Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

NEGATIVES (1968)

Glenda Jackson as Vivien rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue

A couple who seem to despise each other, living above a dusty old antique shop his dying father owns, spice things up by pretending to be the killer Dr Crippen and his wife or lover. With their fantasies, there’s some sort of connection, but when the costumes come off, there is none. He is weak and aimless; she wields all the power and uses it to belittle him. Into this dynamic comes a German photographer whose motives are unclear, but her disruptive influence creates a power shift in the couple that will change them for good.

Negatives is a difficult film to sum up. It’s not a thriller, nor is it a dark comedy. It’s saucy at times but not erotic (despite being billed as such). As a character study, it keeps the viewer at a distance and makes the people you’re watching difficult to care about. It refuses to offer answers and remains obstinately ambiguous in its intentions. In other words, what the hell is it all about?

And yet, this 1968 debut from Peter Medak is a fascinating piece of British new wave, experimental, unconventional and hard to define.

Peter McEnery as Theo and Glenda Jackson in her first film role as Vivien are excellent, whether playing bored, frustrated, aroused or obsessed. Jackson, who just a year later would give an Oscar-winning performance in Ken Russell’s Women In Love, dominates the screen with her power, allowing you to glimpse why someone so awful might have been attractive to mild-mannered Theo in the first place.

But it’s when Reingard (Diane Cilento) moves into the spare room that things get really stirred up. Her fascination with the couple suggests a threesome’s on its way, but that’s not the thrust of her intentions. Her influence on Theo draws him away from his roleplaying as Crippen towards a new fantasy identity, one with more power, more charisma, more control – German officer Manfred von Richthofen, also known as The Red Baron.

This coincides with the death of his father, and as Theo’s mind begins to let fantasy matter more than reality, the tense power dynamic between him and Viven shifts. Does Reingard want him for herself? In Negatives, nothing is that clear-cut.

Although it came first, Negatives is like the emotionless child of Women in Love and The Duke of Burgundy and, whilst both of those films are vastly superior, Negatives is still an intriguing puzzle.

Extras on this BFI release include a sweet interview with Medak, one with McEnery and a fascinating documentary about Crippen.

DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968)

Based on the hugely-popular fumetti neri (“black comic”) Diabolik series created in 1962 by Italian comic book writers Angela and Luciana Giussani, Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik is a wild, madcap, surreal and really rather bonkers 1960s pop art masterpiece. It’s a film that couldn’t be the product of any other decade than the 1960s, with its bright primary-colour pallet, arch performances, and absurdist plotting. Its influences range from the Fu Manchu series to TV’s Batman, the James Bond films, and what’s often referred to as the popular cycle of “supervillain” movies that swept Europe in the 1960s.

John Phillip Law (Barbarella) plays the elusive master thief known as Diabolik, who has been running rings around the police force in some unnamed European country. Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli) is charged with overseeing the transportation of $10 million across the country and is determined to stop the resourceful Diabolik and his lover/accomplice Eva Kant (Marissa Mell) from getting their hands on it.

But despite the best efforts of Ginko and his officers, Diabolik nabs the cash, before setting his sights on stealing a priceless emerald and twenty tons of gold as he embarks on a crime wave that pits him against the police, the government, and rival gangster Ralph Valmont (Thunderball’s Adolfo Celi).

Danger: Diabolik is eye-openingly bizarre and probably something of a culture shock for anyone not familiar with Bava’s work, much of which was considerably darker and more macabre. It’s a crazed, psychedelic dreamscape of a movie punctuated by moments of broad comedy (British comedy legend Terry-Thomas pops up a couple of times as the Minister of the Interior, then the Minister of Finance), spectacular action, widescreen cinematography, and coy titillation.

Law is no great actor, but he imbues his often monosyllabic Diabolik with a mischievous sense of danger, and there’s a real chemistry between him and his loyal sidekick Eva. Diabolik’s subterranean base is pure TV Batcave with its secret entrance, winding staircases, and cavernous interior. Bava brings it all to life with an uncharacteristic twinkle that even allows him to get away with the odd staggeringly badly composited greenscreen effects sequence, and you’ll soon get used to the rather clumsy dialogue dubbing.

