Harlequin a.k.a. Dark Forces

Harlequin's a pretty puzzling little film, though you'll feel on more familiar footing if you're versed in the history of Rasputin.  David Hemmings (Deep Red) plays a rising political star who seems to have it all: wealth, influence, a beautiful and devoted family.  But all that fortune is overshadowed by the fact that his young and only son is dying of leukemia, and no doctor can save him.  Enter Robert Powell (Mahler, Tommy), a mysterious man who claims to be a magician able to cure the boy.  He's swiftly welcomed into their home, but it could be a dangerous problem if this powerful figure's motivations prove to be less than purely altruistic.

Update 10/5/18 - 3/19/25: 88 won the blu-ray duel, but Indicator has swooped in to snatch its victory by taking Harlequin to the next level: 4k.   Let's see what their fancy new edition has done for this distinctively quirky piece.

I'd hesitate to even file it under horror, though it's certainly horror adjacent, at least at times.  Harlequin's as much a drama or even a bizarre political thriller as it is anything else.  There's some tension at the end, but I wouldn't say this film is ever trying to scare you.  It's probably easiest to just call it Ozploitation.  It's another 80s import penned by screenwriter Everett De Roche, the man behind of the biggest and best Ozploitation titles like Patrick, Long Weekend, Razorback one of my favorites: Fortress, but it's not almost not even fair to the "exploitation" half of the "Ozploitation" label.  I mean, it has its moments of brief nudity and a more than satisfying amount of unnatural spectacle.  It's certainly fun and weird, but its meter leans more towards Classy than Trashy.  It's smartly assembled and very well acted; you could almost pass it off as a classic Dennis Potter teleplay for the BBC except maybe for what happens to the maid.  If you can imagine a combination of The Visitor and Brimstone and Treacle, you've pretty much arrived at this movie.

In the special features they talk about how they originally wanted David Bowie for the lead role, which makes perfect sense... but they might've actually been better off with Powell.  Well at least in terms of artistic product, maybe not box office.  And speaking of performances, he might've had these types of roles on speed dial by now, but Oscar winner Broderick Crawford (All the King's Men, The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover) is still pretty unforgettable as the political heavy who'd grown used to pulling everyone's strings.  Even the kid is pretty good.  I just saw A Simple Favor yesterday, and boy, was that a rough reminder of how child performances can be a serious sand trap even for the major Hollywood players.  This isn't one for the gore hounds, but if you get this movie and don't dig it, try showing it to your parents.

This film's seen a couple of interesting releases, all sorts of half special editions.  Image first put it out on DVD here in the US, with a nice widescreen transfer and audio commentary in 2004.  And naturally Umbrella/ Shock put it out in Australia shortly after.  Then Synapse re-released it as a special edition in 2008, albeit with no new features or anything.  Scorpion Releasing finally gave it its HD debut in 2013 with their limited edition blu-ray, which still basically just had the commentary and little else to demarcate it a special edition.  But then 88 Films jumped into the fray with their limited and more genuinely special edition blu.  And now Indicator/ Powerhouse has entered the picture, restoring the film in 4k with even more features on their limited BD (4000 units) and UHD (6000 units) editions.

1) 2013 US Scorpion BD; 2) 2018 UK 88 Films BD; 3) 2025 UK Indicator UHD.

Well, 88 may've made a fancier edition than Scorpion, but they didn't come up with a new transfer.  Not that I was too disappointed since I wasn't exactly counting on one - if they'd paid for a new scan, they'd've been spelling it out in the marketing.  No, I was expecting something pretty close, and this is nothing if not close to the Scorpion blu.  I was able to match very slow-moving frame grabs by spotting identical flecks; they're virtually identical.  And the original transfer wasn't exactly showroom floor material in the first place.  But I'm not sure that's so much anything the labels are doing wrong so much as just the source material being a little dodgy.  Like, look at how smeary the letters are on the title card, with the whites of the small print bleed into each other.  Sure, it's better on the UHD, but it's not exactly crisp.

1) 2013 US Scorpion BD; 2) 2018 UK 88 Films BD; 3) 2025 UK Indicator UHD.

