Home Grown Horrors: Volume Two

No sub-genre better reflects 80s horror than the Slasher. With the boom of Slasher franchises from major studios, filmmakers working across the country and at all budget and experience levels hoped that making a Slasher would be their ticket to success and set about creating films which reflected creative sensibilities which were far too "out there" for the majors to even consider. HOME GROWN HORRORS VOL. 2 collects a trio of highly diverse slashers produced at the tail end of the decade, each of which has been newly and exclusively restored in 4K for this release!

MOONSTALKER
In a wintry forest near Reno, Nevada, a deformed and demented man-child named Bernie lives out of an RV with his elderly father...after observing the expensive microwave owned by a vacationing family, the old man sends Bernie out to steal it. But instead, Bernie commences a bloody rampage through the woods, gorily knocking off anyone and everyone who crosses his path and, with a nearby camp opening up for the season, the body count begins to rise to staggering heights!

Taking the formula of a late 80s slasher and injecting copious amounts of no-budget charm, along with creative kills and easily one of the highest number of murders in a film from the genre, Michael S. O'Rourke's MOONSTALKER (shot as Camper Stamper!) was a passion project for all involved. Featuring nearly all first time actors, including future TV stars Blake Gibbons (TV's General Hospital), Kelly Mullis (TV's How I Met Your Mother), and John Marzilli (TV's The Secret World of Alex Mack), this regional treasure hits Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, stuffed with extras and looking more beautiful than ever thanks to our 4K restoration of its 16mm camera negative, which was approved by its acclaimed cinematographer, Michael Goi!

directed by: Michael S. O'Rourke
starring: Blake Gibbons, Ingrid Vold, John Marzilli, Tom Hamil, Jill Foors, Joe Balogh, Ann McFadden, Alex Wexler, Pamela Ross, Joseph Christopher, Kelly Mullis, Joleen Mullins
1989 / 92 min / 1.33:1

DEAD GIRLS
All-girl rock band, Dead Girls, have made a name - and plenty of controversy - for themselves by recording songs which glorify death and suicide. However, everything changes when lead singer Bertha Beirut learns that her younger sister has been hospitalized following a group suicide pact which is associated with the lyrics to one of Dead Girls' songs. Reeling from the shock, the band decides to put their upcoming tour on hiatus while they reconsider the messages conveyed by their music, staying at a family property in the mountains to hash out their thoughts. But soon, an uninvited guest appears, dressed in a black coat, gloves, hat, and wearing a skull mask, who begins to hack, chop, strangle, and otherwise dispatch the band...

The first film feature from shot-on-video director Dennis Devine and his writing and producing partner, Steve Jarvis, DEAD GIRLS effortlessly blends 80s single location slasher tropes with a genuinely suspenseful and clever tribute to the giallo genre, offering effective twists up until the final fade out. Sadly rendered as a direct-to-video title by its distributor, DEAD GIRLS nevertheless takes full advantage of 16mm origins and offers stylish and gel heavy photography, evoking its passion for Euro-sleaze. Vinegar Syndrome presents this criminally under-seen whodunit in a stunning new 4K restoration of its original negative and bursting at the seams with newly produced extras.

directed by: Dennis Devine
starring: Diana Karanikas, Angela Eads, Kay Schaber, Angela Scaglione, Steven Kyle, Deirdre West, Jeff Herbick, David Chatfield, Ilene B. Singer, David Williams
1990 / 106 min / 1.33:1

HANGING HEART
Denny, a young and handsome actor in surrealist theatre, is an object of desire for all who encounter him. When a young woman, with whom Denny has been having an affair, is found murdered, the police immediately suspect him of being her assailant. Managing to get off the hook for his potential involvement, pending additional investigation, it's not long before another woman in Denny's life is murdered with Denny again becoming the prime suspect. Is someone trying to frame him or is Denny himself a deranged lunatic weaving a bizarre plan to try and get away with multiple murders?

The first feature film from Korean Immigrant and American Film Institute graduate, Jimmy Lee, HANGING HEART is a highly stylized thriller with one foot planted firmly in the art-house genre and the other paying loving tribute to slashers and gialli alike. Featuring stunning, and often times expressionist cinematography by Silvio Santini and dream-logic editing from Steven Nielson (Microwave Massacre) along with mesmerizing "filmed play" sequences, Vinegar Syndrome proudly presents HANGING HEART on Blu-ray, newly restored in 4K from its 35mm camera negative and marking not just its disc debut, but its US video premier!

directed by: Jimmy Lee
starring: Barry Wyatt, Jake Henry, Francine Lapensée, John Stevens, Debra Robinson, Lea Dedrick, Dan Zukovic, Michael James, Ingrid Vold, William Derr
1989 / 103 min / 1.85:1