Scorpion Releasing has, for years, been an impressive force in bringing genre titles to modern formats, issuing the likes of DEATH SHIP, SILENT SCREAM, GOODBYE GEMINI and GIRLY to eager audiences. The label hopes to expand their audience with this exciting news, posted on their Facebook page:

Scorpion Releasing has signed with Kino/Lorber to distribute all upcoming titles, as well as select past catalog titles, through retail outlets as well as in their catalog and on their web sites, including limited edition Blu-Rays. . “I was honored to be asked to join the Kino family, as I believe on the strength of their catalog, marketing and web content, they can certainly move my non-genre titles much better, and give all my titles wider horizons, especially with their mail order business as well. A few of the first titles scheduled for release through the Kino Lorber distribution chain are the Emmy nominated TV movie FRIENDLY FIRE starring Carol Burnett, award winning Australian drama CAREFUL HE MIGHT HERE YOU starring Wendy Hughes, the action thriller GREEN ICE starring Ryan O’Neal, Anne Archer and Omar Sharif and the Roger Corman produced and Jack Hill directed SORCERESS. Frank Tarzi, the VP of Acquisitions and Business Development who negotiated the deal on behalf of Kino Lorber with Scorpion Releasing, commented: ”We’re very excited to be distributing these great films from the Scorpion Releasing library”.

Scorpion Releasing’s Walt Olsen says, “I will consult with Kino Lorber on some of their new acquisitions, including their upcoming studio deals. I also played a key role in Kino Lorber’s current studio package deal where I identified over a dozen of my favorite films that they acquired. I will treat these titles, as well as all future titles, as if they are my own releases, and when possible produce new extras and oversee the production on all these titles. One of those films is CULT OF THE DAMNED, a very cool film that has been waiting to be rediscovered and has never been on DVD or Blu-Ray, and I also selected other films from many different genres that are my personal favorites, so watch my Facebook page for periodic announcements.”

cult of the damned (570 x 449)

Kino/Lorber should be no stranger to genre fans either – with their partnerships with Raro Video and Redemption, they’ve recently issued the likes of HALLUCINATION STRIP and Pete Walker’s FRIGHTMARE, and their upcoming slate includes Walker’s HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT and HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN, Alain Robbe-Grillet’s THE MAN WHO LIES and the Eurocrime thriller GANG WAR IN MILAN. With the additional component of Scorpion, Kino/Lorber may as well be offering a subscription service in which a great new genre title is delivered to your house every week.

We’ll be looking forward to all of Scorpion’s upcoming titles – keep an eye out for updates! If early reports on the release of Jack Hill’s SORCERESS are any indication, the disc will include a Brand New HD master (1:78) 16×9 of the longer 83min version, interview with John Carl Beuchler, Jim Wynorski, Roger Corman and Clark Henderson along with the original trailer. (And I can certainly vouch for the grooviness of CULT OF THE DAMNED, one of the more underappreciated rock/cult/counterculture flicks of the late ‘60s.)

@Paul Freitag-Fey

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Jon Abrams

Editor-In-Chief at Daily Grindhouse

Jon Abrams is a New York-based writer, cartoonist, and committed cinemaniac whose complete work and credits can be found at his site, Demon’s Resume. You can contact him on Twitter as @JonZilla___.