The Horror Times

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14946978/

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No Telling [1991]

PHYSICAL MEDIA: 4K UHD

DIRECTOR: ‎Larry Fessenden

WRITER: ‎Larry Fessenden, Beck Underwood

PRINCIPAL CAST: David Van Tieghem, Miriam Healy-Louie, Richard Topol, Stephen Ramsey

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

Lillian and Geoffrey (stage actors Miriam Healy-Louie and Stephen Ramsey) are a seemingly happy couple who relocate to the country so that Geoffrey can focus better on his work, which Lillian knows little about. As she begins to investigate what Geoffrey spends his days doing in their shed, she discovers a trail of medical experiments that she can’t explain. Eventually, their relationship begins to unravel, with both parties consumed by madness.

Larry Fessenden’s first feature-length film to be shot on film, NO TELLING, reimagines Mary Shelley’s immortal Frankenstein tale as an upstate chamber drama that gives way to something much more sinister. A prescient parable about man’s relationship with nature and the darkness inherent in us all, making it a potent precursor for the films that would follow in Fessenden’s career. Shot on location in upstate New York, entirely on Super 16mm film, NO TELLING is an essential entry in the canon of American independent horror cinema of the 1990s, now lovingly restored in 4K by Vinegar Syndrome in a director-approved presentation from its uncut original film elements.

Bonus Features:
1. 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray
2. 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
3. Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 16mm original negatives and a 35mm blowup interpositive
4. Brand new commentary track with co-writer / director Larry Fessenden, moderated by Justin Laliberty
5. Brand new commentary track with film writer Scout Tafoya
6. Archival commentary track with co-writer / director Larry Fessenden
7. “The Making of No Telling” (24 min) – an archival making-of featurette
8. Behind-the-scenes footage with an introduction by Larry Fessenden (27 min)
9. “White Trash” (9 min) – a short film from 1979, directed by Larry Fessenden
10. “The Early Work of Glass Eye Pix” – a sizzle reel with an introduction by Larry Fessenden (8 min)
11. Reversible sleeve artwork
12. English SDH subtitles

GENRE: Horror

RATING: Not Rated

RUN TIME: 93 Minutes

STUDIO: Vinegar Syndrome

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102545/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKVGRGSP/

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Playroom [1990]

PHYSICAL MEDIA: Blu-ray

DIRECTOR: Manny Coto

WRITER: Keaton Jones, Jackie Earle Haley

PRINCIPAL CAST: ‎Aron Eisenberg, Christopher McDonald, Lisa Aliff, Vincent Schiavelli

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

When he was a young boy, Chris’s entire family was slaughtered during one of his father’s archaeology digs at a remote monastery, nestled deep in the mountains of Yugoslavia. His father’s assistant was arrested for the murders and consigned to a psychiatric hospital. Still plagued by nightmares about the incident as a man, Chris resolves to tackle his demons headfirst by returning to the monastery, where he hopes to complete his father’s quest of unearthing the tomb of Ilok – a torture-obsessed child prince who, legend has it, made a pact with an ancient Slavic demon for eternal life. But no sooner has the excavation gotten underway than Chris starts behaving erratically, becoming obsessed with locating the tomb and teetering ever closer to the brink of bloody madness…

From Smart Egg Pictures, one of the key financiers behind the original A Nightmare On Elm Street (not to mention the production company responsible for 1985’s hair metal horror Blood Tracks), 1989’s PLAYROOM – released in some territories as Schizo – marks the directorial debut of Manny Coto (Dr. Giggles). Featuring a gloriously demented lead performance from Christopher McDonald (The Black Room, Happy Gilmore), alongside noted character actor Vincent Schiavelli (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and culminating in some unexpected and hugely entertaining creature effects, Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to dust off PLAYROOM for its world disc debut, in a brand new 4K restoration from 35mm negative elements and accompanied by a host of newly-produced bonus features.

