Synapse Films
Synapse Films is an American DVD and Blu-ray label, founded in 1997 and specializing in cult horror, science fiction and exploitation films.
History
Synapse Films was owned and operated by Don May, Jr. and his business partners Jerry Chandler and Charles Fiedler, the catalyst being May's longstanding interest in and passion for TV and cinema. May explained, “I caught the laserdisc bug while working at a local laserdisc store while I was in college. I was selling laserdisc players and buying product and I pretty much spent every extra dollar I had on laserdiscs. I loved movies and the disc format and knew this was a business I wanted to be in.” May became a part owner of Elite Entertainment after leaving his aforementioned job in laserdisc retail.The Synapse catalog ranges from European horror touchstones like Vampyros Lesbos, and Castle of Blood, to important genre documentaries including Roy Frumkes' Document of the Dead, from drive-in favorites like The Brain That Wouldn't Die to Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi film Triumph of the Will.
In 2004, Synapse released a definitive edition of the controversial Thriller – A Cruel Picture.
Detroit film scholar Nicholas Schlegel released his documentary The Synapse Story in its entirety on YouTube. The documentary details the history and vision of the label and its founders.
More films from Synapse Films:
- 42nd Street Forever Vol. 1
- 42nd Street Forever Vol. 2
- 42nd Street Forever Vol. 3: Exploitation Explosion!
- 42nd Street Forever Vol. 4 – 2008
- 42nd Street Forever Vol. 5: Alamo Drafthouse Edition
- 42nd Street Forever: The Blu-ray Edition
- 42nd Street Forever: XXX-Treme Special Edition
- Animalada
- Asian Cult Cinema: Extreme Horror Collection; Organ, Evil Dead Trap, Entrails of a Virgin, Entrails of a Beautiful Virgin.
- Asylum
- At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul
- Bacchanales Sexuelles
- Basket Case 2
- Basket Case 2
- Beast from Haunted Cave
- Bizarre
- Black Roses
- The Booby Hatch
- The Brain That Wouldn't Die
- Brutes And Savages
- Castle of Blood
- The Chick’s Ability
- Chiller – The Complete Television Series
- Christmas Evil
- The Coffin Joe Trilogy ; At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, Embodiment of Evil, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
- Cold Hearts
- The Complete Hammer House of Horror,
- Countess Dracula
- The Creep Behind the Camera
- Curtains
- Cyclone
- Dark Forces
- The Deadly Spawn
- Death of a Snowman
- The Definitive Document of the Dead
- Demons 2
- Demons
- Django the Bastard
- The Dorm That Dripped Blood
- Effects
- Embodiment of Evil
- Entrails Of A Beautiful Woman
- Entrails of a Virgin
- Evil Dead Trap
- Executive Koala
- Exposed
- The Exterminator
- Fantasm
- Fantasm Comes Again
- Frankenhooker
- Frat House Massacre
- God Has A Rap Sheet
- The Grapes Of Death
- Gurozuka
- Hands of the Ripper
- Home Sick
- Hot Dog…The Movie
- The Image
- Intruder
- Invasion U.S.A.
- Just Desserts: The Making of “Creepshow”
- Karaoke Terror
- Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural
- Let Me Die a Woman
- The Life and Death of a Porno Gang
- Long Weekend
- Lucker the Necrophagous
- Madame O
- Maniac Cop
- Morituris: Legions of the Dead
- Mosquito: 20th Anniversary Edition
- Night of Death
- Night Train
- Olga’s Girls
- Organ
- Party 7
- Path of Blood
- Patrick
- Phenomena
- Popcorn &
- Prom Night
- Red Scorpion
- Reel Zombies
- Resonnances
- Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare
- Rosarigasinos
- The Rug Cop
- Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf
- Singapore Sling
- Six Days In Roswell
- Slaughter of the Innocents
- Small Gauge Trauma Vol. 1
- Sorceress
- South of Heaven
- Stacy
- Stalingrad &
- Star Warp’d
- Stepfather 2
- Stillwater
- Strange Behavior
- Street Trash – Special Meltdown Edition, &
- Suspiria
- The Sweet Life
- Syngenor
- Tenebrae
- The Violent Shit Collection – Five Film Special Shitition
- Thirst
- This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse
- Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except
- Thundercrack! 40th Anniversary &
- Triumph of the Will &
- Twins of Evil
- Undertaker
- Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary
- Vampire Circus
- Watch Me When I Kill
- Wild Zero
- The World Sinks Except Japan
- Worm
Accolades