Tag Archives: Synapse Films

Nov 20 2011

Maniac Cop – Killer In Blue On Blu

Maniac Cop is, in my opinion, one of the most under rated horror films of the 1980s. Not only does it blend subgenres like a Magic Bullet on high-speed, it boasts one of the best line ups of genre legends in its cast and crew. Okay, try to keep up – in front of the camera we’ve got Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell, neither of which need introduction here. Next we have Richard fucking Roundtree as Commissioner Pike. That’s right, Shaft himself is the HNIC of the police force! Behind the camera we have director William Lustig (Maniac, Vigilante), writer/producer Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Q the Winged Serpent), executive producer James Glickenhaus (The Exterminator) and cinematographer James Lemmo (Madman, Vigilante, Ms .45, etc). It doesn’t get much more solid than that. Maniac Cop has always held a strong cult following, but I’ve always felt it deserved more attention.

Continue reading →

Nov 10 2011

Synapse Sweetens The Deal For ‘Intruder’ Fans

I just found out that the first 500 people to order a copy of the upcoming Blu-Ray/DVD combo of Intruder from Synapse will receive a very limited edition DVD-R of the film’s original work print version. This version of the film, originally known as Night Crew, contains additional and extended scenes, different editing and is without the final music and sound effects mix. These are  individually burned DVD-R’s and are taken  from director Scott Spiegel’s personal VHS copy.

“We want to give fans of the film something unique to relive the days when the only way to see the original uncut version of INTRUDER was through grey-market videocassettes, so each disc will be individually burned for the customer, with a handwritten label and individually numbered from one to five hundred,” says Don May, Jr., President of Synapse Films.  “Anyone who has already pre-ordered Synapse’s INTRUDER Blu-ray/DVD Combo will have the DVD-R shipped to them along with their order.  Once the 500 DVD-R discs are gone… they are gone.”

From what I can tell these are going very fast. The shopping cart function on Synapse’s website actually crashed yesterday due to such high traffic of people ordering Intruder! I can’t see these lasting much longer so what are you waiting for? Get it now!

Oct 8 2011

South Of Heaven Is Genre Blending Perfection

“When Roy Coop finished his stint in the Navy, he only had two things on his mind: seeing his brother Dale, and writing the great American novel. What he gets, however, is the homecoming from Hell! A pair of violent vaudevillians mistake Roy for brother, looking to collect on a debt that he didn’t know he owed. Eight fingers later, Roy is burnt to a crisp, forged by fire into a new man. Roy is dead. Nobody is born.”

Writer/director J.L. Vara‘s feature-length debut is an insane collision of noir and cartoon like influences. It’s a film that is  impossible to neatly categorise, having its severed fingers dipped equally  into the  revenge, horror, action,  western and the aforementioned noir genres. From the very beginning, with its animated opening title sequence, South Of Heaven  blends these influences up and sprinkles them with a dark humour to top it off. The result is one of the best films I’ve seen all year.  Continue reading →

Sep 30 2011

Synapse Picks Up Rights To Adrian Garcia Bogliano Films

I wasn’t familiar with the films of  Argentine director Adrian Garcia Bogliano until a couple of weeks ago when he did an interview with Bad Ronald (click the link and check it out, it’s a great site.) My interest was immediately piqued, and now it looks like we’ll all have a chance to check out three of his films courtesy of Synapse Films. Click For Press Release

Sep 24 2011

The Exterminator Descends Into Gruesome Savagery In High-Def!

“Sick example of the almost unbelievable descent into gruesome savagery in American movies”…

That’s what Roger Ebert said of The Exterminator upon its release in 1980. Well now, thanks to Synapse Films, you can experience all of The Exterminator and it’s “gruesome savagery” in high-def and fully uncut for the first time on Blu-Ray. Released last week as a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, The Exterminator definitely shows how far Synapse has come with their Blu-Ray releases. The transfer is excellent. It looks like you’re watching it straight from the original film print. It marks a great improvement over their first Blu-Ray ventures. Continue reading →

Sep 20 2011

Nuts, Sluts, Butts & Bolts – Frankenhooker Comes To Blu-Ray

Synapse continues to build their impressive hi-def catalog with the addition of Frankenhooker on November 8th. Following last week’s release of The Exterminator (which looks fucking great on blu!) and the October release of Maniac Cop, Frankenhooker looks to be another solid entry in Synapse’s growing Blu-ray canon.  Wanna Date?

Aug 12 2011

Synapse Sex & Violence Contest Winners!

