The Mansion of Madness

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This special limited edition spot gloss slipcover (designed by Adam Maida) is limited to 3,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Welcome Vinegar Syndrome Labs (VSL) to the VS Sub-Label family! As with each of our sub-labels we are hoping to expand and defy expectations with the diversity of films we restore and release. As the name implies, VSL will serve as a kind of testing area for releasing genres and eras of film that one might not immediately expect to come from VS. The ultimate objective of VSL will be to see if these types of films will find an audience, and if so, pursue and release more of them…and even if not, still serve as a means of restoring more of the weird, rare, and unusual movies you might not expect from Vinegar Syndrome.

Journalist Gaston LeBlanc travels deep into the woods of France in order to investigate a mental institution run by the famed Dr. Maillard, who purports to have developed an experimental form of treatment for his patients, which he deems to be more "soothing." Once Gaston and his entourage arrive just outside the institution walls, they are immediately greeted by a hostile display from the guards. Being the only one allowed inside, Gaston meets with Dr. Maillard, who gives him a tour of the facility and explains his new treatment method, seemingly allowing the patients to roam the grounds freely and engage in their own delusions. Gaston is also introduced to Dr. Maillard's beautiful niece, Eugénie, who he is warned is more dangerous than she appears. As Gaston spends more time in the institution, he becomes wary of Dr. Maillard's intentions as the patients engage in an almost cult-like worship of him, and soon, Gaston begins to question what is actually taking place inside the sanitorium walls.

The directorial debut of infamous Mexican director Juan López Moctezuma (Alucarda), THE MANSION OF MADNESS (aka Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon) is loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether." Mixing gothic horror elements with contemporary absurdism, THE MANSION OF MADNESS uses stunning visuals clearly inspired by Moctezuma's peer Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) in order to satirize medical treatment theories. Featuring engaging performances by Arthur Hansel (10 to Midnight) as Gaston and Claudio Brook (The Devil's Rain) as the deranged Dr. Maillard, Vinegar Syndrome Labs is proud to present this unique blend of literary horror and absurdist imagery on Blu-ray and newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative.

directed by: Juan López Moctezuma
starring: Arthur Hansel, Claudio Brook, Ellen Sherman, Martin LaSalle, David Silva
1972 / 84 min / 1.85:1 / English, Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio Mono

Additional info:

• Region Free Blu-ray
  
• Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
  
• Presented in both its original English language soundtrack and its Spanish language dub track with newly translated English subtitles
• Commentary track with Mexican film historian and author Francisco Peredo
• "Surreal Experiment" (16 min) - an interview with actress Ellen Sherman
• "Room for Play" (6 min) - an interview with production designer Gabriel Weisz Carrington
• "Art in 24 Frames Per Second" (15 min) - an interview with Alessandra Moctezuma, daughter of director Juan López Moctezuma
• "Alucardos: Portrait of a Vampire" (89 min) - a feature-length documentary from 2011 on director Juan López Moctezuma, directed by Ulises Guzmán
• Alternate Spanish language titles
• Original English language trailer
• Reversible sleeve artwork
• English translated & SDH subtitles