Which is probably why, in their booklet, Indicator promises, "[n]o grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way" (appreciated!  Thank you, Indicator).  There's a softness to the photography throughout, which is clearly intrinsic to the film, and I reckon that's just the way the filmmakers made that optical title card.  Scorpion's packaging describes the transfer as "Brand New 16 x 9 (2.35:1) Widescreen Master in HD from Original Vault Elements," which leaves things a bit vague. 88 got a bit bolder, touting "Restored HD master from the Original Negatives."  And now Indicator clarifies theirs as a "[b[rand new 4k restoration from the original negative."  Anyway, it looks like old 35mm film.  Grain is evident, and light damage is persistent (less so on the new Indicator) but never to the point of distraction.  Colors look a little faded.  And that brings us to the only real distinction between the two blus.  88's is a shade darker, which I prefer, because again, the film looks faded.  It's a minor distinction you'd never notice outside of a direct comparison like this, and certainly not a reason to double-dip, but the slim edge went to 88.

"Went" because the new UHD, of course, trounces them both.  The most distinct improvement is the boldness of the colors.  The new HDR looks fantastic, but I'm sure even their 1080p blu-ray puts the older discs weathered look to shame.  A blue sky and blue sea instead of all white behind those credits?  Imagine!  It's bolder, far more vivid and pulls in more detail from the highlights and shadows that were blasted out in the previous editions.  Look how much more you can see in Hemmings' lamp in that second set of shots, for example.  The resolution isn't as much of a boon, because, as I already mentioned, the film has an inherently soft look; but the contrast and broader gamut make the image considerably more life-like and less aged.  And the composition has been tweaked, too.   While the aspect ratio is still 2.35:1, the framing has been adjusted, so we see a little more to the left of Godzilla in the first set of shots, and the top edge isn't clipping Hemmings' hair in the second.

Audio-wise, all three discs seem to have the same mix, the original mono track, in DTS-HD on Scorpion, LPCM on 88 and back to DTS-HD for Indicator.  But here's where 88 took a bigger step forward: they included English subtitles where Image, Synapse and Scorpion had none.  Thankfully, Indicator has them now, too.

For many, the bigger competition may be taking place in the special features department, anyway.  So let's start with Scorpion.  Their main feature is the same audio commentary that's been around since the Image days with director Simon Wincer and producer Anthony I. Ginnane.  It's quite good, though.  They're very involved and have a lot to say.  The other bits are mainly hold-overs from the DVDs, too.  There's an isolated musical score track, and the original theatrical trailer under the alternate title, Dark Forces.  Scorpion adds one thing, though, a Katrina featurette where she gives her usual overview on the film details, and even dresses up in a harlequin costume for some, uh, interpretive dance?  There's also a couple bonus trailers and some cool interior artwork showcasing Harlequin's many colorful posters.

Now, I wasn't expecting 88 to mess with the Katrina skit, but I'm a little surprised they dropped the isolated music track, since that's also been a staple of all the past DVD releases.  They got the important thing, though: the commentary.  And even more importantly, they got a bunch more that no previous release has ever had.  They have a new, on-camera interview with everyone's favorite critic Kim Newman, who mostly gives a general overview of Ozploitation in general, but does touch on Harlequin specifically as well.  And there's a brief, vintage television interview with Hemmings and Powell, which is rather silly.  The host keeps talking about how she's so taken with the two of them and doesn't ask them much about the film except how it must be hard to shoot a film out of sequence.  But I'm glad 88 uncovered it; it's fun.

Most significantly, however, is a roughly hour long collection of on-camera interviews with Wincer, Ginnane, De Roche and actor Gus Mercurio.  Now, the interviews start with a bit of disclaimer that, "[t]he following interviews were conducted by director Mark Hartley for his documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (2008)."  It's been a long time since I've watched that film, but to be clear, while these interviews were surely for that doc as described, I'm fairly certain these are not just clips lifted from that film (or its many DVD special features).  These are in-depth interviews all about Harlequin, not just Australian horror in general, and really just what a Harlequin special edition calls for.  They're very forthcoming about everything from the commercial aspects of making this film for an international market to working around some of the cast members' alcoholism.  Also, instead of the Dark Forces trailer, they have a Harlequin-titled trailer.  88's blu comes with reversible artwork, the other side matching Scorpion's.  And limited initial pressings also include an 8-page full color booklet with notes by Calum Waddell and some cool poster art, plus an attractive slipcover.

