Hey gang! It's been a busy year for yours truly, and I apologize that I sort of vanished back in February. I've been picking up a ton of overtime at work, and am otherwise occupied with trying to raise a now (almost) three-year old son, which doesn't leave much time for writing about movies, let alone watching them! While I'm hoping that this post is the start of my latest comeback, don't be too surprised if new content remains sporadic for the next, oh I don't know.... fifteen years or so?
As an avid collector of physical media I currently have two issues plaguing me: I don't have a lot of shelf space in my current residence (which I've found a temporary solution for) and I don't have the same amount of expendable income that I once did (let's face it, kids are expensive and rent isn't cheap these days). This has forced me to cut back and be a little more conservative with my purchases. And while I have long given up on on my fool's errand of trying to own the entire catalogs of boutique Blu-ray labels like Arrow Video, Scream/Shout! Factory, and Vinegar Syndrome, I recently decided to go for a far more obtainable goal as a Blu-ray hoarder: To complete my collection of Lionsgate's Vestron Video Collector's Series' releases!
To date there have been twenty-nine titles released under this label (with number thirty making its way here as of my posting this!), and up until recently I was missing half of them. While many of the later Vestron discs are very reasonably priced (everything released after MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE has been around $12), the first seventeen Blu-rays still remain in the $25 - $30 range. For that reason, I've continued to shy away from filling in those noticeable holes on my Vestron shelf.... until I received a text message from Diabolik DVD!
This alerted me to their current Vestron sale where most titles are marked down to $15.99! Seeing the opportunity to fill the remaining gaps in my collection I ended up grabbing nine Blu-rays from Diabolik! (Whoops!) Then I immediately opened up the Amazon app on my phone and searched for the remaining titles, most of which were incredibly cheap (except for GOTHIC, which is still fairly expensive), and I was done! I DID IT! I COMPLETED MY VESTRON COLLECTION SUCKAS! Oh wait.... no. No I didn't! DOH!
Shortly after my brief moment of triumph I realized that I was still missing ONE disc - #10, THE UNHOLY! Unfortunately for me, that particular title quietly went out of print! While this isn't typically a huge deal, I quickly discovered that I couldn't find a single Region A copy of the movie anywhere! (And apparently I'm not alone.) In the end, I managed to procure a Region B copy of the UK Vestron release on eBay. Though it doesn't really fit the aesthetic of the other Vestron discs, I can now confidently say that I own the entirety of Lionsgate's Vestron Video Collector's series Blu-rays! WOOHOO!
I am very much looking forward to seeing what other titles Lionsgate digs up, and I really hope they keep that awesomely low price point as well! I'm not sure what else they have on the docket, but some possible future Vestron releases could include: 976-EVIL 2, BIG MAN ON CAMPUS, ALIEN WARRIOR, C.O.D., AMERICAN DRIVE-IN, DOORMAN, FEAR (1990), FUNLAND, FUTURE-KILL, DEVIL DOG: HOUND OF HELL, HIDER IN THE HOUSE, THE HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA, JENNIFER (1978), NEON MANIACS, PAINT IT BLACK, STRANGE INVADERS, THE MANIPULATOR, THE NIGHT STALKER (1986), and/or THE POWER (1984)! And that's barely the tip of the iceberg of the hundreds of teen sex comedies, Horror flicks, and exploitation films that were released decades ago by the long defunct Vestron Video!
That's all for now gang - hopefully you'll be seeing more of me around these parts in coming months! Although I'm not creating much new content these days, I'm still fairly active on social media! To see what other new titles I've added to my collection be sure to follow me on Instagram! For updates on upcoming Blu-rays, new trailers, and fun memes, be sure to follow the Vault on Facebook! To keep tabs on what I've been watching, follow me on Letterboxd!
