Twice a year for the last few years, Severin has put together an epic sale for fans of the label to pick up backlog items they have missed at solid prices, while at the same launching an epic swath of amazing cult cinema at a waiting fanbase. This year’s mid-year sale is no different in that regard, however, I have to say the lineup of releases here is STELLAR. While marathoning these films this week, I felt like my brain was being programmed for. In this lot we got 2 Italian Post-Apocalyptic films in Joe D’Amato’s Endgame, and Lucio Fulci’s Warriors of the Year 2072. Ruggero Deodato’s excellent sci-fi adventure film Raiders of Atlantis, TWO Golden Films era Jess Franco films House of Lost Women, and Black Boots, Leather Whip. The 80’s possession slasher Retribution, Mark Savage’s SOV trash epic the Masturbating Gunman, and the mystery title the Filmirage classic Beyond Darkness (not to be confused with the Joe D’Amato necrophilia epic Beyond the Darkness).
Blood for Dracula
Director – Paul Morrissey
Starring – Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro
Discs – 3
I missed out on both the Criterion and Image DVD’s of Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, so the last time I saw these in a legitimate fashion were on VHS tapes. I have been counting down the days until someone secured the rights from Paul Morrissey (who it was rumored held the rights himself), so needless to say I was ECSTATIC last week when it finally dropped that not only was this film getting released but, Severin Films was doing it.
Blood for Dracula stars Udo Kier as the titular Count Dracula who has drained the supply of virgin (wiergen) blood from Transylvania, and is now weeks from death. He puts his sister to sleep, and goes to the “Roman Catholic” country of Italy to search for virginal women to feed upon. Unfortunately, the women of Italy are not as virginal as their religion supposes they are, and Dracula goes into convulsions upon drinking their blood.
In a decade where unique and fantastic vampire films were a dime a dozen, Blood for Dracula is one of the very best. It applies Morrissey’s trash-comedy aesthetic perfected on his early films like Trash, Flesh, and Heat for Andy Warhol, and applies it to the horror genre. This film is demented, sexual, hysterical, and absolutely timeless. If you buy one single film from this sale MAKE IT THIS ONE.
I’ll preface this to say that many of the films are being reviewed from BD-R check discs, so while we did not yet get to review the UHD discs of Blood for Dracula (oh we will update, when we do!) The 1080p presentation leaves all prior presentations of the film IN THE DUST. This looks natural, film like, with accurate color representation. Audio is an English mono track that comes through crisp and clear. There is a CD soundtrack included, and the disc is PACKED with on-screen interviews with Paul Morrissey, Udo Kier, Stefania Casini, Joe Dallesandro, and so many more. There is also a series of trailers for the film.
House of Lost Women
Director – Jess Franco
Starring – Lina Romay, Antonio Mayans
Discs – 1
Well if you’ve read EuroCultAV enough you know that I, personally, cannot resist a Jess Franco film when one lands in my mailbox, and so as fast as I got my hands on House of Lost Women, and Black Boots, Leather Whip they got into my player (OKKKK after BLOOD FOR DRACULA). This is an interesting film from Jess Franco’s 1980’s Golden Films period.
Lina Romay plays Desdemona, the oldest daughter of a family that have pretty much spent their entire existence on an isolated island in the middle of nowhere. Their Mother is crazed, and their Father is similarly out of his mind. Her younger sister has mental issues that have her acting like a toddler. One day a stranger arrives, and well… slightly changes the dynamic.
This is a slower film from Franco, but it causes it to have a sense of domestic tension. It honestly felt like Miike’s Visitor Q if it were made in the 80’s by Jess Franco, at the same time I was feeling elements of Pasolini’s Teorama, Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly, and the Baby. Yeah, this is a weird one.
The 1080p presentation looks really nice, like a lot of these early 80’s EuroCult films there is an inherent softness present (you’ll see me say this a few times), but overall everything is filmlike, and nicely detailed. Audio is presented in Spanish mono and comes through crisp and clear. Extras include In the Land of Franco Part 6 (as Part 5 is on Black Boots… maybe I should have reviewed that first, but I digress). We also get an interview with Stephen Thrower, an audio essay by Robert Monell, and a CD of Daniel J. White’s music for the film.
Black Boots, Leather Whip
Director – Jess Franco
Starring – Lina Romay, Antonio Mayans
Discs – 1
With Black Boots, Leather Whip we have another film with Franco’s second most famous character after Dr. Orloff, Al Pereira! This one sees Pereira hired by “Lina” (Played by Lina Romay) to get some dirty pictures, this gets him into deeper and deeper trouble.
Most people would suggest either his 60’s or early 70’s periods were his best, but in the last few years I’ve sort of fallen for these Golden Films Franco’s. If you had asked me 2 years ago I’d probably have suggested Downtown as my favorite Pereira film, but watching this one which has a solid moody tone, and some very strange kinky moments, this one had me glued to the screen from first minute to last.
Like House of Lost Women, the presentation here is very solid. Severin presents the film in a 1080p transfer that looks natural, and represents the native look of the film. Audio sounds clear and audible. Extras include In the Land of Franco Part 5, an interview with Stephen Thrower, and a fantastic and informative commentary by Robert Monell and Rodney Barnett.
Warriors of the Year 2072 (New Gladiators)
Director – Lucio Fulci
Starring – Jared Martin, Fred Williamson
Discs – 2
Well, it finally happened. Someone finally pried Lucio Fulci’s The New Gladiators out of Troma-Hell. Look, I get it, not every film can get a super pristine transfer, but this is FULCI. Even his worst film (Sodama’s Ghost I’m looking at you) deserves better than a shoddy Troma DVD.
I digress.
I love post-apocalyptic cinema, but Italian post-apocalyptic cinema strikes me even harder. It’s trashier, wilder, and just more fun. Into this we have Lucio Fulci’s Warriors of the Year 2072. So this film takes place in a dystopian (not quite post-apocalyptic) where people are fed violent TV to keep them suppressed (sounds about right). There are shows where people are given violent delusions and if they don’t panic they win a prize, and another about killbikes. This one hires ex-con’s and murderers to participate in motorcycle gladiatorial combat. Drake and Abdul played by Jared Martin and Fred Williamson are the latest participants, and in the process learn about a conspiracy behind the sport.
This is not Fulci at his best, but it has some interesting stuff going on. Obviously, he was going for a Rollerball, Running Man, Mad Max vibe here and to a point succeeds. The look is a mix of supposed glitz, and post-apocalyptic future-standard. Nonetheless this falls into the category of a solid Saturday afternoon time-waster, and I really enjoyed it.
The New Blu-ray from Severin looks fantastic. I never could have imagined this film looking as good as it does here. The 1080p presentation really brings this oee to life. The English audio track sounds great, and it’s loaded with extras including a Fulci interview and a series of on camera interviews plus a commentary track by Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth. A CD soundtrack is included.
Endgame
Director – Joe D’Amato
Starring – Al Cliver, Laura Gemser
Discs – 2
Continuing our post-apocalyptic journey we reach Joe D’Amato’s fabulous ENDGAME. This one also has a TV sport at the center of it. In it Al Cliver plays Ron Shannon, a 5 time winner of this competition who has volunteered again. The point of it is to survive one night in this “Bronx” apocalypse” Hell. To survive the night he enlists the help of Laura Gemser’s Lillith, and agrees to help her get her mutant friends out of the Bronx, and to freedom.
This movie is sheer GREATNESS. For years D’Amato was Beyond the Darkness and Anthropophagus, but Blu-ray has brought better access to his films, and I couldn’t be happier. This film is an insane, wild, occasionally violent ride that I can’t help but recommend whole heartedly. Plus you get a who’s who of EuroCult vets with Cliver, Gemser, Eastman, Bobby Rhodes, and MORE.
Severin presents the film in a 1080p transfer that looks fantastic. Again everything looks nice and natural, black levels (which are prominent here), are inky and deep. Audio in English and Italian Mono sounds quite clear and audible. Extras include an interview with George Eastman, a trailer, and a CD soundtrack.
Raiders of Atlantis
Director – Ruggero Deodato
Starring – Christopher Connolly, Tony King
Discs – 1
Ruggero Deodato’s Sci-Fi, Adventure, Apocalyptic action flick is one that’s been on my upgrade list for years. When it was announced last week I was definitely excited to get this one projected in my home theater. This one follows a team that is trying to raise a Russian nuclear submarine off the coast of Miami. In the process the radiation brings Atlantis to the surface, while sinking their platform. The survivors of this platform crash wander the sea for days, until they find an island. Unfortunately, for them this island does not bring peace, but war with survivors from Atlantis.
Raiders of Atlantis is a huge amalgam of 80’s sci-fi and action tropes thrown into a blender, and splattered on to film, and IT IS AMAZING. This is not a slow film, at all. Deodato knows pacing and when the film threatens boredom, Deodato shoots boredom in the face! The performances from the cast are solid and fit the material, and but overall this is a film about non-stop weirdness, and non-stop action, and this film has that in droves.
