Crate Digging Finds

05/24/2026

2026/05/24 - Crate Digging Finds

I sold my wooden box Anchor Bay copy of The Wicker Man (1973) years ago and always regretted that decision. Nice to finally find one out in the wild again today. Also picked up two more rarely seen early releases from the same label: The Wild McCullochs (1975), directed by Max Baer Jr. — better known as Jethro Bodine from The Beverly Hillbillies television series — and Tim Hunter’s Tex (1982), written by S. E. Hinton, who also wrote The Outsiders (1983) and Rumble Fish (1983).
Found a couple of great Vinegar Syndrome releases as well: Cirio H. Santiago’s The Muthers (1976) and Javier Aguirre’s Count Dracula’s Great Love (1973) — aka Cemetery Girls — starring Paul Naschy. Along similar lines, I also grabbed The House That Dripped Blood (1971) featuring horror legends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
From stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham — the man behind classics like Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and The Cannonball Run (1981) — I picked up the wonderfully awful Megaforce (1982), which somehow managed to earn three Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Picture. It’s the kind of gloriously over-the-top ‘80s sci-fi/action cheese that has become more entertaining with age.
Also added Takashi Miike’s Full Metal Yakuza (1997) to the collection. Miike’s late-’90s direct-to-video work has such a wild, unfiltered energy before he became an internationally recognized auteur.
The big score of the day, though, was Jan Švankmajer’s Alice (1988) on First Run Features. A very loose adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic, and one of the most unsettling and imaginative stop-motion films ever made by one of the greatest animators of all time. Švankmajer’s blend of surrealism, decaying textures, and dreamlike nightmare imagery still feels completely unique decades later.

05/24/2026

Yes...

SAVE THE DATE! Sunday, September 27, Fear Mall returns to Bowmanville for the 6th annual horror vendor market.

This year we will have 50 vendors selling some killer items, and as always we’ve got some fun surprises in store.

The first surprise is… FREE ADMISSION TO ALL! That’s right, we’re doing away with our admission fee and allowing everyone to enter at no charge. We will still have our VIP option and an all access pass, more details on those later.

Let’s kick off the spooky season in style at Fear Mall!

05/16/2026

Another yard sale adventure day. I grabbed some comedies, including the Scary Movie 1–4 set (2000–2006), Meet the Spartans (2008) — a Zucker Brothers-style “worst movie ever made” parody — and a couple of Blu-rays I didn’t already own: Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (2013) and the kaiju eiga adventure Kong: Skull Island (2017).

I also stopped by the sale of Crate Digging Finds follower David Sengupta Good ( ). From him, I picked up the 7-movie Tremors set. This franchise has a special place in my heart because it was the first “scary” movie I showed my daughter. She was so afraid afterward that I had to show her behind-the-scenes videos explaining how they made it. I remember her being fascinated that the creatures were just puppets and camera tricks.

It was a pretty slow day until I stopped by a sale on downtown Stuart Street. A former store owner had many, many crates to dig through. Unfortunately, a lot of the discs were missing, scratched, or had sun-bleached covers, and it would have taken a long time to search everything in depth. I left a business card and quickly grabbed some straight-to-disc Maple Pictures releases: Twisted Sisters (2006) and The Dark Hours (2005).

Other pickups included Hellraiser 6 (2002), Never Lake (2013), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), House of Mirrors (2014), Su***de Killers (2006), David DeCoteau’s Speed Demon (2003), and Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). I also found the Damon Wayans comedy Major Payne (1995), Father’s Day (1997) starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, and rounded out the pile with the sci-fi films John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) and Doom: Annihilation (2019), based on the early first-person shooter video game series.

05/09/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYIW7cGTdQR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Reminds me of SCTV's Fishing Musician with John Candy

05/09/2026

After getting access last weekend to some of the rarest films in Ontario, it was tough heading out today to hunt through local yard sales. Still, with more than 90 homes participating, the Peterborough East City sale was hard to pass up.

I picked up both seasons of Outsiders (2016–2017), which I recently watched. It’s a gritty, Sons of Anarchy (2008- 2014)-style story set in the hills of Appalachia, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth checking out.

I also grabbed the DC Universe series Swamp Thing (2019). Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after just ten episodes. Even though I already own the Vinegar Syndrome 4K release of Dead Heat (1988), I couldn’t leave this zombie-cop classic sitting in the box.

Other finds included Disney titles like Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and Halloweentown (1998), along with a gimmicky “sock edition” collection featuring American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001), and American Wedding (2003). I also picked up K-PAX (2001), which I remember being an interesting sci-fi film that I might revisit tonight.

05/05/2026

Sunday at Shock Stock. Loaded the car, I guess Blood Opera Inc. parked beside us - Cool car. Grabbed some 'Camp Blood' coffee at Coffin Creek Coffee Co. beside the wonderful Demons (1985) mask. Then finally got a chance to chat with fellow lover of sick and twisted movies - Ettinger from Ultra Violent magazine. Bringing with him from the states a bunch of Unearthed Films releases like the nasty A Serbian Film (2010). Figured I would take this opportunity to upgrade my DVD copies of the August Underground (2001); August Underground's Mordum (2003) and August Underground's Penance (2007) that i bought from Fred Vogel years back. If you don't know the series, beware they make the Terrifier (2016) franchise feel like a children's movie. Stopped by the Synapse Films booth and picked up a copy of Radley Metzger's The Image (1975). "...Hailed by critics as one of the best erotic films ever made..." So many crates not enough time or money. Quickly stopped by the Horror Talks To Me booth. I've been recently listening to and enjoying their podcasts at work, and grabbed some independent movies from director Stephen Perion Glory Hole Death Trap (2020); Toronto High Park Dracula (2021); The Man Wolf (2023) and Killer Burger (2025). Looking forward to checking them out. One last stop at the Gibraltar Market before heading out got me a Super Fly (1972) snap-case.

