Right, but Road House had a cult following for decades and was, to me, the title that exemplified what VS did best. Find those titles that bordered on mainstream popularity but were still cult enough and give them great transfers and packaging. I know they're limited by what they can license and negotiate for, but I feel some months they just put stuff out for the sake of it, and I'd almost rather they just skip that. If they put out 3-4 titles in a month, is that last title really worth it?
I would not sleep on VSL #4 Piotr Szulkin's Apocalypse Tetralogy. This is an amazing release that I don't see any youtubers I follow talking about. All four movies are fantastic. The limited edition slip is down to its last 120 copies as of me writing this.
@@midlevelmedia Great! Glad I could help. Pressure is on. I hope you like it. It really is excellent 80s dystopian sci-fi in my opinion. I know you like some of the more classic hollywood-ish VSL releases. I was the same way until I got this release.
I wish they would only release films that most people haven't hard of. Some of the ones you named and especially the releases most mentioned in the comments are the releases I could care less about.... I don't go to VS for..... Road House. I go to VS for Invisible Maniac!!
Keep in mind Vinegar Syndrome has *always* emphasized the same ballpark as Synapse, Severin, and a lot of other smaller boutiques that deal with "shitball" film genres and fields. I think the last 2 years has been a fluke because of rights issues being in limbo as studios and boutiques redirect their efforts...that created a window for others to move in on some outlying titles they'd otherwise not get their hands on. So now as the limbo closes and people have a better idea of how they want to deal with 4K, VS has gone back to outputting what they've traditionally been doing. It doesn't rule out another series of bangers, it just means that the pendulum has swung back and we'll have to see what happens. I'm not ruling them out, I'm just enjoying the lull to rebuild my finances. Remember, half of their big game for the last 2 years has been stellar packaging and bonus materials. They still haven't lost that.
The 2 boutique labels I buy the most from are Vinegar Syndrome and Severin right now. Disappointing? Maybe to you Ken. Maybe to you. I just pre-ordered The Killer Condom(which is not to be taken seriously!😂) and the Cardona Collection 2 and I'm happy. Bro they haven't been releasing as much recently but have you seen their back catalogue? I don't have ALL of their movies and you? Plus their partners labels? Anyway I'm satisfied with their output and quality!🤔
I don't understand. New stuff gets released every month. They can only release what they CAN release. Buy what you want, don't buy the stuff you don't want.
Been more than happy as a sub with these very obscure and most of the time, fun as hell titles. I love roadhouse and tcm2 as much as the next guy but I don’t buy VS for those necessarily. My favorites from them include demon wind, psycho cop 2, suckling, Ebola syndrome and many others!
I did the halfway sub last year and the full year sub this year and got really into it. I have almost 300 titles including partner labels which is a lot in just over a year, but I don't think I will subscribe again next year. I'd rather just wait for the sales they do twice a year and pick up the titles I really want. I just can't afford to drop so much $$$ for underwhelming movies.
I think it’s likely that they just had a really good string of titles back to back and it seemed like on the surface that they’d sort of shifted into a different direction as a company when it was probably just a coincidence that they got all these “good movies” the last year and a half or so
They've also been really slow with their shipments this month. I only just received notification that my order from August 4 has shipped. This is not even my monthly subscription package but an extra copy.
In my opinion, Kino Lorber, have positioned themselves as *the* premier boutique label, and they have been going from strong release, to strong release for at least the last two years+. Vinegar Syndrome, caters to a more specific audience, which isn’t exactly mainstream. It doesn’t seem like *you* are their target audience, as it seems like your tastes run a bit more mainstream. Don’t get me wrong: they have, in my opinion, released some hot trash over the years, but they always seem to throw the surprising title in there, thus keeping the main streamers engaged with the company.
I did my first halfway subscriber on the second half of 2022. Handful of great titles but even then it wasn’t worth it imo. 2023 solidifies for me I made the right choice not subscribing because there’s only been like 3 releases worth picking up.
