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These films sure get some good IMDb scores.

It might be damning that the films that seemed the most interesting from that trailer were the western ones! Actual westerns seemed more interesting than horror films!

Unsurprisingly, this is delayed until May per Twitter.

Here is what Severin in their most recent newsletters about The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection:

For the past couple of weeks we have been trying to figure out the quickest and most efficient way to get the most complex box set we've ever undertaken finished and delivered. The individual discs are replicated and at our fulfillment facility in San Francisco. The problem is the box itself which is a unique and complex piece of packaging. The combination of a shortage of staff at the factory for assembly and limited shipping options from overseas to the US means that the completed boxes with book are now due to arrive at the fulfillment facility in SF by the end of this month. With the situation as it is now the boxes will start shipping from our webstore the second week of May, so just over a month late. The official street date has now moved back just over a month to May 26th so orders from other e-tailers will ship then (possibly earlier for DiabolikDVD orders). We apologize for this delay but we are working as hard as possible to make sure this colossal collection makes its way into your hands as soon as possible during this unprecedented time.

With all this said, the stock we will have at the webstore is running very low: we have only 16 Bundle A Go Go's remaining and under 100 Box Sets. We also have one Bundle of Ghastly Horror available as well (shirt size can be adjusted).

Please note that as we stand today WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH, THE HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND and SATAN'S SLAVE street dates are unaffected.

If anyone was worried they'd break down and buy this, breathe easier. Sold out.

Some reviews of these films are starting to come out through Mondo Digital, because these discs are also getting separate releases: here's the Al Adamson documentary Blood & Flesh as well as The Female Bunch as well as Carnival Magic and Lost.

If I'm not mistaken, Severin has said that those are going to be the only two separate releases.

Yes, I think that is it until the boxset. I guess to save having to separately create standalone discs for just Blood & Flesh and Carnival Magic that these are going to be exactly the same discs as will be in the box, hence The Female Bunch and Lost stay on them as 'supporting features'.

Notably quiet from this thread now that the box actually exists and you can watch the films! Anyone actually make their way through these yet? I'd like to hear some buyer's remorse or even praise if that's what they merit

I watched a few and then lowered it in my kevyip. The documentary about his work and death tells an interesting story, I'll give it that

The documentary is free to stream on Tubi.

I worked with Severin on and off for a few years so managed to just pick this set up from them as was sold out everywhere else. I only read through the book and watched some samples and have to say, if Al or the low budget films are your jam, this is one of the best packages out there. I am super impressed with the quality of the boxing and though these prints are hit and miss per the sources Severin had to deal with, they probably never looked much better anyway.... Excited to dig through this as each genre looks like will be a lot of fun and some great commentaries and supplements.

I guess somebody should say something about some of these films. These three are streaming, though I don’t believe from Severin, as are some others unseen by me. I was a bit surprised with them.

I adore all sorts of low rent independents. They often offer an insight into their creator, an alternative approach to cinematic grammar that expands the mind, or even just by being fun. Unfortunately Al Adamson with Dracula’s Castle doesn’t offer any of these things and worse yet hires John Carradine and still can’t do anything interesting.

He fares better with the two western twinged films I saw. The Female Bunch is an incredibly massive improvement despite seeming so innocuous. It plays out like a more aesthetically simple Russ Meyer movie where women own their sexuality and are full of bite. It’s not as good as a Meyer film thanks to a lead who never really grows into her own and instead hangs over the film a sort of conservative view of gender. Fortunately she gets lost for a huge chunk of the film where you can easily imagine it as just being about these villainous women.

The film also seems to be a fairly explicit source of some plot points in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with the Dern character being the Chaney character here.

I was starting from a poor place for appreciation with Jessi’s Girls as I really don’t like the rape revenge storyline. There’s basically no way to do it well without abstracting it to the point where the storyline is unclear like in Last Year at Marienbad. So, if you’re going to do it as a traditional story you have to make it something like this which is surprisingly one of the best rape revenge films I’ve ever seen. The opening focuses on how happy she is with her life and how genuinely loving the relationship between Jessica and Seth are. It’s not typical porn storytelling, but rather one emphasizing the excitement that comes from respect.

The rape itself isn’t graphic and is fortunately short while also being one of the most terrifying ever. Adamson really wants you to hate these creeps and empathize with Jessi’s trauma.

From here the film reminded me a lot of Django Unchained as Jessi redirects her trauma to revenge and gathers a posse. The stuff with the posse is the weakest of the film and nearly sinks it for me as they’re just not interesting characters and are often obnoxious. That central relationship the audience builds with Jessica though, thanks in no small part to an amazing performance by Sondra Currie, helps elevate the whole into something that goes beyond camp enjoyment to sincere enjoyment.