05/05/2026

First time I ever saw B.a. Johnston open for NoMeansNo. He chased me around the room trying to hump me. That was probably almost twenty years ago now. Another time Tammy and I took the kids with us to watch him play at the Hootenanny on Hunter Street and he tried to steal their snacks. They fought him off with sword balloons that some clown had given them. It's mind blowing every time Zander comes to watch B.A. with me. Although I did notice he was hanging on to his beer extra tight at this Shock Stock gig.

05/05/2026

I've never seen Blood Opera Inc. before, although I've seen enough Gwar to know that when the singer starts hooking up a blood filled pump to a very large fake p***s, it's time to step back a few feet and put the zoom on the camera.

05/04/2026

At Shock Stock Saturday evening I was debating on whether or not to go see the Severin Films 'High Tension' Lamberto Bava film by myself. Zander and I were both pretty burnt out from the night before, and he needed rest. I was afraid the made for television movie The Prince of Terror (1989) was going to be a bit of a boring Giallo film and I would fall asleep. I'm glad I went. In the theatre I met a very nice woman with glitter on her eyelids and another couple who introduced themselves to me. Together we all laughed throughout the twisting plot holes and commented on the over the top blood and gore. Viewing a film with a your tribe makes it such a better experience. I would also recommend the short film clips, as you can sneak in and out grab a drink without the long commitment. After the film ended I went to wake Zander up. Turns out he left the hotel room just a bit after I did and had been drinking hard in the bar waiting for me. He was already two sheets to the wind when Night Chill hit the stage. The evening was just beginning.

05/04/2026

Shock Stock day two... Really hung over. Missed the early Coffin Creek showing of Behind the Castle Doors: The Origin of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Headed downtown to Punk Rock Flea Market London, Dundas Discs and City Lights Bookshop. DVD's were picked clean... Quick lunch at White Oaks then back to the convention. Grabbed Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022) from Joe Begos. Grim Stitch Factory gave me a great deal on Anchor Bay's Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1974) and shared good tales of hanging with Dyanne Thorne. Faces of Death and Jimmy & Stiggs 4Ks from Vinegar Syndrome. Prize score of the weekend was 's the banned nasty Possession (1981) Andrzej Zulawski in a gorgeous felt case from Odyssey Records & Cinema. It's been on my list for a long time. Severin Films hooked me up with some Russ Meyer's and Doctor Butcher / Zombie Holocaust (1980) Marino Girolami. They also threw in a free copy of Skinheads (1993) Claudio Fragasso. Did a blind buy of Wired (2024) / Brinehouse Productions. Zander was hitting it pretty hard with them during B.a. Johnston. [Photos to follow]. Couple of Midnite Movies and Trilogy of Terror (1975) from Mike Perry’s Take On the Movies. Had a wonderful conversation with Thea Faulds about the fasinating theremin instrument. Photos of the band Night Chill soon to follow. Before the bands I did a Lamberto Bava / Sergio Stivaletti Q&A [with Eugenio Ercolani], then watched the amazing Severin release of The Prince of Terror (1989) Lamberto Bava

05/03/2026

We got to Shock Stock just as it was opening. Saw Rob Muir from Vinyl Hell Sticker Co. at the check in counter and he told me he had another Anchor Bay waiting for me at his booth. Very kind of Rob to see 'Butch and Sundance ' The Early Days' (1979) in the wild and grab it for me knowing how much I want to keep buying from that catalogue. - Cheers. But, first there was the important matter of checking in and many quick beer crunches before hitting the floor. Going through these conventions I'm always amazed to see so much talented art. Folks like: Pastel Nightmares and Altered Arte and Handicrafts One amazing booth [Cambridge] really got my attention for their quality 3D printed props. Amazing stuff. Even had the Sumatran rat-monkey from Peter Jackson's Dead Alive (1992) which sold very quickly. Wasn't planning on doing buying on Friday, which I regret as I missed out on some good deals. Like the Suburbia (1983) poster that Brad Miller from Poster-Mortem and a bunch of great DVDs from Zack Wilson's collection The Vault Ripley,Ont. I did manage to grab Torso (1973); Circus of Horrors (1960) and Autopsy (1975) from his crates on Sunday before I left. Anyways..., after showing Zander a quick tour of the floor and talking with Joe Begos over at Black Fawn Distribution it was back to the room for more beer then on to see Italian actress Catriona MacColl do a Q&A Hosted by a very knowledgeable film historian Eugenio Ercolani. Off for another drink then it was back to the theatre to see some horror film shorts. By far our favorite was The Screaming (2025) Guillaume Boivin, Steve Villeneuve / . Another was The Treatment and the Cure (2026) Corey Andrews. More drinks and it was the 'Two In the Pink, One in the Stink' Awards. Even more drinks and a very drunken midnight screening of the highlight movie Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of that one from / It's next level, Cheers .