 | |
| Industry | Home video, motion pictures |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, U.S. [1] Glendale, California, U.S. |
Key people | Bill Norton Olsen |
| Products | DVD, Blu-ray |
| Website | www |
Code Red DVD was an independent American home entertainment company specializing in retro grindhouse, exploitation, and horror films, [2] [3] operated by Bill Norton Olsen. The company originally began releasing films on DVD in 2006, and later began releasing and re-releasing titles on Blu-ray.
Code Red was begun in 2006 by president Bill Norton Olsen. [4] The company's first release was Don't Go in the Woods... Alone! , released on October 24, 2006. [5] The Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth (1978) was the company's second release, followed by the horror film Devil Times Five (1974). Some of the early Code Red releases were purchased from Media Blasters. [4]
In 2010, the website RetroSlashers reported that Code Red would be shutting down, [6] and Olsen later stated that he had run out of money and was facing putting up his home in order to keep the company running. [4]
Code Red employs several series in its catalogue, which feature both standalone and double feature releases. [7] The company's running series include:
| Title | Release dates | # Copies | Exclusive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Goodbody | August 17, 2010 | ||
| Alice in Wonderland | March 15, 2011 | ||
| The Babysitter / The Topless Story | October 5, 2012 | ||
| Bad Girls' Dormitory | September 30, 2008 | ||
| The Being / Cop Killers | February 22, 2011 | ||
| Beyond the Door | September 16, 2008 | ||
| The Black Klansman | January 18, 2011 | ||
| Blade / Ring of Death | August 23, 2011 | ||
| Blood Mania / Land of the Minotaur | June 19, 2012 | ||
| Boardinghouse | April 29, 2008 | ||
| Brute Corps | May 31, 2011 | ||
| Between the Covers / Swinging Wives | August 12, 2008 | ||
| Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker | July 14, 2014 | ||
| Caged Men | November 22, 2011 | ||
| Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? | May 13, 2008 | ||
| The Carrier | October 29, 2010 | ||
| Challenge the Dragon / The Needle Avenger | March 16, 2010 | ||
| Changes | August 23, 2013 | ||
| The Chilling | June 24, 2008 | ||
| Choke Canyon | June 23, 2009 | ||
| The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse | July 22, 2008 | ||
| Curse of the Blue Lights | August 15, 2013 | ||
| Cut-Throats Nine / Joshua | August 16, 2011 | ||
| A Day at the Beach | September 9, 2008 | ||
| The Dead Are Alive | July 13, 2010 | ||
| The Dead Pit | June 17, 2008 | ||
| Death Journey | March 16, 2010 | ||
| Derby | February 17, 2009 | ||
| Devil Times Five | May 6, 2008 | ||
| Don't Go in the Woods... Alone! | April 29, 2008 | ||
| Doom Asylum | July 15, 2008 | ||
| Evilspeak | August 15, 2013 | BigCartel | |
| Exploitation Cinema: Deliver Us from Evil / The Fox Affair | August 25, 2009 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Supervan / Jailbait Babysitter | March 8, 2011 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Teenage Graffiti / Teenage Mother | August 25, 2009 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Where Time Began / Encounter with the Unknown | March 8, 2011 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Don't Go in the Woods... Alone! / The Forest | May 26, 2009 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Lonely Wives / Sorry, Wrong Bedroom | May 18, 2010 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Mark of the Witch / Devil Times Five | May 26, 2009 | ||
| Exploitation Cinema: Wacky Taxi / Superargo | May 18, 2010 | ||
| Exterminators of the Year 3000 | September 21, 2010 | ||
| The Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth | October 31, 2008 | ||
| Final Exam | October 1, 2008 | ||
| The Forest | November 7, 2006 | ||
| Ghostkeeper | April 29, 2012 | ||
| Girls in Chains | November 25, 2008 | ||
| God's Bloody Acre / Tomcats | July 12, 2011 | ||
| The Godfather Squad / Bruce's Last Battle | August 23, 2011 | ||
| Gold of the Amazon Women | September 15, 2013 | ||
| Group Marriage | February 8, 2011 | ||
| Haunted | September 20, 2011 | ||
| Heated Vengeance | October 30, 2012 | ||
