Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Thriller > Mystery > Surrealism > Supernatural > Spanish > Horror > Slasher > Italy > Slasher > Demons > Scien > Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz (1955/VCI)/Giallo Essentials: Volume Three - Black Edition (1972 - 1974*)/Necro Files (1997/Wild Eye)/The Righteous (2021*)/Sacred Spirit (2021/*all Arrow)/Xpiat

Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz (1955/VCI)/Giallo Essentials: Volume Three - Black Edition (1972 - 1974*)/Necro Files (1997/Wild Eye)/The Righteous (2021*)/Sacred Spirit (2021/*all Arrow)/Xpiation (2017/Unearthed/all MVD Blu-rays)



Picture: B/B+/B-/B+/B+/B+ Sound: C+/B+/B/B+/B+/B+ Extras: C/B+/B/B/B/C+ Films: C+/C+/C/C+/C+/C-



Here's a bizarre cross-section of genre films for you to consider....



We start with a murder thriller by Luis Bunuel, The Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz (1955) was a hit in its time, with a young boy who seems to get the deadly wishes of other people to die when he gets a music box. A coincidence or something more supernatural, we join him as an adult and the 'music box trend' continues and death seems to visit all the women he comes into contact with.


Playing like a precursor to the original Rod Serling Twilight Zone, some moments are truly creepy, while others do not always age or work as well. Serling and his writing team (Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson in particular) quickly perfected this kind of storytelling and in quicker time, but were criticized when the sow expanded to an hour. This kind of tale is hard to sustain for more than a half-hour, but this film runs 87 minutes and holds its own well enough.


We do get some fine performances from the cast that includes Ernest Alonzo as the title character as an adult, Miroslava, Rita Macedo, Andrea Palma, Adriane Welter, Rodolfo Landa and others who more than deliver. There are slight Noir elements here and it can get surreal, though not as full blown as Bunuel has been in other, more famous films of his. Thus, it is a very interesting entry in his filmography to check out and see a legendary artist in rare form.


The 1080p 1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image transfer can show the age of the materials used at times, but this is far superior a transfer to all previous releases of the film and holds its own against the rest of the titles here, which range 17 years to 67 younger. The restoration from the 35mm archival negatives. It is a 4K scan and more hard work went into this than it would first appear. Good work!


The lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is not bad and I had hoped for a lossless track, but this is good ands you can still hear parts of the surviving audio elements that just were not able to be totally fixed. That is not very frequent, but it happens and of course, this has subtitles.


A video essay on the film lasting nearly a half-hour by Dr. David Witt is the only extra, but it is a good one worth seeing after you watch the film.



Arrow's Giallo Essentials: Volume Three - Black Edition (1972 - 1974) comes out in another collectible box set that's a must for fans of the classic Italian sub genre. The other two volumes in this black collection (the Red and Yellow editions, reviewed elsewhere on this site,) these erotic mysteries are all very well done and were made in the height of the movement when filmmakers like Dario Argento were making a splash with similar films: Smile Before Death (1972,) The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1972) and The Weapon, the Hour, the Motive (1974)


Disc One: Smile Before Death


Silvio Amadio's Smile Before Death centers on a girl whose mother dies in an unusual way and she is lead to believe that her stepfather made be involved.


The film stars Jenny Tamburi, Silvano Tranquilli, Rosalba Neri, Hiram Keller, Dana Ghia, and Zora Gheorgieva.


The is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and audio mixes: English dubbed and Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks that sound great.


Special Features:


Brand new audio commentary by authors and critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson


Original Italian and English front and end titles


Smile of the Hyena, a brand new video interview with Stefano Amadio, film journalist and son of director Silvio Amadio


Never-before-seen extended nude scenes, not used in the final film


and an Image Gallery.


Disc Two: The Weapon, The Hour, The Motive


In Director's Francesco Mazzei crime / thriller, a priest is killed in a church and was thought to be a bit more sexually promiscuous than he should be for his role. Who is responsible?


The film stars Renzo Montagnani, Bedy Moratti, Eva Czemerys, Salvatore Puntillo, Claudia Gravy, and Alcira Harris.


The film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossless Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono track with optional English subtitles.


Special Features:


Brand new audio commentary by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas


A Man in Giallo, a brand new video interview with actor Salvatore Puntillo


Front and end titles for the lost English-language dub


and an Image Gallery.


Disc Three: The Killer Reserved Nine Seats


Nine people are all brought to a theater where they are trapped inside and targeted by a killer in this unique tale of revenge and murder. This film is full of fun characters, and has some sexual innuendos behind it too.


The Killer Reserved Nine Seats is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and English dubbed and a lossless Italian LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks. The filmmaking is interesting and creative and the set of the old theater is pretty atmospheric.


Special Features:


Brand new audio commentary by author and critic Kat Ellinger


Hanging with Howard, a video interview with actor Howard Ross


Writing with Biagio, a video interview with screenwriter Biagio Proietti


Italian theatrical trailer (in Italian and English)


Image gallery


and Individual illustrated collector's booklets for each film in the First Pressing Only.



If you like zombies, gore, demonic babies and other madness then you'll want to check out the outrageous horror flick, The Necro Files (1997) which is an intense underground film now getting a new release on disc. This has been named an American Video Nasty by many and hasn't been easy to locate over the years.