Year on year, I actually think VS is getting better and a better! They put out more titles, have way more diverse offerings than they used to and they’re stacking the discs with extras. I understand the excitement for their more mainstream titles because they’re a little more accessible, plus the care they put into restoration seems to be a lot better than Scream Factory. I love the VSU line and hope to some extent that it’s paying for the whole party, but I personally don’t subscribe for that stuff…I want the weird, discarded stuff they’re turning rocks over to find. I am sure we are in for some good surprises, and typically, October and November have titles that put butts in the seats! I hope you enjoy that box of strange stuff you unboxed in your last VS video!
Beyond the sales pitch/hopefully polite rant, I do want to say that I enjoy your coverage of VS and some of the more random titles from other labels and do tune in for it!
I'm a VS subscriber but I also sell anything I don't want and I buy their stuff just to sell. This last month has been hard to sell off. Even Gorgo, which I thought would be snapped up, has relisted. Most of their bigger titles sell quickly for me. But I can tell this upcoming month might be rough with Killer Condom. Hey I'm sure someone out there wants it.
I’m more surprised when vinegar syndrome releases something that I’m interested in buying . Roadhouse, Amityville, and freeway were outliers. I hope they continue to put out more mainstream cult movies . Just glad when they release any movie in 4k. Can someone restore gleaming the cube in 4k!
Yeah, Killer Condom is the last thing they needed to upgrade. It’s a name grabber for sure but far from a great movie. It’s middle tier schlock at best. Also, the German audio may throw some off once they get it and realize it’s a subtitle flick. After I viewed it last week, i decided this is one I could wait on for sure.
I prefer titles that havent been re-released 100 times. I like the obscure and the "trash". Are they all winners?...nope. However, I love their mission to preserve film, the quality, customer service, etc. August wasn't the most exciting but overall I give the year a thumbs up and we still have October and Black Friday to close the year. I expect some nice surprises in there.
Look I get the arguments of them sticking to their brand....but as I think they are still doing that and releasing some quality stuff, 2022 was just a more stellar year as opposed to 2023. So maybe the real factor is that day they had a hell of 2022 and then have returned to normalcy this year.
Movies with nice packaging that most people haven’t heard of will only go so far. The only two VS titles I have are Roadhouse and Amityville Horror which I am super happy with. I have considered picking up Freeway. I am just going to keep my eyes open to titles that I really want. So far there isn’t many.
Disagree fully. They’ve been spreading the love across multiple countries and under-served genres. VSL never said it would be just 1930s/1940s. Just gotta understand what VS is. There’s some pretty rough comments here from people who are clearly anti- anything that’s not mainstream.
RYAN! Yeah man I get it. They're appealing to a certain type of film fan and maybe I'm just not there yet. After last year and the beginning of this, I was just hoping a few more notable titles sprinkled in here and there.
Anyone who thought vs was turning a new leaf or something REALLY let the hype get ahead of themselves. Of course they aren’t. They’re vinegar syndrome. It’d be like someone expecting Criterion to start releasing a bunch of Disney movies after they released Wall•E.
While they may have access to some mgm and universal titles, I feel like you need to wait this out until October releases and the Black Friday sale before you make a decision if this wasn’t the year for them. If you are a newb to VS I can see why they are letting you down because you are over expecting without knowing what they do fully. Preserve Cinema
They unequivocally are. It's like they released TCM and Amityville in January to entice people to pay for the outrageous subscription with intentions of just releasing shit for the rest of the year.
Kind of my line of thinking, but I don't necessarily think it was that intentional. Just the way things shook out. They could blow us away in the last few months, so I guess we'll see? 🤷♂️
I think we may see some better releases now that they are separating their main lines from their adult lines. Will probably make it easier for them to license more mainstream titles.
Disappointed? No, it's just Vinegar Syndrome been Vinegar Syndrome. This is their bread and butter and what they always been known for. Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, even us seasoned collectors.
They have gotten increasingly hostile to subscribers to the point where -- if they keep having 70% off sales every month -- it's going to come back to bite them in the ass. They also seemingly randomly decide what price to make things during sales now, which I find obnoxious. (Along with the titles that keep getting cheaper with every sale, there's "Awaken" -- which has gone from $14.40 to $18 to $23.99. Next time it's on sale, I imagine it will be above the MSRP.) Also, don't tout what "genre preservationists" you are when half your catalogue is going out of print. It just makes you look like hypocrites. And having a pothead day sale? I mean, really. Well, I guess they know their clientele. Their customer service is polite, they usually package well, and they're not as awful as Severin, I'll give them that.
