group of colorful characters. However, her sense of security is short-lived as soon after her arrival, various members of the community begin to vanish. Determined to find out what’s going on, Ronald, Alex, and their friends discover that evil Mayor Mostert is eliminating all homeless people using an experimental chemical known only as “Viper” – a substance that melts through flesh and turns human bone into puddles of goo…
Vinegar Syndrome Ultra
Virtuosity Limited Edition: $46.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
4K UHD & Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Brett Leonard. Limited to 8000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Virtuosity: The near future: A virtual reality company is completing the development of a highly sophisticated training simulator designed to give police a taste of how to handle the dangers they might encounter in the field while tracking and apprehending criminals. In order to perfect this state-of-the-art technology, prisoners are selected based on their skills and toughness and forced to serve as test subjects. Amongst the chosen inmates is Parker Barnes, an ex-cop serving time for circumventing the law and taking justice into his own hands. When one of the software's most lethal virtual criminals, SID 6.7 - an amalgamation of vicious sadists and serial killers throughout history - figures out how to jump from the computer world into the real world through the use of nanotechnology, the company behind the program quickly attempts to cover up their malfeasance. As SID 6.7 runs amok on the streets of L.A., leaving a trail of bloody violence in his wake, the police reluctantly admit that they are powerless to stop him. Their final hope is to enlist the help of Barnes, the only man to defeat SID 6.7 in the virtual world, in order to put an end to his flesh-and-blood reign of terror before any more innocent lives are taken.
Cinématographe
Bang the Drum Slowly Limited Edition: $39.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
4K UHD & Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by John D. Hancock. Limited to 5000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Bang the Drum Slowly: Bruce Pearson (Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver) and Henry Wiggen (Michael Moriarty, The Last Detail) are friends and teammates, playing on The New York Mammoths as catcher and pitcher, respectively. Henry is pulling double duty as an insurance salesman on the side, selling policies to other baseball players, while engaged in a contract dispute with the baseball team’s ownership. When Bruce is diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, realizing he is terminally ill, Henry wavers from his ongoing negotiations to make sure Bruce can be his catcher for one last season.
Child’s Play Limited Edition: $39.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
4K UHD & Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Sidney Lumet. Limited to 3000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Child’s Play: Paul Reis (Beau Bridges, The Landlord) returns to his almamatter, St. Charles, an exclusive Catholic boarding school for male adolescents, as the new physical education teacher. When he arrives, he finds two of his new colleagues, English teacher Joseph Dobbs (Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria) and Latin teacher Jerome Malley (James Mason, Lolita), engaged in a bitter rivalry. As tensions rise, and anonymous threatening phone calls disrupt the usually tranquil environs of St. Charles, Reis finds himself embroiled in an unpredictable cycle of violence which begins to reflect in the increasingly aggressive behavior of the students.
Degausser Video
Iced Limited Edition: $29.99 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Blu-ray Limited Edition. Directed by Jeff Kwitny. Limited to 4000 copies. Release Date: January 2025.
Iced: A group of friends head off for a fun-filled getaway in the snowy mountains, where they’ve unexpectedly been offered a free stay at a luxury ski resort. Once they arrive at their cabin, however, the high spirits are soon dampened when they discover a newspaper clipping concerning the tragic death of their friend Jeff during a ski trip four years earlier - it’s clear that someone holds the group responsible for the accident. Sure enough, as the friends settle in for a cozy winter vacation full of skiing, sexual intrigue, and naked cocaine binges, a mysterious figure in ski gear and cracked goggles stalks the surroundings, intent on picking them off one by one in a variety of gruesome ways.
Also available in Limited Edition Deluxe LED VHS Format: $45.00 ( Vinegar Syndrome )
Distribpix
No releases scheduled for January 2025.
So that’s it for January 2025; lots of really interesting titles to check out. If you’re a Vinegar Syndrome 2025 Subscriber, then you’ll automatically receive The Seventh Curse / Witch from Nepal, Curse of the Devil / The Vampires Nighty Orgy / Demon Witch Child and Deranged as part of your subscription, with any other Sub-Label pick-ups available at a discount.
I’ll definitely need to pick up Street Trash (2024) and Virtuosity at some point - I’d love to compare Street Trash to the original and see how it is, and Virtuosity seems like one that would be right up my alley :)
Are you interested in any titles this month? If so, which ones?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