| Horror High | August 10, 2010 | ||
| Hot Moves | October 21, 2008 | ||
| How to Score with the Girls / White Rat | February 22, 2011 | ||
| If He Hollers, Let Him Go! | August 18, 2013 | ||
| Inn of the Damned / Night of Fear | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Invasion of the Blood Farmers / Silent Night, Bloody Night | September 3, 2013 | ||
| James Bryan Film Festival: Escape to Passion / The Dirtiest Game in the World / I Love You I Love You Not | July 5, 2011 | ||
| Julie Darling | August 2, 2011 | ||
| Just Before Dawn | November 5, 2013 | BigCartel | |
| Killer's Delight | August 28, 2008 | ||
| The Last Chase | April 12, 2011 | ||
| Light Blast | October 12, 2010 | ||
| A Long Ride from Hell | January 11, 2011 | ||
| Love Me Deadly | May 20, 2008 | ||
| Love Me Deadly / Campus Corpse | September 13, 2011 | ||
| Mace | September 17, 2013 | ||
| Madman | September 28, 2010 | ||
| Marcy | May 17, 2011 | ||
| Mardi Gras Massacre | September 27, 2011 | ||
| Maria's Kung Fu Mayhem: Angry Dragon / Dragon Never Dies / Fist of the Double K / Mandarin Magician / Revenge of the Dragon | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Mausoleum / Blood Song | October 14, 2008 | ||
| Mean Johnny Barrows | March 16, 2010 | ||
| Messiah of Evil | October 27, 2009 | BigCartel | |
| Murder Run / Unhinged | July 22, 2014 | ||
| Night Child | September 7, 2010 | BigCartel | |
| Night of the Demon | October 11, 2011 | ||
| Night of the Dribbler | September 8, 2009 | ||
| The Night the Prowler / Devil Woman | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Nightmare | July 26, 2011 | ||
| The People Who Own the Dark | July 18, 2012 | BigCartel | |
| Pets | October 13, 2009 | ||
| Police Connection | August 8, 2013 | ||
| Posse From Heaven / S.L.I.P. | September 3, 2013 | ||
| The Possessed / Demon Witch Child | March 19, 2013 | ||
| Primal Rage | July 13, 2010 | ||
| Quadroon | March 16, 2010 | ||
| Red Light in the White House / I'm Going to be Famous | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| The Redeemer: Son of Satan | October 19, 2010 | ||
| Retribution | September 12, 2012 | ||
| Riot on 42nd Street / Bad Girl Dormitory | November 8, 2011 | ||
| Riot on 42nd Street | January 12, 2010 | ||
| Rituals | April 19, 2011 | ||
| Rivals | November 9, 2010 | ||
| Running Hot | February 24, 2009 | ||
| Running Scared | September 26, 2017 | ||
| Saturn Drive-In: Velvet Trap / Hot Nights on the Campus | October 13, 2009 | ||
| Savage Streets | September 24, 2008 | BigCartel | |
| Scream | February 16, 2010 | ||
| Scream / Barn of the Naked Dead | September 27, 2011 | ||
| Seeds of Evil / Touch of Satan | February 2, 2013 | ||
| Sinner's Blood | October 26, 2012 | ||
| Slithis | June 1, 2010 | ||
| Sole Survivor | April 1, 2008 | ||
| Spasms | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Stanley | October 4, 2011 | ||
| The Statue | May 18, 2010 | ||
| Stigma | June 8, 2010 | ||
| Stoney / The Killer Likes Candy | August 16, 2011 | ||
| The Strangeness | August 18, 2009 | BigCartel | |
| Stunt Rock | August 25, 2009 | ||
| The Super Weapon | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Sweet Sixteen | October 14, 2008 | ||
| Swingin' Sorority | August 17, 2013 | ||
| Teenage Hitchhikers | June 29, 2010 | ||
| Teenage Hitchhikers / Teenage Tramp | October 25, 2011 | ||
| Terminal Island | September 14, 2010 | ||
| Terror Circus | March 31, 2009 | ||
| Terror Circus / Schoolgirls in Chains | May 17, 2011 | ||
| Texas Detour | March 27, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| Trapped | August 4, 2009 | ||
| The Undertaker | October 5, 2010 | ||
| The Unknown Comedy Special | April 5, 2011 | ||
| The Unseen | August 19, 2008 | BigCartel | |
| Vampire at Midnight | October 18, 2011 | ||
| The Vampires Night Orgy / Dr. Jekyll vs. the Werewolf | March 1, 2013 | ||
| Virginity | August 17, 2013 | ||
| The Visitor | November 19, 2010 | ||
| Voices from Beyond | November 5, 2013 | BigCartel | |
| Voodoo Dolls / Madonna | October 25, 2011 | ||
| The Weekend Murders | August 11, 2009 | ||
| Wild Malibu Weekend | September 6, 2011 | ||
| The Witchmaker | July 5, 2011 | ||
| The Working Girls | February 15, 2011 | ||
