Noticias

Severin Films kicks off the new year with three North American premieres that bring “one of the best labels in physical media” (Polygon) into 2024 replete with classic monsters, barbed-wire garrotes, ‘80s Italo-Sleaze in Uhd and arguably the most depraved bedtime accessory ever created.

For January, Severin presents the ultimate version of Jess Franco’s 1972 mash-up Dracula, Prisoner Of Frankenstein; the rarely-seen Ozploitation slasher Bloodmoon, complete with infamous ‘Fright Break Challenge’; and Andrea Bianchi’s off-the-rails zombie carnage classic Burial Ground, now in eye-popping, flesh-ripping 4K.

To further celebrate everyone’s favorite shambling Etruscans, an all-new Burial Ground t-shirt and Michael Pillowcase will be available in two of this month’s bundles.

January also brings much-requested wide-release versions of previously limited-edition titles — Frank Henenlotter’s black comedy shocker Bad Biology, controversial ‘80s sleaze classic Nightmare and Lucio Fulci’s giallo masterpiece The Psychic — all fully restored in 4K Uhd.

Dracula, Prisoner...

A title is always a good start to piquing my interest; the more bold, clever, or assertive the better. So let’s take a look see at Murder Mansion (1972), an engaging Italian/Spanish co-production with a catchy moniker and even better content to back it up.

Released it Italy in August and Spain in September, with a U.S. release November of ’73, Murder Mansion bounced around under various titles for different regions: Maniac Mansion, Exorcism Mansion, The Scream, Quando Marta urlò dalla tomba, and This House is Too Crowded, Let’s Kill Some People all containing the same neo-Gothic graveyard and fog stomper with a better than usual cast and a plot that just won’t quit. Murder is sly and fun.

Oh boy, where do I even start? We open by meeting a disparate group of folk on an Italian highway: a motorcyclist, Fred (Andre Resino – The Werewolf Versus...

Spanish horror superstar Paul Naschy has always been on my radar, yet for whatever reason, I’ve never taken the shot. (And sunk the ship? Metaphors are the worst.) So it is with great shame that I’ve spent far too long ignoring this international treasure as my inaugural Naschy, Javier Aguirre’s Hunchback of the Morgue (1973), is a cheeky Frankenstein riff that offers up its own twisted charms.

Released in its native Spain in July, it hit stateside in September of ’75 when Cinemation Industries (owned and run by Jerry Gross, legendary promoter. See: I Drink Your Blood. No, really, see it) added it to double and triple bills across the land. It…didn’t do very well, and that’s not a big surprise; it’s certainly not your traditional monster movie, with a plot that veers between soapy operatics, laboratory hijinks, and all tied together by Naschy’s...

The always kick-ass Kino Lorber just sent us word that they will be releasing Jess Franco’s Daughter of Dracula to Blu-ray on October 4th! Directed by Franco, the flick stars Britt Nichols, Anne Libert, Alberto Dalbés, Daniel White, Howard Vernon,… Continue Reading →

The post Boobs. Fangs. Franco. Daughter of Dracula Sucks its Way to Blu-ray! appeared first on Dread Central.

The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein

Written and directed by Jesús Franco

Spain/France, 1972

Since May of this year, I have embarked on an ongoing exploration into the cinema of Jesús Franco. After first viewing Justine (also known as Deadly Sanctuary), one of seven Franco films released in 1969 (his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013), I sought out more of what this infamous Spanish auteur had to offer. Like Justine, some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining: The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966), Vampyros Lesbos (1971), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (1973), Female Vampire and Women Behind Bars (both 1975), and Bloody Moon (1981). Others, however, have been downright atrocious: Emmanuelle Exposed (1982) and Red Silk (1999), one of the worst films I have ever seen.

The latest addition to what is now a 25-films-and-counting “Summer of Jesús Franco” is The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, available on a new Blu-ray edition from Redemption Films, which has released several other Franco titles.