Any weirdo who came of age in the VHS era will remember Vestron Video; though the 1980s powerhouse had some big hits (including Dirty Dancing), it was also responsible for making countless midnight movies available for home viewing. Now, Lionsgate owns the Vestron vaults, and six very special Blu-rays are soon to follow.
Lead image from C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. via YouTube
The initial run of the Vestron Video Collector’s Series will include six Z-grade horror classics, according to the company, which is certainly in the right spirit with this press release:
Taste the fear and the flesh, in shocking high definition for the first time, as teenagers meet their untimely demise at the hands of cannibals, killer robots, horror icons, sewer-dwelling monsters, and an army of the undead!
The only acceptable response to that is “GIMME,” and also to ask which films are included in this limited release. They are: Chopping Mall, Blood Diner, a Waxwork and Waxwork II: Lost in Time double feature, Return of the Living Dead 3, and the immortal C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.
Jim Wynorski’s 1986 Chopping Mall (killbots menace rascally teens trapped in a mall) and Jackie Kong’s 1987 Blood Diner (basically Blood Feast, but with two ancient Egypt-obsessed cannibals instead of one) will be the first to arrive. Both Blu-rays drop September 27, each with an array of snazzy special features, including multiple audio commentary tracks and featurettes.
Most importantly, the films will be presented in sparkling 1080p high definition, which — no offence to the ghosts of VCRs past — will probably the best they have ever looked on anyone’s TV screen.