| Spine # | Title | Release date | # Copies | Exclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Electric Chair | December 3, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 02 | Voices from Beyond | November 5, 2013 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel | |
| 03 | Nail Gun Massacre | April 26, 2014 | BigCartel | |
| 04 | Just Before Dawn (1981 film) | November 5, 2013 | BigCartel | |
| 04 | Savage Streets | April 26, 2014 | SAE | |
| 05 | The Redeemer: Son of Satan | April 26, 2014 | 1020 | BigCartel |
| 06 | Nightmare | June 13, 2014 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 07 | Deadly Hero | December 22, 2015 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 08 | Family Honor | July 7, 2016 | BigCartel | |
| 09 | The Black Gestapo | May 24, 2016 | SAE | |
| 10 | The Weekend Murders | April 17, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 11 | White Ghost | February 5, 2016 | SAE | |
| 60 | Devil Times Five | June 5, 2016 | DiabolikDVD | |
| 41 | The Devil's Wedding Night | May 7, 2015 | BigCartel | |
| 37 | Dune Warriors (1991) | December 2, 2015 | SAE | |
| 18 | The Eerie Midnight Horror Show | December 10, 2014 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 44 | Equalizer 2000 (1987) | June 30, 2015 | SAE | |
| Evilspeak | May 13, 2014 | Scream Factory | ||
| 52 | Eye in the Labyrinth (1972) | February 5, 2016 | SAE | |
| 07 | Family Honor | July 7, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| Final Exam | May 13, 2014 | Scream Factory | ||
| 59 | The Forest | June 5, 2016 | DiabolikDVD | |
| 71 | Headhunter | July 7, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 13 | House on the Edge of the Park | 1500 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel | |
| 04 | Just Before Dawn | November 5, 2013 | BigCartel | |
| 53 | A Knife for the Ladies (1973) | February 5, 2016 | SAE | |
| 20 | Lady Stay Dead | December 23, 2014 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 34 | Legacy of Satan / Blood | August 24, 2015 | SAE | |
| 37 | Love Butcher (1975) | October 20, 2015 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 30 | The Man with Two Heads (1972) | November 29, 2014 | BigCartel | |
| 58 | Maniac! | July 22, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 12 | Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary | April 28, 2014 | SAE | |
| 64 | Mardi Gras Massacre | July 28, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 55 | Mean Johnny Barrows | May 24, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 17 | Messiah of Evil | October 27, 2014 | BigCartel | |
| 03 | Nail Gun Massacre | April 26, 2014 | SAE | |
| 70 | Necromancy | July 7, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel |
| 11 | Neon Maniacs | April 26, 2014 | SAE | |
| 48 | Night Child | May 7, 2015 | BigCartel | |
| 62 | Nightfall (1988) | June 14, 2016 | 1000 | DiabolikDVd / BigCartel |
| 06 | Nightmare | June 13, 2014 | SAE | |
| 40 | The Obsessed One (1974) | May 7, 2015 | BigCartel | |
| 19 | The People Who Own the Dark | December 9, 2015 | BigCartel | |
| 50 | Pit Stop | July 7, 2015 | KinoLorber | |
| 54 | The Police Connection | April 17, 2016 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 33 | The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! | October 20, 2015 | SAE | |
| 05 | The Redeemer: Son of Satan | May 26, 2014 | 1000 | SAE |
| 47 | Retribution | May 26, 2015 | 2000 | SAE |
| 28 | Revenge of the Cheerleaders | October 27, 2014 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 04 / 000 | Savage Streets | April 26, 2014 | BigCartel | |
| 49 | Shakma | May 26, 2015 | 3000 | SAE |
| 22 | The Sicilian Connection | August 24, 2015 | SAE | |
| 51 | Silk (1986) | December 2, 2015 | SAE | |
| 43 | The Sisterhood (1988) | June 30, 2015 | SAE | |
| 45 | Spontaneous Combustion (1990) | May 26, 2015 | 3000 | SAE |
| 38 | The Strangeness | October 2, 2015 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 16 | Sweet Sixteen | August 11, 2015 | 1700 | SAE |
| 46 | Terror Circus | October 20, 2015 | SAE | |
| 31 | Torture Dungeon (1970) | November 29, 2014 | BigCartel | |
| 15 | Trapped | March 25, 2016 | 1500 | SAE |
| 39 | Trick or Treats (1982) | August 11, 2015 | 1050 | SAE |
