A Lost Slasher no more! Code Red are bringing the late Joe Spinelli’s psycho-slasher The Undertaker to DVD in October. Our own Thomas Ellison investigated the film and also recently reviewed it. And now you’ll get to see it to. Taking things one step further, Code Red are offering fans to vote which cover it gets. Click below for hi-res.
“Here is your chance to pick your favorite cover for the October Release of the unreleased Joe Spinell film THE UNDERTAKER (aka DEATH MERCHANT). Here are the 3 covers, just post on this blog which one you prefer, A, B or C, and the one with the most votes will be it! Hurry, you have until Thursday 7/8 at 9 PM Pacific to vote, so vote now!”
We personally pick Cover C because it’s 100% Spinelli Cool. Though Cover A is not without its pockmarked charms. If you’re within the time window, head on over to the Code Redcomments page to vote. Be sure to let us know your fave.
Here is the artwork for The Psycho Legacy 2-Disc DVD, arriving October 19th from Shout Factory.
For the whole story on this highly anticipated doco (come on, we all know Psycho is the granddaddy of the slasher film), you’ll want to check out our Interview with Robert Galluzzo, conducted last year when the director was still knee deep in all things Norman Bates.
Cult Collectibles is proud to announce the release of its first “Weird Wobbler” bobblehead style figure from one of the most outrageous underground films ever made: BLACK DEVIL DOLL! Pre-orders are available now with product shipping in September 2010!
The 2008 film is the story of an executed Black militant who is reincarnated into a vicious ventriloquist’s puppet, causing endless mayhem and murder (to put it mildly). Widely hailed by cult film aficionados and simultaneously condemned for its overt (yet completely tongue-in-cheek) offensiveness, Art Ettinger of Ultra Violent magazine stated, “Black Devil Doll is a triumph, seamlessly blending crass un-PC humor with cerebral artistry. The Lewis Brothers deliver one of the most original exploitation films of the new millennium, a singularly unique mix of brain and brawn.”
Owner of Cult Collectibles, Mark Jason Murray comments, “I became a tremendous fan of the film even before I saw it and when I started brainstorming what would be the perfect license to launch my toy company, BLACK DEVIL DOLL seemed to be the best fit. Thinking as a collector and fan, this is something that I would love to have in my own collection and since the film character is essentially a “toy” it was an easy choice. From a business perspective, I know the film already has a rabid fan following and that the film’s creators would be able to provide an incredible amount of publicity for it right out of the gate. I am also very keen to work with people who I considered friends.”
The figure was created with great attention to detail while still allowing it to have an identity of its own. “A lot of time was spent getting the details of the figure just right,” states Murray. “It was still important for the figure to appear as a characature, which the bobblehead format is famous for, but only slightly as anything “cute” would have gone against the character in the film. It’s really very accurate, from the subtleties of the facial expression down to its boots.”
Besides holding a knife in one hand, even further details were included to help bring out the spirit of the film character and one of the film’s biggest jokes. “What started as a simple afterthought during the initial planning of the figure turned out to be one of the figure’s best features and one of the most difficult to obtain. We wanted the figure to be holding a bucket of “Oakland Fried Chicken” and initially it came back looking like Colonel Sanders on the bucket which was the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to look like so after multiple design revisions it finally got to where it needed to be and it brings a whole new level of hilarity to the figure that I am sure fans of the movie will really enjoy. I am very happy with everything about this figure. It was great to work with the creators of the character and film and perhaps we can collaborate on something else in the future.”
Murray’s company strategy is simple. “I really want to do figures that put Cult Collectibles in a category of its own and this provided me with the ability to do just that. I anticipate the figure will sell out quickly.”
Cult Collectibles is already at work on three future limited edition “Weird Wobbler” figures scheduled for release late 2010/early 2011:
-The “Demon Doll” will pay tribute to the Italian horror films of actress Geretta Geretta (Lamberto Bava’s DEMONS, Lucio Fulci’s MURDEROCK, RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR, etc.)
-The “head wound girl” from Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND (in association with GRINDHOUSE RELEASEING)
-Lucio Fulci from his film CAT IN THE BRAIN (in association with GRINDHOUSE RELEASING)
BLACK DEVIL DOLL “Weird Wobbler” details:
-Limited edition of 1,000 hand numbered figures
-7 inches of lightweight polyresin
-housed in a full color retail box designed by BLACK DEVIL DOLL poster artist, Stephen Romano
-Special exclusive BLACK DEVIL DOLL trading card available ONLY during pre-order period through www.cultcollectibles.com
-Pre-orders available now with figure scheduled to ship by mid-September 2010
Joe Giannone’s Madman (shot in 1980, released 1982) has experienced a resurgence with slasher fans in recent years similar to the Sleepaway Camp movement. Yet this has all been contrary to the increasing rarity of the film since Anchor Bay’s DVD went out of print.
But that’s about to be remedied as Code Red DVD prepare to release their own special edition into the marketplace come September. Writer/executive producer of Madman, Gary Sales, recently spoke with Retro Slashers about what’s planned for the trusty camp slasher.