Bonus Features:
1. Region Free Blu-ray
2. Scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm internegative
3. A Whole Different World (20 min) – an interview with actress Jamie Rose
4. The Cutting Room (20 min) – an interview with editor Bernard Weiser
5. Playing in the Music Room (20 min) – an interview with composer David Russo
6. Child’s Play (30 min) – an interview with creature effects sculptor, puppeteer and USA art director Greg Aronowitz
7. Original trailer
8. Reversible sleeve artwork
9. English SDH subtitles

TAGLINES:

He’s been waiting for centuries.
Where the terror is child’s play.
Where terror is child’s play.
Last stop… is hell.

GENRE: Horror, Thriller

RATING: Rated R

RUN TIME: 88 Minutes

STUDIO: Vinegar Syndrome

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100373/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKV5J172/

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Castle of Evil [1966]

PHYSICAL MEDIA: Blu-ray

DIRECTOR: Francis D. Lyon

WRITER: Charles A. Wallace

PRINCIPAL CAST: David Brian, Lisa Gaye, Scott Brady, Virginia Mayo

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

On a secluded private island near Nassau in the Caribbean, a curious sextet of people has been ferried in to see off Carl Kovic, an electronics genius reportedly dying. Each of the six has ample reason to loathe Kovic, and yet each one stands to inherit at least $400,000—even more if fewer heirs remain. Forced to stay in his castle during a seemingly endless storm, and guided by a mysterious housekeeper, the group decides to figure out Kovic’s scheme after one of them is violently killed in his room. But is an indigenous island tribe using the supernatural against the group? Is Kovic himself alive or dead, and has he potentially invented something even more evil?

A delightful blend of Agatha Christie-style nailbiter, mad professor thrills, and plentiful other mid-1960s B-movie tropes, CASTLE OF EVIL is an entrancing early color instance of genre film. Directed by Francis D. Lyon (Cult of the Cobra, The Girl Who Knew Too Much), it features the prolific actor Scott Brady (Gremlins, Satan’s Sadists, and brother of actor Lawrence Tierney), a wonderfully sharp-tongued Virginia Mayo (White Heat, Evil Spirits) and Shelley Morrison (Devil Times Five, TV’s Will & Grace). Vinegar Syndrome Labs is charmed to bring back to life this eerie whodunit, which played extensively on regional US television, breathtakingly restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative!

Bonus Features:
1. Region A Blu-ray
2. Scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
3. Commentary track with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons
4. Commentary track with Bill Bria and Ashley Coffin from ‘Bill & Ashley’s Terror Theater’ podcast
5. “Preserving the Legacy of Francis D. Lyon” (10 min) – an interview with professor Paul V.M. Flesher at the American Heritage Center
6. Reversible sleeve artwork
7. English SDH subtitles

TAGLINES:

Funeral Expenses Guaranteed by a Major North American Insurance Company
The chamber of horrors lives again!
Go one step beyond the grave!
So terrifying!… We have reserved your coffin!… If you D.D. (drop dead) while watching: Castle of Evil

GENRE: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

RATING: Not Rated

RUN TIME: 81 Minutes

STUDIO: Vinegar Syndrome

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060219/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKVKTZY8/

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Habit [1995]

PHYSICAL MEDIA: Blu-ray

DIRECTOR: Larry Fessenden

WRITER: Larry Fessenden

PRINCIPAL CAST: Aaron Beall, Larry Fessenden, Meredith Snaider, Patricia Coleman

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

Recently single New Yorker Sam (Larry Fessenden) is mourning the loss of his father and navigating a lack of ambition while drowning his sorrows in alcohol. At a Halloween party, he meets Anna (Meredith Snaider), a beautiful and mysterious woman who, it turns out, is also a vampire. The two embark on a sexually fueled relationship that constantly feels on the precipice of boiling over into violence.

Written, directed, edited, and sound edited by Fessenden, who also took on the leading role, HABIT is a singular character study set in New York City in the mid-90s. Trading in canonical vampire lore while imbuing it with something much more frenetic and indicative of the film scene of New York in the 80s and 90s, Fessenden’s film is an exercise in style, shot entirely on 16mm by cinematographer Frankie DeMarco (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), who was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his work on the film alongside Fessenden for Best Director. Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents Larry Fessenden’s brooding tale of urban dread, newly scanned and restored 4K from its 16mm original negatives in a director-approved presentation.

Bonus Features:
1. 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate UHD100) / Region A Blu-ray
2. 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
3. Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 16mm original camera negative
4. Brand new commentary track with writer / director Larry Fessenden, moderated by Justin Laliberty
5. Brand new group commentary track with writer / director Larry Fessenden, cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco, and producer / assistant director / sound recordist Dayton Taylor
6. Brand new commentary track with film historian Shelagh Rowan-Legg and culture writer Leila Taylor
7. Archival commentary track with writer / director Larry Fessenden
8. “Looking Back on Habit” (15 min) – an archival featurette from 2016
9. “Gothic Corners: Habit’s New York City” (4 min) – an archival featurette from 2015
10. “The Making of Habit” (24 min) – an archival making-of featurette
11. Brand new audio interview with lead actress Meredith Snaider (54 min)
12. Brand new audio interview with actress Heather Woodbury (25 min)
13. “Habit” (18 min) – a short film from 1982, directed by Larry Fessenden
14. Behind-the-scenes of the short film Habit (6 min)
15. Original video trailer
16. Reversible sleeve artwork
17. English SDH subtitles

TAGLINE: It can catch up to you.

GENRE: Horror, Drama, Romance

RATING: Not Rated

RUN TIME: 112 Minutes

STUDIO: Vinegar Syndrome

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113241/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKVNLXDJ/

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5 Dead on the Crimson Canvas [1996]

PHYSICAL MEDIA: Blu-ray

DIRECTOR: Joseph F. Parda

WRITER: Joseph F. Parda

PRINCIPAL CAST: Joe Zaso, Liz Haverty, Rick Poli, Simeon Mony Damevski

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

Richard Streeb is a brooding artist whose work dwells on grisly depictions of death and dismemberment. Shortly after the unveiling of his most recent exhibition, Streeb’s preoccupation with the macabre bleeds horrifyingly into real life when the artist is attacked in his own home by a black-clad, knife-wielding figure. After being stabbed multiple times before the eyes of his helpless wife, Streeb is dragged off into the night by his assailant. With the authorities proving ineffectual, and the mysterious killer striking again and again – targeting victims all tied to the artist – it falls to Streeb’s brother Bill to mount his own investigation in an attempt to unravel the meaning behind these slayings.

A loving homage to the films of Dario Argento and Mario Bava, director Joseph F. Parda’s micro-budget 5 DEAD ON THE CRIMSON CANVAS (1996) – produced by and starring B-movie stalwart Joe Zaso (Nikos the Impaler) – may well lay claim to being the only shot on Super-8 giallo to emerge from Long Island, NY. Featuring a black-gloved killer right out of the likes of Blood and Black Lace and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and offering up plentiful bare skin and grisly deaths – including gouged eyes and faces stripped bare by piranhas – Degausser Video is thrilled to unveil 5 DEAD ON THE CRIMSON CANVAS on Blu-ray, newly restored from the best existing tape master and loaded with a host of new and archival extras.

Bonus Features:
1. Region Free Blu-ray
2. Newly transferred and restored from the best surviving tape master
3. Commentary track with writer/director Joseph F. Parda and actor/producer Joe Zaso
4. “Long Island Giallo: The Making of 5 Dead on the Crimson Canvas” (41 min) – a brand new documentary featuring interviews with actor/producer Joe Zaso, actor/painter Ray Schwetz, actor Ian Stark, and actor/still photographer Chris Hoskins
5. “A Dialogue with Mr. Streeb” (10 min) – a brand new interview with actor Simeon Mony Damevski
6. “Is It Giallo?” (5 min) – a brand new examination of 5 Dead on the Crimson Canvas by Sam Panico
7. Original audition footage (5 min)
8. Stills and artwork gallery
9. Trailer
10. Reversible sleeve artwork
11. English SDH subtitles

GENRE: Horror

RATING: Not Rated

RUN TIME: 96 Minutes

STUDIO: Degausser Video

https://www.facebook.com/DegausserVideo/

https://www.instagram.com/degausservideo/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126909/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKVGY8SQ/