Danger: Diabolik underperformed on its original release, but has inevitably found its audience over the years. It’s now a cult favourite, and Diabolik himself lives on in a new series of films launched in 2021. Bava’s version has appeared on physical media previously, of course, but this lavish new set from Eureka! is available in a hardback limited edition with a 60-page booklet, commentaries, featurettes, video essays, a music video and much more. Definitely not a diabolical release.

DANGER: DIABOLIK is available on 4K/Blu-Ray now from Eureka!

THE MUMMY (1959)

Hammer’s 1959 classic The Mummy stars Peter Cushing as archaeologist John Banning, who uncovers the ancient tomb of Princess Ananka, a devoted servant of the god Karnak. But the expedition unleashes a terrible secret long buried. Entombed alive beside the princess was her high priest, Kharis, played by Christopher Lee, punished for defiling her grave yet eternally bound by his undying devotion to her.

When the tomb is opened, Kharis is inadvertently awakened from his centuries-long slumber. Later, a modern-day follower of Karnak (George Pastell) transports the mummy’s preserved remains to England, determined to exact vengeance upon those responsible for desecrating the sacred burial site. One by one, members of the expedition become targets of the mummy. As the body count rises, Banning discovers that his wife bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Ananka herself – a likeness that may be the only thing capable of restraining Kharis before his revenge is complete.

Any film that pairs Cushing and Lee is a must-see, and they don’t disappoint. Cushing is, as you would expect, excellent and Lee, despite spending most of the film wrapped in bandages, manages to bring both menace and pathos to the role of the mummy.

Yvonne Furneaux takes on the dual roles of Banning’s devoted wife Isobel and the ancient Princess Ananka, bringing a refined subtlety to each, making her equally convincing as both a dignified Egyptian royal and a steadfast Victorian spouse. A year later, she would appear in La Dolce Vita, one of Federico Fellini’s most celebrated films.

The Blu-ray release from Second Sight Films is the best presentation of the film yet. The print looks fabulous, and the disc features the UK theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1, as well as an alternate full-frame version of 1.37:1. The new release also includes two full-length audio commentaries. The first, by film academic Kelly Robinson, explores the enduring fascination with mummies in cinema and literature, placing the film within the wider tradition of Gothic horror. The second commentary, featuring Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby, delves into the production itself and examines its significance within the history of Hammer Film Productions. Also included are a series of behind-the-scenes documentaries covering the making of the film, its production history, and its memorable musical score.

THE MUMMY is available on standard edition Blu-ray on May 25th.

STREET TRASH (1987)

The ‘melt movie’ that became a cult favourite in the VHS era is back in a fantastic 4K restoration.

Expanding on his 1984 short (also included here), Jim Muro’s film is set in the ultimate scuzzy ’80s environment. A group of homeless people in the slum areas of lower Manhattan drink Tenafly Viper, a 40-year-old wine from the local liquor store, which causes them to melt in horrifically graphic ways.

Forget the recent remake, Muro’s Street Trash is the real, gloopy deal. It’s more than just an excuse for some (actually impressive) gore effects, set in the pre-gentrification of areas of New York. There’s also a rather amusing ‘keep away’ game involving one unfortunate’s penis, which is something you don’t see every day. Not that you’d want to!

Street Trash is the most Troma-esque non-Troma film you’re likely to find. It’s in gloriously bad taste but a lot of fun, with funny dialogue and remarkably cinematic (Muro is an accomplished Steadicam operator, as seen here).

The 4K release from Lightbulb makes the movie look as good as you’d expect, given the low-budget source. It’s packed with informative extras, including a pair of feature-length documentaries that essentially give you the final word on the film, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the commentaries! And if you have an appetite for more ‘melt movies’, there’s a video essay from genre historian Darrell Buxton that will point you in the direction of more. Ephemera fans will be happy with the art cards, poster, and nifty laminated beer mat, not to mention the retro-style VHS-sized case it comes in.