| 61 | Truck Stop Women | June 5, 2016 | DiabolikDVD | |
| 26 | The Vampires Night Orgy | December 9, 2015 | BigCartel | |
| 02 | Voices from Beyond | November 5, 2013 | SAE | |
| 09 | Weekend Murders | April 17, 2016 | 1000 | BigCartel |
| 42 | Wheels of Fire (1985) | June 30, 2015 | SAE | |
| 10 | White Ghost (1987) | February 5, 2016 | SAE | |
| 25 | Zombie Nightmare | November 24, 2015 | SAE | |
| 300 | Spasms | DiabolikDVD / BigCartel | ||
| Bucketlist # | Title | Release dates | # Copies | Exclusive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | After the Fall of New York | |||
| 28 | Beyond the Door | |||
| 18 | Black Candles | |||
| Cocaine Wars | ||||
| 19 | Cut and Run | |||
| 17 | The Dark | |||
| 05 | Deadly Dreams | |||
| 11 | Delirium | |||
| Ghostkeeper | ||||
| 23 | Group Marriage | |||
| 01 | Hands of Steel | |||
| Happy Hell Night | ||||
| Hide and Go Shriek | ||||
| 15 | Hot Moves | |||
| 20 | In the Aftermath | |||
| 10 | Ironmaster | |||
| 16 | The Jigsaw Murders | |||
| 12 | Kingdom of the Spiders | |||
| 09 | Lord Shango | |||
| Mind Ripper | ||||
| 26 | Mission Kill (1983) | |||
| 24 | Moonshine County Express | |||
| 04 | Mutant | |||
| Nam's Angels | ||||
| 06 | One Dark Night | |||
| 21 | Savage Attraction | |||
| Screams of a Winter Night | ||||
| Slaughterhouse Rock | ||||
| 25 | Terminal Island | |||
| 27 | Twisted Nightmare | |||
| 02 | Revenge of the Dead | |||
| 22 | The Working Girls | |||
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the hitchhiker, the proprietor, and Leatherface. The film follows a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals while on their way to visit an old homestead. The film was marketed as being based on true events to attract a wider audience and to act as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate. Although the character of Leatherface and minor story details were inspired by the crimes of murderer Ed Gein, its plot is largely fictional. It is the first film of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature. However, the US production of films intended as "second features" largely ceased by the end of the 1950s. With the emergence of commercial television at that time, film studio B movie production departments changed into television film production divisions. They created much of the same type of content in low-budget films and series. The term "B movie" continues to be used in its broader sense to this day. In post-Golden Age usage, B movies can range from lurid exploitation films to independent arthouse films.
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter, and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a film-programming strategy dating back to the early 1920s which continuously showed films at cut-rate ticket prices that typically rose over the course of each day. This exhibition practice was markedly different from the era's more common practice of fewer shows per day and graduated pricing for different seating sections in large urban theatres, which were typically studio-owned.
Grindhouse is a 2007 American film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Presented as a double feature, it combines Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. The former stars Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, and Marley Shelton; the latter stars Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Zoë Bell. Grindhouse pays homage to exploitation films of the 1970s, with its title deriving from the now-defunct theaters that would show such films. As part of its theatrical presentation, Grindhouse also features fictitious exploitation trailers directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, Eli Roth, and Jason Eisener.
Night of the Demon is a 1980 American horror film directed by James C. Wasson, written by Jim L. Ball and Mike Williams, and starring Michael Cutt, Joy Allen, Robert Collings, Jodi Lazarus, Richard Fields, Michael Lang, and Melanie Graham. The film centers on an anthropologist who, along with a group of his pupils, embarks on an expedition to prove the existence of Bigfoot in a rural region of Northern California, only to be stalked and systematically slaughtered by the creature.