Yeah this month was a little weak, though I wouldn't call it bad. I love trash and I love finding new trash. Hopefully this brings something good. But overall this year has had some great stuff too. In my opinion, of course. Having From Beyond and Gorgo on 4K gives them a lot of leeway from me.
I do think this is their weakest slate yet but a lot of the movies look fun I think this year has been great with ninjas and boggy creak 2 coming out recently but you gotta expect one month to be weaker than the rest and if I was a bigger spender I would of picked these up in a heartbeat you also can’t forget we got a blade in the dark this month to
The past 2 years they have been releasing trash. I love what they do, but Terror at Tenkiller or Killer Condom do not need 4K releases. I subscribed this year and have kept like 1 movie a month and sold or traded the rest. I don’t expect big studio films, usually Scream Factory or Arrow gets those, and if they do get one they do an amazing job, but some of the partner releases have been better the last 2 years. Deaf Crocodile is on a roll
About 90% of VS is trash. They are a label with a really smart strategy of making gorgeous slips so clowns will spend $30 each on a bunch of horrible titles.
VS has put out a lot of bad movies to be honest, at least in my opinion. And almost all of their titles seen to go out of print fairly fast, besides their Boxed sets feel like there are not many VS releases I'm that interested in. Really hope we get word on a Shaw Bros volume 3 soon.
"Letting people down" - I think it's a tad ridiculous for anyone to be saying that. If the quality of their restorations and packaging was going downhill then it would be fair, but to say that just because you're not interested in their recent title announcements is a huge overreaction.
@@mikettc7803 right, so we're just saying the releases have been a letdown. To us should be self explanatory. Especially the launches they did release that I bought like Amityville and tcm 2. Packaging is great for those as well. Hell, I haven't looked in a long time, but as bad as the movie is, if they still have the full boxed Miami connection, I'd happily buy that one. But there's not many bad good movies that I enjoy.
Vinegar syndrome is not all that great bc vinegar syndrome does release some good catalog titles on bluray and 4k but there releases are 80 percent bottom of the barrel garbage films and 20 percent good to amazing films and I say that bc I have been buying films from them since 2017 but I will say this there transfers and the extras they put on there releases are some best out there but it is sad that there quality of good releases are far in between of all bottom of barrel garbage releases witch vinegar syndrome releases alot more of and I wish vinegar syndrome would release more quality good catalog titles instead of all those garbage catalog titles that vinegar syndrome releases more of
Roadhouse and Sidekicks weren't critically aclaimed when they were released theatrically. VS performs its its function well of movie preservation.
Right, but Road House had a cult following for decades and was, to me, the title that exemplified what VS did best. Find those titles that bordered on mainstream popularity but were still cult enough and give them great transfers and packaging. I know they're limited by what they can license and negotiate for, but I feel some months they just put stuff out for the sake of it, and I'd almost rather they just skip that. If they put out 3-4 titles in a month, is that last title really worth it?
I would not sleep on VSL #4 Piotr Szulkin's Apocalypse Tetralogy. This is an amazing release that I don't see any youtubers I follow talking about. All four movies are fantastic. The limited edition slip is down to its last 120 copies as of me writing this.
Thank you for reminding me about that! I actually did want it!
@@midlevelmedia Great! Glad I could help. Pressure is on. I hope you like it. It really is excellent 80s dystopian sci-fi in my opinion. I know you like some of the more classic hollywood-ish VSL releases. I was the same way until I got this release.
Was a snooze to be honest
They are more on the slow burn side of the spectrum for sure. I could see how the films might not be for everyone.
I heard they were bad
I wish they would only release films that most people haven't hard of. Some of the ones you named and especially the releases most mentioned in the comments are the releases I could care less about.... I don't go to VS for..... Road House. I go to VS for Invisible Maniac!!