STREET TRASH is available to buy on 4K UHD Blu-ray now.

RAZOR BLADE SMILE (1998)

Stunningly restored and rescanned in 4K, Jake West’s cult British vampire film rises from the grave looking fresher than ever.

Lilith Silver (Eileen Daly) is an immortal vampire living in ‘90s London, killing (literally!) two birds with one stone by working as an elite assassin. Her livelihood (and life) is threatened when a group of vampire Illuminati kidnap her boss and lover, Platinum (Kevin Howarth). Further complications arise when she finds out the head of the Illuminati is the vampire who turned her, Sethane Blake (a brilliantly sinister turn from Christopher Adamson). All that, and she has to deal with the attention of the law.

The film’s already a cult favourite, and this 4K restoration bolsters its reputation and looks absolutely fabulous. Director Jake West has painstakingly cleaned up the original 16mm print, and the results are extraordinary. For those who’ve only seen the VHS or DVD releases, you’ll see the movie in a whole new light. Sure, it’s still a low-budget British flick, and as such has some shortfalls, but it totally holds up in terms of both story and execution. The cinematography is impressive, with plenty of low-angle shots, but the star of the show is Dena Costello’s costumes. Eileen Daly became iconic in her rubber jumpsuits, and that stylishness is present throughout, with plenty of long leather coats and knee-high boots. It’s a very self-aware film, with Lilith hanging out with the goths of the London scene, who haven’t a clue about the real bloodsuckers in their midst. A welcome appearance from genre legend David Warbeck adds more gravitas.

The 4K Blu-ray release comes packed with extras. The feature-length documentary Vampires Forever is worth the price of admission on its own. It charts British vampire culture that seemed prevalent in the ‘90s, and it touches on areas other docs don’t even think of, with plenty of talking heads who actually know what they’re on about rather than spouting the usual BS. Other extras focus on the making of the film, naturally, as well as the restoration process and various other interesting items. With over nine hours of bonus footage, there’s plenty to get your teeth into.

RAZOR BLADE SMILE is available on 4K Blu-ray from Nucleus Films on April 20th.

FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972)

Released in 1972, Fear in the Night was the last in an unusual run of psychological thrillers made by Hammer – titles such as Nightmare, The Nanny and Maniac were a far cry from the Gothic trappings and Kensington gore of the more lurid titles associated with the studio throughout the 1960s.

Fear in the Night, written and directed by Hammer mainstay Jimmy Sangster, punches well above its weight. Despite its tiny budget and restricted claustrophobic locations, it has compelling performances from its four leads – Judy Geeson, Ralph Bates, Joan Collins and, of course, the inevitable Peter Cushing, without whom any Hammer was likely to deliver significantly less impact.

Geeson plays Peggy Heller, a 22-year-old recovering from some sort of nervous breakdown (a flashback device showing her in therapy is curiously abandoned halfway through the film). She’s recently married the supportive Robert (Bates), a teacher at a remote boys’ boarding school. The night before she is due to leave her London flat and travel with Robert to the school, she is attacked in her home by a one-armed man with a prosthetic hand.

Shaken and upset, she nevertheless makes her journey the following day (with a brief stop at the grim and misty Granada Services), and the pair install themselves in a cottage across the road from the school building. Robert still has duties to attend to even though the school is empty for the holidays, so Peggy explores her new environment. In the eerily deserted school, she meets headmaster Michael Carmichael (Cushing) and his wife Molly (Collins), who regards Peggy with some disdain. When Robert has to travel to London to attend a conference, Peggy is left alone in the cottage… and has to deal with the threat of an intruder, armed with Carmichael’s rifle, which Robert has persuaded her to bring into the house. When Robert returns the next day, Peggy is confused and disorientated, and it seems that the headmaster is missing…

Whilst it doesn’t reinvent the psychological thriller wheel, Fear in the Night is a cut above thanks to its confident script and imaginative direction – the title sequence plays out over footage of deserted schoolrooms and grounds, culminating in a shot of a body hanging from the branches of a tree. It’s hard to imagine a better hook, and the story that plays out is delivered by four actors at their peak.