The 1080p presentation from Severin is on the softer side, but is obviously a HUGE upgrade from whatever version you might be holding on to. Audio is handled with English and Italian mono. Extras include interviews with Deodato and the films cinematographer, plus trailers..
Retribution
Director – Guy Magar
Starring – Dennis Lipscomb, Leslie Wing
Discs 3
Somehow I had not even heard of Retribution when it landed on my doorstep yesterday (minus the announcement). So not only was I surprised that I liked it, but that I liked it so much. The film basically begins on an intersection of death. In a city George Miller decides to kill himself, on the same night Vito, a mobster is taking out by other mob guys, that he owes. While George is taking to the hospital and revived, he is seemingly occupied by the spirit of Vito who takes over his body at night to seek revenge on those that did him wrong.
This is a real solid late 80’s horror film. The film opens on an intriguing note, it has some solid violence (especially in the uncut version included here). There is also an excellent score by John Carpenter associate Alan Howarth that really ramps up the atmosphere on display here.
The presentation by Severin is predictably top-notch. We get 3 discs 2 Blu-ray’s one with the theatrical, and one uncut version, and a CD. The 1080p presentation looks stunning, and filmlike. Audio is crisp and clear. The extras kick off with a commentary by director Guy Magar, and then we get a load of on-camera interviews with the cast and crew. There is also a student film by Magar and a still gallery (and a CD Soundtrack).
The Masturbating Gunman
Director – Mark Savage
Starring – Robin Brennan, Peter Beitans
Discs – 1
I was introduced to the cinema of Mark Savage through the Subversive Cinema box set of his early work about 15 years ago. I remember it having a raw visceral vibe that really took me back. When the Masturbating Gunman landed at my door yesterday, I hadn’t really connected the dots that this was Marauders and Sensitive New Age Killers Mark Savage, but as soon as I put it on, I could easily make the connection.
The Masturbating Gunman is about a guy who basically can’t look at any woman without jerking off to ridiculous standards. Then his sister gets kidnapped by an evil villain, Helmut Gunta, and he has to track her down using the smell of her panties. Of course, this is not the only thing in his way, Helmut has put a mini army of women in his way so that he’ll have to jerk off his way through them, and not reach him before he can impregnate the Gunman’s sister.
Yeah, this film is RIDICULOUS. It is gross, over the top and completely batshit insane. I’m not 100% sure I’d watch it twice, but I liked watching it once so I can at least have this craziness spinning around in my head.
The Masturbating Gunman is an intervision release so while it is a Blu-ray I am not 100% sure this is HD. It’s a very lo-fi compressed looking transfer. At the very least this is what the film is supposed to look like. Audio comes through clearly for the most part. Extras include a commentary by Savage and an archival making of.
FINALLY THE MYSTERY TITLE
Beyond Darkness
Director – Claudio Fragrasso
Starring – Gene Labrock, David Brandon
Discs – 2
Beyond Darkness stars -you guessed it!- Gene Lebrock as Father Peter, a humble priest who moves his family into a haunted house (the same house as the one in Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond). This house was where, many years ago, a devotee of a Satanic cult sacrifice some schoolchildren because the demon Ameth demanded it. Once his kid gets sort of possessed and the house kind of transports them to another dimension or whatever, Father Peter is aided by the drunken Father George (David Brandon) who helps him save his family, maybe. Queue the batshit crazy!
Beyond Darkness comes from director Claudio Fragasso. In terms of morbid atmospherics and generic horror shenanigans, this film is very successful. There are lots of cool lighting effects, fish eye lens tomfoolery, and odd makeup effects thrown at the camera but it all becomes a little overwhelming after a while. Though I enjoyed the horror stuff (which rips off everything from The Beyond to The Amityville Horror to The Exorcist to Hellraiser), this film spends way too much time in one location and is just a lot of screaming from the actors. I kind of enjoyed myself but I’m not really recommending this to anyone but Italian horror completists. If you pretend this is an unofficial sequel to The Beyond like I did and you’re a fan of David Brandon (of Michele Soavi’s Stagefright) like I am, you’ll have a good time. – Review by Tyler Miller taken from the Scream Factory Blu-ray Review
The 1080p presentation from Severin far outshines the prior release. Gone is the inherent waxiness, and what we have is a very nice natural looking transfer. Audio presented in English and Italian Stereo has nice balance and comes through clearly. Extras include interviews with Fragrsso, Rossella Drudi, and star David Brandon. There is also a CD soundtrack.