And now Indicator?  They carry over everything from the 88 disc, and happily, the isolated score is back.  Better still, they've come up with even more new extras.  There's a short on-camera interview with the screenwriter from 2007 taken from a local Australian television station.  And there are audio-only interviews with the director, associate producer and production designer.  These suckers are long (the director's is feature length!), so buckle in, but the latter two have never been interviewed for this film on disc before, so they're very welcome additions.  And there's a new expert interview (in addition to Newman's) by Australian film historian Stephen Morgan.  We also get three trailers, three galleries, and at least for these initial limited runs, an impressive 80-page booklet.  It's all housed in a tough side-loading box, and yes, the little J-card passes Grindhouse Mike's "does it fit in the box," albeit not ideally (it sticks out past the book and disc case ever so slightly).

Just back from The Phantom Zone, apparently.

As a genuine fan of this film, I've been only to o happy to triple-dip for the 4k upgrade and new special features.  The jump from Scorpion to 88 was a real "for enthusiasts only" move, but I can recommend the jump from either of those to the Indicator more broadly.  And yeah, if you're purchasing this film for the first time, this is the easily definitive and obvious choice.  I'm a little surprised this film got such high-end treatment, but it seems like the Australian film market takes good care of its cult titles.

Zeder's Revenge!

Image originally released Zeder, a.k.a. Revenge Of the Dead, on DVD in fullscreen as part of their Euroshock Collection way back in 1999.  But in 2002, when 20th Century Fox(!) reissued it in Italy in widescreen with the superior Italian audio track and removable English subs, I was very happy to upgrade.  More recently, when Code Red announced this title, I was excited at the prospect of this film making its HD debut, but only if it was the uncut version (there have been a couple budget releases - this one and this one - from a label called Cydonia missing a decent chunk of footage) with the Italian audio and English subtitles.  Thankfully, they came through.

Update 8/20/24: It's Day 4 of Update week 2024, and here's one that's been conspicuously absent since its release in February: 88 Films' new and improved Zeder!  And that's not all.  This is an all-horror Update day, wherein I've also added three additional DVDs of Night Of the Living Dead and House On Haunted Hill apiece.  And since I've got plenty more updates to come.  This Update Week may unnaturally extend an extra couple of days.

The first thing you should know about Zeder is that the Revenge Of the Dead box art is very misleading.  If you're expecting anything Hell Of the Living Dead or Nightmare City, forget about it; zombies never crawl out of manhole covers or anything like that.  I mean, there are a couple cool scenes towards the end that you could maybe connect to the cover image at a stretch, but this is really more of a giallo with a supernatural twist than a traditional zombie film.  Gabriele Lavia is a young writer who buys a used typewriter and realizes the old ink ribbon reveals the last things the previous owner wrote with it.  This leads him into a strange conspiracy involving mysterious references to something called a "K Zone" and life after death.  Zeder is a smart, brooding film about secret messages, following clues, hidden passageways and a pool scene surely influenced by Val Lewton's Cat People, all written and directed by Pupi Avati (Story of Boys & Girls, The House With Laughing Windows).

And this is why fans cared so much about getting the original Italian audio with this film.  Yes, like almost all Italian films, it's all dubbed either way; but in Zeder's case, the Italian's a much better performed, naturalistic track.  And that wouldn't be so important for your typical Italian zombie film that's just out to dazzle you with eye candy and gut munching gore.  Heck, sometimes the bad dubbing can even add to the experience of the wilder cases; but here I think it really spoils it.  Here you've got great locations with atmospheric lighting and people that need to involve you in their struggles, not sound like cartoon characters.

All that said, I really appreciate Code Red releasing it with the Revenge Of the Dead artwork.  It's an iconic VHS cover from its day, and I have... fond? memories of renting it and falling asleep to it several times when I was too young to appreciate its craft.  And I like that Code Red's motif is to hold to those old American video days with their covers.  I mean, come on, if they're already released L'ossessa as The Eerie Midnight Horror Show, they've gotta go with "Revenge Of the Dead!"