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My Crepitus [2000]

AKA “I Never Left the Whtie Room”

PHYSICAL MEDIA: Blu-ray

DIRECTOR: Michael Todd Schneider

WRITER: Michael Todd Schneider

PRINCIPAL CAST: Amy Beth Deford, Eric James, Michael Todd Schneider, Tom Colbert

SYNOPSIS:

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

Travel through the depths of a deranged mind and experience first hand the violent hallucinations of an incarcerated psychiatric patient. Trapped within the confines of his white cell, Jeffrey Prior (Michael Todd Schneider) struggles with his deteriorating grasp on reality while his psychiatrist, Dr. Nathaniel Beck (Eric James), tries to unravel the secrets behind his daughter’s brutal rape and murder.

The SOV directorial debut from the notoriously transgressive, Pittsburgh based writer / director Michael Todd Schneider aka magGot (August Underground’s Mordum, The Profane Exhibit, …and Then I Helped), MY CREPITUS is a hypnotic and surreal, lo-fi analog fever dream that seamlessly collides at the intersection of extreme underground gore and experimental video art. Like a cursed transmission from an abhorrent alien universe, MY CREPITUS is a gore-drenched amalgamation of Inland Empire, Begotten, and Alien Beasts set to an abrasive and disorienting cacophony of sound which Rue Morgue magazine described as “akin to smashing your teeth into the coffee table for ninety minutes.” Saturn’s Core is proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of magGot’s grimy and hallucinatory masterpiece with this ultimate, director supervised Blu-Ray set which presents MY CREPITUS in multiple cuts, it’s prequel short A Tribute to Sanity, and over 14 hours of special features (on 2 discs) including two feature length documentaries plus countless featurettes, commentaries, and short films which serve as a comprehensive chronicle of both the birth and consequent burgeoning of Schneider’s magGot Films imprint.

Bonus Features:
1. Original 2000 cut (89 min.) with new optional director’s commentary
2. 2025 Director’s Final Cut version (104 min.) with new optional director’s commentary moderated by Art Ettinger (Ultra Violent) and Max Almeida
3. “30 Years Living with My Crepitus,” a new interview with writer / director Michael Todd Schneider
4. “Within Crepitus Hands,” a new career retrospective chat with writer / director Michael Todd Schneider
5. “Beneath Crepitus,” archival outtakes and bloopers
6. “An American magGot in Paris,” featurette from the 25th anniversary screening at the Sadique-Master Film Festival in Paris, France
7. Uncut TV interview with Florian Schütz
8. A TRIBUTE TO SANITY: 2002 prequel short with optional new and archival director’s commentaries
9. “Confessions of Sanity,” Archival 2002 director’s interview discussing A Tribute to Sanity
10. “The Final Chapter of Sanity,” archival A Tribute to Sanity making of featurette
11. “Last magGot Standing (Birthed)” (119 min.) & “Last magGot Standing (Hatched)” (112 min.): Two feature length documentaries outlining the history of magGot Films
12. “My First Crepitus,” archival interview with collaborators Nathan T. King & Dan MacPherson
13. “My First Memory of magGot,” an archival interview with actor / collaborator Tom Colbert
14. “Pulling Out with Drew, Beck, and magGot,” an archival interview with actors / collaborators Sean Beck & Drew Hummel
15. “Assaulting Ears,” an interview with composer M. Kadath
16. “Conversations Outside the White Room,” director Michael Todd Schneider in conversation with filmmaker Nathan Hine
17. Michael Todd Schneider short films: Together (2024); The Neighbor Guy (1999); The Gimp (1998); He’ll See You Now (1998); On Friday Night (1998)
18. Bloody Fun Pictures!: early SOV splatter films directed by Tom Colbert and Michael Todd Schneider
19. Sorry (1996)
20. The Kranny (1998)
21. “Bloodmask” Manticore music video
22. Reversible sleeve
23. English SDH subtitles

GENRE: Horror

RATING: Not Rated

RUN TIME: 104 Minutes

STUDIO: Saturn’s Core/Vinegar Syndrome

https://www.facebook.com/saturnscoreaudiovideo7