Mondo Macabro

[Grand Wazoo]

Has anyone seen these who can comment on their quality? Sounds like an interesting idea, but a bunch of 2.5 hour kindasorta horror-musicals is risky business!

It's been a few years but I still vividly remember enjoying the relentless energy and craziness of Veerana. It's extremely fun and I could see it being a blast with a group.

[Glowingwabbit]

Has anyone seen these who can comment on their quality? Sounds like an interesting idea, but a bunch of 2.5 hour kindasorta horror-musicals is risky business!

I haven't but I'll be blind buying. Reading up on Indian horror I was amazed by the dearth of titles even on back channels so I gotta support this kind of release. People whose taste in horror I respect seem to have a lot of fun with some of these so I'm happy to chance it.

I'll likely just do the bundle since Dr. Caligari is fantastic and I highly recommend it for folks who like the directors other work, Cafe Flesh.

As per Jared, a BOLLYWOOD HORROR set with PURANA MANDIR, VEERANA, PURANI HAVELI, AATMA and TAHKHANA will be officially announced next week. Preorders can be made starting Oct 31 for a January 2023 release.

Jared also mentioned those are the HD titles but there might be a couple of SD titles included as extras.

[Finch]

Mondo Macabro go 4k with Dr Caligari

Our debut UHD release, the long-awaited 4K restoration of Stephen Sayadian's deranged cult classic DR CALIGARI!

As sexually deranged as it is stylistically unhinged, this psychedelic surrealist neo-noir reworking of the 1920 German expressionist classic features Laura Albert as Mrs Van Houten, a woman whose libido is dangerously out of control. There’s only one place for her: the Caligari Insane Asylum.

Madeleine Reynal plays Dr Caligari, the granddaughter of the original Doctor, whose own experiments in psychosexual therapy have led her to the brink of a radical treatment involving hormonal exchange. Having drugged and imprisoned Mrs Van Houten’s sexually repressed husband, Caligari sets out to extract the brain fluid of an incurably nymphomaniac Mrs Van Houten and inject it into the head of a cannibalistic serial killer (John Durbin) addicted to electroconvulsive therapy. What could possibly go wrong?

With eye-popping set design from Stephen Sayadian (Night Dreams, Café Flesh), a luscious synth score courtesy of Mitchell Froom, not to mention acid-tongued dialogue written by Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight), Dr Caligari drops a dirty bomb on Reagan era family values. Mining high art in bad taste, it parodies both mass media and pop culture through a roll call of staged citations and quotations as exquisitely framed as they are sexually charged.

DISC ONE FEATURES – UHD
* 4K presentation of a brand new restoration from the original camera negative
* Two aspect ratio choices – 4:3 or 1.85:1 theatrical version
* Theatrical Trailer
* Isolated music and effects track

DISC TWO FEATURES – Blu-ray
* 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration
* 1.85:1 theatrical version
* Audio commentary with writer/director Stephen Sayadian.
* Interview with Stephen Sayadian.
* Interview with Madeleine Reynal (Dr Caligari).
* Interview with Laura Albert
* Interview with Jerry Stahl (co-writer).
* Original theatrical trailer.
* Isolated Music and Effects track

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
* “Going on a Radiation Vacation: Stephen Sayadian’s Dr. Caligari” Booklet by Sayadian biographer Heather Drain
* Exclusive slipcover
* Limited to 2000 numbered copies

previously teased BOLLYWOOD HORROR

Next up is our first ever box set! BOLLYWOOD HORROR!!!

The seven Ramsay brothers – sons of the radio manufacturer Fatehchand U. Ramsay – were India’s biggest producers of horror movies. They were active between 1972 and 1994 and produced 25 films, the vast majority of them in the horror genre, although they also worked on thrillers and even a children’s film – which also included a monster of sorts in a huge friendly Yeti…

This box set is the first collection of their films to be released on Blu-ray and is packed with extra features and interviews with cast and crew along with an 80 page full color book written by Indian film expert Tim Paxton.

