‘Rebel Ridge’ Director’s Debut, ‘Murder Party,’ Coming to Blu-ray Via Magnolia-OCN Distribution Partnership (EXCLUSIVE)
Select titles from Magnolia Pictures’ expansive library of films are set for re-release — and upgrade — thanks to a new physical media distribution partnership.
OCN Distribution, sister company of genre-centric home video label Vinegar Syndrome, has brokered a deal with American indie film distributor Magnolia Pictures, as well as their genre imprint Magnet Releasing, to distribute several of its titles on Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Following Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray release of Prano Bailey-Bond’s 2021 film “Censor,” the first Magnolia release to be distributed by OCN is the horror comedy “Murder Party,” the debut of “Rebel Ridge” director Jeremy Saulnier.
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“It’s a delight to finally answer ‘fuck yes!’ to fans who’ve been asking for a ‘Murder Party’ Blu-ray,” Saulnier said in a statement. “I’m really stoked about higher resolution video and amazing new art from Chris at Brutal Posters. Working with Justin LaLiberty at Vinegar Syndrome for this release has been exciting and collaborative, and it’s a great comfort to know my first film is in the right genre-loving hands.”
Formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, Magnolia quickly established itself as a reliable distributor of foreign and independent films. The company’s first title was writer-director Larry Fessenden’s “Wendigo,” and in just its first few years, Magnolia and Magnet released films from Lodge Kerrigan (“Keane”), Rodrigo Garcia (“Nine Lives”), Steven Soderbergh (“Bubble”), Bong Joon-ho (“The Host”), Ti West (“The House of the Devil”) and Nicolas Winding Refn (the “Pusher” trilogy, “Bronson”).
“Our partnership with Vinegar Syndrome [and OCN Distribution] further opens the door for us to meet the evolving needs of the fans of our films in a way that focuses on heightening the collectability of physical media by celebrating the uniqueness of our illustrious indie film pedigree,” a spokesperson for Magnolia said in a statement. “This new partnership highlights the importance that physical home video releases still hold for some consumers, and it affords us the opportunity to reinvigorate our catalog in a way that is evocative of the expansive needs of the home entertainment market.”
The addition of Magnolia expands OCN’s already robust list of distribution partners, which includes the American Genre Film Archive, Dark Star Pictures, Factory 25, Music Box Films, Utopia and more. OCN made the announcement concurrent with the news that it has renewed its established relationships with IFC Films and Shudder through 2025, with nearly 30 releases due out in the calendar year across the two brands. In a statement, LaLiberty said, “2024 was a banner year for OCN, and IFC Films and Shudder were a huge part of that. We are eager to continue working with two of the most identifiable, and successful, brands in the marketplace that are synonymous with quality curation.”
He concluded, “Adding Magnolia to the OCN family only strengthens what we have been building over the past few years, aiming to give the very best physical media presentation to the films that we, and many others, are eager to have on our shelves.”
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