1) 2002 IT Fox DVD; 2) 2017 US Code Red BD; 3) 2024 UK 88 BD.

The first two discs look pretty similar, apart from the added clarity of Code Red's HD.  It still looks a little soft, which I imagine goes back to the film itself, but it definitely sharpens up the DVD and nicely clarifies all the edges.  The framing tightens in just a smidgen from about 1.82:1 to 1.78.  Despite being anamorphic, Fox's disc has a bit of window-boxing around all four sides that I'm glad the blu dispenses with.  Guys, let's never bring back TV overscan, okay?  Anyway, Code Red's packaging also specifically points out its new, exclusive color correction, and it looks quite good.  But again, it's pretty similar to Fox's DVD, just a bit more subdued, which is appropriate.  Compare the skin-tones in the comparison below to better see where they've improved things.

But things have improved a second time with 88's disc, which is is taken from a fresh 2k scan of the original camera negative.  Colors are more natural and the contrast especially is more subdued.  Grain that was smoothed over is now present, albeit still a little light in some areas, fine detail and edges are sharper.  It feels like another step forward, equal to how the Code Red advanced on the DVD.  In fact, flipping between screenshots from all three, I'd even say it's greater.

1) 2002 IT Fox DVD; 2) 2017 US Code Red BD; 3) 2024 UK 88 BD.

Now, to be clear, all three discs do offer that inferior English dub in addition to the Italian track, if you want it.  It's nice to have as a curiosity piece if nothing else.  And yes, all three releases have English subtitles.  But not everybody's entirely happy with Code Red's subs, so let's get into that.

There are a couple issues going on.  One is just the look.  Slightly outlined white vs. yellow with black bars behind them.  The first are less distracting, but the second are easier to read, which as a glasses wearer, I appreciate.  Second there are some translation differences, but I don't understand Italian well enough (or at all) to argue which are more accurate.  Code Red's subs match the English dub more closely and are likely what we foreign film fans like to call "dubtitles," while 88's are traditional subtitles, as they specifically translate the Italian track.  And third, I think the most controversially, is the fact that the Code Red subs are captions for the hearing impaired, which means besides transcribing the dialogue, they also include sound effects like "[door opens]."  It isn't too distracting once you get used to it, though.  There isn't a "[tap] [tap] [tap]" for every footstep or anything; it's just the key sounds.  So I get why some people are a little underwhelmed, and I agree the 88, or even Fox, subtitles are preferable - I'm glad 88 has finally given us the better option in HD.

Moving on to the special features, the Fox DVD did actually have a few.  Not a lot, but some pretty cool stuff.  Unfortunately, though, none of it had English language options.  So there's a well-edited 15 minute featurette including interviews with Avati, Lavia, producer Antonio Avati and composer Riz Ortolani, plus trailers for Zeder and House With Laughing Windows.  They're just not English friendly.  It's always killed me that that featurette wasn't subtitled.

Code Red doesn't have any of that stuff, but instead come with their own special features package.  First and foremost is a terrific, half-hour interview with Pupi Avati, which you can watch either subtitled or dubbed (the latter created presumably because the subtitles on this extra, for some reason, are super tiny).  There's also a brief, but all new interview with Gabriel Lavia, and a fun Revenge Of the Dead teaser trailer which tries so hard to mislead you into thinking it's a different type of flick that it doesn't even show you any footage from the film.  The blu also includes reversible artwork, which is fitting, as you can go with a Revenge Of the Dead cover or a Zeder cover, though I'm not a big fan of their newly commissioned Zeder art (I never like these comic book-style covers the cult labels insist on going with these days), as well as a slipcover with the new Zeder art.

And 88 doesn't have the Fox or the Code Red extras, but that doesn't stop it from having the best features package of them all.  First of all, it has two audio commentaries, both by experts, which are fine but not great.  One's by Kim Newman & Sean Hogan and the other's by Barry Forshaw and Eugenio Ercolani (the later of whom has done several of 88's Italian titles now).  Both are on the casual side, but not bad if that's the sort of thing you're after.  Much more crucially, then, we come to the interviews.  There's no need to be disappointed they don't have Code Red's Avati and Lavia interviews, because they've conducted new ones with both.  The Lavia one is longer, so they get to go more in depth, and the Avati subtitles are far more legible.  Then they also have exclusive interviews with actor Steno Tonelli (this one's quite interesting) and Pupi's brother and professional collaborator, Antonio Avati.  They've also got the trailer and their own Revenge Of the Dead reversible artwork; and the first pressing also came with a double-sided poster, slipcase and 40-page booklet.