NOTE: Final box art TBA

DISC ONE – AATMA (2006)

Dr Aman Mehra leads an enviable life. A successful and much admired physician, he is married to the beautiful Nehra and lives with her in a splendid villa in the best part of town. Then, one night, just as they are celebrating their first wedding anniversary, the doctor and his wife are disturbed by a late night caller. Answering the door, Dr Aman is confronted by a very serious and rather scary looking man who tells the doctor that he will perform a post mortem the next day on a man called Avinash and that he must write a truthful report about the cause of death. If not, the stranger warns Aman, terrible things will happen.

The next day the doctor is shocked to discover that the man on whom he is to perform the post mortem is the man who came to see him at 1am that morning. 4 hours after his body was brought into the hospital. From that point on Aman’s charmed life start to turn into a nightmare as events crash around him. He finds himself threatened by gangsters who want him to falsify the autopsy report and he then discovers that the dead man, Avinash, was an expert practitioner of the black arts. Eventually Aman’s wife becomes possessed by the dead man’s avenging spirit. There is only one course of action left to him - an exorcism to free his wife from her spiritual bondage and then to tell the truth about the body in the morgue. But will Aman have the courage to do what he knows is right?

Released in Indian cinemas in May 2006, Aatma is the last horror film to date from the famous Ramsay family of film makers. Very much in the style of their 1980s classics but with updated special effects and more explicit love scenes, it delivers all the familiar Ramsay trademarks of intense, horror-based set pieces, thrilling action scenes, vibrant cinematography and sexy dances. Perhaps overlooked on its original, release, in this newly restored version, Aatma is two hours of top class entertainment!

DISC TWO – PURANA MANDIR (1984)

The film begins two centuries in the past. Raja Harriman Singh is stranded near the Black Mountain when the wheel of one his carriages is broken,. While they wait for the wheel to be repaired, Hariman Singh’s daughter Rupali wanders off to explore the nearby deserted temple. There she is captured by the evil magician Samri. He sucks out her lifeforce, turning her eyes white as she dies. The Raja catches Samri and orders his death. The monster is decapitated, his body buried in one location and his head kept in another. That way, so it’s believed, he can never be brought back to life. Before he dies, Samri curses Harriman Singh, saying that every female member of his line will die in childbirth.
In the present day – the mid 1980s – a descendent of Harriman Singh is a successful businessman with a teenage daughter, Suman. She has a boyfriend, Sanjay of whom her father disapproves. She thinks it is because Sanjay is not of royal blood. Finally, he tells Suman of the family curse. He forbids Suman to see Sanjay again. Suman persuades Sanjay and his friends to come with her to the ancient temple in the countryside where the head of Samri was buried. There, she believes, they will be able to lay then curse to rest and she and Sanjay will be free to have a relationship.

The most successful of the Ramsay’s many films, Purana Mandir is something of a legend in Indian film circles. It’s the movie that singlehandedly kicked off the brief mini boom in horror that swept through the Indian film business in the late 1980s. Then film benefits enormously from the performance of Anirudh Agarwal as Samri. He is an evil force of nature as he rampages through the film, determined to eliminate every last member of Harriman Singh’s family.

The film has some of the very best horror sequences in the entire Ramsay catalog and is a genuine tour-de force for all involved. An essential classic of Indian horror cinema.

DISC THREE – PURANI HAVELI (1989)

A girl takes a group of her friends to visit an old mansion in the country, owned by her family. Unknown to any of them, the mansion is haunted by an evil entity. Many years before, the monster was trapped inside the mansion by an elderly man who now acts as its guardian. When he is killed, the evil is released and all who come near the mansion are its potential victims. Statues come to life, hairy beasts roam the corridors, and the bodies pile up.

Another hit for the Ramsays, the film contains some of their most intense horror scenes. There are also two monsters! The hairy beast and the giant, horned suit of armour that seems to have a life of its own. Unusually for a Ramsay film, the evil is finally thwarted not by the use of the familiar “AUM” symbol, but by Christian iconography.

