Do you like your movies gritty, sleazy and covered in enough motor grease to make your hair stand on end? Then buckle up, horror fans, because MVD and VCI Entertainment are bringing a biker movie cult favorite back to the road with a new special edition of Northville Cemetery Massacre.
Arriving December 15, the Northville Cemetery Massacre: Special 50th Anniversary Edition marks the film’s global Blu-ray debut, featuring a brand-new 4K restoration from the best available film elements. The release will also be available on DVD, but the Blu-ray has an extra reason for collectors to pay attention: for the first time on home video, fans will be able to watch the previously unseen Director’s Cut, featuring more than seven minutes of restored footage in widescreen.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR NORTHVILLE CEMETERY MASSACRE BELOW
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Originally released in 1976, the film follows the Spirits Motorcycle Club, whose members include real-life members of Detroit’s Scorpions Motorcycle Club. What begins as a cross-country ride to celebrate a wedding quickly turns ugly when the bikers run into trouble with local law enforcement. After a deputy assaults a young woman and attempts to pin the blame on the club, tensions escalate, setting off a violent clash between the bikers and the townspeople determined to drive them out.
Co-directed by Tom Van Dyke and William Dear, Northville Cemetery Massacre doesn’t exactly take the scenic route when it comes to mayhem. Expect shootings, bloodshed, gruesome effects and a drive-in theater shootout, all building toward a cemetery massacre involving a helicopter. This is the kind of rough-around-the-edges exploitation cinema that doesn’t come around quite as often as it used to.
There’s some interesting talent behind the scenes, too. Nick Nolte provided an uncredited voiceover for the character Chris, while Monkees member Michael Nesmith composed the film’s soundtrack. Nesmith and Dear would later collaborate on the influential video project Elephant Parts.
For physical media collectors, the new edition comes loaded with extras. The Blu-ray includes a new 2026 commentary by film historian Rob Kelly featuring a conversation with Van Dyke, archival commentaries with the filmmakers, commentary from the Scorpions Motorcycle Club, behind-the-scenes audio, a photo gallery, international poster artwork, lobby cards and VHS covers. The package also includes the original theatrical trailer restored in 4K, a 12-page collectible booklet with an essay and artwork by Van Dyke, Spanish subtitles, and a featurette comparing the 16mm negative with the 35mm interpositive used in the restoration.
With a new restoration, restored footage and a generous collection of archival material, this release looks like a worthwhile addition for fans of vintage biker movies and grimy exploitation cinema.
