The re-release has a street date in March 2012. It is the exact same edit, but it has a lot of bonus features:
41-minute interview with Peter Steele
20 minutes of behind-the scenes
20 minutes of the Gaylord character
WHEN YOU LOOK FOR THIS MOVIE, MAKE SURE THAT SYBELLE SILVERPHOENIX IS IN THE CREDITS. THERE IS A MUCH EARLIER VERSION OF THE MOVIE THAT IS ALSO CALLED "DIRTBAGS" (WHICH STARS JEANNE POTTER).
The older version has the tagline of "The Armpit of Metal" amd the new version, which is described here, sometimes has the tagline of "Evil Never Felt So Good."
There is a belief that is often expressed in stories which basically assumes that all people are inherently good. Sometimes you will see characters try to reach that "inner goodness" in a villain, to try to make him choose the "good" path and to step off the path of destruction.
DIRTBAGS takes place in a world where the opposite belief holds true. In this world, humans are believed to be inherently evil.
Although this outlook may seem to be a good springboard for launching some characters into episodes of vile behavior, and thereby creating opportunities for unique comical situations, it is the creativity of the writer that brings you the bizarre situations, not the "new rules of the universe." Why? Because Bill Zebub shows that many "selfless"acts from "good" people are actually selfish.
You can see through the disguise of many "good" acts. An altruist always gets some personal gain. The reward can be social status, which isn't something material, but it is still a reward.
Consider the christian who goes through life obeying bizarre rules and occasionally performing some kind of masochistic rite. Any kind of "charity" that this person enacts is for two basic reasons. Firstly, it is an act of indocrination - the person was trained/brainwashed into performing that behavior, so it is NOT moral, because there is no thought that goes into it. It's just mindless conformity//obedience. More importantly, it is a combination of the expectation of a reward (heaven) and the fear of punishment (hell) - which is extremely selfish. "Mindless and selfish" - that should be the motto of such a person.
So there you have the essence behind everything that you see in the movie. These basic tenets comprise all of the "shock" content, if it can truly be called that. You can enjoy the movie on a surface level and laugh, quite easily, at some of the visceral content. But beneath it all are some razor sharp observations. If comedy is a social mirror, then this movie is a social circus-mirror.
The movie is actually a good test for weeding out the fake people in your circle. If a person is too vocal in his or her protests, then there is something else at work in the person. Think about it. A mature person would not have a tantrum - such outbursts are always suspect, and you have to ask why such a person always seeks attention for his/her outrage.
But enough of the cerebral aspects. You will seek this movie out because you want to see what some people call "wrong" humor, and there is plenty of that in this movie. Bill Zebub has always enjoyed humor that shallow people considered to be revolting, like the early movies of John Waters, particularly "Desperate Living." But he also loves the comedy of Laurel & Hardy in which the characters are love-able.
DIRTBAGS is experimental on many levels. One of the things that Bill Zebub wanted to test was to see how complex a plot can become before people start getting lost. Viewers who have deep comprehension marvel at the intricate webs in this story, while obtuse viewers claim that there is no plot. Mainstream people should not watch this movie because the viewer is expected to do some thinking and personal interpretation - Bill Zebub never tells you WHAT to think - he just MAKES you think. If you don't want to do that, don't watch the movie.
In DIRTBAGS, every character has a personal agenda, and this leads to conflicts with people who have conflicting agendas. Sometimes the aspects align, but usually they cross, violently.