* Disc includes original trailer

DISC FOUR – TAHKHANA (1986)

Two sisters, separated as children, share the secret of a hidden treasure. Years later, their secret falls into the hands of a bunch of sleazy adventurers. What none of them know is that the treasure is guarded by a hideous monster, animated by the blood of a vengeful black magician.

Some of their films, such as Mahakaal and Bandh Darwaza, are certainly “inspired by” western sources; however, Tahkhana is very much the Ramsays revisiting their own past. In this case, their breakthrough 1984 film Purana Mandir. The cast features a number of the same names and the plot is very similar – a group of kids go back to an old mansion in the countryside to defeat an ancient evil. Here the story is spiced up with a number of baroque trimmings. It’s like a gothic novel in its use of secret passages, lockets, hidden treasure, lost siblings etc etc. Unlike Purana Mandir, there is no lengthy comic sub plot and the film, at two hours, is of reasonably modest length for a Bollywood movie. Much of the action takes place underground, in the dungeon of the title. This allows for some tense set pieces and a claustrophobic atmosphere that mark this one out from the more familiar Ramsay fare. The Ramsay’s films are essentially monster movies and hence stand or fall on the effectiveness of the creature at the heart of the story. The evil walking corpse in Tahkhana is a spectacular beast, with an interesting back story and dramatic demise.

DISC FIVE – VEERANA (1988)

In Veerana: Vengeance of the Vampire, Jasmin - a local landowner’s daughter - is possessed by the spirit of a dead witch and becomes a bloodsucking seductress. On the next moonless night, she will be used in a hideous ritual to raise the evil witch from her tomb.

After having the biggest hit of their career – Purana Mandir – the Ramsays cast around for a strong follow up. In the mid 1980’s, the video revolution was in its first flush of popularity. Lots of previously obscure movies were being released on the format. The Ramsays would watch just about anything they could lay their hands on, looking for ideas. One of the titles that struck a chord was Jose Larraz’s sexy horror classic Vampyres (1974). This became the very loose inspiration for Veerana, which began shooting in 1985. The Ramsay’s films are essentially monster movies and the monster is usually a man in some form. Veerana featured their first female monster and the film’s combination of suggestiveness, sex and violence got the Ramsay’s into hot water. They were initially refused a certificate and had to recut the film for release. The movie’s real coup is Jasmin, playing the girl who gets possessed by the spirit of the dead witch Nakita. Jasmin came more or less out of nowhere and made few other films, but she makes a real impact here with her jet black hair, white skin and huge, scary eyes. She’s also not shy of showing an inch or two of flesh. And the bathroom scene where she croons along to Bappi Lahiri’s yearning Saathi Tu Kahan Hai is surprisingly hot for its time. Veerana performed well at the box office and has gone on to be recognized as one of their most enjoyable productions.

* Disc includes original trailer

DISC SIX – BANDH DARWAZA (1990)

A childless women visits the lair of an evil magician in order that she may conceive. When she gives birth to a baby girl, the magician demands that she hand her over. She refuses and has the magician killed. Years later he is revived as a fully-fledged member of the undead. He comes looking for the now teenage girl, intending to make her his slave.

Essentially the Ramsay’s version of Dracula, Bandh Darwaza stands out from other Dracula films due to the astonishing performance of Anirudh Agarwal as the king vampire. Genueinley terrifying, he ranks as one of the greats in his portrayal of the evil bloodsucker. Made towards the end of the Ramsay’s cinematic reign of terror – before they moved to TV production -, then film is light on comedy and strong on horror. Cinematographer Gangu Ramsay earns his statis as “India’s Mario Bava” with a bravura scene in which the vampire stalks his victim in her house at one point peering at her through a series of red, blue and green glass panes.

* Unfortunately, the film elements of Bandh Darwaza were no longer usable due to damage and storage problems. The film is presented here from a standard definition source.

