SEVERIN FILMS merges with dvd label INTERVISION!
Yesterday, Severin Films announced “an agreement with the estate of Larry Gold, Sr. to handle all future production and marketing for Intervision Picture Corporation (the link can be clicked but as of this post the website is under construction). The arrangement commences with the 5/10 release of 1983′s Sledgehammer, notorious as the first shot-on-tape slasher thriller for the then-exploding home video market. Gold, a pioneer of ’70s film distribution and ’80s genre VHS, died in March following a massive coronary at his home in Thailand. Severin’s Evan Husney will supervise all production and marketing for the label. Intervision product will continue to be distributed in the United States by CAV Distributing Corporation.”
Larry Gold, Sr.'s Facebook profile pic
Over here at SHU-IZMZ, we just started getting screeners for review from Intervision, starting with Jess Franco’s Paula Paula (reviewed here) and his 1973 rarity Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (soon to be reviewed). I am happy to be able to say that we just received a screener of Sledgehammer for review which “marks the return of Los Angeles’ Cinefamily ‘Homemade Horror‘ series and will be screened on street-date at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse.” (Gee, wonder if Zack Carlson had anything to do with programming that gem!).
A couple of future releases from Intervision include the 1989 ‘Canuxploitation‘ oddity Things and 1993′s The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer. For those that do not know what ‘Canuxploitation‘ is, it is exploitation films from Canada. Some of these B-films include The Gate, The Changeling, The Brood, Terror Train, Ski School, etc.. Check out this website for reviews and more titles of Canuxploitation films: Canuxploitation.com.
“Either by way of budget constraints or warped vision,” says Intervision marketing director Evan Husney, “each release will represent a piece of cinematic underbelly from a universe all its own. Buried in obscurity and ripe for reintroduction, the films in Intervision’s new cult canon assure top-shelf bizarro derangement, gonzo action, transcendental fever dreams and beyond.”
“From the days of plastic clamshell VHS through the rise of Blu-ray, Intervision has been dedicated to everything fascinating and extraordinary about obscure genre works,” says Carl Daft, co-founder and CEO of Severin Films. “We are proud to carry on this commitment to rare and unique genre films under the Intervision banner.”
Here are just a few links to some Severin films that we have reviewed in the past over here at SHU-IZMZ: Loose Screws: Screwballs 2, In the Folds of Flesh, The Sister of Ursula, Macumba Sexual, Malabimab a.k.a. The Malicious Whore, Stone, and The Psychic.
Birdemic Metal Anthem comes to video!
Chamber of Pudd- Birdemic
Fans of metal may find this either mildly amusing, or downright blasphemous, but either way it probably is going to be a laugh riot. For anyone that has had the pleasure, or possibly displeasure of having seen James Nguyen’s instant cult hit (depending on what your definition of cult may be or how long a film has to be around to be considered a cult film), the ca-caw of the birds are back as the “Nu Metal band Chamber of Pudd’s “Birdemic (This is)” which was used in portions for the film, but has never been available in its entirety…but now is. I frankly think the term “nu metal” makes true fans of metal want to vomit in their hands and slowly digest the putrid chunks right all over again…but maybe that is just me.
Anyways, the portions I heard in the movie were pretty catchy, probably one of the more enjoyable parts of the film. Severin are making the track available exclusively for a limited time through the Severin Store to coincide with the 2/22 DVD/Blu-Ray release of the film. In addition to making “Birdemic (This is)” available for purchase, Severin produced a brand new video for the song featuring Birdemic star Whitney Moore.
Chamber of Pudd – Birdemic (This Is) from Severin Films on Vimeo.
Here is what King Pudd of Chamber of Pudd had to say concerning Birdemic after viewing an early release of the film:
“The film really resonated with me. I had a girlfriend who was my world who passed away… she was dead to me anyway… the details are too painful to rehash in my warped mind but she had a bird. I took the bird after she died. Cared for it. But it was really fucking mean. And scared me. But I could relate with me locked in my cage of rage and that bird locked in a cage of cage in a fucking rage. We were mirror images in a fucked up world.”
King Pudd, of the Oregon-based band went on to say:
My own personal demons are on clear display through this song,” says Pudd. “But they are just a reflection of our fucked up society at large.” Severin CEO Carl Daft adds, “It wasn’t our intention to go into the music business but the opportunity with this amazing piece of rock was too good to pass up. We’re delighted to have Chamber of Pudd in the Severin family and we think the song will be one for the ages.”
Chamber of Pudd
The fans of the film and the internet are mainly responsible for anyone ever hearing of Chamber of Pudd, whose band’s name really just reminds me of the seminal hard-rock band Puddle of Mudd, whom I probably rather listen to. I do admit that Birdemic’s metal anthem is very catchy and aside from the comedic value and generic special effects, the theme song was my next favorite aspect of the film. I may even head over to the Severin store and order the damn thing myself. Maybe.
Look for Birdemic: Shock and Terror available now thru On-Demand and on DVD/Blu-Ray on February 22nd.
Source: Severin
SEVERIN FILMS announces DEVOLVED East Coast Tour
In conjunction to the Devolved’s extended theatrical run in Los Angeles (starting March 4th), Severin Films today announced a series of special East coast screenings for its latest teen comedy, Unhinged.
Devolved – East Coast Screenings Ad from Severin Films on Vimeo.
Other dates are still To Be Announced, but as of this writing, these dates are official –
Monday, March 7th – Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (time TBA)
Tuesday, March 8th – reRun Theater, Brooklyn, N.Y. (10 P.M.)
Wednesday, March 9th – E Street Cinema, Washington D.C. (8 P.M.)
Thursday, March 10th – Coolidge Corner Theater, Boston, MA (7:30 P.M.)
Severin’s John Cregan (Devolved’s writer/director) is going to be traveling with Devolved as a host of the screenings and he will be bringing with him a shitload of schwag and cool giveaways for those in attendance! I hope there are better giveaways than the hilarious Birdemic hangers! Here is what director John Cregan had to say about Devolved:
“Before we started marketing the film to the public at large, I felt like we owed it to our faithful fans to pause by way of some explanation” says Severin co-founder/Devolved Writer-Director John Cregan.
“Because Devolved is A) a brand new film, B) a teen comedy and C) a comedy that aims for laugh-out-loud jokes as opposed to wry festivalesque humor, I realized that it might instill a modicum of confusion in the core Severin audience. Put Devolved up alongside Santa Sangre, Hardware, and The Sinful Dwarf…it could be the source of some mild disorientation.”
A Message To Severin Fans on DEVOLVED from Severin Films on Vimeo.
Check out the TRAILER for Devolved right here:
