WOLFPACK is part of our Vinegar Syndrome Archive collection, celebrating forgotten cinematic oddities from the video store era. This collection was inspired by our own brick & mortar video store, The Archive in Bridgeport, CT.
Unique to this line, each hand numbered limited edition release will come fitted in a specially designed, bottom loading VHS inspired slipcase, while also including a double-sided poster.
These releases will ONLY be available on our website and at participating indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them. This slipcase edition is strictly limited to 5,000 units and may (but probably not) be followed by a standard edition in the future.
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High school student Sam Adams has just moved to a new house in a sleepy, all-American town. His new school seems perfect at first and he is quickly accepted onto the football team. But something about his fellow players seems a bit off, particularly the brutish and arrogant Jack “Boot” Butkowski. As Sam soon discovers, the team have appointed themselves as dictatorial leaders of the school, openly modeling their behaviors after the SS and terrorizing anyone who doesn’t fall in line, while rewarding those who pledge blind allegiance. When Sam’s unwillingness to submit results in a violent attack on an elderly family friend, he decides to take matters into his own hands…
An allegorical examination on the allure of groupthink and the power of fascism, Bill Milling’s (Nightmare in a Damaged Brain, The Vixens of Kung Fu) WOLFPACK is a tense 80s updating of the juvenile delinquent film. Vinegar Syndrome Archive presents the world disc debut of WOLFPACK, a movie which helped inspire the creation of VSA, and which has been newly restored from its 35mm original camera negative.
directed by: Bill Milling
starring: Jim Abele, Debbie Barker, Tony Carlin, Nicholas Di Archangel, Anthony Randazzo
1987 / 84 min / 1.85:1 / English Stereo
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.2995167 / 5 from 207 reviews.
Wolfpack, part of the Vinegar Syndrome Archive collection, is a restored 80s film with a strong cast and high-quality presentation. Customers appreciate the unique slipcase packaging and the film's social commentary on conformity and fascism. The release is limited to 5,000 units, available exclusively online and at select retailers.
Review topics: [colors, quality, feel, picture, design, cover, looks, work, value, packaging, box, buy, case, detail, movie, film, transfer, release, slipcase, drama, flick, thriller, artwork, vsa, poster, wolfpack, score, features, restoration, title].
"I know director Bill Milling from the great adult film Oriental Blue but here he turns his attention to an anti-fascist message film about a high school where an extreme fascist group (the football team) starts to rear its ugly head. No humor here, serious dramatics only. An effective film, for sure. As this is part of the VSA line, it comes with a nice, thick slipcase which looks classy. Great A/V and extras too."
"Great movie and superb packaging. VSA titles always have a hard slipcase"
"Liked this movie a lot. A bit of "made for TV" vibe to the production, but it's a fun allegorical story that's still, if not more, relevant today. A little goofy, but that's part of the charm. Great looking VSA cover."
"A fascist inspired high school football team takes over the local school. until one man stands up to them. I've always loved the design of the VSA packaging and the artwork for the hard case & the Blu-ray wrap. . . . always a nice selection of artwork. I've heard that the movie "The Wave" (1981) is a "better" version of this. But I think I enjoy Wolfpack more!"
"The slip is pretty nice, so I bumped it up. This one was a lot better than I thought (or read) it was gonna be. . . It almost feels like this was going to be a made for TV movie, but it's probably a little too "adult" for primetime back then. Check out the trailer and if it looks interesting to you definitely pick up next time it's on sale!"
"Spun Wolfpack (1988) on the Vinegar Syndrome VSA Blu-ray and this release is awesome for 80s action fans. The new restoration looks clean and film like with nice grain and natural color. Audio is solid and the packaging is premium like all the VSA titles. A cool slice of vigilante style 80s filmmaking rescued in style."
"Feels like aliens or Italians made an 80s ABC After School Special. Everything just feels off, but that’s the juice inducing you to keep watching. With a few jaw-dropping wtf scenes, this could’ve been a contender. As it is, still worth a watch. Sadly, its fascism cautionary tale still rings too true today."
"A bit of a confused mess with a plot that jumps all over the place, but it does ultimately register as an anti-fascist message. It's also a "high school" film with 30-year olds playing teenagers, which is always a hoot. Nothing graphic, violence or sex wise, with a cast that seems very beginner and a director that keeps losing the plot. It's worth a watch, if only as commentary on fascist tendencies, the lead villain asserts "Power is TRUTH!" The characters are mainly stereotypes, overall most are non-specific, though fun. The Jewish politician, the drug dealer burnouts, and so on - it definitely was aimed at being a direct-to-video title that parents wouldn't mind their junior high kids seeing. It does have a few great looking fellas, including a teacher!, and some intended funny moments, not just those that are lol-level beginner."
"A coming of age anti-fascist football film! I really enjoyed this one."
"Wolfpack is a fascinating, mostly successful attempt to examine fascist dynamics within a small-town football team and the culture orbiting it — filtered through the most aggressively 80s lens imaginable. Our hero, “Sam Adams” (yeah, I know), is played with aw-shucks charisma by Jim Abele — 6'4" of lanky earnestness poured into a Canadian tuxedo. Tony Carlin plays his beefy blond nemesis, Jack Butowski, aka “Jack Boot. ” (I’ll give you a second with that one. Okay? Cool. ) He’s a classic Reagan-era bourgeois baddie, with a jaw that could cut glass and a villain monologue delivered in nothing but short shorts and what appears to be the entire baby oil reserve of North America. What I love most about Wolfpack is how it swings wildly between goofy and genuinely chilling. One minute it’s high school sports movie absurdity, the next it’s flirting with disturbingly recognizable authoritarian psychology. That tonal whiplash shouldn’t work — but somehow, it kind of does. This is my third VSA, and I continue to love the packaging for this line. The bottom-loading VHS-style hard case hits me right in the former video store kid nostalgia. There’s a fold-out poster, though I would’ve preferred a booklet with an essay or two. The same goes for the lack of an audio commentary. So much of Wolfpack begs for analysis that those omissions feel like missed opportunities. Aside from a quick-and-dirty interview with director/co-writer Bill Milling and a locations tour, the extras are pretty slim."
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