Alright, it’s time to announce the winners of our latest contest! This morning two names were picked at random out of a scummy baseball hat by my son. Both will recieve a copy of one of the two latest DVD  releases from Synapse Films – Wide Open or Frat House Massacre! And the winners are… (lights dim, drums roll, crowds hush) … Fnxtdd and Jeanette Jackson! Congrats, I’ll be emailing you for your mailing addresses shortly. Oh, and to make things fun I won’t be telling you guys which of the films you’ll be getting. Surprises are fun, right? Thanks to everyone who entered, and to Shade at Synapse for supplying us with the DVDs.

totally unrelated to post... but sand people are fun

 

Aug 12 2011

The Exterminator Comes To Blu-Ray, Flamethrower In Hand

Oh shit! Synapse has done it again! This time with ’80′s flamethrower fueled revenge flick The Exterminator, coming to Blu-Ray for the first time on September 13th! I personally haven’t seen The Exterminator in years and years. In fact the last time I saw it was either on VHS or on Joe Bob Brigg’s Drive In Theatre, so that was a LONG time ago! Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about this one. If you’re not familiar with this particular piece of ’80s greatness, check out the original theatrical trailer below.

Excited yet??

Synapse

The<br /> Executioner blu-ray” /></p> <p style=

Christopher George, Robert Ginty, and Samantha Eggar star in THE EXTERMINATOR, James Glickenhaus’ explosive story of Vietnam vet John Eastland (Ginty), a man who launches a bloody vendetta against the New York underworld when his best friend is brutally beaten by a vicious street gang. Eastland becomes a vigilante hero to the public, but to police The Exterminator is a psychopath capable of dangerously undermining an entire government administration.

Synapse Films is proud to present
THE EXTERMINATOR in its more violent and gory Director’s Cut, lovingly restored in high-definition from original vault materials. One of the most cold-blooded and controversial revenge films
ever made, this is “a sick example of the almost unbelievable descent into gruesome savagery in American movies.” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

Special Features:

• The Original Director’s Cut Featuring More Gore and Violence
• The Newly Discovered Original Stereo Soundtrack Mix
• Audio Commentary by Director James Glickenhaus
• Theatrical Trailer and Television Spots (HD)

Disc Info:

Director: James Glickenhaus
Starring: Christopher George, Robert Ginty, and Samantha Eggar
Run Time: 104 minutes
Release Date: Sept 13, 2011
Language: English
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1)
Formats: Blu-ray and DVD
Region: Blu-ray and DVD: All Regions

Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $29.95

Synapse Films

Jul 24 2011

Contest – Synapse Sex and Violence Giveaway! Win Wide Open and Frat House Massacre DVDs!

As I posted last week, Synapse has two new releases coming to DVD on August 9th. They are Wide Open starring Swedish sex symbol and Thriller: A Cruel Picture star,  Christina Lindberg in her final starring role, and Frat House Massacre, from the creators of Camp Slaughter. Well the fine folks over at Synapse have supplied us with a copy of each to give away to two lucky readers. All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is leave a comment on this post with your email address and which DVD you would prefer to win, and do one of the following:

Either Sign up for the Basement Screams email list here or Follow Basement Screams on Twitter. Now how easy is that? Winners will be picked randomly and notified by email on Friday August 12th. Good luck!

Jul 16 2011

Summer Of Sex & Violence Courtesy Of Synapse

Synapse Films and Impulse Pictures are guaranteed to please genre fans on August 9th with the release of Wide Open and Frat House Massacre on DVD! From the press release -

Double your late summer fun with two new releases from Synapse Films and Impulse Pictures!

Featuring the gorgeous Christina Lindberg in her final screen role in Wide Open. Taxi driver Paul and his beautiful journalist girlfriend Marianne already have a strained relationship when things get crazier by Paul bringing his drunken father back to their apartment. As tensions rise, they decide to chill out at a wild movie party and things go from bad to worse (for Marianne anyway) when they both wake up in bed together with Marianne’s sister, Beryl!

Marianne leaves, so Paul decides to spend some time watching strippers and taking Beryl along for some nighttime fun. Everything is going great, until Beryl gets picked up by the evil Mr. X and things turn dangerous. A stolen mink coat, drugs, and violent sex games lead Paul and Beryl to confront Mr. X during the film’s perverse stag party climax!

Special Features:

  • Video Interviews with Actress Christina Lindberg and Director Gustav Wiklund
  • Christina Lindberg Motion Photo Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Reversible Nude Cover Artwork
  • All Regions

Synapse Films adds to your summer glee with Frat House Massacre, a new film from the creators of Camp Slaughter. Sean and his little brother Bobby thought joining the Delta Iota Epsilon fraternity would be the best time of their lives with parties, freedom, girls and sex. The fraternity president Mark (Jon Fleming of TVs Will & Grace and Dante’s Cove), however, is a little strange. His twisted hazing rituals include extreme physical and mental torture that lead the boys down a horrific path of destruction and death. But death may be just the beginning, as this gritty twisted film unfolds. Inspired by actual events and set in the year 1979, Frat House Massacre is a disturbing journey through the twisted world of fraternity boys, pledges and the not-so-innocent sorority sisters swept up in their madness. Loaded with violence, gore, nudity and a fantastic music score by Goblin’s Claudio Simonetti, this is the full-length director’s cut containing over twenty minutes of additional footage

Special Features:

  • Commentary with Director Alex Pucci
  • Crew Commentary
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Making of Featurette
  • All Regions