The zombies in The Necro Files aren't just interested in flesh eating, but have sexual urges for the living as well in this twisted film from Matt Jaissle. The film stars Steve Sheppard, Gary Browning, and Todd Tjersland. Let's just say this NC-17 rated film earns its rating.


The film is presented in upscaled 1080i on Blu-ray disc with lossy, English 2.0 Dolby Digital sound and lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 audio mixes (both barley stereo) and optional English Subtitles. The movie has a very grainy and shot on video look to it that isn't helped much by 1080p high definition let's face it.


Special Features:


Limited Edition Slipcover: FIRST PRESSING ONLY


Brand New Audio commentary with producer/ director Matt Jaissle


Second Audio Commentary with Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs and Billy Burgess of the Druid Underground Film Festival


Brand New Video chat with director Matt Jaissle

Matt Jaissle Super 8 Short Films

Chilean Talk Show Segment

Dong of the Dead: The Making of The Necro Files documentary

The Necro Files Original Trailer

The Corpse: Super 8 Short Film

Bonus Movie: Necro Files 3000 (2017 sequel)

Necro Files 3000 Trailer

Visual Vengeance Trailers

Retro VHS sticker set

The Necro Files Official Condom

Reversible Sleeve featuring original VHS art

Collectible Mini Poster

and a 2-Sided Insert.



The Righteous (2021) is a stunning directorial debut from Mark O'Brien and is a black and white modern day horror film centers on a priest whose mourning the sudden death of his daughter when a mysterious man shows up at his doorstep. When the priest and his wife set the man stay with him then get bleak in this supernatural occult thriller.


The film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a black and white HD image, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1, and lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and LPCM 2.0 Stereo mixes.


Extras include:


Brand new audio commentary by writer, director and actor Mark O'Brien and editor Spencer Jones


Cast and crew interviews with writer/director/actor Mark O'Brien, producer Mark O'Neill, actors Henry Czerny, Mimi Kuzyk, and Kate Corbett, editor Spencer Jones, cinematographer Scott McClellan, and production designer Jason Clarke


Roundtable discussion with Mark O'Brien and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella of Radio Silence


Stage Presentation and Q&A with Mark O'Brien and Henry Czerny from the World Premier at Fantasia International Film Festival 2021


Grimmfest 2021 live-streamed Q&A with Mark O'Brien


Original soundtrack


Image gallery, accompanied by the film's original score by Andrew Staniland


Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Grant Boland and Oink Creative


and FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Sean Hogan.



The Sacred Spirit (2021) involves a missing girl and a Spanish UFO group comprised of several strange individuals, all which supernatural beliefs. As the community mourns this missing girl, her uncle holds a secret to her disappearance, and goes about strange preparations when nobody is looking. Things get more complex when he was to look after her twin sister and a ritual with Egyptian influence is uncovered.


The film is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, an original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and lossless, Spanish DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and LPCM 2.0 Stereo mixes with English subtitles (optional). The film is nicely photographed and in an interesting manner. It captures the Spanish culture well and has several visual motifs. The filmmaking on a whole here is quite solid.


Special Features include:


Exclusive second disc containing a selection of award-winning short films by director Chema Garcia Ibarra


Fully illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Shelagh Rowan-Legg, author of The Spanish Fantastic: Contemporary Filmmaking in Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-fi


Fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative


and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative.


Disc One (paired with feature)


Beyond the Eye of Horus, a visual essay about the use of surveillance and Egyptology in The Sacred Spirit by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas


Pyramid Scheme, a visual essay examining conspiracy, class and capitalism in The Sacred Spirit by Josh Nelson


Domestic Science Fiction, an interview with writer-director Chema Garcia Ibarra


Behind the Scenes, four short featurettes shot during production


Elche Vision, a series of six location reports about the making of the film, hosted by actress Lorena Iglesias in character as Esther Armengol, presenter of The Sacred Spirit's fictional local TV show


Promotional videos in which the characters of The Sacred Spirit talk about themselves


Uncut TV Clips, background television broadcasts shot especially for the film and presented here in full


Image gallery


and a Theatrical Trailer.


Disc 2


Domestic Sci-Fi: The Short Films Of Chema Garcia Ibarra (Limited Edition Exclusive)


The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5 (2008) 7 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner


Protoparticles (2013) 8 mins, Sundance Film Festival Award Winner


Mystery (2013) 12 mins, Berlin International Film Festival Award Winner


Uranes (2014) 59 mins


The Disco Shines (2016) 12 mins, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Award Winner


and The Golden Legend (2019) 11 mins, Ann Arbor Film Festival Award Winner.



Finally, Xpiation (2017) is a surrealist torture film that aims to mix torture with weird nightmarish visuals to an overall unpleasant viewing experience. The effects are photography is interesting, but the story is paper thin as this is strictly one for fans of this niche horror sub-genre and the gore-hounds.


A heavily tattooed man is duct taped to a chair and tortured in an abandoned warehouse while a weird old lady watches. As the film progresses, the man gets more and more tortured until he must wear heavy bandages on his face. All of the while, this weird lady watches and records it.


The film stars Emanuele Delia, Chiara Pavoni, Simone Tolu, Karen Lynn, and Chris Milewski.


Xpiation is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and lossless 2.0 PCM Stereo audio mix. Considering this is an independent underground film, it looks and sounds fine for what it is.


Special Features:

Bloopers

Interview with Director

Stills Gallery

and Trailers.



- Nicholas Sheffo (Cruz) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/



Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com