About
Who we are
Vinegar Syndrome is a film restoration and distribution company with a catalogue of hundreds of feature films, produced primarily between the 1960s and 1980s.
Founded by Ryan Emerson and Joe Rubin, VS has been acclaimed by The New York Times, Village Voice, Dangerous Minds, The Foglenest Files, and many others as one of the premier independent genre film focused distribution companies in the world, and was noted by Alamo Drafthouse Theatres as “…perhaps the most important home video label in the world for genre film…”
Our ever expanding catalog includes worldwide rights on such exploitation classics as Tammy & the T-Rex, Demon Wind, Spookies, Night Train to Terror, Terminal Island, Blood Harvest, Angel, The Lamp, Death Promise, Don’t Open Till Christmas, and countless others.
We also boast owning one of the largest catalogs of rare and classic X rated films, which can be found on our sister site Mélusine.
What we do
Our work has resulted in the digital restoration and preservation of over 500 feature films, more than any other independent studio. We also work closely with several archives and institutions, such as: MoMa (The Museum of Modern Art), The Academy Film Archive, The Library of Congress, UCLA, The Walker Art Center and many more.
Our in-house lab partner, OCN Digital Labs, affords us the capability to perform the highest quality digital film preservations achievable on titles that, in many cases, would otherwise deteriorate beyond the point of saving. Our goal in every restoration we do is to try and bring each film back to its originally intended theatrical exhibition quality, and to make the vast treasures in our archives available to fans and film lovers of all generations.
Vinegar Syndrome?
Our namesake is a constant reminder of what we’re fighting against. Simply put, the term ‘vinegar syndrome’ describes a chemical reaction that deteriorates motion picture film over time. Film preservation is a race against time, especially with long-neglected genres and underground films.
