Just had a chat with Pete Tombs about our Halloween Sale slate of new releases. A couple of updates to what I said before -

There will be four releases instead of five. We want to make sure we can actually get them all done in a timely manner and so one of them - the Clasificada S title - has been pushed back to early next year.

And the secret 70s Eurohorror will be a UHD/Blu combo. At least that's the plan right now. The UHD will just be the film and the Blu the film, the extras, and an "uncut" version of the film taken from lesser elements. The UHD might just be part of the limited edition but it will be at least 2000 copies so everyone who wants one will definitely have the chance to get it. And of course, unlike the Death Squad UHD it will be available both in the flash pre-order and during the sale proper, as both part of the bundle and on its own.

So the slate is:

SPECIAL SILENCERS - numbered Red Case edition
DEATH SQUAD - super limited UHD/Blu ray edition exclusive to the flash pre-order, normal limited single disc Red Case edition for the sale proper and beyond
SUPER SECRET 70s EUROHORROR - limited UHD/Blu-ray edition with slipcover
SPANISH HORROR/THRILLER FILM SET - limited two disc set w/ slipcover

I'm thinking about Friday October 20th for the flash pre-order and October 30th or 31st for the sale proper.

Some of this could change but that's the plan right now.

Tentative Mondo Macabro 2024 Schedule

On sale in late Feb/early March, shipping in late March –
FATA MORGANA – 60s giallo adjacent arthouse thriller from Spanish auteur Vicente Aranda, director of BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE
SEX APOCALYPSE – utterly depraved ‘clasificada S’ sleazefest featuring Ajita Wilson and Lina Romay. Will feature the (better) softcore cut in HD and the infamous ‘hard’ version in SD

On sale in late April, shipping in May –
CAFÉ FLESH – brand new restoration of the Steven Sayadian surrealist adult cult classic. 4K is possible but we need to make sure the resto, which is from 35mm prints and not the negative, is good enough first
Triple Feature BD set from an infamous auteur of 70s French erotica

On sale in June, shipping in July –
WARRIOR TRILOGY – Triple feature BD set of some of the wildest action films ever made in Indonesia or anywhere else. Features all of the ‘Jaka Sembung’ films starring Barry Prima and produced by Rapi Films in the 1980s
Double feature of Greek exploitation – BD set featuring two TBA Greek films

On sale in August, shipping in September –
Two more utterly insane Japanese films from Toei studios. Both from the 1970s. One is making its North American disc debut, the other is making its HD debut (and yes, UHD is possible on this one, we just need to examine the new scan when it arrives)

Halloween Sale! – late Oct and early Nov, ships in either late Nov or January 2025
4 to 5 possible titles, hopefully one a UHD upgrade of a previous DVD release. Also never-on-disc giallo and Indonesian horror releases, plus more TBD/TBA

Most of the Greek stuff we have planned are significantly more 'downmarket' titles haha

Most of the Greek stuff we have planned are significantly more 'downmarket' titles haha

And then of course it's on to 2025! We're not going to stop! More Greek, more French, more Spanish, perhaps some Eastern European films, maybe more Japanese and Indonesian, and hopefully, FINALLY some films from Hong Kong! It's long been a goal of ours to do some classic 80s films from the former British colony and we are doing our damnedest to make this happen at last. Nothing set in stone yet but cross your fingers!

WELCOME TO THE 23rd MONDO MACABRO NEWSLETTER!

Greetings from Olympia WA and London England! aka the dual, multicontinental HQs of MONDO MACABRO!

We're here with you today to formally announce our next two limited edition titles!

And we'll also give you an update on the how the rest of the year's schedule is shaping up. There's been a few changes from last time ...

Get ready! Here we go!
THE USUAL WHEN AND WHERE
As per the norm, the place to pre-order the next two titles will be mondomacabro.bigcartel.com.

And the time? That's the same as it usually is as well, 9 AM Pacific/12 Noon Eastern. The day? A Thursday. We like doing it on Thursdays. Don't ask, our reasons probably wouldn't make sense to anyone but us.

But the date is unique as it always is. That is going to be March 28th!

That's a week from when this newsletter is going out. So mark your calendars now!

Now let's announce the films!


ANNOUNCEMENT #1!

Up first we have this avant/sci-fi/giallo-adjacent/eurospy marvel from the director of THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE!

FATA MORGANA (1965)

A man rehearses a lecture he is planning to give, analyzing serial killers. He claims that a woman is soon to be murdered in the city. It is inevitable, he explains, as some people are born victims while others are born to kill. He plans to identify the future victim through a series of photographs of violent acts.

Fashion model Gim, played by iconic Spanish actress Teresa Gimpera, finds herself alone in a Barcelona that seems almost deserted. She seeks out her lover, Alvaro, for help. On her way to meet him she is harassed by a series of men and followed by a huge and menacing silver truck with blacked out windows. Through a loudspeaker on the truck a mechanical voice orders all persons to leave the city immediately.

Gim finds that Alvaro’s former girlfriend, Miriam, is staying in his house having just returned from London where a terrible but unexplained event occurred. In Alvaro’s “art chamber”, an obviously disturbed Miriam finds a large knife disguised as a metallic silver fish.

Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys cut out a picture of Gim from a huge advertising billboard. They carry it through the empty city streets in a silent procession.