So hey, the Code Red was nice for its time.  It looked good, was uncut with all the important language options and some some great extras... which for the first time ever, we could understand.  But 88 has definitely raised it up further to contemporary standards.  Better picture, better subtitles and considerably more special features.  And Zeder is a really cool movie that deserves it, so long as you're prepared for something subtle and calmly paced without a lot of gore or zombie action.

Absurd: Anthropophagous Part 2

Exotic BD collectors surely remember when 88 Films ran an Indiegogo campaign in 2015 and netted almost $17,000 to restore two "classic" Italian horror films: Zombie Holocaust and Burial Ground.  Well, this time they've gone even bigger, collecting roughly $105,000 to restore four more dubiously "classic" Italian horror greats: Aenigma, Massacre In Dinosaur Valley, Beyond the Darkness and today's entry, Absurd, the aptly titled sequel to Joe D'Amato's Anthropophagous.  Oh, and there will also be a fresh restoration of that film this summer.  Well, I contributed to that campaign, too, and I've been enjoying the harvest.

Update 1/30/17 - 8/22/19: If we're doing Anthropophagous, it only makes sense to throw Absurd into Update Week, too.  You might be starting to detect a pattern here: 88 Films restores an Italian horror classic for the UK market, and then a year or so later, Severin releases it in the US.  But it's not just a case of more or less identical discs just being demarcated Region A or B; they're always quite different from each other.

Update 7/20/24: 2k is out, 4k is in with 88 Film's new 4k Ultra HD release of Absurd, released in conjunction with Anthropophagous, which we've also updated.

George Eastman is back as Nikos (or is it Mikos?), the crazed Greek killer, here to spread a little nihilistic madness amongst some unwitting victims.  Eastman is also back as scriptwriter, and D'Amato back behind the lens of this off-beat giallo/ slasher hybrid.  This time Nikos has made his way to what the filmmakers would have us believe is America, being pursued by a Dr. Loomis-like priest, who knows the secret to killing the madman.  Yeah, this film makes the leap franchises like Friday the 13th and Halloween would make years later: the killer most be some kind of superhuman monster (hence the alternate title Monster Hunter) to keep coming back in sequel after sequel despite having been killed at the end of the last one.  In our case, he basically has Wolverine-style healing powers and can only be truly killed by destroying his brain.  I guess it's thanks to those powers that he doesn't have the burned, balding look from the first movie; but he does arrive on the scene in a great homage to the finale of the previous film.

So it's a bit of a step down to lose the exotic Greek locations of the original film, and this film is definitely taking a lot from Halloween, from babysitters in peril, the sheriff searching small town streets, to kids referring to Nikos as the boogeyman.  But there are worse films to crib from, and bringing Nikos to America works in a fun, logic-free way.  And Absurd has a lot of things going for it, including some great kills, another bizarre-o little kid dubbed by a grown woman, some notable performances by Annie Belle, who's just beginning to regrow her hair back after House On the Edge Of the Park, and Edmund Purdom.  Oh, which reminds me: listen to a cameo from Pieces' infamous big band music in this film as well!  When I first saw this film, it was on a friend's bootleg DVD, which was a very murky VHS rip.  All I remembered were a few good kills and so much talk about football (to sell us on the fact that they're in America), that the Rams vs the Steelers began to feel like a legit subplot.  I was amused, but it really felt like some bottom of the barrel, shot on video effort, like the Violent Shit films (all the more fitting, then, who would go on to make Anthropophagous 2000).  But now that I've seen it restored, it looks and feels much more like a real movie.

NOT a shot from 88's new blu; don't worry folks!  I found this transfer online
that looks just the way I remember my first viewing experience.

