Vinegar Syndrome Prepares Three Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Releases For Delivery On Feb. 25

Vinegar Syndrome announced this past week a trio of new film restorations for delivery on Feb. 25 as Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs.

Leading the parade is a new 4K restoration (from the original 35mm camera negative) of one-off writer/director Donald Wolfe’s Hollywood Horror House (aka: Savage Intruder; aka: The Comeback).   

This early slasher entry borders on the obscure and if it weren’t for a very interesting cast and some cool Los Angeles street footage it might have remained just that, obscure.

Some sources say that it was filmed in 1968, others say 1970 … in any case, it appears to have resided unseen until either 1974 or 1975 when Joseph Brenner Associates picked it up for a theatrical release.   

That maybe so, but archived editions of Box Office Magazine for the period make no reference to it … sure, there are Joseph Brenner Associates listings for such gems as Harry and the Hookers, Kidnap of Mary Lou, Rape Killer and Cry of a Prostitute, but nothing for Hollywood Horror House (or any alternate title).  

To confuse the issue even more, there is evidence that Avco Embassy might have been the distributor and not Joseph Brenner Associates.

This aside, the cast is the real treasure here.   You get Miriam Hopkins in her final film … she was nominated for Best Actress in 1935 for Becky Sharp and was recently showcased in the Criterion restoration of director Stephen Roberts’ 1933 pre-code release of The Story of Temple Drake.   

Here she plays Katharine Packard, an aging silver screen legend who lives up in the Hollywood Hills — recovering from a broken leg, she is wheel chair bound.   

Her “business manager,” Leslie, is none other than Oscar-winner Gale Sondergaard, Best Supporting Actress for Anthony Adverse in 1936 … she was also nominated Best Supporting Actress in 1946 for her performance in Anna and the King of Siam. 

Elsewhere in the City of Angels a serial killer is afoot and the police are trying to track him down before more women are cut to pieces.   Well guess who shows up at the front door one day, Vic (David Garfield … the son of two-time Oscar nominee John Garfield), who is inexplicably hired by Leslie to care for Katharine.

In the creepiest of ways, Vic sets out to seduce the former star … a kill, kill, kill in his spare time.

 

As to bonus goodies, there is a vintage commentary track featuring David Decoteau of RapidHeart.tv and David Del Valle of SinisterImage.com.

Also on the Feb, 25 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack release calendar from Vinegar Syndrome is director Harry Bromley Davenport's 1995 sci-fi thriller, Xtro 3: Watch the Skies (scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm camera negative), which comes with two featuettes — “Winning and Losing” and “Acting Like a Writer.”

Last, but certainly not least (in any way, shape or form) is adult filmmaker Henri Pachard’s 1983 politically-charged film release of Public Affairs, starring Annette Haven, Kelly Nichols, Annette Heinz, Paul Thomas, Joey Silvera and Robert Kerman.   This new 2K restoration (from the 35mm camera negative) includes the featurette titled “Going Public” and an in-depth audio session with actress Annette Heinz.