Home Format Releases of 2021

"I got the blu's but I don't mind
All I have to do is get to you
And then I feel just fine"

 

Not even gonna pretend this was my entire haul this year. Another bumper year for blu-rays which burnt a serious hole in my wallet. A bunch of big omissions I still haven't copped yet would be Citizen Kane (Studio Canal) and Deep Cover (Criterion), but I'm holding out for future sales when it comes to more mainstream titles.

Both Vinegar Syndrome and Severin had another strong year again. Arrow Video was also impressive with its releases, but their rep definitely took a big hit during the combined fiascos of The Bird With The Crystal Plumage and the True Romance releases; truth be told, they haven't been very consumer friendly since the Zavvi deal. It's turned them into real villains in the game.

Three personal holy grail titles got the release treatment in 2021: those being Herman Yau's problematic, Cat. III classic, Ebola Syndrome (1996) released by Vinegar Syndrome; the neglected, head-severing, giallio Trauma (1993) by Dario Argento - also released by Vinegar Syndrome; and, Severin delivering Denis Héroux's sadistic Born For Hell (1976), based on the Richard Speck murders. 

Byron Mabe & Donn Davison's 1967 film, She Freak is an obvious rip-off of Tod Browning's 1932 horror classic, Freaks, but I dug the hell out of the spectacular picture quality. It might be light on the chills, but it's a wonderful window into carnival life from the sixties, that made it a firm fave for me this year. High hopes for more AGFA + Something Weird blu-rays in 2022.

Home Format Film Releases of 2021:

Ebola Syndrome (Vinegar Syndrome)

Shaw Scope: Volume One (Arrow Video)

The Dungeon Of Andy Milligan Collection (Severin)

The Great Silence (Eureka Entertainment)

Riki-Oh: Story Of Ricky (88 Films)

Deep Red (Arrow Video)

Born For Hell (Severin)

The Laughing Woman (Mondo Macabro)

Perdita Durango (Severin)

The Curious Dr. Humpp (AGFA + Something Weird)

Shatter Dead (Saturn's Core)

Evil Dead Trap (Unearthed Films)

She-Freak (AGFA + Something Weird)

True Romance (Arrow Video)

Erotic Ghost Story (88 Films)

Murders In The Rue Morgue / The Black Cat/ The Raven: Three Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations Starring Bela Lugosi (Masters of Cinema)

Trauma (Vinega Syndrome)

Flesh For Frankenstein (Vinegar Syndrome)

Hunting Ground (Mondo Macabro)

With the insane costs of 4Ks and boutique label blu-rays (not to mention the expensive shipping), I think it's time to slow down and take it easy. Planning to spend much less cash on movies in 2022 as a new year's resolution, but I'll probably stick to it like most people hitting the gyms in January.  

EDIT: This lot arrived from Severin while I was writing this post 😀.

"You overdid it, holmes"