Death Game (1977) from Grindhouse Releasing

[AllNight]

Sick and tired of tiny production run "limited edition" Blu-Rays for coveted titles.

So apparently, the Death Game Blu-Ray was only produced in a quantity of 2000 units, which sold out right away are now sold out.

I just want to own the Blu-Ray, I don't need a limited edition, and I don't feel like paying $500 for it from someone else who manages to get the limited edition first, most likely rips it, then sells it at a ridiculously inflated price due to the artificial scarcity created by the releasing studio's "limited run".

I was really waiting for this one. Apparently a LOT of time was spent restoring it, and this would be the FIRST TIME it can be seen since its original theatrical release in the correct aspect ratio, as well as uncut... not sure why they only want an audience of 2000 to see it. I think that really sucks.

Well there's my first world complaint. Not like there aren't way worse problems in the world right now.

[Smegma]

If you wanted it quickly, you should have pre-ordered the limited edition. If you can wait, then wait. Obviously another edition will come down the pipeline in the future. Are you even familiar with Grindhouse Releasing?

There is no street date currently set for the standard edition, so act fast if you want in on this long-awaited release!

[AllNight]

I had no idea that there was a pre-order page on Grindhouse Releasing. I was checking the Blu-Ray.com entry for this title, and I knew the release date was March 8, so I was expecting to be able to buy it on Amazon, et all. I didn't know it would be limited edition only, I haven't read anything about a standard edition being available. Am I supposed to be intimately familiar with every releasing studio, their web pages, and every title that is going to be available as limited edition only?

Of course I would have pre-ordered, if I would have known this was limited edition only, and if I had known of the existence of the pre-order page on the Grindhouse Releasing website. Not everyone knows about every site. I just want to buy the discs. And I think that it blows that I can't.

[Smegma]

Well, down the line you'll be able to buy the same discs, for the same price, but without the keychain.

[DetroitSportsFan]

You’ll be able to buy it in the near future, for the same price or cheaper, just without the keychain.

And so will I. Don’t sweat it.

[AllNight]

Yeah, I don't need a keychain lol.

I just didn't see anything written anywhere about a "regular" version being available any time soon. I can wait... just disappointed and also frustrated. I guess they must be able to sell more copies this way.

:\

[bigdaddyhorse]

... and I'll be selling my keychain for hundreds of dollars, muh hahahahahaha!

Probably kidding, but if it doesn't have enough cool factor for me and prices get silly, it could happen. I doubt prices will get silly, it's not nearly as cool as the Pieces puzzle I missed out on.

Just noticed this is dated 3/8, and it's now past that, and I don't even have a shipping email yet. Are Grindhouse known to be tardy on their release dates? It's my first time ordering from them but this sounded too good not to try as I haven't seen it. 80's Colleen Camp is a no-brainer though, and just found out Eli Roth's Knock Knock was basically a remake of this. I liked that enough to keep it after a blind buy.

[Leslie Dame]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

80's Colleen Camp is a no-brainer though, and just found out Eli Roth's Knock Knock was basically a remake of this. I liked that enough to keep it after a blind buy.

70's Colleen

I appeciate what Roth was trying to do with Knock Knock but I knew beforehand that it was bound to fail. It is impossible to recreate the seedy and dirty intensity and madness of Death Game. It is a simple but effective little shocksploitation, and it works so well because it is such a product of its time. It just feels more authentic and believable, like an urban legend story.

Remarkable that Roth made one of the best fake Grindhouse style trailers (Thanksgiving) but turned a true Grindhouse classic into a tame and polished digital turkey.

Anyway, nice to read about the uncut restoration of Death Game. It always felt like it was badly edited for an R rating.

[sb5]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

Just noticed this is dated 3/8, and it's now past that, and I don't even have a shipping email yet. Are Grindhouse known to be tardy on their release dates?

They sent an email out this past Wednesday with an update:

The limited edition DEATH GAME Blu-ray is now en route to Grindhouse Releasing headquarters! We will begin shipping on Monday, March 14.

[bigdaddyhorse]

Originally Posted by Leslie Dame

70's Colleen

70's, early 80's, it don't matter. She was such a smoke-show back then.

Originally Posted by sb5

They sent an email out this past Wednesday with an update:

Ahhhh haaaaa, I didn't scroll down far enough. Have the email in my trash folder but just read the stuff about DG and Knock Knock doing a theater tour.

[AllNight]

Yeah, as I'm only now reading about it, they are saying there was a printing issue, so the pre-orders didn't ship.

I had read that the original negative was in the possession of David Worth, and the reason it took so long to release was it was painstakingly being restored and color graded. So hopefully this will come out in a standard version and later come out on a streaming service like Shudder or the like.

I actually have the DVD that looks like a bad VHS transfer.

[Energy Crisis]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

... and I'll be selling my keychain for hundreds of dollars, muh hahahahahaha!

Probably kidding, but if it doesn't have enough cool factor for me and prices get silly, it could happen. I doubt prices will get silly, it's not nearly as cool as the Pieces puzzle I missed out on.