A Bay of Blood is a 1971 Italian giallo slasher film directed by Mario Bava. Bava co-wrote the screenplay with Giuseppe Zaccariello, Filippo Ottoni, and Sergio Canevari, with story credit given to Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Barberi. The film stars Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Brigitte Skay, Nicoletta Elmi and Laura Betti. Carlo Rambaldi created the gruesome special make-up effects. The story details a string of mysterious murders that occur around the titular bay.
Happy Birthday to Me is a 1981 slasher film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Melissa Sue Anderson and Glenn Ford. Its plot revolves around six brutal murders occurring around a popular college senior's birthday.
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is a 1981 American exploitation horror film directed by William Asher, and starring Susan Tyrrell, Jimmy McNichol, Julia Duffy, and Bo Svenson. Framed as a contemporary Oedipus tale, the plot focuses on a teenager who, raised by his neurotic aunt, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation after she stabs a man to death in their house. The boy's sexually repressed aunt secretly harbors incestuous feelings for him, while a detective investigating the crime irrationally believes the murder to be a result of a homosexual love triangle.
The 1960s and 1970s marked the rise of exploitation-style independent B movies; films which were mostly made without the support of Hollywood's major film studios. As censorship pressures lifted in the early 1960s, the low-budget end of the American motion picture industry increasingly incorporated the sort of sexual and violent elements long associated with so-called ‘exploitation’ films. The demise of the Motion Picture Production Code in 1968 coupled with the success of the exploitation film Easy Rider the following year fueled the trend throughout the subsequent decade. The success of the B-studio exploitation movement had a significant effect on the strategies of the major studios during the 1970’s.
Madman is a 1981 American slasher film written and directed by Joe Giannone and starring Gaylen Ross and Paul Ehlers. The plot focuses on an axe-wielding murderer named Madman Marz who, after accidentally summoned by a group of campers during a campfire tale, begins to stalk and murder the young adults.
The Dead Pit is a 1989 American horror film co-written and directed by Brett Leonard, in his directorial debut. Cheryl Lawson stars as a mental patient who must defeat an undead serial killer who previously worked at the asylum, played by Danny Gochnauer.
Nightmare is a 1981 American psychological slasher film written and directed by Romano Scavolini, and starring Baird Stafford and Sharon Smith. Its plot follows a deranged man who, after undergoing an experimental medical procedure, is released from a New York City psychiatric hospital and embarks on a road trip to Florida with the intent of murdering his ex-wife and child.
My Bloody Valentine 3D is a 2009 American slasher film directed and co-edited by Patrick Lussier, and written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith from a screen story by Stephen Miller. Serving as a remake of the 1981 Canadian slasher film of the same name, it stars Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Tom Atkins, and Kevin Tighe. The film focuses on the residents of a small town that is plagued by a serial killer in mining gear on Valentine's Day.
The House That Screamed, also released as The Finishing School, is a 1969 Spanish horror film written and directed by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, and starring Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, John Moulder-Brown, and Mary Maude. It follows Señora Fourneau, the strict headmistress of a nineteenth-century French boarding school for girls where the students begin to disappear under unusual circumstances.
Terror Circus is a 1973 American exploitation horror film directed by Alan Rudolph, and starring Andrew Prine, Manuela Thiess, Sherry Alberoni, Gyl Roland, and Sheila Bromley. It follows three showgirls who are kidnapped in the desert by a psychopath who imprisons women in his barn, near the former site of a nuclear disaster.
Boardinghouse is a 1982 American supernatural slasher film directed, written by, and starring John Wintergate. Its plot follows a group of aspiring actresses and models who begin to die mysteriously in a Los Angeles boarding house, which was once the site of a series of bizarre deaths. It carries the distinction of being the first horror film to be shot on video.
Cinema Cool is an American web series that was created by Travis Baker, Richard Tanne and Joe Lindquist. Baker wrote and produced, Lindquist edited and directed, and Tanne hosted. The show took a humorous look at mostly retro movies from the 1980s and prior.
Terror is a 1978 British supernatural horror slasher film written by David McGillivray and directed by Norman J. Warren. It stars John Nolan and Carolyn Courage as two cousins who fall victim to a curse that a witch placed on their ancestors.
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