Right now is an excellent time to be a fan of the horror genre and collector of physical media, as there are so many incredible companies doing great work in the space.
Here are five labels every horror fan should be aware of…
Vinegar Syndrome
If you have a deep interest in film preservation and film archives, you may already know the term “vinegar syndrome” which refers to the chemical process that causes a breakdown of film reels over time. These reels smell strongly like vinegar, hence the name.
Vinegar Syndrome the label was founded in 2012 with the goal to preserve and restore films from the 1960s through the 1980s. Preservation has always been top of mind with Vinegar Syndrome. Still, because of their fantastic preservation and restoration work, we also get some of the best DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K releases on the market from their archive.
While Vinegar Syndrome got its start releasing a lot of X-rated, exploitation, and erotic films, they began to shift into more cult horror as they expanded. Their current lineup of available 4K and Blu-ray restorations include more recognizable movies like Madman, From Beyond, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and The Amityville Horror, but they also have a ton of deep cuts available as well. If you want a Blu-ray copy of The Devonsville Terror, Graduation Day, Hobgoblins, or Blades, they have you covered there.
Vinegar Syndrome puts a ton of effort into its physical media releases, with high-quality packaging and unique artwork, loads of special features, and simply the best film restorations available in the genre. Watching some of their restorations is truly like watching a movie again for the first time. Since 2012, Vinegar Syndrome has also expanded quite a bit with partner labels which can be found on their website including The American Genre Film Archive, Deaf Crocodile, Culture Shock, and others that add to their impressive catalog.
If you are a horror fan, do yourself a favor and check out Vinegar Syndrome. They are worth every penny, and you simply will not find a better release of their movies anywhere on the market.
Shout! Factory/Scream Factory
Shout! Factory has been around in the home entertainment game since 2002 and is well known for its DVD and Blu-ray releases of many classic TV shows, animation, and cult movies. For horror fans, Shout! Factory become a household name when it announced the creation of its partner label, Scream Factory, in 2012.
With the launch of Scream Factory came dozens of new “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray releases of some of the best movies the horror genre has to offer. These Collector’s Editions come with slipcovers featuring new artwork, tons of special features, and occasionally an optional full-size poster or other add-ons that make them one of the best labels at catering to the collector and hardcore fan.
Scream Factory may have the most extensive catalog of any label on this list, especially in the slasher subgenre, including films like Sleepaway Camp, Child’s Play, Carrie, The Thing, The Burning, and Terror Train. Scream Factory has also released incredible box sets for Friday the 13th, Halloween (with new 4K UHD releases for the first 8 films), Critters, The Fly, and collections focused on stars like Vincent Price and Paul Naschy.
Scream Factory also has a licensing deal with IFC Midnight, one of the best horror movie production companies out there today. If you want an IFC Midnight film on DVD or Blu-ray, chances are Scream Factory will have it.
Scream Factory is probably the most accessible label on this list, with recognizable titles and price points that will make your wallet happy. If you are looking for a place to start a physical media horror movie collection, Scream Factory would be a great starting point.
Arrow Video
In 1991 a small family-owned film distribution company called Arrow Films was founded in the United Kingdom. For years they focused on theatrical distribution, but in 2009 they launched the Arrow Video label to release cult/horror movies on DVD & Blu-ray to the UK market.
Since then, Arrow Video has expanded outside of the UK to offer releases to the North American market with an extensive catalog of impressive movies, restorations, and collectible packaging. Arrow Video has become well known for their Limited Edition releases which typically feature a hard case box with newly commissioned artwork. Each box includes double-sided posters with both the original art and the new art, a book with essays and critical analyses of the film, and of course, the Blu-ray or 4K UHD release of the film.
Arrow Video offers a wide variety of horror movies including limited editions of genre classics like Tremors, The Hills Have Eyes, and An American Werewolf in London and other great Blu-ray/4K releases of films like Hell High, Children of the Corn, and Society. Arrow also has a special focus on foreign horror, with incredible box sets for series like Ringu (The Ring) and Ju-On (The Grudge) as well as their Giallo Essentials series and fantastic release of Dario Argento’s filmography including Deep Red, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and The Cat O’Nine Tails. Outside of horror, Arrow has plenty of other films from genres like Asian Cinema, Film Noir, Cult Cinema, and Sci-Fi including their excellent Shaw Brothers box sets, True Romance, Robocop, and Wild Thing.
One thing to keep in mind when buying from Arrow Video is that their releases do vary depending on the location, so some of what is available in the UK will not be available in the US/Canada, and vice versa, so pay attention to the region coding of the discs. But no matter what is available in your area, Arrow Video makes fantastic box sets and limited editions that are sure to make any horror collector happy.
Vestron Video Collector’s Series
Vestron Video is likely a name that longtime horror fans know well, as it was one of the most popular home video distribution companies from the 1980s through the early 1990s. However, the label was brought back from the grave in 2016 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment with a new line of collectible Blu-ray releases beginning with cult classics Blood Diner and Chopping Mall.
For this new label, Lionsgate took the Vestron Video logo and gave it a fresh update, added spine numbers to each release, and introduced new artwork and slipcovers that have had horror movie fans chasing these Blu-rays to complete their collection.
The Vestron Video Collector’s Series has introduced a wide range of horror movies to Blu-ray for the first time from various production companies. There are a handful of popular Vestron Video titles, but the line also includes titles from Lionsgate and their production companies like Artisan Films and Trimark Pictures.
Some of the movies in this Collector’s Series include classic horror movies like Maximum Overdrive, Slaughter High, The Gate, and Waxwork. More recently, the series has shifted to include more cult films like Steel Dawn, Earth Girls Are Easy, and Dream a Little Dream, but the series remains horror focused as their most recent releases include The Silent Night Deadly Night Collection and The Dentist Collection.
With 29 titles as of the publishing of this article, the Vestron Video Collector’s Series is slowly growing but is still small enough to make for a fun project for collectors to acquire a complete set. I will say, they look great on a shelf, especially with those individual spine numbers!
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is a label that has been around for roughly twenty years but really picked up steam for collectors in the last several years as they released several extremely high-quality Blu-ray and 4K UHD movies. While their early history tended to skew more toward erotica, they have recently shifted more toward horror.
The Blue Underground catalog is a bit smaller than the others on this list but in this case, it is a matter of quality over quantity. Blue Underground has some of the finest 4K UHD video restorations available and packages them with lenticular slipcovers of original theatrical artwork. Most releases include hours of special features on a second disc, and some even include CDs containing the original soundtrack.
The catalog here has some deeper cuts than the average horror fan may recognize but includes titles like House by The Cemetery, Zombie, Uncle Sam, Daughters of Darkness, and The Toolbox Murders and films from directors like Dario Argento, Larry Cohen, George Romero, and Larry Cohen. Whether you see a title you recognize or not, these movies are well worth checking out to expand your horror movie experiences, and well worth the purchase as a collector.
While these five physical media labels are all great choices for horror movie fans, they are certainly not the only options. Some honorable mentions that could have easily made this list include Synapse Films, Severin Films, and the newly formed Terror Vision, but don’t forget about the work that larger labels like Kino Lorber, Criterion Collection, or Paramount Presents are doing for the genre either. While horror may not be their main focus, there have been plenty of great horror Blu-rays from each company that are worth a collector’s time.
Long live physical media!
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