I've been overdue for some Severin release coverage. Part of it involves finding all the time I need to sift through their extras-laden releases and the number of first-time watches involved. This batch was all first-time watches and all movies I was excited to see.
First up was their fantastic box set, Antonio Margheriti & The Jungles of Doom: His ‘80s Adventure Films. I’m a sucker for a good knockoff and Severin is the king when it comes to making them available. Recently they’ve tackled Italian Jaws films, and the Bruce Le exploitation cycle in lavish box sets. They even have a box of Italian disco-ploitation on the way.
While you’re waiting for that, this hugely entertaining group of three Indiana Jones knockoffs comes highly recommended. You get Margheriti’s Hunters of the Golden Cobra (1982), The Ark of the Sun God (1984) and Jungle Raiders (1985) in glorious 4K. No commentaries but each film has a accompanying Blu-ray loaded with extra features, and The Ark of the Sun God even has a soundtrack disc.
Lovers of knock-offs have a special place in their hearts for the sheer audacity involved in their production. As crass as the basic idea (cashing in on trends) is the reality that movies of this kind often make up in heart what they lack in originality or budget. These three films, made over a period of a few short years, should go on the shelf right next to the Indiana Jones films, and domestic knockoffs like Firewalker (1986), King Solomon’s Mines (1985) and Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986). Get ready for exploding miniatures, and all the death traps, snake pits, fist fights and jungle melodrama you can handle.
The next recent box set is Gutter Auteur: The Lost Legacy of Andy Milligan. This is the second Milligan box set Severin has released. When the first one, The Dungeon of Andy Milligan was announced, it made quite a stir, containing 14 films, hours of extras, and a lengthy book by Stephen Thrower examining the life and work of one of exploitation films most neglected auteurs.
I’ve never really liked the term auteur myself, but in Milligan’s case it seems appropriate. Those completely unfamiliar with his body of work could be excused for thinking this first box set was the last word on Milligan. Gutter Auteur more than makes a case for continuing to unearth his heretofore unavailable films. The Degenerates (1967), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1968), The House of Seven Bells (1979) and Compass Rose (1967) are accompanied by the eye-opening documentary The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan (2025), which goes a long way towards putting a human face on a controversial marginalized artist.
There are scads of extras here and the films themselves span the horror, melodrama and adult cinema genres. The last thing I’ll say is that we desperately need this sort of appraisal, encouraging fans to dig deeper into the real-life backdrop behind films. Much of Milligan’s life involved problematic behavior and personal trauma, and it would be a disservice to not grapple with how he used filmmaking as a way of dealing with his personal demons.
The remaining releases are, to put it mildly, a hoot. Severin has collected all six episodes of MTV’s The Idiot Box (1991) sketch comedy show for the first time ever. Creators Alex Winter and Tom Stern can rightfully lay claim to surrealist pride of place in TV history. The Idiot Box was less a TV show than group of loosely connected vignettes. All of it pretty clearly seems to come from the same warped universe but the overall effect feels like being dragged through an insane asylum of meta-digs at early 1990s society and culture.
The supporting players here are a remarkable group as well. Making appearances are the likes of Gwar, Lee Arenberg, John Hawkes, Flea, Ricki Lake, the legendary William Schallert and the Boo-Yaa Tribe. Besides all the episodes, the release also includes numerous interviews and Squeal of Death, the short that eventually morphed into the feature film Freaked (1993). If by chance you purchased the recent fantastic Special Edition of Freaked, this beautifully packaged hard slipcase release will make the perfect companion.
The Blu-ray release of Adam and Eve (1983) is a decidedly extra-Biblical reimagining of the Biblical figures that features dinosaur wrestling, lots of supposedely erotic sexual escapades, an Adam who looks like a glam metal singer, and an Eve played by an actress named Andrea Goldman, who, as far as I can tell, never made another film.
Throw in some cannibalisic tribesman, and constant theological reinvention, and you have a temptation for the ages. The disc includes an interview with editor Gianfranco Amicucci but the real draw here is the stop-motion dinosaur work and the knowledge that this 4K scan comes directly from the original camera negative in the, no shit, Vatican Apostolic Archives.
Lastly, are a couple of gonzo martial arts releases. The Bronson Lee Za Karate Collection features all three Za Karate films. Star Tadashi Yamashita, a Japanese/American 8th degree blackbelt. was billed as half Charles Bronson and half Bruce Lee but the films themselves are full of batshit crazy special effects set pieces, and tons of impressive fighting.
Films included on the set are an uncut Japanese version of Za Karate (1974) and the films American cut Bronson Lee Champion (1978) , Za Karate 2 (1974) and Za Karate 3 (1974). Special features include Commentary on Za Karate with star Tadashi Yamashita, actor / director / Bruceploitation expert Michael Worth, and August Ragone, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master Of Monsters.
There's also a partial audio commentary on Bronson Lee, Champion with cult cinema critic Lovely Jon and an interview with Tadashi Yamashita. Za Karate contains commentary by star Tadashi Yamashita, Michael Worth and boxer / fighter A.J. 'The Rabbit' Richardi. Za Karate 3 has audio commentary with star Tadashi Yamashita, Michael Worth and fight choreographer John Kreng, scene specific commentary with co-star Donnie Williams, and an interview with Donnie Williams.
The second martial arts release is pretty wild and sure to spark some discussion in the more thoughtful corners of the fan community. I’d known about the existence of The Crippled Masters for years but only ever seen short clips. The film is exactly what the title suggests: A martial arts film featuring disabled fighters. The film, scanned in 4K from interpositive, is making its disc debut here and it’s easy to see why.
The plot involves two men seeking vengeance for disfiguring injuries inflicted by a local crime boss. In real life, actor Sung-Chuan Shen aka Jackie Shum was born without arms due to Thalidomide Syndrome. Choa-Ming Kang aka Jackie Conn was born with very small legs. Their characters train and learn to fight as a unit, resulting in some of the most unusual martial arts battles ever filmed.
The end result is very entertaining but Severin doesn’t steer away from exploring the themes and issues inherent in the film. You get an audio commentary with Frank Djeng, the co-producer of Enter The Clones of Bruce, an audio essay by cult cinema critic Lovely Jon and an interview with Temple of Schlock’s Chris Poggiali.
That’s it for the Severin roundup this time. But there are some dynamite releases coming that I hope to gab at ya about. In the meantime, support boutique home entertainment labels like Severin. They are doin' the Lord’s own work.