Cushing, in what’s really little more than a cameo role, is clearly relishing the creepy ambiguity of his character and the rich dialogue, and the film reminds us how good Joan Collins could be with the right material. Here she’s a pre-Bitch bitch, disdainful of Peggy for reasons that become apparent later on in the film. Bates, once a likely new Hammer leading man, plays well with Geeson’s timid, terrified “final girl” prototype, and the film’s twist, which starts to reveal itself at around the hour-mark, still packs a punch.

Due to the nature of its plot, Fear in the Night might not have an enormous rewatchability factor, but this handsome new 4K/Blu-ray set, supported by a Kim Newman analysis and a ‘talking heads’ look back at the film, along with commentaries, posters, trailer, and a souvenir booklet, gives the film a remarkably contemporary edge. It more than does justice to an often-forgotten film that drew the curtain down on a very particularly sub-genre in the history of Hammer.

FEAR IN THE NIGHT is available now on 4K/Blu-Ray from StudioCanal.

THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE

Guillermo del Toro’s 2001 gothic horror The Devil’s Backbone, newly re-released on 4K, opens with a startling image: an unexploded bomb resting in an orphanage courtyard, an omen of violence waiting to explode. As the Spanish Civil War draws to an end, twelve‑year‑old Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at the remote orphanage, where he is immediately drawn into a tangle of shifting loyalties, buried betrayals, and the mournful presence of Santi (Junio Valverde), the ghost who refuses to be forgotten.

The orphanage becomes an echo of the fractured Spain outside. Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Casares (Federico Luppi) cling to the ideals of the Loyalists, while Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) – once a child of the orphanage himself, but now its most dangerous inhabitant – embodies the rise of fascism. The adults’ tangled desires, such as Jacinto’s strained relationship with his fiancée Conchita (Irene Visedo), foreshadow the emotional themes del Toro would further explore in Pan’s Labyrinth.

Del Toro’s touch is everywhere: suspense unfurls with patient precision, and the production design – scarred courtyards, dim cellars – mirrors the story’s buried secrets. Santi’s ghost, his blood drifting like a slow underwater current, showcases del Toro’s gift for blending practical and digital effects.

The Devil’s Backbone is more than just a ghost story, it’s a study of the emotional wreckage war leaves behind, something that feels all too familiar today. Through Carlos’s hesitant coming‑of‑age and Casares’ struggle between reason and the supernatural, del Toro explores how people face fear, choose their loyalties, and carry the echoes of violence long after the bombs stop falling.

This StudioCanal release has a plethora of bonus material, including two audio commentaries by Guillermo del Toro ported over from previous releases. Also included is an audio commentary with del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. All have their merits, but all, more or less, contain the same facts and information about the making of the film. Which brings us nicely to “Que es un Fantasma?” – The Making of The Devil’s Backbone. If you have any of the previous releases, then this won’t be new to you.

Other extras include deleted scenes with optional commentary, special effects featurettes, “Of Ghosts and Fauns: Del Toro’s Spanish Civil War” – a behind-the-scenes featurette which explores the film’s context and themes related to the Spanish Civil War, a picture gallery, and the obligatory trailer.

THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE is available on 4K UHD from 13th April.

SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1971)

Jess Franco’s follow-up to the hypnotic Vampyros Lesbos carries over many of the cast and the director’s singular style.

Following the death of her controversial scientist husband, Soledad Miranda’s character becomes an avenging angel of death, seeking out those who persecuted him and hounded him to commit suicide. Although it’s essentially a rehash of the director’s earlier film The Diabolical Dr Z, Franco revels in its visuals, with cinematographer Manuel Merino excelling in coming up with some sumptuous imagery.

This is Soledad Miranda’s movie, though. She is mesmerising in every scene, adding to the dreamy sensuality even as she enacts her revenge. Severin’s 4K restoration is stunningly beautiful. Despite the pedestrian pace, it pulls you into its stylish and seductive world.