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDED ON DISC SIX -

Interviews with: (Interviews produced by Sandesh Shenoy & Bollywood Crypt)
* Anirudh Agarwal (Actor- Purana Mandir, Bandh Darwaza, Saamri)
* Dhruv Somani (Film historian, archivist and author - A Touch of Evil)
* Priti Vinay Sinha (Producer- upcoming Ramsay biopic Webseries, Darr Sabko Lagta Hain)
* Satish Shah (Actor- Purana Mandir, Purani Haveli, Veerana)
* Prem Chopra (Actor- Saboot, Telephone, Saamri)
* Gittanjali Elizabeth Singh (Author/Numerologist/Widow of Music Composer Ajit Singh; Purana Mandir, Tahakhana, Purani Haveli, Ajooba Kudrat Ka)
* Arti Gupta Surendranath (Actress - Purana Mandir, Tahakhana, Purani Haveli)
* Deepak Ramsay (Director - Aatma/Koi Mere Dil Mein Hai/Zee Horror Show, Assistant Director - Veerana, Bandh Darwaza, Mahakaal)

* Mondo Macabro episode on Indian horror
* More TBA

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
* 80 page book on the history of Indian horror by MONSTER!'s Tim Paxton
* lobby cards
* 3000 copies housed in an exclusive to-be-revealed hard box

and the last announcement: Raúl Artigot's THE WITCHES MOUNTAIN (1973)

Last up to be announced is our one “red case” release for the HALLOWEEN SALE, the 1973 Spanish horror oddity THE WITCH’S MOUNTAIN!

Until now The Witches Mountain has been a difficult film to see in anything approaching the way its makers intended. For complicated reasons, fully explored in the extras on the disc, the film was banned in Spain. This led to a kind of urban legend that it was a violent and misogynistic film full of scenes of sex and depravity. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, The Witches Mountain is one of the most unique films of the 1970s Spanish horror boom. It’s atmospheric, mystical and elusive. A film that lingers in your mind long after you’ve seen it.

Photo journalist Mario has just broken up with his girlfriend, Monica. To get away from it all he accepts a job that will take him off to the distant and isolated mountains of Asturias in northern Spain. On the way he meets a beautiful writer – Delia - played by horror legend Patty Shepard. After a rocky start their relationship develops and she decides to accompany him on his journey.

They spend the night in a strange inn, where Delia is convinced she was being watched by a mysterious cloaked figure who appeared outside her first floor window. Then next day, while stopping to take some photos, Mario’s jeep is stolen. Setting off on foot they find the jeep abandoned near a deserted village high in the misty mountains. The couple are offered accommodation in a nearby cottage. From the start things get very strange. Mario disappears during the night and when he returns and develops the photos he took he finds there are people in shots that were not there when he took them.

Gradually they come to realize that their host, the kindly older woman Santa, might well be part of an ancient cult of female witches who still inhabit the lonely mountain places. Events accelerate from this point and soon, to his horror, Mario sees that Delia has been taken over by the cult and will be their next sacrificial victim. He flees from the place, back to his house in the city. But even there, as he discovers, he is not safe from the mountain witches.

DISC FEATURES
* Region free
* New HD transfer from the best available film elements
* Choice of English or Spanish language tracks w/ optional English subtitles
* Brand new interview with actor John Gaffari
* Archival interview with John Gaffari
* Archival documentary about the making of the film
* Brand new audio commentary by David Flint
* Video essay about Patty Shepard by Chris O’Neill
* Trailer

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
* Booklet on the film and its director by Ismael Fernandez
* Brand new art by Justin Coffee
* 1500 numbered copies in the usual red case

[therewillbeblus]

How safe is a Dr. Caligari blind-buy (if it's an option during the Halloween sale, I may just loop these preorders into my massive cart)

[therewillbeblus]

Prepping for the sale tomorrow, this is my preliminary list based off of recs here and elsewhere (I already own Der Fan):

