Even if you’re not old enough to remember renting Gates of Hell on VHS, underage, at your local multistory video store just to watch someone vomiting her guts out, Ry Levey’s new documentary, Boutique: To Preserve and Collect, will take you back to those days.
Thankfully, though, Boutique is not just about the past. The film is a love letter to physical media and the heroes who restore old forgotten Z-grade films for modern-day consumption.
As such, Boutique chronicles what seems like a full-blown renaissance of specialty Blu-ray outfits and eclectic distribution labels. Many companies are now resurrecting long-lost cinema obscurities as well as classic cinematic landmarks. In addition, these companies endeavor to rescue and restore films, bringing back to the forefront underappreciated artists and overlooked works to the masses.
The best thing? We’re not just talking about slasher films, although Boutique starts out that way, prompting one to think, OK, it’s revenge of the VHS-duping nerds who in the 1980s went out of their way to amass collections of stuff like City of the Walking Dead, Pieces or Basket Case—not that I’m speaking from experience.
As the film unfolds, or unrolls, we get elaborate, priceless interviews with representatives and even owners of modern-day restoration companies like Vinegar Syndrome, Severin or the Australian outfit Umbrella Entertainment, all of whom are lovingly rescuing, restoring, and re-releasing long-discarded works that fell through the cracks, and adding brand-new commentary from people who know what they’re talking about.
Joe Rubin, co-owner and co-founder of Vinegar Syndrome, whose mom was a librarian, appears throughout the film, completely in his element. Racks of canisters and cleaning supplies surround him. Thanks to his mom, who introduced him to projectors at the age of three, Rubin became obsessed with everything film-related. He began collecting 16mm films at a very young age and became a connoisseur of camp before too much longer.
The stories go on and on. Forgotten filmmakers and, in some cases, the equally washed-up stars of the films return to the forefront via interviews. We hear from expert critics, academics, slasher film aficionados and even gay porn historians, all to provide context on just how important it is to preserve and re-release old bombs from decades ago, but with fresh commentary tracks and extra packaging that elevates those films into a completely new conversation.
Sometimes, even the directors themselves are blown away by the new interest in their films. Take David Blyth from New Zealand, for example. No rational person on earth thought anyone four decades later would even still talk about his splatter zombie abomination, Death Warmed Up, especially since the negative was destroyed.
Now, thanks to a recent Blu-ray rerelease by Severin, a completely new audience is having a blast with it. Among the interviews in Boutique, we hear from Blyth, now pushing 70, looking back on Death Warmed Up, effectively New Zealand’s first-ever horror feature.
“It took thirty years, with the help of the Heritage Trust of the New Zealand Film Commission, to restore the film,” Blyth says. “We ended up searching the world for an uncut print. We never found it.”
Another example: John Huckert directed The Passing in 1983. Huckert was also the producer and the co-star. Yep, one of those. The film lasted one week in the theater and was totally forgotten. Then the film was accidentally destroyed, making Huckert think God just didn’t want anyone to remember it. Then when Vinegar Syndrome restored it to 2K and released a Blu-ray/DVD combo in 2019, replete with additional shorts and commentary, the film reached a totally new audience, thanks to Joe Rubin of Vinegar Syndrome.
“I’m actually amazed that Joe exists,” says Huckert, adding that he now wants to get back in the film business again.
Ultimately, it’s all about the physical media. The film. The creaky projectors. The canisters. The restoration process. The joy of finding some old creep that lets you raid his untouched-for-decades warehouse collection. Connoisseurs of camp are more common than you might realize.
For years, we’ve already heard from the vinyl junkies and the record collectors. Celluloid should now be given its due.
Boutique: To Preserve and Collect screens twice during Cinequest. Showtimes are at 3Below Theaters on March 15 at 2:30pm ($14) and March 17 at 2:40pm ($8). Visit cinequest.org.