Directed in 1965 by Vicente Aranda, FATA MORGANA is a hallucinogenic mixture of chase thriller, science fiction, art film and comic-book inspired puzzle. Filled with garishly colored visuals and with a hypnotic jazzy soundtrack, the film is a unique and highly entertaining first feature from one of world cinema’s most renowned creators.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Region Free
Brand new 2K restoration from the original negative
Spanish audio with optional English subtitles
Interview with actress Teresa Gimpera
Interview with Angel Sala, director of the Sitges Film Festival
Audio commentary by Eurocult expert Rachael Nisbet
Alternative opening sequence

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Reversible sleeve with brand new cover art by Justin Coffee; 24-page booklet with brand new writing on the film and director Aranda by Spanish film expert Ismael Fernandez; 1500 numbered copies in the usual red case


ANNOUNCEMENT #2!

Our 2nd reveal is for one of the sleaziest of all the Spanish “Clasificada S” films, directed by Paul Naschy collaborator Carlos Aured …

SEX APOCALYPSE (1982)

A kinky gang of free-loving criminals, three women and two men, come into possession of the keys to a large and luxurious villa belonging to a man travelling abroad for an extended period of time. Taking advantage of the extra space and security of their new home, they decide to try a shot at the big-time and kidnap a rich man’s daughter, intending to hold her for a million-dollar ransom. Discovering that the girl has enjoyed a privileged and sheltered upbringing and is also a virgin, two of the female members of the gang decide to induct the hostage into their own sexually liberated ways. But they find out that she may be a lot wiser than they thought. And soon a dangerous power struggle is set in motion, a struggle that ends in a deadly and shocking “apocalypse” of sex and violence.

In Spain from the late 1970s, after the law was liberalized, there was an explosion of sex films on the country’s screens. These films were classified by the censor as “S”, meaning that they might offend the sensibilities of the viewer. Carlos Aured - director of four films starring horror icon Paul Naschy - made SEX APOCALYPSE, one of the most notorious of all the “S” movies. The film was released in two versions, the “S” rated softcore original and a hardcore version for distribution in Italy. This two-disc limited edition Blu-ray includes both versions of the film and should not be watched by the easily offended.

NOTE ABOUT THE VERSIONS OF THE FILM IN THIS RELEASE –

SEX APOCALYPSE was originally produced as a strong soft-core movie, to be released in Spain within the “S” film classification. That’s the version you can see on disc one of this package. Towards the end of production, the film was sold to an Italian company who asked for some hardcore sequences to be created for a version that would only be distributed in Italy. This was done after an agreement with the female cast. For the parts requiring male involvement a specialist actor was hired who spent a day providing the necessary inserts (pun unavoidable).

The version on disc two is a composite of the original “S” rated film with these added hardcore shots. This material was taken from four different VHS sources as we were unable to locate the negative of these additional shots. We believe that the extended version on this disc incorporates all the extra material that was shot on that busy day in Spain back in 1982.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Region Free
Spanish language with optional English subtitles
Brand new 2K restoration of the ‘S’ rated version of the film from the original negative
Interview with Carlos Aured biographer Miguel Angel Plana
Interview with Spanish writer and director Ricard Reguant on the history of ‘S’ films
Audio commentary by Eurocult experts Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
Bonus Blu-ray disc with uncut 108-minute version of the film (this disc is ONLY part of this package and will not be part of the retail release); slipcover with new original design; inner sleeve with brand (and uncensored) new art by Rick Melton; 20-page booklet by Spanish film expert Ismael Fernandez; 2000 numbered copies

Please note that this will be listed at our webstore under the abbreviated title “S. APOCALYPSE” to avoid any trouble with PayPal.
WHAT ELSE YA GOT??
So that's not enough for you? I mean, those are two pretty far-out Eurocult titles, neither one ever available before officially on video in the US. But OK. As it happens, we do have a few more things going up that day!

Firstly, we'll have the standard editions of two of our Halloween Sale titles, the French shocker DEATH SQUAD and the Indonesian schlocker SPECIAL SILENCERS! These will be in stock and ready to ship when the pre-order event goes live. (Though keep in mind if you order them along with new pre-orders your order will only ship when all items are in stock.)

Additionally, we'll also have the first two releases from our cousin label Neon Eagle Video! The standard edition Blu-rays of KILL BUTTERFLY KILL and ZERO WOMAN: RED HANDCUFFS! In case you didn't know, NEV was co-founded by our own Jared Auner and specializes in 1970s/80s Asian action and exploitation films. If you like MM, chances are you'll like Neon Eagle!

And of course we'll have the rest of our in-print catalog available to purchase as well, including remaining copies of the BOLLYWOOD HORROR box set, the SECRETS & MYSTERIES: FILMS BY PEDRO OLEA double BD set, and the last red case copies of NIGHT OF THE EXECUTIONER, RAVISHING DANY, SHADOW OF DEATH, SINISTER DR ORLOFF, and APOCALYPSE AFTER!

Again, this pre-order event will go live on Thursday, March 28th at 9 AM Pacific (google what time that is where you live), only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!


THE EVER-EVOLVING 2024 SCHEDULE
So, if you recall our last newsletter, we gave a basic rundown of what the rest of the year might look like. Well, a lot can change in a short amount of time. We've done some condensing and moving things around in the hopes that it makes the schedule more workable, and we'll be able to get the year-end titles out a bit sooner. The long waits for the Halloween '22 and '23 titles hurt us even more than it hurt you and we'd like to avoid that happening again.

So, in that spirit here's what our schedule currently looks like. But of course, keep in mind that it can (and probably will) change again:

Early Summer - THE WARRIOR Trilogy 2-disc slipcover set; 70s French Erotica 2-disc slipcover set; possibly one more release but likely just these two

Late Summer - Four new LE titles, all for the first time on US home video: An Indonesian horror, a Spanish giallo, and Japanese and French 70s exploitation shockers

Halloween Sale - Three big UHD releases! Including CAFE FLESH!

Lots to look forward to! And we're working on our 2025 line up as well! Expect the unexpected!

That's all for now! See you next time!