Sinister Cinema's new 2007-2008 catalog arrived today, and I noticed a few surprises:

Listed for sale are WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR and THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED. I'm not aware that either of those are public domain, so I'm surprised to see them listed.

HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is listed as scope, so this may be from a foreign DVD.

There's no specification that TEDDY BEAR is uncut, so it may be from a cut 16mm print, not the uncut Strand Releasing Corp. 35mm master.

Also, THE INVADERS (aka ERIK THE CONQUEROR) is listed as newly widescreen, so again I suspect that a foreign DVD may be the "source print."

I didn't even know Sinister Cinema was still around...

There are significant differences between the two versions of this film known as ERIK THE CONQUEROR (the AIP recut) and THE INVADERS (the original English dub export version). With a domestic release forthcoming on DVD (which will be the uncut INVADERS version), it seems a mistake for Sinister to be taking the ERIK version out of the loop, if this is indeed what they've done.

My guess is that the previous Sinister release of THE INVADERS was taken from the Panther Home Entertainment VHS cassette, or perhaps Sinister acquired the theatrical print that Panther used. So, my guess regarding his new widescreen transfer is that it is derived from a foreign DVD. I haven't seen either Sinister product, I should emphasize, so I'm speculating here.

Just got the catalog and noticed a few other surprises: it offers THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE, MACUMBA LOVE, and a "widescreen" version of CALTIKI, from a "35mm scope print."

Regarding CALTIKI, I imagine Sinister is using the term "scope" loosely, to indicate their transfer is letterboxed. The recent R2 disc is 1.66, as far as I can tell.

I assume THE THING THAT COULDN'T DIE is still with Universal, though it's never had a home video release.

In a Fangoria interview, MACUMBA LOVE star William Wellman, Jr. talked about the reasons the film has not been available. He said it made a lot of money (produced for $365,000, it made 9 million) and is involved in various legal entanglements. He named the parties involved--director Douglas Fowley, producer Steve Barclay, Brinter Filmes (a Brazilian production company), and another production company (whose name escapes me). Wellman found that MGM has negatives and prints, but said there's not much they can do with it. I'd love to see a transfer from the original neg. Maybe someday...

MACUMBA LOVE is a surprise. I gather from the catalog blurb that their print is not the "uncut" European print, which has a topless shot of June Wilkinson that lasts a couple of seconds. Sinister claims that their print has somewhat better color than the previous brownish boots that have circulated in the past.