88 Films brings us the HD debut of Absurd, though to be fair, there was a bit of mid-ground between that ugly bootleg I saw and now.  There have been a couple low-quality foreign releases over the years, and finally an official DVD from MYA Communication in 2009.  Even that was non-anamorphic and had to composite in elements from a VHS print to present a fully uncut version of the film.  In 2017, we have a brand new 2k scan of the original film elements, 100% uncut with no compositing.  And we're given two versions: the English and Italian.  And no, that's not just a question of alternate audio, they're two different cuts of the film.  So let me break that down.

A scene only in the English Version.

So to start with the obvious, yes, the English Version has the English dub and the Italian Version has the Italian dub with optional English subtitles.  The two versions also have alternate credits sequences written in their native languages (though both use the fake, Americanized names).  But besides that, the English version is several minutes longer.  And that's not due to credits playing at different speeds or anything dull like that.  It's a longer version of the film with whole scenes only included in that cut.  And it should be noted that the English version has all the exclusive extra scenes; there's nothing in the Italian version that you don't see in the English.  So what's unique to the English Version?

6:40 There's more to the beginning of the scene with the biker punks harassing the drunk.

8:08 Only the English version returns to the operation on Eastman.

11:05 There's a whole scene with the cop visiting the mother and boy after Eastman broke in.

23:20 We have a couple more shots of Eastman running through the streets at night.

45:40 There's an extra scene of the parents' football party.

1:25:30 Katya Berger is chased down a couple extra hallways.

In 88's 2017 audio commentary, they must be watching the Italian Version, as they mention some missing footage but assure us we're not missing any gore.  But the situation's even better than that thanks to the inclusion of the longer, English Version.  Even the footage they specifically cite from the movie-censorship page is in that cut.

Then, of course, we got another contender: 2018's US blu-ray from Severin.  It also has both versions of the film taken from a 2k scan from the original negative.  But now both 2k blus are being pushed out by a 4k UHD from 88 Films 2024 combo-pack, which also includes a 1080p BD of their new transfer.

1) 88 2017 BD; 2) Severin 2018 BD; 3) 88 2024 BD; 4) 88 2024 UHD.

So the two blus seem to have used exactly the same scan and final transfer for both versions, but just to be thorough, I threw in comparisons of the English and Italian cuts.  The framing is slightly letterboxed to 1.85:1 and grain looks very natural.  The color-timing looks great, too, but of course you can see the colors are different, even between the 2017 and 2018 discs.  For one thing, it looks like they've added blue filters to the exterior night scenes, or at least leaned much more heavily into the blues to give them an authentic moonlit look.  But, of course, the bulk of the film is indoors, and even there they differ.  88 generally has paler colors, which Severin deepens.  They also definitely go for blacker blacks, where 88 is content to leave the blackest areas as gray, perhaps to show that they aren't crushing any detail away.  That made it a win for Severin in 2018, but now of course we've got a newer contender.

The 1.85:1 framing shows a sliver more around the edges on the new 4k version.  The colors are more vibrant, even making Severin's disc look flat by comparison.  The brights might feel ever so slightly overly peaked on the BD, but they're perfectly natural on the UHD.  Grain is far more defined here (even on the BD), and fine detail and edges that started to break apart into pixelation on close examination now look rounded and lifelike.  Admittedly, you won't be watching this zoomed in 500% on your TV, but if you did, you'd see that road looks smeary with only patches of grain on the older discs, compared to richly textured presentation on the 4k.

Both the original mono audio tracks are presented in lossless 2.0 on all three discs (LPCM on the first 88, DTS-HD on the later releases) and sound surprisingly good.  Carlo Maria Cordio's soundtrack really rocks.  The Italian version has optional/ removable English subtitles on 88's 2017 disc.  On the 2018 and 2024 discs, both versions have their own subtitles, which match their audio tracks.  So one more reason to upgrade at least from the original BD there.