The Blood Spattered Bride
The Devil Incarnate
Don’t Deliver Us From Evil
Gemini
Hiruko the Goblin
Hotel Fear
House of Terrors
In the Folds of the Flesh
The Killer of Dolls
The Laughing Woman
A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin
Perversion Story
Suddenly in the Dark
Who Can Kill a Child?
Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death

Here are some I’m still considering/on the fence about:

Bloodlust
The Devil’s Sword
The Frenchman's Garden
Hunting Ground
Inquisition
Private Vices, Public Virtues
Silip
Strangler vs Strangler
The Warrior

Anything missing/alternate advice on moving columns/priorities? I’m not rich enough to get all off it even the first list, but it’s hard to figure out what to cut

[dwk]

How safe is a Dr. Caligari blind-buy (if it's an option during the Halloween sale, I may just loop these preorders into my massive cart)

A warning about this, pre-orders are not going to ship until January, so your entire order will be held up until then. Mondo has told people they should do a separate order for the pre-orders.

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks for the heads up, it also looks like the four recent releases (Don’t Deliver Us From Evil, House of Terrors, In the Folds of the Flesh, Turkish Bathhouse) won't be available for the sale since the LEs are still in print? Can't really tell from how it's worded on the site- I don't really care if they're discounted but if they're not available to buy off the same section of the site that's kinda annoying

[swo17]

Thanks for the heads up, it also looks like the four recent releases (Don’t Deliver Us From Evil, House of Terrors, In the Folds of the Flesh, Turkish Bathhouse) won't be available for the sale since the LEs are still in print?

The sale is live, and these four titles are available for purchase

[therewillbeblus]

It looks like there's no flat shipping charge this time (it seems to be going up a dollar per title at a certain point- i.e. $14 for 11 titles, $15 for 12) plus state tax, making the sale less enticing. It'd probably be cheaper to get a lot of these on DD with a 15% off code

[What A Disgrace]

I've decided to stop buying random things from Mondo - and I've generally bought everything they've released until now. I already buy enough random things from Vinegar Syndrome and (mostly) Co., and they're generally films which are treated better than Mondo can afford and more aesthetically pleasing on the shelf. I was considering the Indian horror box, but frankly I don't want to buy a box that I can't even see yet.On the other hand, I know exactly what Road House looks like, and the movie sounds like it will be much less of a mixed bag than a lot of Mondo's releases.

[Glowingwabbit]

I went with the bundle. After tax/shipping it was a lot but I like what Mondo does and I didn't have any other titles to catch up on. Dr. Caligari is fantastic and I'm not usually one for adult films. As for the Bollywood Horror set, I've only seen Mahakaal (not included but released by Massacre Video) and had a lot of fun with it. Apparently it's a weaker Ramsay effort so I'm excited to check out the boxset. I want Mondo to give more attention to these non-European releases so I'm happy to support releases like this.

[therewillbeblus]

Glowingwabbit, did you already grab the last bundle? All four titles are fantastic, and I'm going to splurge full-price for In the Folds of the Flesh, which is the most deliciously-bonkers film I've seen in a while, because I feel like I need to watch it at least two more times this year with a full bag of candy

[Glowingwabbit]

Glowingwabbit, did you already grab the last bundle? All four titles are fantastic, and I'm going to splurge full-price for In the Folds of the Flesh, which is the most deliciously-bonkers film I've seen in a while, because I feel like I need to watch it at least two more times this year with a full bag of candy

Yeah I got the last bundle. It was delayed because of the replacement disc for Turkish Bathhouse so I didn't have time to work them into my October watchlist. I'm very excited to watch them after reading your reviews (I've only previously seen Don't Deliver Us from Evil)

Did you happen to see that VS released Blood Delirium? Never seen it but it's by the same director as In the Folds of the Flesh.

[therewillbeblus]

Did you happen to see that VS released Blood Delirium? Never seen it but it's by the same director as In the Folds of the Flesh.

Nope, but thanks for putting it on my radar! As if I needed a longer list for VS' Black Friday sale..

