June 12, 2006
The horrorÂ… the horror | Scarborough-based DVD distributor Vini Bancalari's obsession with horror, cult and sci-fi films leads to a new deal with The Horror Channel
By Whit Richardson
Vini Bancalari's love of horror films began in the glow of a television set in Brooklyn in 1965. He was six years old, and his first scare came from a bloodthirsty gorilla. "It was just a guy in a real cheesy suit, but that was the first night I had a hard time falling asleep," Bancalari says. "It must have made an impression, because all of a sudden I found myself looking through the TV Guide week after week, circling all the scary movies I could find."
Forty-one years later, Bancalari is one of the lucky few who has turned an obsession into a vocation. Working out of his home in Scarborough, Bancalari runs Elite Entertainment, an independent label that licenses and releases horror, sci-fi and cult films on DVD. The business, which Bancalari founded in New Jersey in 1993, has faced increased competition in recent years for shelf space and film licenses. But Bancalari in May inked a distribution deal with Guttenberg, N.J.-based The Horror Channel to make Elite the exclusive DVD supplier for all Horror Channel feature film programming. The deal increases Elite's catalogue of titles from about 50 to more than three or four hundred virtually overnight. "This is like finding buried treasure," Bancalari says. "I mean, 400 movies made by the filmmakers of tomorrow."
When Bancalari founded Elite in 1993 to release horror films on Laserdisc, he was a pioneer in the field. Back then, Bancalari was working for a wholesale Laserdisc distributor, and noticed that no one was releasing horror films with the extras that other movies were receiving. "It seemed like every other week there was another special edition of My Fair Lady, but I never saw any Nightmare on Elm Street or anything like that," Bancalari says.
Inspired, Bancalari, his wife and a partner who left the business in the late 90s approached George Romero, the director of the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. Bancalari made a deal with Romero to gain access to the old negatives, B-reels and deleted scenes to create a special edition on Laserdisc. "We figured we'd put out that one title and get back to our real jobs," Bancalari says.
But after the first pressing of the remastered horror classic brought him a check for $300,000 and was nominated for two Laserdisc awards, Bancalari realized he'd found a new career. He left his job and began to acquire, through licensing deals, classic horror titles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Evil Dead to release on Laserdisc. "We were really getting all my favorite movies and I was getting to work with my idols," Bancalari says.
His success didn't go unnoticed, however. New independent labels and major studios began to see the value of the horror genre, and soon Bancalari couldn't afford to renew the licenses ˆ which last an average of seven years ˆ on the major titles he had previously held. By the end of the 90s, he'd lost the rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and most of the other big titles once in his catalog.
Elite switched to DVDs in 2001 and began releasing newer, independent horror films ˆ the kind that make up the bulk of programming The Horror Channel plans to release through Elite. Bancalari hopes the deal will make up some of the ground he's lost to the bigger labels and help him reclaim classic titles like The Evil Dead. But he says there's one downside to running a business that involves his favorite movies. "After having restored them and screened them hundreds of times they're no longer my favorite films," he says. "But with time, as long as I can stay away from them for a few years until I miss them, then I can rediscover them."
Forty-one years later, Bancalari is one of the lucky few who has turned an obsession into a vocation. Working out of his home in Scarborough, Bancalari runs Elite Entertainment, an independent label that licenses and releases horror, sci-fi and cult films on DVD. The business, which Bancalari founded in New Jersey in 1993, has faced increased competition in recent years for shelf space and film licenses. But Bancalari in May inked a distribution deal with Guttenberg, N.J.-based The Horror Channel to make Elite the exclusive DVD supplier for all Horror Channel feature film programming. The deal increases Elite's catalogue of titles from about 50 to more than three or four hundred virtually overnight. "This is like finding buried treasure," Bancalari says. "I mean, 400 movies made by the filmmakers of tomorrow."
When Bancalari founded Elite in 1993 to release horror films on Laserdisc, he was a pioneer in the field. Back then, Bancalari was working for a wholesale Laserdisc distributor, and noticed that no one was releasing horror films with the extras that other movies were receiving. "It seemed like every other week there was another special edition of My Fair Lady, but I never saw any Nightmare on Elm Street or anything like that," Bancalari says.
Inspired, Bancalari, his wife and a partner who left the business in the late 90s approached George Romero, the director of the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. Bancalari made a deal with Romero to gain access to the old negatives, B-reels and deleted scenes to create a special edition on Laserdisc. "We figured we'd put out that one title and get back to our real jobs," Bancalari says.
But after the first pressing of the remastered horror classic brought him a check for $300,000 and was nominated for two Laserdisc awards, Bancalari realized he'd found a new career. He left his job and began to acquire, through licensing deals, classic horror titles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Evil Dead to release on Laserdisc. "We were really getting all my favorite movies and I was getting to work with my idols," Bancalari says.
His success didn't go unnoticed, however. New independent labels and major studios began to see the value of the horror genre, and soon Bancalari couldn't afford to renew the licenses ˆ which last an average of seven years ˆ on the major titles he had previously held. By the end of the 90s, he'd lost the rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and most of the other big titles once in his catalog.
Elite switched to DVDs in 2001 and began releasing newer, independent horror films ˆ the kind that make up the bulk of programming The Horror Channel plans to release through Elite. Bancalari hopes the deal will make up some of the ground he's lost to the bigger labels and help him reclaim classic titles like The Evil Dead. But he says there's one downside to running a business that involves his favorite movies. "After having restored them and screened them hundreds of times they're no longer my favorite films," he says. "But with time, as long as I can stay away from them for a few years until I miss them, then I can rediscover them."
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