Keep in mind Vinegar Syndrome has *always* emphasized the same ballpark as Synapse, Severin, and a lot of other smaller boutiques that deal with "shitball" film genres and fields. I think the last 2 years has been a fluke because of rights issues being in limbo as studios and boutiques redirect their efforts...that created a window for others to move in on some outlying titles they'd otherwise not get their hands on. So now as the limbo closes and people have a better idea of how they want to deal with 4K, VS has gone back to outputting what they've traditionally been doing.
It doesn't rule out another series of bangers, it just means that the pendulum has swung back and we'll have to see what happens. I'm not ruling them out, I'm just enjoying the lull to rebuild my finances.
Remember, half of their big game for the last 2 years has been stellar packaging and bonus materials. They still haven't lost that.
Absolutely. You raise a lot of good points. Was just hoping for a stronger year from them.
The 2 boutique labels I buy the most from are Vinegar Syndrome and Severin right now. Disappointing? Maybe to you Ken. Maybe to you. I just pre-ordered The Killer Condom(which is not to be taken seriously!😂) and the Cardona Collection 2 and I'm happy. Bro they haven't been releasing as much recently but have you seen their back catalogue? I don't have ALL of their movies and you? Plus their partners labels? Anyway I'm satisfied with their output and quality!🤔
💯
@@chadstchad 👍
Only Showgirls has interested me this year and a lot of people werent even thrilled with that one lol.
that's a regular movie. I like my VS underground hard to find gems!
I don't understand. New stuff gets released every month. They can only release what they CAN release. Buy what you want, don't buy the stuff you don't want.
Been more than happy as a sub with these very obscure and most of the time, fun as hell titles. I love roadhouse and tcm2 as much as the next guy but I don’t buy VS for those necessarily. My favorites from them include demon wind, psycho cop 2, suckling, Ebola syndrome and many others!
I did the halfway sub last year and the full year sub this year and got really into it. I have almost 300 titles including partner labels which is a lot in just over a year, but I don't think I will subscribe again next year. I'd rather just wait for the sales they do twice a year and pick up the titles I really want. I just can't afford to drop so much $$$ for underwhelming movies.
Your not the only one
I think it’s likely that they just had a really good string of titles back to back and it seemed like on the surface that they’d sort of shifted into a different direction as a company when it was probably just a coincidence that they got all these “good movies” the last year and a half or so
It also mean more attention and eyes on the label. A win win.
They've also been really slow with their shipments this month. I only just received notification that my order from August 4 has shipped. This is not even my monthly subscription package but an extra copy.
In my opinion, Kino Lorber, have positioned themselves as *the* premier boutique label, and they have been going from strong release, to strong release for at least the last two years+. Vinegar Syndrome, caters to a more specific audience, which isn’t exactly mainstream. It doesn’t seem like *you* are their target audience, as it seems like your tastes run a bit more mainstream. Don’t get me wrong: they have, in my opinion, released some hot trash over the years, but they always seem to throw the surprising title in there, thus keeping the main streamers engaged with the company.
Vinegar syndrome has released 10 good tiles, maybe. The rest is trash that hipsters like to collect
The Jon Moritsugu box is incredible. I don’t know how anything else this year will top that or the Andrzej Zulawski box set
I did my first halfway subscriber on the second half of 2022. Handful of great titles but even then it wasn’t worth it imo. 2023 solidifies for me I made the right choice not subscribing because there’s only been like 3 releases worth picking up.
For me. The only one i am proud of are Amityville horror, and Resurrection
Year on year, I actually think VS is getting better and a better! They put out more titles, have way more diverse offerings than they used to and they’re stacking the discs with extras.
I understand the excitement for their more mainstream titles because they’re a little more accessible, plus the care they put into restoration seems to be a lot better than Scream Factory. I love the VSU line and hope to some extent that it’s paying for the whole party, but I personally don’t subscribe for that stuff…I want the weird, discarded stuff they’re turning rocks over to find.
I am sure we are in for some good surprises, and typically, October and November have titles that put butts in the seats! I hope you enjoy that box of strange stuff you unboxed in your last VS video!
Beyond the sales pitch/hopefully polite rant, I do want to say that I enjoy your coverage of VS and some of the more random titles from other labels and do tune in for it!