“The DVD’s almost done and it’s coming with an hour+ featurette – The Legend Lives: 30 Years of Madman, by horror filmmakers, Victor Bonacora and Dave Beinlich.” Sales tells us. “Lotsa interviews and never before seen images. Just interviewed Deron Miller of CKY, who was inspired by Madman to write Escape From Hellview, the band’s 3rd most popular song on YouTube. In addition, we caught Carl Fredericks (now 84), who played Max. Sorry, Gaylen Ross won’t go on camera. But Paul “Madman” Ehlers is there. There’s also a trip back to Fish Cove, the old location where Madman was shot.”
Sales has really taken Madman by the belt-buckle and secured its mass-availability long into the future across several formats. He informs us “We’re also now on YouTube Rental and heading for PlayStation, & Hulu. We’re also in iTunes review mode now and should be live there before Halloween.”
No talk of an old slasher movie resurfacing would be complete without bringing up the possibility of another Madman movie. Sales enthusiastically outlined to us what he refers to internally as the Madman Marz 3D Re-Imagining Project. “I’m in talks with studios and foreign buyers for a release in 2011. The script has been written by Paul “Madman Marz” Ehlers, his son Jon (born during production) and myself. It’s killah! Really killah!” We’ve also heard that it could function as a dual reboot/sequel similar to Friday The 13th (2009) but plan a follow up conversation with Sales in future to address this.
Not simply forward-minded, Sales is happy to look back to yesteryear and take stock of what Madman really meant to people: “Many of our fans are from back in the day and Madman was one of the first horror pix they ever saw (many were underage and got to see it in the early days of VHS while their parentz weren’t home or thru an older sibling.) But many young horror fans missed the first run and weren’t around in the early 80’s and are just discovering the cool slashers we made back in the day.”
To keep up with the Marz Movement, visit the movie’s Facebook and Twitter.
While Code Red DVD have released some mouth-watering rarities, their status as the Criterion Of Horror is constantly kneecapped by their seeming reluctance to engage customers about the status of several long-delayed titles.
But nonetheless, the excellent long-running website Horror DVDs has often played public confidant to the company in the past, and today brings positive word from Mr Code Red himself, Bill Norton, about their most anticipated release ever, Nightmare [In A Damaged Brain], aka Blood Splash.
Boldface type added for dramatic effect.
“Anyway, just to clarify to some here – it is not just translating the interview from Italian to English – that is fairly easy. The main issue is that every line of the translation needs to be timed to when Scavolini is talking so that it can be matched to when he’s speaking. It’s not as easy as using a dialog list for a feature film where you have various characters conversing and it’s easy to put the subtitles where/when they belong. This Scavolini interview is basically a 95-minute one man talking feature-length film and requires much more than a translator just writing down what he’s saying on a piece of paper. A professional subtitle-house is the only option and that will cost us well over $3,000 for a title that will never recoup what we’ve already put out. This is simple business truth. We are not a charity, although we would love to be rich and release everything perfectly. I doubt anyone wants to donate $3,500 to get that interview done. I don’t have $3,500 either, unfortunately. Sorry. DVD sales are in the pits, and throwing more cash at a title that will not break even (trust me, it won’t) is simply no longer in the cards.
Anyway, it seems the majority of fans out there really just want the film, though, so we have finally decided to release NIGHTMARE within the next six months with the extras we have completed and leave it at that. Hopefully, fans will appreciate what is there instead of what isn’t. But the film will be there, and that’s the most important thing. Check our blog for the official announcement soon, and the streetdate once it’s announced. Thanks.”
We’ll all be watching their official blog for that official announcement. In the meantime, peruse our past catalog of Nightmare articles, including a juicy one about the famously tangled Tom Savini FX controversy, right here.
On August 10 Code Red DVD releases the 35th Anniversary Edition of Horror High (1974 – do the math on that one). No relation to Return To Horror High (1987), though close together VHS release dates of both films in some countries implied as such, Larry Stouffer’s movie is actually a reliable stock proto-slasher.
Innocent people are being brutally murdered on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. As the death toll rises and City Hall attempts a cover-up, Frank McCrae heads the investigation. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself under arrest as the chief suspect, having been the victim of a set-up by the real killer and a mysterious woman phone-caller. Forrest, his girlfriend Theresa, and McCrae set out to solve the puzzle before the Maniac Cop can strike again.
Check out the latest issue of HorrorHound, #22 It’s got A-Z retro slasher coverage and a retrospective on Media Home Entertainment, the company that brought many slasher delights to your VHS deck!
-The “Demon Doll” will pay tribute to the Italian horror films of actress Geretta Geretta (Lamberto Bava’s DEMONS, Lucio Fulci’s MURDEROCK, RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR, etc.)
While Code Red DVD have released some mouth-watering rarities, their status as the Criterion Of Horror is constantly kneecapped by their seeming reluctance to engage customers about the status of several long-delayed titles.
On August 10 Code Red DVD releases the 35th Anniversary Edition of Horror High (1974 – do the math on that one). No relation to Return To Horror High (1987), though close together VHS release dates of both films in some countries implied as such, Larry Stouffer’s movie is actually a reliable stock proto-slasher.