[Mel]

Here are some I’m still considering/on the fence about:

The Devil’s Sword
Silip
The Warrior

Anything missing/alternate advice on moving columns/priorities? I’m not rich enough to get all off it even the first list, but it’s hard to figure out what to cut

It's all personal but to me those three are what Mondo Macabro is about. Movies from Asia or other parts of the world nobody will release. My personal favorite is Silip (now in HD). It's a wild ride. I would definitely pick that one up.
The other two are very fun movies from Indonesia. I don't think they will ever be released in HD. But a great example of movies no other company will touch.

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks, Mel, I already placed my order but I'm definitely going to watch these- I just couldn't blind-buy the whole catalog at once! I'll prioritize Silip from this group

[Finch]

Mondo and Cauldron have started a new label called Neon Eagle Video, and announced their first title on social media.

Cauldron Films’ Jesse Nelson and Brian Izzi, in collaboration with Mondo Macabro’s Jared Auner are proud to announce the formation of a new home video boutique imprint, Neon Eagle Video (NEV), that will focus on the trashier side of asian cinema, highlighting exploitation, action, horror, and other ‘cult’ films that have been neglected in the high definition era. Each disc will be lovingly curated and produced by Jared Auner, with restoration, authoring, manufacturing, and distribution handled by Cauldron Films. Each release will be sold through the Cauldron Films site & DiabolikDVD.com.

“Our goal is pretty simple”, says Auner, "and that’s to issue deluxe collector’s edition Blu-rays of films which we love that have not gotten the kind of attention we feel they deserve. Films from all over Asia, with a focus on the grubbier, grittier, more low budget side of things”. To that end, NEV is working closely with the legendary IFD films Hong Kong.“The crazy trash aesthetic that IFD perfected in the 1980s, with the films they both distributed and produced, is exactly the kind of thing we love and want to celebrate with this new label”, Auner says further. Putting their money where their mouth is, NEV will debut with a deep cut from the IFD catalog, the wild Taiwanese exploitation marvel Kill Butterfly Kill, in a ridiculously elaborate double Blu-ray limited edition release. This set will have not only IFD’s 1983 English language dub version of the film and its later 1987 variant American Commando 6: Kill Butterfly Kill in glorious 1080p taken from a brand new 4K restorations, but will also feature a standard definition print of the original Taiwanese cut of the film, Underground Wife, along with an SD trailer compilation from the IFD vaults, highlighting Taiwanese exploitation and crime films as well as the complete American Commando series.

Underground Wife was part of the ‘Taiwan black movie’ wave that originated in the late 70s and early 80s combining a concern for serious social issues with gutter exploitation, ridiculous action, and sometimes even outright horror. “Underground Wife is a pretty tough revenge film that fans of MS. 45, I Spit on Your Grave and Thriller: A Cruel Picture will definitely appreciate”, says Jared Auner who made the deal for the film and is producing this release. “It has a gritty grindhouse feel to it and will also appeal to fans of Japanese Pinky Violence and later Category III film from Hong Kong. The violence is so outrageous and cartoonish that it mostly reminds me of the cheap and wild Turkish genre films of the 70s and 80s. What more could you want?”

IFD Films distributed this picture to foreign markets in the mid-80s with a slightly re-edited and english dubbed version they called Kill Butterfly Kill, and this is the version of the film that is highlighted in this release. “It’s actually superior to the Mandarin language version. IFD did an amazing job re-jigging the film for an international trash audience”, Auner concludes. The film got another lease on life in the late 1980s when it got the patented IFD ‘cut and paste’ treatment and was issued as part of the ongoing American Commando series. This version edits out some scenes in favor of newly-produced footage featuring actors like Mike Abbot and Mark Miller, and makes it a more straight-forward action film, albeit a truly crazy one. “Although one thing I'd like to correct about this version”, Auner says, “no matter what IMDB says, Godfrey Ho did not direct it!” The director of this version is Charles Lee Chiu, although likely the rumor that made it will live on.

