Of the cult genre, a company who has a small established catalog is slowly emerging as one of the finer quality DVD developers. The company is Synapse Films. In review of their catalog, one will see films of, not only cult, but degraded, exploitive, at times trashy and others B-rated, but they are never low in quality.

Synapse Films began in 1998 by Don May with Jerry Chandler and Charles Fielder. According to their site they state their aim is to have "digitally remastered films in the Horror and Science Fiction genres to Home Video format", however, one will immediately see they have gone beyond the initial scope of their project. So in this article I want to highlight some of their finer DVD's as well as cover some of the titles that have gone out of print.

One title in their catalog that has stood the test of time, yet remained in continual controversy is Leni Riefensthal's propaganda classic Triumph of the Will. Since it's initial release, Synapse has released 2 versions. The original has the red Nazi swaztika boldly stated on the cover with black background. The newer version has a montage illustration of a German soldier in the center. Both versions are identical in terms of content and special features. The newer edition, however, has a cleaner and digitally remastered "2005 Edition". The new edition is still in print and available, while the original, called the "Special Edition" is out of print, but fetches quite a few dollars on the second market. Amazon has some priced up to $100.00, while on eBay it is forbidden to sell these items due to its propagandist and potentially racist content. Although, once in a while a few are known to slip through the eBay police. 

If classic propaganda is not enough to strike your inner cord, then perhaps extreme horror is the trick with Brain Damage. This DVD also comes in 2 editions: Special Edition and High Definition Limited Edition. Unfortunately both of these DVDs are out of print, but has been re-released by Mackinac Media. This film is the second from cult horror director Frank Henenlotter, director of Basket Case and Frankenhooker. Accordingly, Brain Damage was made on a $600,000 budget, ultimately becoming a slicker production. The edition released by Synapse is both unrated and uncut, while the previous US releases have been cut, so here Synapse presents it with all of the gore in its full glory. These out of print titles are relatively hard to find at the moment, and most eTailer's seem to be out of stock at the moment.

Seemingly, the opposition of horror is sex, and who better to integrate the two than notorious spanish director Jess Franco (sometimes referred as Jess Franco among his hundreds of psuedonyms). Two special releases from Franco's world, Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed In Ecstasy, starring the gorgeous Soledad Miranda (sometimes billed as Susan Korda), are of the sexploitation affair than strictly horror. Franco is sometimes criticized of photographing seemingly random and irrelevant shots, however, one cannot deny his casual playfullness with the camera. Contrarily, his camera also loves the women. Unfortunately, Soledad Miranda was killed in a car accident soon after the release of 'In Ecstasy' at 27 years of age. Franco eventually headlined his future wife, Lina Romay. In these two films released by Synapse have both been discontinued, however, has been re-released by Image Entertainment (with uglier cover art). Another work by Franco released by Synapse, although still in print, is Exorcism starring Lina Romay where a group of exhibitionists perform tortuous rituals for an elite audience. A priest set out to "correct" them becomes a murderous psycho on the loose of any woman who might want to commit any act of vulgarity or Satanic praise. Classic stuff! 

Speaking of Horror Maestros, there is one Italian director who has been continually acknowledged as one of the most influential filmmakers since his directorial debut of the giallo classic The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. Yes, that is Dario Argento. Synapse releases a 71-minute documentary that explores his vision in Argento's World Of Horror. In this documentary are rare behind the scenes moments from his classics as Tenebre, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Creepers, and Inferno and a never before seen cuts from Suspiria. This DVD is currently out of print. Some eTailers still have a short supply of it.

A few off-beat cultish dramatic films Synapse offers that are now out of print are A Better Place and Deadbeat at Dawn. A Better Place deals with two young friends in a new world who are eventually outcast from the peers of their town and how their obsession for friendship leads to a violent and destructive path. This film is presented as the complete director's cut with scenes that not shown at film festivals. Deadbeat at Dawn deals with revenge after a rival gang rapes and tortures the opposing gang leaders girlfriend. These seem to be potential pick-ups as they are not re-released at this time. 

Other titles that are still available that are more than worth considering is the classic Swedish classic exploitation revenge film Thriller, starring the sexy Christine Lindberg. Synapse released two versions, one titled They Call Her One Eye, which was the US release of the film. One viewing of this film and you can see all the inspirations that it set forth in later films. The international version, titled A Cruel Picture, restores the hardcore inserts that were cut, ultimatley adding 20 minutes to the film. The extended edition, according to the package, is limited to only 25,000 copies, but not numbered.

In addition, there is another limited editions that are in the Synapse catalogue. The trippy Blue Sunshine came at at time when the cultural climate was all about alternative realities and learning the secrets of the inner world. But the consequences can be devastating, violent and murderous as three girls lose their hair over the past that haunts them. This 2-disc set is also limited to only 50,000 copies. 

Some other titles worth mentioning here is a cult horror film Street Trash. This was released in 2 versions, one the Single Disc edition, and the second a 2-disc Special Meltdown Edition which include many extra features, like the original 16mm short, rare promotional trailer, and a 2-hour documentary on the making and history of the film which was made almost 20 years now back in 1987.

For you sexploitation fans, there is Radley Metzger, considered one of the best filmmakers of the softcore genre, and even his few turns at hardcare like The Opening of Misty Beethoven, selected as one of the best adult films ever made. For this, Synapse has released his masterpiece, The Image, which is not only erotic and colors the gray area of soft and hardcore filmmaking, but delivers a true exploration of the world of bondage and the master/slave personas. Not for every taste, but certainly a memorable one. 

Japanese extreme horror has become really popular in the last year and so Synapse fills the gaps with these delicious titles: Entrails of a Virgin and Entrails of a Beautiful Woman. These two can also be bought in a 4-disc boxed Limited Edition set of Asian Cult Cinema, along with Organ and Evil Dead Trap. No notice of how many were made.

For some sexy fun, check out the duo Fantasm and Fantasm Comes Again. Both are silly, sexy romps that stars the voluptuous Uschi Digard, perhaps one of the most famous softcore actress in the world straight from Sweden. Another foray in the world of sexploitation is Bacchanales Sexuelles from cult movie director Jean Rollins, known mostly for his erotic vampire flicks. Rollins other film, a zombie film, is The Grapes of Death starring the sexy French porn star Brigitte Lahaie. 

One film I cant leave without mentioning is one of the best films of Italian horror from Antonio Margheriti in his masterwork Castle of Blood. Its might be considered an influence from Mario Bava's film Black Sunday (Mask of Satan), however, both films revel in the atmosphere of medieval religious dogma and hauntings of the past. Here Synapse presents this film in its full form, otherwise labled, The International Version, which does feature a scene of nudity never released in the US. 

Some intriguing titles I will note quickly are Singapore Sling, a strange and demented film of two sisters who are madly entagled in master/slave relationship over an ailing soldier. Let Me Die A Woman is a "documentary" from classic underground porn/softcore director Doris Wishman. This film explores the world of transexuals, revived for the first time which includes the "chisel scene". I think that description says it all.

 Of course if you like obscure movie trailers, check out 42nd Street Forever, which comes in Volume 1 and Volume 2, along with the upcoming XXX-treme Special Edition. Both are fun and exciting to see and makes you wonder where some of these films went. Olga's Girls, made in the late 60's stood as one of the founders of the S&M trade in cinema, while, lastly, is Flavie: The Heretic which is a controversial film at the time of its release and "the goriest exploitation film ever made". This edition is a remastered uncensored version with all "the nudity, violence, torture and over-the-top gore" Synapse Films has a top rate collection of rare classics, each put together with care and thought. There are more titles not mentioned and more to be produced in the near future.