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In a rental market where the gore film was being promoted by oversized, colorful boxes, Paragon Video Productions held their own on the rental shelves with their seemingly subtle "slip-sleeve" releases. Aside from the ordinary films released by Paragon, there were many notable horror movies that the gorehounds rented at the hands of this distributor - Savage Weekend (a fore-runner to the Halloween and Friday the 13th films, starring David Gale from the Re-Animator films), Boarding House (a pioneer in the shot-on-video horror film trend), Beast in the Cellar, Night of Bloody Horror, Gates of Hell (aka City of the Living Dead, directed by Lucio Fulci; this film was later re-released in "big-box" form) - to name a few. Among the vast list of VHS classics that splashed the screen with gobs of spaghetti-sauce-like stage blood, Dr. Butcher MD (aka Zombi Holocaust) is one of the most familiar examples from the neon era. For synopsis, review and commentary, click HERE.  Aquarius Releasing theatrically released Dr. Butcher MD in 1981, originally titled Zombi Holocaust (directed by Marino Girolami - the screen credit was changed to Frank Martin). In addition to the re-title, story development scenes were cut down, a brief instance of gore was removed (during the "anatomy class" scene at the beginning of the film) and a scene that had been removed for the European release was re-inserted (an obvious extra scene shot as an afterthought; the film was set in the tropical South Pacific - the leafless oak trees surrounding the landscape in this scene were a complete mismatch). To make up for the running time lost through the deleted scenes, a prologue was added consisting of a very short credit sequence, a still shot of a mock newspaper headline, and footage from an independent film directed by Roy Frumkes (complete with a zombie rising from the grave). The film was re-scored via synth music. Some of the sound cues were changed. The electronic feel of the music dramatically changed the mood of the film, especially during the climax and end-title card. Dr. Butcher was not the only film that went through such a metamorphosis by Aquarius Releasing. Lucio Fulci's film, The Beyond, a film that dealt with the gates of hell opening under an old hotel (and unleashing zombies upon the Earth), was edited and re-scored - but it was censored to earn an R-rating. Released three years after its theatrical run, Dr. Butcher MD made it to the shelves in the standard slip-sleeve box design. The theatrical poster for Dr. Butcher was used (with minor alterations), surrounded by the standard horror-genre-red border. Under the border is the standard white "band" that wrapped around the lower inch of the entire front, back and spine of the box. The Paragon logo was printed on the front. The spine of the sleeve had the common "rainbow checkerboard" design (sans the color green) that was found on most of Paragon's sleeve releases. The white band had a pentagonal, blue-green star printed on it. While many collectors may be swayed by the fact that only the opposite spine sports the title of the movie and the box would stick out like a sore thumb on a shelf, others would conclude that it is precisely its appeal. The title is not visible when stacked "library-style" on a shelf, but anyone looking among movies on a shelf would immediately recognize that it is a Paragon release. The back of the box features a famous, yet heavily doctored, still from the film (potentially misleading the casual renter into believing that this is an animated film) at the top, followed by a typically brief synopsis (a little over three lines). The R-rating and disclaimer are printed on the white band.  The video opens with the standard warning and the grandiose Paragon Video Productions fanfare/logo screen, giving way to a series of interesting previews: Boarding House (mentioned above, filmed in HorrorVision!), For Your Love Only (a Nastassia Kinski film), Funeral Home, One-Armed Executioner, Hotwire, Just Before Dawn, The Gates of Hell.....some were theatrical trailers, others were mere scene samples. The inclusion of such previews always entice the viewer into coming back for more - and getting collectors to add rarities to their shopping lists. After viewing a rare Japanese laserdisc of this film, this reviewer was puzzled by absence of the Aquarius logo/fanfare at the beginning of the film. The presentation is zoomed for fullscreen presentation. Unfortunately, long after this video went out of print, the film was released by Media Blasters on VHS and DVD in its international version (with only the tacked-on prologue included as an extra). The rest of the oddball music is lost, and the viewer is left with only one presentation. Although the original version of the film had its merits, the revised version is something that should be preserved for collectors and nostalgia purposes. This video is rare, however, the version released by Thriller Video (which, oddly wasn't hosted by Elvira like most of the other Thriller Video releases) is nearly impossible to come by. Collectors of rare genre VHS releases the world over are probably familiar with the Paragon label, in particular, this release. One thing is for sure - Paragon's Dr. Butcher sleeve videocassette is as highly sought-after as some of its Continental and Wizard Video counterparts in an oversized box.....
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