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4 RESTORED CLASSICS.
8+ HOURS OF SPECIAL FEATURES.
LO MEJOR DEL HORROR GÓTICO ESPAÑOL.
Spain’s tradition of Gothic Horror – particularly during the
Franco dictatorship – was characterized by daring concepts, lush visuals,
extreme sexuality and a startling aesthetic all its own. These four classic
shockers from the 1970s represent the genre at its most audacious: In
NECROPHAGOUS, the debut feature by writer/director Miguel Madrid, a fractured
family in a crumbling castle conceals a grisly graveyard secret. The anthology
film CAKE OF BLOOD – never previously available outside of Spain – presents a
quartet of supernatural tales by four young filmmakers. Hammer Films director
John Gilling brings his inimitable style to the occult thriller in CROSS OF THE
DEVIL. And a terminally ill woman is enticed by eternal life in León
Klimovsky’s vampire masterwork, THE NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD. Each film in
this collection has been scanned from its original negative – with over 8 hours
of Special Features – for the first time ever in America.
Disc 1: NECROPHAGOUS (1971)
The most misunderstood Spanish gothic shocker of the early
‘70s can now be reassessed like never before: A young nobleman (Bill Curran)
returns to his crumbling family castle, only to learn that his wife has died
giving birth to their stillborn child. But why is her coffin empty? What
follows is a uniquely told shocker of grief, lust, dark secrets and the hungers
of the grave. Frank Braña (PIECES), Victor Israel (THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED) and
Beatriz Elorrieta (BLOOD HUNT) co-star in this debut feature by writer/director
Miguel Madrid (THE KILLER OF DOLLS) – also known as THE BUTCHER OF BINBROOK and
released in America by Independent-International as GRAVEYARD OF HORROR – now
scanned in 4K from the recently discovered negative for the first time ever.
Disc Specs:
Runtime: 87 mins
English Mono, Spanish Mono / Closed Captions
Region Free
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Andy Marshall-Roberts, Host Of The
Nasty Pasty Podcast
Something You've Never Seen – Appreciation By Ángel Sala,
Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival
The First Horror Film Festival In The World – Remembrance By
Maria Pilar Rafáles, Daughter Of Sitges Film Festival Founder Antonio Rafáles
Trailers
Disc 2: CAKE OF BLOOD (1971)
With Spanish cinema still under the oppressive Franco
regime, four filmmakers banded together to create a horror anthology that
examined classic themes through transgressive perceptions: Directed by José
María Vallés, TAROT stars Julián Ugarte (ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK) in a grim
tale of fanaticism set in the Middle Ages. Eusebio Poncela (THE CANNIBAL MAN)
and Marisa Paredes (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) star in VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, a unique
take on Mary Shelley’s classic directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE BED). TERROR AMONG CHRISTIANS, directed by Francesc Bellmunt, is a
jolting vampire allegory set during Roman times. Jaime Chávarri – co-writer of
VAMPYROS LESBOS and future icon of New Spanish Cinema – directs the twisted
ghost story THE DANCE OR EMOTIONAL SURVIVALS starring Luis Ciges (THE
CREATURE). Never available outside of Spain, CAKE OF BLOOD is now scanned in 4K
from the original negative for the first time ever.
Disc Specs:
Runtime: 90 mins
Spanish Mono / English Subtitles
Region Free
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Rod Barnett Of NaschyCast And The
Bloody Pit, And Dr. Adrian Smith, Co-Author Of Norman J. Warren: Gentleman of
Terror
My Generation – Interview With Actress Marisa Paredes
I Just Wanted To Have Fun – Interview With Co-Director Jaime
Chávarri
To Whoever Wants To Watch – Interview With Actor José
Lifante
An Arthouse UFO – Appreciation By Ángel Sala, Head Of
Programming At The Sitges Film Festival
Disc 3: CROSS OF THE DEVIL (1974)
In the early ‘70s, Spanish horror icon Jacinto Molina (aka
Paul Naschy) wrote a screenplay for a Knights Templar film to compete with the
popular BLIND DEAD series. Meanwhile, Hammer Films director John Gilling –
whose hits for the UK studio included THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and THE REPTILE
– had retired to Spain. Molina shared his script with Gilling, who took over
the project without Molina. The rarely seen result is a sumptuous tale of
supernatural horror in which a writer (Ramiro Oliveros of THE PYJAMA GIRL CASE)
plagued by violent nightmares investigates the murder of his sister by an
ancient occult order. Carmen Sevilla (NO ONE HEARD THE SCREAM), Emma Cohen (THE
CANNIBAL MAN) and Eduardo Fajardo (THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN) co-star in
Gilling’s final film as director, now scanned in 4K from the negative with
English subtitles for the first time ever.
Disc Specs:
Runtime: 97 mins
Spanish Mono / English Subtitles
Region Free
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Kim Newman, Author Of Anno Dracula,
And Barry Forshaw, Author Of Brit Noir
Fascinated By Bécquer – Interview With Screenwriter Juan
José Porto
The Real Templar Knights Movie – Appreciation By Ángel Sala,
Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival
Fantasy And Imagination: The Legacy Of Gustavo Adolfo
Bécquer – Video Essay By Xavier Aldana Reyes, Author Of Spanish Gothic:
National Identity, Collaboration And Cultural Adaptation
Disc 4: THE NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD (1975)
Though best known for his collaborations with Spanish horror
star Jacinto Molina/Paul Naschy, Argentinian director León Klimovsky also
crafted several of Spain’s finest vampire films of the ‘70s, especially this
“magnificent” (Taliesin Meets The Vampires) 1975 gothic classic: In a 19th
century village ruled by superstition, a vulnerable young woman (Emma Cohen of
HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB) is seduced into an aristocratic family of the
sensuous undead. Carlos Ballesteros (José Ramón Larraz’ THE VOYEUR) and Barta
Barri (THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK) co-star in this sexy/stylish/violent
shocker – also known as STRANGE LOVE OF THE VAMPIRES and ripe for rediscovery
after decades of edited prints and bad transfers – now scanned in 2K from the
negative for the first time ever.
Disc Specs:
Runtime: 88 mins
English Stereo, Spanish Stereo / Closed Captions, English
Subtitles
Region Free
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Kat Ellinger, Author Of Daughters Of
Darkness
A Deadly Invitation To Another Dimension – Appreciation By
Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming At The Sitges Film Festival
Leo's Signature – Interview With Writer Juan José Porto
Dead Man Walking – Interview With Actor José Lifante
Spain's Cinematic Vampires – Video Essay By Xavier Aldana
Reyes, Author Of Spanish Gothic: National Identity, Collaboration And Cultural
Adaptation
Alternate Spanish Credit Sequence
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