I'm a VS subscriber but I also sell anything I don't want and I buy their stuff just to sell. This last month has been hard to sell off. Even Gorgo, which I thought would be snapped up, has relisted. Most of their bigger titles sell quickly for me. But I can tell this upcoming month might be rough with Killer Condom. Hey I'm sure someone out there wants it.
I’m more surprised when vinegar syndrome releases something that I’m interested in buying . Roadhouse, Amityville, and freeway were outliers. I hope they continue to put out more mainstream cult movies . Just glad when they release any movie in 4k.
Can someone restore gleaming the cube in 4k!
Oooh nice call there. Me, I'm hoping for PHASE IV or THE STONED AGE.
For sure, this was a disappointing release group. Hoping for better this year..
Yeah, Killer Condom is the last thing they needed to upgrade. It’s a name grabber for sure but far from a great movie. It’s middle tier schlock at best. Also, the German audio may throw some off once they get it and realize it’s a subtitle flick. After I viewed it last week, i decided this is one I could wait on for sure.
I'm disappointed in their shipping times. I get that there was a big sale in July, but I have been waiting a month for my order to even ship out
I prefer titles that havent been re-released 100 times. I like the obscure and the "trash". Are they all winners?...nope. However, I love their mission to preserve film, the quality, customer service, etc.
August wasn't the most exciting but overall I give the year a thumbs up and we still have October and Black Friday to close the year. I expect some nice surprises in there.
Def not into what they’ve been dropping this year
But I’m glad… I’m so sick of buying so much each month 😂
Same here. A year of great stuff is a year of lean groceries.
Look I get the arguments of them sticking to their brand....but as I think they are still doing that and releasing some quality stuff, 2022 was just a more stellar year as opposed to 2023. So maybe the real factor is that day they had a hell of 2022 and then have returned to normalcy this year.
Movies with nice packaging that most people haven’t heard of will only go so far.
The only two VS titles I have are Roadhouse and Amityville Horror which I am super happy with.
I have considered picking up Freeway.
I am just going to keep my eyes open to titles that I really want.
So far there isn’t many.
Disagree fully. They’ve been spreading the love across multiple countries and under-served genres. VSL never said it would be just 1930s/1940s. Just gotta understand what VS is. There’s some pretty rough comments here from people who are clearly anti- anything that’s not mainstream.
RYAN! Yeah man I get it. They're appealing to a certain type of film fan and maybe I'm just not there yet. After last year and the beginning of this, I was just hoping a few more notable titles sprinkled in here and there.
Anyone who thought vs was turning a new leaf or something REALLY let the hype get ahead of themselves.
Of course they aren’t. They’re vinegar syndrome. It’d be like someone expecting Criterion to start releasing a bunch of Disney movies after they released Wall•E.
When’s Snow White Criterion coming??
While they may have access to some mgm and universal titles, I feel like you need to wait this out until October releases and the Black Friday sale before you make a decision if this wasn’t the year for them.
If you are a newb to VS I can see why they are letting you down because you are over expecting without knowing what they do fully. Preserve Cinema
Preserving good movies is always an option as well
Yeah, 2023 has not been vintage for VS. I'm happy though as I can skip Black Friday and save some £££'s
They unequivocally are. It's like they released TCM and Amityville in January to entice people to pay for the outrageous subscription with intentions of just releasing shit for the rest of the year.
Kind of my line of thinking, but I don't necessarily think it was that intentional. Just the way things shook out. They could blow us away in the last few months, so I guess we'll see? 🤷♂️
VS has awesome packaging but most of their movies are unwatchable and some are excellent.
I think we may see some better releases now that they are separating their main lines from their adult lines. Will probably make it easier for them to license more mainstream titles.
They never really had a chance for consistent satisfaction,imo, as they are so niche.
Disappointed? No, it's just Vinegar Syndrome been Vinegar Syndrome. This is their bread and butter and what they always been known for. Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, even us seasoned collectors.
Roadhouse, sidekicks and showgirls 4k wad awsome. WISH they did more known movies .
those are all regular movies. VS are usually underground, hard to find gems....
Troma has its loyalists for sure. But vinegar did lose steam it's the reason why I can't justify the yearly subscription.
Yeah. They still do great work with what they have. Just feels like they lost a little momentum.