Just noticed this is dated 3/8, and it's now past that, and I don't even have a shipping email yet. Are Grindhouse known to be tardy on their release dates? It's my first time ordering from them but this sounded too good not to try as I haven't seen it. 80's Colleen Camp is a no-brainer though, and just found out Eli Roth's Knock Knock was basically a remake of this. I liked that enough to keep it after a blind buy.

Knock Knock is (at least) the forth version of this movie that I know of, and easily the worst. Little Miss Innocence (1973) was the original. Then Death Game (1977) and Vicious and Nude (1980) followed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's more that I just haven't come across yet.

Really hope VS will update their Little Miss Innocence DVD to BD one of these days.

[bigdaddyhorse]

Originally Posted by AllNight

Yeah, as I'm only now reading about it, they are saying there was a printing issue, so the pre-orders didn't ship.

I had read that the original negative was in the possession of David Worth, and the reason it took so long to release was it was painstakingly being restored and color graded. So hopefully this will come out in a standard version and later come out on a streaming service like Shudder or the like.

I actually have the DVD that looks like a bad VHS transfer.

I'm 99.9% sure all Grindhouse limited editions have came back as standard versions, no reason to think this won't also.

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

Knock Knock is (at least) the forth version of this movie that I know of, and easily the worst. Little Miss Innocence (1973) was the original. Then Death Game (1977) and Vicious and Nude (1980) followed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's more that I just haven't come across yet.

Really hope VS will update their Little Miss Innocence DVD to BD one of these days.

Makes me look even more forward to it! Might have to try and grab Little Miss Innocence if I love it enough. If I like the worst of em, gotta love the better ones right?
How would you rank em, besides KK on bottom?

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by AllNight

So apparently, the Death Game Blu-Ray was only produced in a quantity of 2000 units, which sold out right away.

No, it did not sell out right away. The pre-order started back on January 1st and it only just sold out within the last week. Grindhouse posted in a March 9th email update that 77 copies were remaining. That's well over 3 months that interested parties could still buy one.

[Energy Crisis]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhorse

Makes me look even more forward to it! Might have to try and grab Little Miss Innocence if I love it enough. If I like the worst of em, gotta love the better ones right?
How would you rank em, besides KK on bottom?

Little Miss Innocence is probably the best of the bunch, but Death Game is my favorite as I saw it first. And Colleen, obviously. Vicious and Nude is a Spanish clone, though it kind of mixes the more sexploitation-based approach of LMI with the horror tone of DG. It's fine but it's just more of the same. As for Knock Knock, well, Ana de Armas is super cute and I suppose there's some unintentional comedy appeal of Keanu yelling about free pizza.

[AllNight]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

No, it did not sell out right away. The pre-order started back on January 1st and it only just sold out within the last week. Grindhouse posted in a March 9th email update that 77 copies were remaining. That's well over 3 months that interested parties could still buy one.

If they knew about it.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by AllNight

If they knew about it.

They've been teasing it was coming for years now. It's not like this turned up out of the blue. Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Websites. It was never invisible to the public.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

They've been teasing it was coming for years now. It's not like this turned up out of the blue. Newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Websites. It was never invisible to the public.

Plus, physical media has been on the decline. You don't have to be glued to the internet to know this. Pretty much anything physical media related nowadays should be considered Limited, particularly titles from boutique labels so people need to plan as such. Sitting on fences is a bit risky.

[mikey horror]

Relax. The only thing limited to 2,000 is the keychain. They did the same thing with the puzzle for Pieces, the horror hypo for I Drink Your Blood and the bullet pen for The Tough Ones.

[AllNight]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Plus, physical media has been on the decline. You don't have to be glued to the internet to know this. Pretty much anything physical media related nowadays should be considered Limited, particularly titles from boutique labels so people need to plan as such. Sitting on fences is a bit risky.

I was not "sitting on the fence", in fact I was checking the entry for it on blu-ray.com. I didn't get any impression from this that if I wanted it on release day I had to do anything special. Blu-ray.com has a "pre-order" button and I make use of it often. It didn't appear for this one. I made the assumption that this meant that sites like Amazon didn't have a pre-order page for it and that it would just show up when released.

I only just learned that I was supposed to pre-order it on grindhousereleasing.com by Google searching for the title after I saw on blu-ray.com that the release date had past.

I made a mistake just putting all my trust in blu-ray.com. I just now made accounts on grindhousereleasing.com, vinegarsyndrome.com, and shoutfactory.com, and signed up for their mailing lists. This isn't ideal because I already have an avalanche of e-mail and I don't need more. I didn't want to have to use a "push" system. I'd rather use blu-ray.com to check for titles I'm interested in and that seemed to work until I ran into this one. So now I learn if there's no pre-order button, look into it more, use Google, etc. and hope I find a pre-order page.

Sorry if my not knowing about the pre-order page on grindhousereleasing.com for this title upset you.