THE JITTERS (1989) and GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1974) from Retromedia 3/19

[bruce h]

John Fasano, the man behind ROCK 'N' ROLL NIGHTMARE (1987) and BLACK ROSES (1988), completes his '80s horror triptych with THE JITTERS (1989), coming to DVD courtesy of Retromedia Entertainment.

After being murdered by the whitest street gang in film history, a Chinatown shopkeep returns from the grave as a gyonshi (a hopping vampire) to seek revenge. However, being undead creates even more problems for his still-living niece and her boyfriend, especially when the thugs show back up looking for a rumored money stash.

An atypical late-'80s horror comedy separated from the pack by its insertion of (then-obscure) Chinese mythology, THE JITTERS will likely appeal to fans of Fasano's prior two heavy metal horrors, and maybe even some Hong Kong cinema followers. The DVD promises an anamorphic transfer and director's commentary; it'll be interesting to hear what inspired the film's Asian elements.

Preorder:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00AQMWFF0

No trailer uploaded, but here's a (spoiler-filled) video review:
http://youtu.be/1ivxEJaIkB4

[bruce h]

Other March titles from Retromedia include reissues of:

John Hayes' excellent GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1972):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00AQMWEKG

The Edgar Wallace Collection, Vol. 1 with THE MAD EXECUTIONERS (1963) and FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG (1959):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00AQMWDYI

The Edgar Wallace Collection, Vol. 2 with CURSE OF THE YELLOW SNAKE (1963) and THE PHANTOM OF SOHO (1964):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00AQMWDW0

[Katatonia]

Nice... I'm all over The Jitters!

[MisterTwister]

I'm all over Jitters because it's the only Fasano movie I haven't seen and I'm a fan of his films.

[Erick H.]

It'd be nice to have a solid version of GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE out.

[russweiss]

It's been many years since I've seen Grave of the Vampire but I'm buying if it's a good transfer. It seems to me that Elvira made fun of this film back in the 80's.

[Marshall Crist]

Didn't Retromedia release GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE already, with out-of-sync audio? I don't think it was even the longest version of the film available.

[MorallySound]

No Jitters for me. I don't know what it is, but I cannot stand hopping vampires... worst type of vampire ever. They just make me laugh uncontrollably. Plus that movie sucks plain and simple.

[booper71]

I've never seen the Jitters but I've had them before! Been after this movie for awhile.

[Chomp]

Originally Posted by booper71

I've never seen the Jitters but I've had them before!

I got the jitters once from this chick...couldn't pee straight for damn near 3 days.

Retro Media...new company? I don't think I have heard of them before.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Chomp

Retro Media...new company? I don't think I have heard of them before.

I can't tell if you're serious or joking there. It's Fred Olen Ray's studio, and they've been releasing DVD's since at least 2001.

[Chomp]

I have a bunch of FOR flicks, never knew he had his own releasing company...guess I just never paid attention.

Well shit, look at that, everyday is a goddmaned school day.

[bruce h]

Turns out I'm friends with the original screenwriter for THE JITTERS (Jeff McKay), who posted this on my Facebook page when I asked if it was the same person:

"Yes, lol, although much was changed. Was originally supposed to be a very dark version of the jiangshi films, but of course it turned into more of a goofy comedy during production and rewrites, which may have been for the best. Fasano and his then-wife did most of the humor additions and those are highlights. I knew Fasano from the Shapiro Ent. days when we acquired Edge of Hell, and then again later when Gaga (where I then worked) wanted to go into film production on a film of this type, and that's how it all came to be, and John and Steve Wang (through a good friend of mine) came aboard. The original script was written by my 'boss' Sonoko and I after work, a few pages every night and we'd go over it in the morning at the office and move on to the next scenes the following day - not the best way to write a good screenplay. Going to Toronto was fun, though, trying to make it pass off as NYC. Quite a story behind it all actually, and in the end, Gaga was appalled by the final film and moved out of production immediately afterwards, and Sonoko and I were mostly to blame. The rough cut was much better in many ways (and contained a gratuitous nude scene between the two leads), too, than the final cut. Cheesy synth-score was added and i remember when the guy who wrote the title song called me after seeing the final cut that they spelled his name wrong on the opening credits - oops! I'm surprised this is coming out on DVD at all, though. Last I heard, Gaga claims no ownership of the film (maybe embarrassed). Lol. I believe I still have the original Gaga produced promo reel to show at AFM for the film which was pretty good, as well as the Skouras Pictures promo, the Japanese VHS release, if Retromedia wants it. Plus, I have a copy of the original artwork commissioned for the cool poster (of a gyonshee hovering over a city), which Prism declined because they wanted to do a horrible photoshop job for the video box instead. From what I remember, I think Prism only sold 7,500 units of the tape, so it served them right."

I tagged Fred in a few posts, and later heard back from Jeff:

"Thanks, Bruce, for informing Fred. Fred did contact me and he's going to re-encrypt the master to include those two promo trailers I had from way back when. I dropped them off to him earlier today. He obviously really does care about putting out the best product possible. There are a couple of shots in the promos that didn't make the final cut of the film, so that's cool, too."

Covers:

[Jimmy S]

Originally Posted by Marshall Crist

Didn't Retromedia release GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE already, with out-of-sync audio? I don't think it was even the longest version of the film available.

Yes they did on that set and the out-of-sync is annoying.

The running time for this version is 1h30 according to the DVD software I use to classify my DVD collection, so as you said it's a cut version

[booper71]

I would like to see a blu ray box set of all the Beverly Lynn and Christina Nguyen films retromedia has done!