They have gotten increasingly hostile to subscribers to the point where -- if they keep having 70% off sales every month -- it's going to come back to bite them in the ass. They also seemingly randomly decide what price to make things during sales now, which I find obnoxious. (Along with the titles that keep getting cheaper with every sale, there's "Awaken" -- which has gone from $14.40 to $18 to $23.99. Next time it's on sale, I imagine it will be above the MSRP.) Also, don't tout what "genre preservationists" you are when half your catalogue is going out of print. It just makes you look like hypocrites. And having a pothead day sale? I mean, really. Well, I guess they know their clientele. Their customer service is polite, they usually package well, and they're not as awful as Severin, I'll give them that.
Yeah this month was a little weak, though I wouldn't call it bad. I love trash and I love finding new trash. Hopefully this brings something good. But overall this year has had some great stuff too. In my opinion, of course. Having From Beyond and Gorgo on 4K gives them a lot of leeway from me.
I do think this is their weakest slate yet but a lot of the movies look fun I think this year has been great with ninjas and boggy creak 2 coming out recently but you gotta expect one month to be weaker than the rest and if I was a bigger spender I would of picked these up in a heartbeat you also can’t forget we got a blade in the dark this month to
I agree last release I got from VS was Showgirls
They are one of the best.
The past 2 years they have been releasing trash. I love what they do, but Terror at Tenkiller or Killer Condom do not need 4K releases. I subscribed this year and have kept like 1 movie a month and sold or traded the rest. I don’t expect big studio films, usually Scream Factory or Arrow gets those, and if they do get one they do an amazing job, but some of the partner releases have been better the last 2 years. Deaf Crocodile is on a roll
yes generally
Yea, 2023 has been disappointing for VS
About 90% of VS is trash. They are a label with a really smart strategy of making gorgeous slips so clowns will spend $30 each on a bunch of horrible titles.
VS has put out a lot of bad movies to be honest, at least in my opinion. And almost all of their titles seen to go out of print fairly fast, besides their Boxed sets feel like there are not many VS releases I'm that interested in. Really hope we get word on a Shaw Bros volume 3 soon.
That’s Arrow Video, not VS
@@TheOneTrueBeard that it is, lol no idea what I was thinking, haha
"Letting people down" - I think it's a tad ridiculous for anyone to be saying that. If the quality of their restorations and packaging was going downhill then it would be fair, but to say that just because you're not interested in their recent title announcements is a huge overreaction.
A nice packaged turd would still let me down. I still would like good movies and not z grade trash that people pretend to like for the lols
@@NYC_Goody But then you just don't buy it. In this day and age it isn't difficult to figure out if a movie is worth your time or not.
@@mikettc7803 right, so we're just saying the releases have been a letdown. To us should be self explanatory. Especially the launches they did release that I bought like Amityville and tcm 2. Packaging is great for those as well. Hell, I haven't looked in a long time, but as bad as the movie is, if they still have the full boxed Miami connection, I'd happily buy that one. But there's not many bad good movies that I enjoy.
Killer Condom is an exciting release for 2023. It’s better than Evil Dead Rise and Scream 6
LOL!😂
You could very well be right!
After Gorgo nah
Ken this was a double click bait…you are better than this …earn
I'm really not Jim. Lol
From Beyond is not trash. That’s a great movie, one of the best effects horror films and with Jeffrey combs!
I mentioned From Beyond in a positive way. I love that movie.
Now if we could get Reanimator 4k from anyone.
VS sucks anymore. Feel bad for any subscribers this year
huh??? then dont subscribe the next year, simple as that. you needed to make a whole video about it? 😂
Vinegar syndrome is not all that great bc vinegar syndrome does release some good catalog titles on bluray and 4k but there releases are 80 percent bottom of the barrel garbage films and 20 percent good to amazing films and I say that bc I have been buying films from them since 2017 but I will say this there transfers and the extras they put on there releases are some best out there but it is sad that there quality of good releases are far in between of all bottom of barrel garbage releases witch vinegar syndrome releases alot more of and I wish vinegar syndrome would release more quality good catalog titles instead of all those garbage catalog titles that vinegar syndrome releases more of