Although not as extra-heavy as the Vampyros Lesbos release, there’s still plenty to enjoy, with another archive interview with Jess Franco and Franco expert Stephen Thrower. It’s also good to see Franco regular Paul Muller getting to say his piece.

SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY is out now on 4K UHD Blue-ray.

VAMPYROS LESBOS (1971)

Prolific cult director Jess Franco returned to the world of Dracula with this gorgeous, surreal masterpiece.

Soledad Miranda is the focus of the film, playing Countess Nadine Carody, who’s set to inherit Dracula’s estate. Many of the story’s traditional roles are flipped, with Jonathan Harker’s role taken by Ewa Strömberg’s Linda Westinghouse. However, rather than trapping Linda in her castle, the Countess opens Linda’s sexual world with various sins of the flesh. The Van Helsing proxy here is Dr Alwin Seward (played with delightful zest by Dennis Price). The story isn’t as important as the visuals, however, with Franco filling the screen with flash and flesh.

Severin’s 4K restoration of Vampyros Lesbos is nothing less than stunning. It’s presented in German, but sounds fantastic, making the most of the celebrated score by Manfred Hübler and Sigi Schwab. The release is also packed with extra features (five hours’ worth!), some carried over from previous releases and some new. Kat Ellinger’s commentary track delves into the film’s themes and is enlightening and thoughtful, and another focuses more on Franco’s life and career. As is usual now with any serious Franco release, author Stephen Thrower (who wrote the final word on the director’s work with his two massive books) has some valuable input.

Vampyros Lesbos may be the gateway to the world of Jess Franco, but that stills comes with a caveat that it won’t be to the taste of many. If you love the bizarre and are not afraid of the erotic, this release is invaluable.

VAMPYROS LESBOS is out now on 4K UHD Blu-ray.

WE BURY THE DEAD

Having bellyflopped at the American box office, Zak Hilditch’s survival horror film (bypass lazy reviews that call it a ‘zombie’ movie, please) swerves a theatrical release in the UK and makes its swift debut on physical media. It’s probably for the best.

Despite some impressive visuals and a real sense of the apocalyptic in its depiction of an environment compromised by human hubris, this isn’t an action film full of scenes of infected monsters hungry for human flesh being sliced and diced by machete-wielding testosterone-bloated macho men. We Bury the Dead has its tense moments, of course, but at its core, it’s a well-observed, quiet meditation on grief and loss, with Daisy Ridley setting out on a quest to find her missing husband even though, we discover through a number of subtle flashbacks, their relationship was losing its way long before the disaster that kept them apart.

The United States “accidentally” detonates an experimental weapon off the Eastern coast of Tasmania. The city of Hobart is destroyed, and anyone caught in the blast is considered braindead. However – and here’s the tenuous zombie angle – some of the ‘braindead’ regain some basic motor function, which turns them dangerously violent. The Australian military is sweeping the area to neutralise the threat by retrieving and disposing of the bodies, and American physiotherapist Ava Newman (Ridley) volunteers to help with the clean-up, but her real aim is to find her husband Mitch (Matt Whelan), who had travelled to the south of the island on a business trip before the disaster struck.

It’s not long before she’s distancing herself from the official clean-up and joining forces with free-spirited Clay (Brenton Thwaites), and they set off on a requisitioned motorcycle to travel across the island so Daisy can find out what’s happened to Mitch. The bulk of the film recounts their various adventures en route – not all of them necessarily characterised by violence and gore – where they discover that the “braindead” aren’t the only obstacle in their way.

We Bury the Dead is a powerful and engrossing character study of a woman who just wants closure, and Daisy Ridley delivers a career-best performance full of steely resolve and cool determination. She expresses Ava’s single-mindedness with an impressive physicality that doesn’t rely on great reams of expositionary dialogue. It’s all there in her eyes, and her facial expressions, and her transformation into a steely survivalist is the real engine of a film that nevertheless delivers a handful of tense moments of danger and jeopardy. We Bury the Dead deserves a rapid exhumation so it can find its proper appreciative audience on this good-looking, sharp Blu-ray release.

WE BURY THE DEAD is available now on Blu-ray.