Ruby - Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1977
Director: Curtis Harrington
Writers: George Edwards, Steve Krantz, Barry Schneider
Cast: Piper Laurie, Stuart Whitman, Roger Davis, Janit Baldwin, Len Lesser, Jack Perkins, Eddy Donno, Mary Margaret Robinson, Michael Alldredge

Release Date: October 21st, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 84 Minutes 52 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $49.98

"In 1930s Florida, mobster Nicky Rocco is gunned down by his own gang in front of his mistress, Ruby Claire, who turns out to be carrying his child. Almost two decades later, Ruby—once a songstress with dreams of stardom—is living out a quiet existence with her daughter Leslie, now a mute 16-year-old, in a large house adjoining a drive-in, which she runs alongside Nicky's old gang members. When, one by one, the former mobsters start winding up dead in various bizarre and gruesome ways, a parapsychologist, Dr. Paul Keller, arrives on the scene to investigate. Upon witnessing a series of unsettling supernatural occurrences, he begins to suspect that Nicky is meting out revenge from beyond the grave against those who betrayed him while using his own teenage daughter as the conduit…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4.25/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Ruby comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 59.7 GB

Feature: 58.9 GB

This new transfer is a substantial improvement over VCI’s 2017 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones and colors look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Ruby comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.5 GB

Feature: 23.5 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent; it is a marked improvement over VCI’s 2017 Blu-ray release. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director Curtis Harrington and actress Piper Laurie, an archival audio commentary with journalist and film historian David Del Valle and film historian Nathaniel Bell, and an audio commentary with David Del Valle and filmmaker David DeCoteau.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a radio spot (1 minute 3 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Curtis Harrington interview part one on David Del Valle’s Sinister Image (28 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Curtis Harrington interview part two on David Del Valle’s Sinister Image (29 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a 2001 interview with Curtis Harrington, conducted by David Del Valle (59 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Roger Davis titled Keeping it Natural (11 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with film critic and author Kim Newman titled A Cinematic Summoning (23 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles),an alternate TV version of Ruby sourced from video (95 minutes 35 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Curtis Harrington and Piper Laurie, an archival audio commentary with David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell, and an audio commentary with David Del Valle and David DeCoteau.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 6,000 units).

Summary:

Curtis Harrington directed Ruby. He’s known for Night Tide, The Killing Kind, Killer Bees, and Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell.

16 years after he was murdered by his associates, a gangster returns by possessing his daughter and using her as a conduit to kill those responsible for his death.

Ruby is a revenge-themed supernatural horror film in which a man, murdered by his associates, returns as a malevolent spirit. Although the narrative begins with the event that would later trigger a series of bloody and gruesome killings, it remains vague about how the murdered man returns as a spirit, using his daughter as a vessel for vengeance. That said, what the narrative lacks exposition-wise, it more than makes up for with atmosphere.

The main reason why Ruby works as well as it does is because of Piper Laurie’s (Carrie) portrayal of Ruby, a nightclub singer whose mobster boyfriend was murdered in front of her while she was pregnant with his child. Throughout her career Piper Laurie excelled at portraying mentally unstable characters like Ruby. The most surprising performance is Janit Baldwin (Humongous) in the role of Ruby’s equally troubled daughter. That said, all of the performances suit the story that unfolds well.

When discussing Ruby, one reference stands out and cannot be ignored: The Exorcist. Not only do both films revolve around demonic possession, but also Leslie’s act while possessed mimics Regan from The Exorcist. Despite their similarities, the two films are fundamentally different, with Ruby falling short in every aspect. That said, Don Ellis delivers a very effective mood-reinforcing score, and Curtis Harrington's solid direction delivers a handful of arresting moments that help heighten the mood. Ultimately, Ruby is a film that would have been forgotten if it were not for Piper Laurie’s performance.

Vinegar Syndrome gives Ruby its best home media release to date. Recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer