He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection (Arrow Video)

[MifuneFan]

He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection Blu-ray

“Killer sharks and human jellyfish and living mummies, oh my! Arrow Video is proud to present the first ever collection of works by William “Wild Bill” Grefé, the maverick filmmaker who braved the deep, dark depths of the Florida everglades to deliver some of the most outrageous exploitation fare ever to go-go dance its way across drive-in screens.

Bringing together seven of Grefé’s most outlandish features, all new to Blu-ray, He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefé Collection packs in a macabre menagerie of demented jellyfish men (Sting of Death), zombified witch doctors (Death Curse of Tartu), homicidal hippies (The Hooked Generation) and seductive matrons (The Naked Zoo) – not to mention the ubiquitous go-go dancing college kids – to create one of the most wildly entertaining box-sets of all time!

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Seven William Grefé films, all newly restored from the best surviving film elements: Sting of Death (1966), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), The Hooked Generation (1968), The Psychedelic Priest (1971), The Naked Zoo (1971), Mako: Jaws of Death (1976) and Whiskey Mountain (1977)

• Brand new, extended version of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures’ definitive documentary They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations on 4 Blu-ray discs

• Original uncompressed mono audio for all films

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an extensive, never-before-published interview with William Grefé and a new foreword by the filmmaker

• Reversible poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by The Twins of Evil

• Reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork for each of the films by The Twins of Evil

STING OF DEATH (1966) + DEATH CURSE OF TARTU (1966)

• Brand new introductions to the films by director William Grefé

• Archival audio commentaries for both films with William Grefé and filmmaker Frank Henenlotter

• Sting of Death: Beyond the Movie – Monsters a-Go Go! – a look into the history of rock ‘n’ roll monster movies with author/historian C. Courtney Joyner

• The Curious Case of Dr. Traboh: Spook Show Extraordinaire – a ghoulish look into the early spook show days with monster maker Doug Hobart

• Original Trailers

• Still and Promotion Gallery

THE HOOKED GENERATION (1968) + THE PSYCHEDELIC PRIEST (1971)

• Archival audio commentaries for both films with director William Grefé and filmmaker Frank Henenlotter

• Hooked Generation behind-the-scenes footage

• Hooked Generation Original Trailer

• Still and Promotion Gallery

THE NAKED ZOO (1971) + MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH (1976)

• William Grefé’s original Director’s Cut of Naked Zoo

• Alternate Barry Mahon re-release cut of Naked Zoo

• Original Mako: Jaws of Death Trailer and Promo

• Still and Promotion Gallery

WHISKEY MOUNTAIN (1977) + THEY CAME FROM THE SWAMP: EXTENDED CUT (2020)

• Whiskey Mountain Original Trailer

• Still and Promotion Gallery

• They Came from the Swamp: The Films of William Grefé – the definitive documentary presented for the first in High-Definition and in a brand new, extended cut

[MifuneFan]

Packaging:

[starsteam]

I want Sting of Death, Death Curse of Tartu, and Mako. Whiskey Mountain sounds kind of fun. The other three movies don't really seem up my alley though.

[Member-222782]

I doubt I've seen any of these films but I think this collection will be a safe blind buy. Is Arrow cheapening out by not having individual cases for each film?

[starsteam]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I doubt I've seen any of these films but I think this collection will be a safe blind buy. Is Arrow cheapening out by not having individual cases for each film?

Would be weird to have eight cases but only four discs.

[The Great Owl]

Pre-ordered! This is right in my wheelhouse.

[MifuneFan]

They're not long films, so no point adding to the expense by having 7 discs..

[Killer Meteor]

JAWS OF DEATH has long been on my wish-list. A clip from it, showing a real shark biting into an man, was one of my early childhood nightmare fuel moments, when it was shown in the 1982 National Geographic special on sharks - 1:31 in the following video

National Geographic Video | THE SHARKS | The National Geographic Society | VHS rip | 1982 - YouTube

[Show spoiler]Turns out the shark was de-toothed before the scene was shot, though!

[bgart13]

Originally Posted by starsteam

I want Sting of Death, Death Curse of Tartu, and Mako. Whiskey Mountain sounds kind of fun. The other three movies don't really seem up my alley though.

WHISKEY MOUNTAIN is pretty good fun and HOOKED GENERATION is amazing. NAKED ZOO is entertaining.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

They're not long films, so no point adding to the expense by having 7 discs..

Agreed but the compression police will be up in arms if there's one pixel that looks funny

[penningtonny10]

I'm unfamiliar with all of these but I watched the Sting of Death trailer and it looks right up my alley!!!

[Suspiria7]

I have only seen Mako: Jaws of Death which I like. I saw it once at the theaters and once on TV. I will consider this set.

[horroru]

I haven't seen any of these, but they look interesting.

Are they in the same wheelhouse as like an Al Adamson or Herschell Gordon Lewis?

[bgart13]

Somewhat, but generally better made (he improved with each production, IMO). Less gory.

[Jobla]

THE NAKED ZOO will be presented in both its original director's cut and a later edition with some nudity added.

[jshaide]

Just ordered! Been loving going through box sets lately, and this should fill the Adamson shaped hole in my heart that is coming.

[Hedji]

The only film I've heard of is Mako, because of the connection to Jaws. (Man, it's been hot lately with Tintorella, Sharks' Treasure, and Cruel Jaws all announced in a week!)

I have to decide if the other films are entertaining enough, or if I should expect an individual release like the Hershel Gordon Lewis films.

[DrEricVornoff]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I doubt I've seen any of these films but I think this collection will be a safe blind buy. Is Arrow cheapening out by not having individual cases for each film?

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Pre-ordered! This is right in my wheelhouse.

Originally Posted by penningtonny10

I'm unfamiliar with all of these but I watched the Sting of Death trailer and it looks right up my alley!!!

Originally Posted by horroru

I haven't seen any of these, but they look interesting.

Are they in the same wheelhouse as like an Al Adamson or Herschell Gordon Lewis?

Originally Posted by bgart13

Somewhat, but generally better made (he improved with each production, IMO). Less gory.

OOOHHH YEAH!! Day 1! Order placed with DiabolikDVD (actually this will be my first order with them!)

This will go nicely with my Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection and H.G. Lewis Feast!!

[babybreese]

Originally Posted by horroru

I haven't seen any of these,
but they look interesting.

Are they in the same wheelhouse as like an Al Adamson or Herschell Gordon Lewis?

I'd say so, in terms of filming...
not necessarily in terms of exploitation content.

[ianungstad]

At least from the Sting of Death trailer, it looks closer to the early Corman AIP films than Herschell Gordon Lewis?!