Blu-Ray Giveaway! Win a copy of Severin Film's new release of Russ Meyer's, UP!

 UP! BLU-RAY GIVEAWAY IS LIVE!!

 It's been awhile since I have been provided any giveaway materials, but the great folks at Severin Films were nice enough to provide me a Blu-ray Copy of Russ Meyer's 1976 film, UP!, to pass along to one lucky reader of the 4H Blog!!  

 That's right, a free copy of UP! is UP for grabs, and I'll even pay shipping!  All you have to do is enter the contest!

 I'll run this contest for 1 week, so last eligible entries need to be posted by next Saturday, 5/10,  at 11:59 pm Central time.   

 Please go check out the giveaway post on Hayes Hudson's House of Horror Facebook page to enter:

Hayes Hudson's House of Horror Facebook Page

Or, if you don't use Facebook, just leave your name and email in the comments of this blog post and you'll be entered!

See official rules below, and good luck!!

TO ENTER THE CONTEST, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:  

1. Go to the Facebook Post about the giveaway on the Hayes Hudson's House of Horror Facebook page and like the post and leave a comment, this will automatically enter you in the contest!

2. If you don't have/use Facebook, then leave a comment on this post with your NAME and EMAIL ADDRESS so I can contact you for your shipping info if you are the winner (if valid email address is not given, I will post the winners name on the site and winner will have one week to contact me with their shipping info. If prize is not claimed within one week, prize will be forfeited)

 
3. Only one comment per person. Multiple comments will result in removal of all your comments therefore removing all your chances of winning!

4. Contest is scheduled to end on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Comments must be left by 11:59 Central Time on 5/10 in order to count towards the contest.

5. Contest winner will be chosen by random.org and must agree to let me post their name in a separate post stating who won the prize.

6. Due to shipping costs, contest is open to U.S. Residents only. Thank you for your understanding.

GOOD LUCK!!!

BLU RAY REVIEW: VIXEN! (1968)

VIXEN!

Directed by:  Russ Meyer

Distributed by:  Severin Films / MVD Entertainment

 I have heard of Russ Meyer for as long as I can remember, but I have never seen one of his films until now.   I really had no clue what to expect, other than what I knew of his love for the female anatomy, especially the very well endowed ones!  

  Recently, Severin Films reached an agreement with Meyer's estate to distribute three of his most iconic films,  VIXEN!, SUPERVIXENS, and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS in new 4K, BD, and DVD versions scanned in 4K from the original negative and restored by The Museum of Modern Art.  

  While I mainly focus on Horror films for this blog, I do like to branch out from time to time and have covered Exploitation, Sexploitation, and even Nunsploitation films in the past.   These films would definitely fall under the Sexploitation sub-genre and were an interesting batch of films to say the least.   I'll be watching them in order and then doing a review of each one, starting with this first feature, VIXEN!

Here is a little bit about the film from the Severin Films website:

Amid the cultural chaos of 1968 and armed with a budget of only $70,000, producer/director/cinematographer Russ Meyer transcended sexploitation by crafting this “bosomacious melodrama” (Time Magazine) about racism, communism, bush pilots, draft dodgers and a ferociously free-spirited wife named Vixen (the incredible Erica Gavin of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and CAGED HEAT). Despite attempts at censorship that included one of the first-ever X ratings and 23 separate U.S. prosecutions for obscenity, it became one of the year’s top-grossing movies, forever transformed independent film and remains the creative template for Meyer’s unapologetic vision of American cinema.

Here is the brief  "plot synopsis" from IMDb:

The free-spirited wife of a Canadian bush pilot seduces a Mountie, a married couple and her biker brother, all while trading blows of racial prejudice with her brother's black friend.

 I put "plot synopsis" in quotes above, because there really wasn't much plot to this film.   It's really just about the pilot's wife seducing anyone she comes into contact with.   That's really about it!  They did try to throw in some subplot at the end about communism, but it felt very out of place with the rest of the film.  

  This film was very uncomfortable to watch at some points, mainly with the scenes of the interactions between Vixen and her brother's African American friend, Niles.   She does not like him and calls him a slew of names, most of  which were crude racial slurs. 

As I stated before, most scenes were just Vixen seducing anyone she comes in contact with.  At one point, Vixen seduces a man at a fish fry by dancing with an uncooked fish and performing simulated oral sex on the fish!   It's a weird one, for sure!

 This film is actually very tame by today's standards.  The sex scenes are simulated and don't show anything too extreme, mainly just breasts.  The fact that this got an "X" rating is laughable by today's standards, but when this came out in 1968, I'm sure it was a bit more shocking.   I'm sure the brother/sister incest scene was a big play in that X rating!   Oh yeah, I guess I failed to mention that earlier!    

 Overall, VIXEN was a film that seems like it doesn't have much of a point, other than just showing off the beautiful actress's bodies and generally trying to shock the audience. 

 One thing to note is the picture quality on these new releases.   I saw grainy screenshots online, and being from 1968 I was expecting not so great picture quality, but boy was I mistaken.  As soon as the film started I was blown away by this new restoration.  The picture was super sharp and the colors were very vibrant!

 VIXEN! is available now from Severin Films and if you know anything about Severin Films, you know they always put some amazing special features on their releases.  This one is no exception, and contains the following Special Features:

1981 Censor Prologue (Theatrical Re-Release)

Archival Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Co-Editor/Director Russ Meyer

Audio Commentary With Actress Erica Gavin

Woman... Or Animal? - Interviews With Actors Erica Gavin And Harrison Page

David Del Valle's The Sinister Image With Guests Russ Meyer And Yvette Vickers

Entertainment... Or Obscenity? - Marc Edward Heuck On The Film's Historic Cincinnati Censorship Battles

Trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the 2-Disc 4K UHD edition

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD