By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The genre-centric boutique disc label has gotten back into the print world.
Vinegar Syndrome, which has released countless vintage horror, exploitation and other films on special-edition Blu-ray, has gotten back into the publishing field, after the shuttering of Vinegar Syndrome Publishing last year. The newly christened VS Press will issue not only books but other print-based media including magazines and posters. Having already published its first zine, VINEGAR ZINE-DROME #1, in May, and republished David Morrell’s novelizations of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II and RAMBO III, the division has THE BASEMENT TAPES and the initial issue of THIS IS CINÉMATOGRAPHE: A JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CINEMA coming in August.
THE BASEMENT TAPES is a collection of VHS-related ephemera curated by San Francisco collective Basement VHS. That outfit’s Mitsu Okubu and Luca Antonucci say, “THE BASEMENT TAPES is a glimpse into our collection of VHS tapes. Born out of our obsession with B-budget horror, science fiction oddities, bizarre special interest tapes, and exploitation films, this publication is a love letter to these forgotten slabs. In addition to highlighting some of our favorite tapes, we’ve asked a few friends to write about why they love VHS, and we’ve included a few snaps of our subterranean studio space, where we host screenings every Wednesday night. It’s an absolute dream to have worked with VS Press on THE BASEMENT TAPES. We can’t wait to share our collection with you.”
THIS IS CINÉMATOGRAPHE will be a quarterly publication devoted to writing on American cinema, with a similar focus to the Cinématographe sister label co-founded and curated by Justin LaLiberty. “The addition of printed publications makes perfect sense for a company as devoted to physical media as ours is,” LaLiberty says. “Not only is it a means to champion the art of publishing but it allows us at Vinegar Syndrome the opportunity to shine a light on people and films we admire that we may not otherwise get a chance to.”
VS Press will debut another periodical in the fourth quarter of this year, with more book projects to be announced for next year and beyond. You can keep up with its products at its official website.
