Is Media Blasters Out of Business?

[MorallySound]

Originally Posted by rhett

Well, I spoke to one of the higher ups, or should I say former higher ups. He no longer works for them, and says that most of that AV Maniacs thread is "mostly true". He does state that the BUIO OMEGA HD transfer is completed, so it would just be a matter of pressing the disc, but that given their current situation he says "I wouldn't hold my breath on anything coming out of that place."

Unless they're trying to weather the storm with only a couple staffers remaining, I think it's sadly safe to say we've lost another to the recession...

Sad to hear that this is signalling the probable demise of Media Blasters...

[old-boo-radley]

I just bought two SS Hell Packs because I always wanted those and never got them. Fuckin' uncool, Shriek Show sometimes was fucked, but they released the shit underneath Anchor Bay for the hardcores of the hardcores and I respected that. I have most of their horror releases and it's too bad I don't have more kung fu stuff.

[sumo8675309]

well this bites, where am i going to get my extreme japanese gore movies at now?

[pwrslave]

Wow, sucks! Better pick up some of the releases while they are still reasonably priced.

[TheDreamMaster]

Sad indeed if this is the end. I still have fond memories of snatching up all the SS triple packs, and I don't think horror on DVD will ever be better than the days where you could walk into Best Buy and find those on store shelves. I've probably done 90% of my horror purchasing online, but it always made it a little bit easier when you could just walk in and find quality stuff from quality companies in stores.

[Katatonia]

Sad if it's indeed true. There aren't all that many SS/Media Blasters titles that I would need to pick up that I don't already own.

And like Paff said, if their warehouses are liquidated you'll begin to see many of their titles at discounters for a few dollars each in the near future.

Oh, and if anyone has the corrected DVD for Warlock Moon (it came in the Cannibal Lunch Box) and wants to sell/trade it, send me a PM...

[Harry Warden]

This does suck! Thankfully, I have a lot of their releases already.

[eric_angelus]

What a shame if it is the case. I always loved their stuff...and yeah I really miss the days back when you could walk into a best buy and find stuff like burial ground and slaughter hotel!

[HAEMORRHAGE]

Sucks to hear. I've enjoying purchasing many MB titles over the years.

[dave13]

this really does suck. i recently picked up the psycho killers and jungle girls triple features, and i guess i'll be grabbing a few more over the next month or so, when i get some cash.

[f.ramses]

It's funny, I never had nearly as many problems with other companies DVDs but at the same time I regarded them highly because of their great titles and good customer service. Any time there was an issue they would replace it no questions asked and would even let me wait a bit on returning it so I could just exchange it with them at a convention rather than having to pay money to ship it back to them. Speaking of conventions I'll especially miss them when I'm at Chiller if they go under because they always had good deals and I'd walk away from their table (which was probably the only non-bootleg table in the whole room...) with stacks of DVDs. Despite all the discs I've bought over the years I still have a bunch of theirs that I need to pick up. I sure hope they pull through!

[Mitbox]

I think we'll have a tough time being horror fans trying to go hi-def. The decline of all this companies that put great obscure movies on DVD (with great effort, taking care of fans with extras and other stuff) and didn't make it to HD era, will make non mainstream horror movies take forever to make the transition.
Sad days... one can only expect, luckily, to have a subpar barebone BD in years to come.

[CPT HOOK]

Very sad news. Three of my favorite DVDs were released by Shriek Show (Just Before Dawn, Anthropophagus, and One Dark Night).

Between the triple packs and buying them individually, I actually own most of their releases. I don't own Murder Rock or Psychos In Love, can anyone give those a recommendation?

[scott71670]

Murder Rock is fun if you want to get a strange Euro- time capsule of the mid eighties. Haven't gotten around to seeing Psychos in Love but already have a copy. Frankly, I am still stunned by this information. Just a few years ago, what maybe seven, now that I think about it, DVD companies were sending out expensive promotional packs and now they are going under left and right. It feels like the titles with the biggest fan base already got pressed coincided with the Depression, and as a result things like this are happening. I think to coincide with Halloween I think I am doing a Media Blasters marathon... This could get interesting, I think I have 98 percent of the Shriek Show output. Have to say they did some cool promos too, like the lobby card reproductions in Jungle Holocaust and the strip of film I got in my case for One Dark Night. Wow... All I can really say is keep buying independent first. I even like the stuff they put out that was possibly chapter jumping. I figured it felt like a real 42nd street theater experience akin to having the reels cut or switched around or seeing a movie you've seen already with a new title card; I bought that stuff too.

[Paff]

What pisses me off is that when I saw them at the above-mentioned Con, I chose not to buy anything (even though their entire inventory was available and laid out for sale), because they wanted list price for everything. This is actually common at conventions. I looked over everything and said "nah...if I want any of these discs, they'll be cheaper at Amazon"