Whether you were one of those individuals that can vividly recall wandering through mom-and-pop video stores in the ‘80s, or you’re one of those retroactive junkie who spends hundreds of dollars on out-of-print big box videocassette releases from the past, the Wizard Video label will no doubt strike a positive chord with you.
Created by b-movie maverick Charles Band (who would later go on to form the Full Moon Pictures company), Wizard Video specialized in releasing sleazy, gut-wrenching cult classics from all over the world into your home from horror icons such as Lucio Fulci, Tobe Hooper, Paul Naschy and more.
Recently, the once-thought-to-be-dead phenomenon of VHS (as well as Beta, LaserDisc and CED to a degree) began to rise from the six-foot-deep chasm it was tossed into after DVD officially pushed its analog competitor out of the home video limelight in the early 2000s, to wit vintage Wizard Video releases of titles such as Zombie, I Spit on Your Grave, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre have become true collectibles — with some of them fetching well over $100 a pop in some instances!
But, while the aforementioned classicks have maintained a vibrant afterlife well after the Wizard Video label stopped issuing them (they’re all on Blu-ray now), there have been a handful of “Wizardry” that have never seen the light of a digital release.
Until now, that is. Charles Band’s Full Moon Direct website has announced a new, exclusive selection of cult classics — now bearing the banner “Full Moon’s Grindhouse Collection” — many of which were once prominent members of the Wizard Video catalogue, and are being released to DVD for the first time.
The collection includes (in)famous compilation movies Auditions (1978); The Best of Sex & Violence (1981) with the great John Carradine; Famous T &A (1982), hosted by Sybil Danning to boot; Filmgore (1983) with horror movie hostess Elvira; and the ode to the living dead, Zombiethon (1986).
The Grindhouse Collection also includes feature-length movies Dreamaniac (1986), the epically-awful Mutant Hunt and Necropolis (both from 1987), and sleazy jungle thrillers Savage Island and White Slave (both from 1985).
Fans of these cult classics won’t want to miss out on this set, especially once they find out Full Moon Direct is selling these for only $10 each.
Article comments