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4K Ultra HD

The Murder Secret (Alternate Slipcover)

4.4
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 Stars (25 Reviews)
Regular price  $42.99
Sale price  $42.99 Regular price  $64.98
Only 949 items in stock!

Note to 2026 Subscribers: Since you will automatically be receiving THE MURDER SECRET + both slipcover variants, this full product listing (4k / UHD Disc + Alternate Slipcover) will not be eligible for your special 50% SRP pricing. 

This special limited edition spot gloss alternate slipcover is limited to 3,333 units (~2,200 of which will be reserved for 2026 Subscribers, with the remainder being distributed across our retail channels, including: VS website, OCN, and our retail stores/conventions). It is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Description

After receiving a mysterious invitation from his Aunt Marta, whom he hasn’t seen in thirty years, Richard Hamilton is on his way to his estranged relative's countryside home with his wife and two children in tow. However, upon arrival, the family is bewildered to find not Aunt Marta, but the property's caretaker, Thomas, who informs them that Marta has regrettably been held up and will join them the following morning. When she again fails to appear the next day, her return apparently delayed further, a sense of creeping unease starts to mount. Sure enough, as an unseen assailant sets about dispatching the family members in various gruesome ways, Aunt Marta’s dreadful secret gradually begins to reveal itself…

Helmed by Mario Bianchi, director of genre favorites Creeping Death and Satan’s Baby Doll, and also a prolific maker of 1990s Italian sex films, 1988’s THE MURDER SECRET (aka Don’t Be Afraid of Aunt Martha) was one in a series of horror features released on home video under the banner of “Lucio Fulci presents”. Featuring prolific genre actors Gabriele Tinti (Lisa and the Devil, Black Emanuelle) and Maurice Poli (Rabid Dogs), and boasting some of the series' most outrageous gore set pieces alongside a healthy dose of gratuitous skin-baring, Vinegar Syndrome is thrilled to unveil THE MURDER SECRET in its world UHD premiere, newly restored in 4K from its original 16mm camera negative and accompanied by a host of new, revelatory bonus features.

Details

Director(s): Mario Bianchi

Starring: Adriana Russo, Gabriele Tinti, Anna Maria Placido, Luciana Ottaviani, Maurice Poli, Massimiliano Massimi, Edoardo Massimi, Sacha Darwin

Release Year: 1988

Runtime: 89 min

Aspect Ratio(s): 1.33:1

Language(s): ITA- Italian, ENG- English

Sound: Mono

Subtitles: English

Format: 4K UHD/Blu-ray

Disc Info: 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray

Restoration: 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range; Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative

Packaging Artist(s): Josh Freydkis

Genre: Horror

VS Release Date: September 1, 2026

SKU: VS-544 SLIP-ALT

Bonus Content
  • Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani & Troy Howarth
  • "Don't Be Afraid of Aunt Adriana" (26 min) - an interview with actress Adriana Russo
  • "Horror in B Minor" (17 min) - an interview with uncredited co-writer Francesco Valitutti
  • "Bread, Butter and Gore" (12 min) - an interview with teamster Roberto Stiffi
  • "Three Whites in Red Light" (26 min) - an interview with film historian Franco Grattarola
  • "Four Murders, Zero Secrets" (30 min) - an interview with film historian Stephen Thrower
  • Alternate English title sequence & ending
  • Reversible sleeve artwork
Trailers / Videos
Label Bio

Vinegar Syndrome was founded to rescue, restore, and preserve genre cinema. Our more than 500 releases to date offer ultimate editions of lost, forgotten, under-seen, under-appreciated, and essential works from around the globe.

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Customer Reviews
4.4
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars
Based on 25 reviews
88%would recommend this product
25 reviews
  • TV
    35mm Member
    Tim V.
    Verified Buyer
    2 hours ago
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    A family vacation turns to gory hell in Italy

    Even now, I feel like the "Lucio Fulci presents..." series of films should have been a boxset. None of them are all that great but they are fun if you dig late '80s Italian very low budget trash. This alternate slipcover fits the cheapo tone of the film more and looks garishly fun. It still baffles me that films like these get such a deluxe treatment, the feeling rests that simply a Bluray would probably suffice.

    A not-too-hot-looking Gabriele Tinti visits his aunt Martha with his family and gory antics ensue. It even features the most taboo of fictional death, namely that of a little child. Depending on your viewpoint, that's a low or something that can perfectly exist as long as it's fictional. There's even a magnificently rotting corpse that's probably where most of the budget went to.

    It's a bit slow moving, the actors probably got paid in the form of a vacation but the UHD makes it shine and the extras are so plentiful it puts some other more high profile film releases to shame. And yes, I hope they will complete this collection with Hans E Gretel!

    Quality / PackagingRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Shopping ExperienceRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • DS
    35mm Member
    Dustin S.
    Verified Buyer
    2 days ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    The Murder Secret

    Amazing Slipcover of this crazy fun gory Italian horror flick, the better film in the Lucio Fulci presents series! Sleaze, gore, nudity, and trash what more do you need in a movie! Classic!

    Quality / PackagingRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Shopping ExperienceRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • DL
    35mm Member
    David L.
    Verified Buyer
    3 days ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    80's Italian Horror Rules

    I'm not going to give away anything in reviews just in case there is someone that has never seen this before, but if you love 80's Italian horror, then pick this up. It has everything. It's gritty, raw, practical effects give this the aesthetic one would expect with horror from this era. If you don't appreciate low budgets or unknown actors, then this may not be for you. But if your only expectation is that this film checks all the boxes of a bygone era, then you will most certainly enjoy!

    Quality / PackagingRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Shopping ExperienceRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • FN
    70mm Member
    Fredrik N.
    Verified Buyer
    1 week ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    The murder secre

    Wow This was diffrent and somthing else. Realy Recomended

    Quality / PackagingRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Shopping ExperienceRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • LD
    35mm Member
    Luis D.
    Verified Buyer
    2 weeks ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Lucio Fulci Presents: Awesome 80's!

    These may not be masterpieces but they are damned sure entertaining! A must own for your Italo sleaze collection!

    Quality / PackagingRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Shopping ExperienceRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5

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