Home Video Highlights: Vinegar Syndrome Releases AIDS Drama 'Buddies' and 'The House of the Dead'

Over here at The Playlist, we admittedly don’t spend as much time on new home video releases from the boutique labels as much as we should. We always highlight the upcoming Criterion Collection releases, the new Arrow Video releases are mentioned as a sponsor on our Adjust Your Tracking podcast, and we’ve highlighted a few on episodes of The Playlist Podcast (such as Kino Lorber’s release of Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “The Return” and an upcoming episode on Severin Films’ release of “The Changeling”). Outside of these instances, the mentions about new Blu-ray releases are few and far between. With this new column, we are hoping to remedy that. And for this first entry, we’re highlighting two films from one of the best labels currently working in the Blu-ray market, and that label would be Vinegar Syndrome.

For those unfamiliar, Vinegar Syndrome is a film restoration company from Bridgeport, CT who specializes in cult, underground, exploitation, softcore, and sexploitation cinema. Their namesake refers to the chemical reaction that denigrates film over time. In terms of video quality, VS’s work ranks up there with the likes of Criterion and Arrow. Their 2K and 4K restorations for forgotten and little-seen genre pictures make their work must-have’s for the more genre-oriented cinephile (or for anyone who is looking for something off the beaten path). Recently, VS has restored and released two films that couldn’t be any more different from one another, other than the fact that both releases are worth seeking out.

The first of these releases is “Buddies,” a 1985 drama written, directed, and edited by Arthur J. Bressan Jr., and stars Geoff Edholm as Robert Willow – a dying AIDS patient – and David Schachter as David Bennett, a naive young gay man who is assigned to Robert as a “buddy,” or a volunteer friend. The most notable thing about this 78-minute film is that is was the very first film to tackle the AIDS crisis head-on and, according to IMDb, proceeded “An Early Frost” by two months.

“Buddies” is a little rough around the edges, likely from its low budget (there are scenes over the phone where it was clear that “room tone” was not captured, and a dialogue scene outside where a plane flies overhead). However, there’s a raw, intimate power to the film. Not just because of the heavy subject matter, but because Robert and David are so well-defined. Robert has done a lot of living in his brief life, had multiple partners, and has been politically active his entire laugh, where Robert is a bit more sheltered and a bit more privileged, but ultimately, both men come to understand one another, and it’s believable and ultimately heartbreaking. It also marks a very personal subject for director Bressan Jr., who would sadly pass away from AIDS two years after this film was released.

Rarely-seen until this VS transfer, the Blu-ray features a 2K scan from the original 16mm camera negative. The greatest special feature highlight would be a 30-minute interview with co-star David Schachter, who talks about his love affair with Bressan Jr. years before making the film, how they went about making the film and is very open and honest about his personal life. It breathes greater context to this film that seemed to have been long forgotten until recently. The disc also features a video interview with film historian Thomas Waugh, the original theatrical trailer, and an archival still & article gallery. “Buddies” may not be an easy sit, even at 78-minutes long, but it is well worth your time.

The second of their recent releases is “The House of the Dead” (or, by its alternate title, “Alien Zone”). Not to be confused by the very bad film adaptation of the arcade game of the same name, this 1978 horror anthology oddity is directed by Sharron Miller (“After School Specials,” “Cagney & Lacey”). Also short (around 80-minutes), the shell story of this anthology involves an unfaithful man driving home from his mistress’ place and gets lost in a rainstorm. He is taken in by a mortician who shows him four different coffins, and each dead body goes into a different story in the anthology. These stories include a child-hating teacher who gets taught a lesson by her students, a serial killer who uses a hidden camera to film his nefarious deeds, two detectives who are trying to solve a murder, and a blowhard individual who learns that he should have kept his privilege in check.

Like most anthology films, “The House of the Dead” is hit-and-miss, but the film is undeniably a lot of fun. You can also see a clear dotted line between this film and some of its anthology successors, such as John Carpenter’s “Body Bags” (the mortician wrap-around story is nearly identical) and “V/H/S” (the hidden camera sequence). And much like “Creepshow” and “Tales From the Crypt,” “The House of the Dead” takes its cue from old EC Comics, with each short film having an underlying message to it, laced with satire and/or a wry sense of humor.

Director Sharron Miller has had a long, lengthy career in television, but per her IMDb, this is the only feature she had done. It’s a shame because it’s a really solid gem of a horror anthology. This did come out in an era where if you made a bomb, it would actually hurt your career, and “The House of the Dead” barely got a release, after name changes, date changes, etc. Now, that’s all in the past, and you can find this film from Vinegar Syndrome. The transfer was restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative. The special features are light but include audio interview’s from Sharron Miller and screenwriter David O’Malley. Regardless of the lack of features, the movie itself is the show here.

These new releases can be bought from Vinegar Syndrome’s website, or anywhere locally that sells boutique Blu-ray’s. You can also pre-order their upcoming features (“Dear Dead Delilah,” “Wonder Women,” and “Shot”) from their site as well.