David Gregory: the Severin Films co-founder behind the cult-restoration label

Overview

David Gregory is a British filmmaker and home-entertainment executive who co-founded and now leads Severin Films, the boutique label devoted to restoring and releasing cult, exploitation and genre cinema (Comicon). He launched Severin in 2006 with Carl Daft and John Cregan after years producing DVD special features for Anchor Bay and Blue Underground, and as co-founder and CEO he personally signed the 2023 deal with the Russ Meyer Trust that brought Meyer’s Vixen trilogy to restored 4K UHD and Blu-ray in 2025 (Comicon; Disc Dish). In 2012 he also co-founded the US horror label Autonomy Pictures with Derek Curl and Lewis Tice (Bloody Disgusting).

This is David Gregory of Severin Films — the co-founder/CEO and filmmaker — not any other same-name person (there are several people named David Gregory in film, television, journalism and sports). Every professional fact here comes from the on-the-record interview material and industry coverage described below.

From DVD extras to Severin Films

Gregory entered home entertainment producing special features for fan-favorite DVD labels Anchor Bay and Blue Underground — the exact background that shaped Severin’s identity, since he has said he refuses to put out subpar extras because of how he started in the business (Comicon). He joined Carl Daft and John Cregan to launch Severin Films in 2006, initially concentrating on 1970s sexploitation films such as the Black Emmanuelle and Felicity franchises, before expanding into horror — especially Italian gialli — and other genres (Comicon). Two decades on, the label is home to hundreds of genre titles, including films that had not seen the light of day since the VHS era and others never previously available in any home-video format — a scale Gregory himself did not plan for (Comicon). The company marked its 20th anniversary in 2026 with an expanded Los Angeles summer festival and new book and release projects (Comicon).

The Russ Meyer restoration deal

Gregory’s signature achievement at Severin is the restoration program he negotiated with the Russ Meyer Trust. After Meyer’s 2004 death, his films languished in limited circulation without modern restoration, and Gregory — who had first researched Meyer’s films for Arrow Video extras years earlier — spent 2023 making the case that Severin was the right home to the trust’s sole remaining trustee, Janice Cowart (Comicon; Disc Dish). The deal covered five films: the Vixen trilogy (Vixen! (1968), Supervixens (1975), Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens (1979)), officially issued on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on January 28, plus Motor Psycho (1965) and Up! (1976) slated for March (Disc Dish). The stat that matters for collectors: the original negatives turned out to be in a safe place — the Museum of Modern Art or the Academy — and largely immaculate, so the Vixen trilogy restoration needed only the best possible scan and color correction, with one exception: Ultra-Vixens had water damage affecting frame-by-frame deterioration, costing a few hundred extra hours of work (Comicon).

The Autonomy Pictures detour

Outside Severin, Gregory has worked as a filmmaker — the 2012 Autonomy launch materials identify him as the filmmaker behind Plague Town and The Theatre Bizarre — and in March 2012 he co-founded Autonomy Pictures with Derek Curl and Lewis Tice, a US horror label whose first release was the US-rights acquisition of Adam Rehmeier’s The Bunny Game (Dread Central; Bloody Disgusting).

David Gregory’s career at a glance

Period	Role	Detail
Pre-2006	Extras producer	Produced special features for Anchor Bay and Blue Underground
2006	Co-founder	Launches Severin Films with Carl Daft and John Cregan
2012	Co-founder	Co-founds Autonomy Pictures with Derek Curl and Lewis Tice
2023	Deal-maker	Signs the Russ Meyer Trust restoration deal
2025	4K releases	Vixen trilogy and two more Meyer titles on restored 4K UHD/Blu-ray
2026	Milestone	Severin Films’ 20th anniversary

Frequently asked questions

Who is David Gregory of Severin Films? David Gregory is a British filmmaker and home-entertainment executive who co-founded Severin Films in 2006 with Carl Daft and John Cregan and serves as its CEO. He previously produced DVD special features for Anchor Bay and Blue Underground. He is not the same person as any of the other public figures named David Gregory in journalism, sports, or other industries.

What is Severin Films? Severin Films is a US boutique home-video label founded in 2006, devoted to rescuing and releasing controversial and provocative cult, exploitation, and genre films in restored physical editions. It began with 1970s sexploitation, expanded into horror and other genres, and now holds hundreds of titles, many unavailable in any home-video format before Severin’s editions.

What did David Gregory do with Russ Meyer’s films? In 2023 Gregory signed a deal with the Russ Meyer Trust to restore and release five Meyer films. The Vixen trilogy came out on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on January 28, with Motor Psycho and Up! following. The restorations came from the original negatives held by the Museum of Modern Art and the Academy, with Ultra-Vixens requiring extensive extra work because of water damage.

Was David Gregory involved in Autonomy Pictures? Yes. In March 2012 Gregory co-founded the US horror label Autonomy Pictures with Derek Curl (TLA Releasing) and Lewis Tice (Danger After Dark). The label’s first acquisition was all US rights to Adam Rehmeier’s The Bunny Game. The launch announcement also identified Gregory as the filmmaker behind Plague Town and The Theatre Bizarre.

Timeline

• 2006 — launches Severin Films with Carl Daft and John Cregan (Comicon).
• 2012-03 — co-founds Autonomy Pictures with Curl and Tice; first acquisition is The Bunny Game (Bloody Disgusting; Dread Central).
• 2023 — signs the Russ Meyer Trust deal for five restorations (Comicon; Disc Dish).
• 2025-01-28 — the Vixen trilogy is issued on restored 4K UHD and Blu-ray (Disc Dish).
• 2026 — Severin Films marks its 20th anniversary (Comicon).

What we could not verify

• Gregory’s filmmaker credits (Plague Town, The Theatre Bizarre) appear only in Autonomy’s own 2012 launch announcement; no independent profile of his directorial work was located in this pass, so they are attributed as launch-announcement claims.
• The precise terms and length of Gregory’s involvement with Autonomy Pictures after the 2012 launch are not documented in the full-read sources.
• No independent biographical source on Gregory’s early life beyond his UK career was found; as a living person, only his documented professional record is stated.

Sources

• Comicon — Interview: Severin Films’ David Gregory On The Label’s 4K Russ Meyer Releases And 20th Anniversary Plans (tier2; founding, career, Meyer restoration program)
• Disc Dish — Interview: David Gregory of Severin Films (tier3; Meyer Trust deal details and release dates)
• Bloody Disgusting — Autonomy Pictures Comes Out Playing ‘The Bunny Game’ (tier2; Autonomy co-founding)
• Dread Central — A Home Found for The Bunny Game (tier3; Autonomy launch announcement with filmmaker credits)