Oh you want extras, too?  Yeah, 88's got some good stuff.  Starting with their 2017 blu, we have that aforementioned audio commentary.  It's another one by The Hysteria Continues podcast guys, and I'm not usually a big fan of theirs (in terms of audio commentaries, not the podcast itself), but I think they're getting better.  Typically, one of them seems to prepare and know a lot about the film, acting as sort of an expert commentary, and the other guys just interrupt him and annoy the listener.  That dynamic hasn't really changed, but I think they've dialed it down, and at least two of them are plugged in this time.  They provide some good info in the first half, despite the other guys kinda phoning it in, and the jokes-to-commentary ratio is, well, mostly fine.  They do keep the energy up throughout (though the added scenes do force some pauses in the track).  Halfway through the movie, however, they seem to run out of things to say and just go on super long tangents about their favorite slashers or other movies that came out in 1981.  So you could probably turn it off once you start getting into that territory; but the first half is worth a listen and does add some value to the disc.

I SAVED CINEMA!!

Besides there's still more, even better stuff.  The crown jewel is the interview with George Eastman.  He's unfortunately a little dismissive of this film, but is still very interesting as he talks about his working relationship with D'Amato and more.  And there's another, in-depth interview with Michele Soavi, who played a small early role in this film as a biker.  Because his part was so brief, he does start drifting off into more general topics like the decline of the Italian horror scene, but you're definitely not going to want to skip this one.  There is a limited edition booklet, which I think means later printings won't include it, by Calum Waddell.  It's 16-pages and all about the Video Nasties.  Now, as an American, the story of that whole drama never really struck a chord with me, but I really like how this booklet presents each of the 39 Video Nasty titles that were actually prosecuted (out of 72 total films that were branded Nasties) with artwork and a brief description of every single one.  It also features reversible artwork with the film's original, Italian title (Rosso Sangue); and for supporters of the indiegogo campaign, this release also came in a very cool looking slipcover.

So what's Severin brought to the party?  Well, first of all, they carry over 88's interview with Michele Soavi.  But that and the trailer are the only extras the two releases have in common.  But Severin has conducted their own interview with George Eastman, which is almost twice as long.  And while it's certainly not a formula that twice as long = twice as good, this one's nicely focused on the film at hand, and he's even a little more up on the film, this time cheerfully calling it "not bad."  We don't get an audio commentary, we do get a solid 20-minute vintage interview with D'Amato himself.  It's shot on video and has forced subtitles despite the fact that he's speaking in English.  It's a lot of fun, though it's more of a career overview piece.  He basically shares an anecdote or two about each of his many films (including Absurd), actually talking the longest about Anthropophagous.  You'll definitely get a kick out of it.  Anyway, then Severin has their own reversible artwork and slipcover, and the first 3000 copies also include a soundtrack CD.

Circling back to 88 for their newest release, they have all the extras from their 2017 release, though not (unsurprisingly) Severin's additions.  Instead, however, they've crafted a bunch of new goodies of their own.  For starters, there's a new audio commentary by Eugenio Ercolani and Nanni Cobretti, the same experts from their Anthropophagaous disc.  But this time Ercolani doesn't also have a separate interview, making this commentary feel a little less redundant.  There is a new visual essay by another film historian, though, Mike Foster; so if you're looking for some expert insight with a little more brevity, you might want to just go with that.  There's also a new interview with George Eastman (yes, in addition to the old one).  But the real treat is their new interview with  composer Carlo Maria Cordio, who we haven't heard from before on any of these discs.  It's a bit lame that they window-box it in an attempt to mask the lower resolution (it's like releasing a non-anamorphic DVD in 2024; you know, you're not fooling anyone, and nobody wants to watch a tiny image on their screen), but it's still great to get a fresh, first-hand account from the filmmaking.

If you order the "website exclusive edition" direct from 88 films, you also got a slipbox, double-sided poster and a 40-page booklet.  But even if you score this elsewhere, you still get an attractive slipcover and reversible art.

I never really loved Absurd; it was an entertaining watch for me, but not much more.  But the chance to see it fully restored and look like a completely new film made this one of my most anticipated titles.  And I was definitely not disappointed.  In fact, I'd say I've become much more of a fan now having watched this on blu, so I'm really glad.  And now in 2024, we've got an even higher grade version, with more special features to boot.  88's new UHD is the easy choice, and while dedicated fans will want to hang onto their Severin discs for the exclusive extras, I don't think it had enough to make that worth the trouble for anyone other than serious Absurd devotees.  This new set is more than enough.