Kill Butterfly Kill will go up for pre-order in November alongside much-anticipated euro-horror release from Cauldron Films. Future releases will include more from IFD including some honest-to-god(fry ho) cut and paste cult classics, as well as a bona-fide Pinky Violence gem from Toei Studios in Japan, and possibly even some insane action/exploitation from Indonesia! So, keep an eye out on the Neon Eagle Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as the Cauldron Films website for more info!

[therewillbeblus]

Sounds awesome, though I wish we were getting both cuts in HD considering they sound so radically different, with the original cut being compared more to the better, grittier rape revenge films, and the dub a re-edited actioner

[ianthemovie]

some insane action/exploitation from Indonesia

There are a lot of films that fit this description, but I'm really hoping this is a clue for Lady Terminator.

[Glowingwabbit]

some insane action/exploitation from Indonesia

There are a lot of films that fit this description, but I'm really hoping this is a clue for Lady Terminator.

If Lady Terminator were getting upgraded it would come from Mondo Macabro.

[therewillbeblus]

Does Mondo notify you when shipping orders? I know Jared's sale memo said they avoid shipping in late Nov by encouraging separating pre-orders, but I still haven't received a shipping notice and I placed my order an hour after the sale went live (without pre-orders). Not in a rush to receive my discs, but has anyone else gotten their orders yet?

[Glowingwabbit]

Does Mondo notify you when shipping orders? I know Jared's sale memo said they avoid shipping in late Nov by encouraging separating pre-orders, but I still haven't received a shipping notice and I placed my order an hour after the sale went live (without pre-orders). Not in a rush to receive my discs, but has anyone else gotten their orders yet?

Usually you'll get a shipping notice. I just got one yesterday, but ordered 10 min into the sale.

[therewillbeblus]

Does Mondo notify you when shipping orders? I know Jared's sale memo said they avoid shipping in late Nov by encouraging separating pre-orders, but I still haven't received a shipping notice and I placed my order an hour after the sale went live (without pre-orders). Not in a rush to receive my discs, but has anyone else gotten their orders yet?

Usually you'll get a shipping notice. I just got one yesterday, but ordered 10 min into the sale.

Thanks for the intel!

[Adam X]

As per their Big Cartel:

4) Another thing that we have to remind dozens of customers about every sale - ALL ORDERS DO NOT SHIP OUT AT THE SAME TIME. When shipping begins it can take anywhere from two weeks to an entire month to ship all orders out. Just because someone in the same city as you has already received their copy doesn't mean your copy should have already shipped. We send them out in roughly the order in which they were purchased. Furthermore, just because you ordered "first day" doesn't mean your order will go out during the first day of shipping, or even the first week. The most orders are made in the first few minutes of the sale. And hundreds and hundreds of orders are made at that time. So even if you ordered within the first 10 minutes of an item going on sale, it's possible that as many as 500 people may have gotten their order in ahead of yours. Manage your expectation accordingly.

It’s only one or two people doing all the shipping.

[therewillbeblus]

Sounds awesome, though I wish we were getting both cuts in HD considering they sound so radically different, with the original cut being compared more to the better, grittier rape revenge films, and the dub a re-edited actioner

Okay, so I sampled the original cut of Underground Wife, and I can see why they chose not to restore this in favor of the English dub, as it's a frustrating mess. There are a lot of interesting pieces here, but the strategy by which it intertwines aesthetic psychedelia with silly action doesn't really work within the skeleton of a more drawn-out straight-faced noir revenge scenario. There are just too many long pockets of curious sincerity and unnecessarily dry exchanges, and everything feels so at-odds with the cartoonish bits when they come. I love arrhythmic films when they reflexively earn it, but this is irritating to the point where even the strong parts don't achieve their desires effect because they don't cohere against such a banal current. I have faith that Kill Butterfly Kill rights a lot of the wrongs and allows the ludicrous tone to shine, so I'll pick this up given the promises of the material if only edited to a more consistently entertaining beat