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Severin’s January Lineup Includes ‘Burial Ground’ 4K Ultra HD Debut, an Australian Slasher Gem & More!

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5 months ago

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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 OF FRANKENSTEIN: Inspired by Universal’s 1940s monster mash-ups, writer/director Jess Franco instead delivered “a weird and wonderful masterpiece that transports you to a world like no other” (Scream Magazine): With minimal dialogue and maximum gothic atmosphere, Franco crafts a fever dream of erotic horror in which Count Dracula (Howard Vernon of DELICATESSEN), Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price of TWINS OF EVIL), his assistant Morpho and Frankenstein’s monster battle gypsies, showgirls, Dr. Seward and a wolfman. Alberto Dalbés (THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN), Carmen Yazalde (A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD) and Geneviève Robert (star of Franco’s DEVIL’S ISLAND LOVERS and the future Mrs. Ivan Reitman) co-star in “a fantastic experience for those who respect Franco’s demented vision” (Mondo Exploito), now scanned in 4K from Spanish, French and German release prints to create the longest and most comprehensive version known to exist. 

BLOODMOON: Though it arrived near the end of the cycle, it remains the most satisfyingly depraved – yet least-seen – old-school slasher in Ozploitation history: Someone is butchering students at St. Elizabeth’s Girls School, complete with gratuitous nudity, graphic gore, obnoxious teens, creepy cuckolds, barbed wire garroting, ‘80s Aussie glam-metal band Vice, an acid-flinging nun and heaps more. Leon Lissek (COUNTESS DRACULA), Christine Amor (SNAPSHOT) and Helen Thomson (ELVIS) star in the directorial debut of acclaimed UK cameraman/cinematographer Alec Mills (Polanski’s MACBETH, RETURN OF THE JEDI, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS) with a standout score by Brian May (THE ROAD WARRIOR, PATRICK), now scanned uncut in 4K from the negative at The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and complete with ‘The BLOODMOON Fright Break Challenge’ for the first time ever in America.

BURIAL GROUND: For his only foray into the zombie genre, psychosexual sleaze maestro Andrea Bianchi (MALABIMBA: THE MALICIOUS WHORE, STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER) unleashed the barrage of flesh-ripping, gut-chomping and depraved oedipal mayhem that set insane new standards in Italian horror, now in UHD for the first time in North America: Mariangela Giordano (of SATAN’S BABY DOLL, THE SECT and PATRICK STILL LIVES fame) stars in the ‘80s splatter classic about a cursed country estate besieged by horny houseguests, undead Etruscans and the unusual relationship between a mother (Giordano) and her mega-creepy young son (disturbingly portrayed by adult actor Peter Bark) that will trigger some of the most jaw-dropping scenes in grindhouse history. Severin Films is improbably proud to present the definitive version of this gorehound/sex-fiend favorite, now featuring an all-new 4K scan and 4 hours of Special Features.

Special Features for DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN

  • Webstore Exclusive Slipcover

  • Prisoner Of Franco-Stein – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco

  • In The Land Of Franco Part 10

  • Spanish Opening Credit Sequence

  • Deleted Scene From English Language Version

  • Trailer

Feature Specs for DRACULA, PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN

  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

  • Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono, Spanish Mono, German Mono, French Mono

  • Subtitles: English

  • Closed Captions: English SDH

  • Region: A/B/C

Special Features for BLOODMOON

  • Film Buffs Forecast Audio Interview With Actor Leon Lissek Conducted In 2000 By Paul Harris And Mark Hartley

  • Interview With Actress Christine Amor From NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD

  • Trailer

  • Fright Break Trailer

Feature Specs for BLOODMOON

  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

  • Audio: English Mono

  • Closed Captions: English SDH

  • Region: A

Special Features for BURIAL GROUND:

Disc 1: UHD

  • Slipcase

  • Audio Commentary With Critics Nathaniel Thompson, Troy Howarth And Eugenio Ercolani

  • Audio Commentary With Italian Cinema Experts Calum Waddell And John Martin

  • Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2: Blu-ray

  • Audio Commentary With Critics Nathaniel Thompson, Troy Howarth And Eugenio Ercolani

  • Audio Commentary With Italian Cinema Experts Calum Waddell And John Martin

  • Villa Parisi: Legacy Of Terror – Location Featurette

  • Return To The Burial Ground – Interview With Actor Peter Bark At Villa Parisi

  • Peter Still Lives – Festival Q&A With Peter Bark

  • Just For The Money – Interview With Actor Simone Mattioli

  • The Smell Of Death – Interviews With Producer Gabriele Crisanti And Actress Mariangela Giordano

  • Deleted/Extended Material

  • Theatrical Trailer

Feature Specs for BURIAL GROUND:

  • Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

  • Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono

  • Subtitles: English 

  • Closed Captions: English SDH

  • Region: A/B/C

Head over to Severin Films to place your pre-orders and learn more.

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Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

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‘Cemetery Man’ 4K Ultra HD Review – 1990s Italian Horror Gem Shines in New Severin Release

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1 day ago

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June 14, 2024

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Despite being hailed by Martin Scorsese as one of the best Italian films of the 1990s, Cemetery Man is criminally underseen. Also known as Dellamorte Dellamore, the 1994 cult classic has been hard to come by in the US since Anchor Bay’s 2006 DVD went out of print, but Severin Films has revived it with a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray edition.

Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi directs from a script by Gianni Romoli, based on the 1991 novel Dellamorte Dellamore by Tiziano Sclavi — itself a precursor to Sclavi’s influential Italian horror comic Dylan Dog. Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding), on whom the Dylan Dog character was visually based, takes on the lead role as Francesco Dellamorte.

As he explains in the noir-esque opening narration, Dellamorte is the watchman for a small town cemetery wherein “some people, on the seventh night after their death, come back to life.” He and his slow-witted but genial assistant, Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro), are tasked with stopping the so-called returners by splitting open their heads.

While there is somewhat of an overarching narrative involving Dellamorte’s enamorment with a mourning widow (Anna Falchi), the manner in which subplots are introduced and resolved give the film an episodic structure. The collection of ghoulish misadventures range from undead boy scouts, bikers and nuns to a murderous descent into madness.

Soavi clearly took heed of Argento’s visual acumen while serving under the master of horror on the likes of Tenebrae, Phenomena, and Opera. Working with cinematographer Mauro Marchetti, production designer Massimo Antonello Geleng (Cannibal Holocaust, City of the Living Dead), and special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti (Phenomena, Demons), Soavi marries the beautiful and the macabre in every stylish frame.

Comedy is the other predominant factor in the equation. Dellamorte possesses Army of Darkness-era Ash swagger as he disposes of not-quite-zombies, but Soavi’s European sense of humor is more dry than Sam Raimi’s signature style. Soavi is not above splatstick, but it never undercuts the carefully crafted Gothic atmosphere. The blend of horror, comedy, and romance is as masterful as Shaun of the Dead, but it’s decidedly hornier. A hint of nightmarish surreality akin to Phantasm helps to balance the tonal tightrope act.

Cemetery Man has been scanned in 4K from the Cinecittà Studios negative, approved by Soavi, with Dolby Vision. It features English Dolby Atmos, 5.1, and Stereo sound options, in addition to a Stereo Italian dub. Severin’s transcendent efforts are apparent from the FBI warning that precedes the disc menu, which is interrupted by the film’s floating balls of light. The picture is ravishing no matter the format, but the restoration is so clear that previously imperceptible strings used to puppet some of the effects are now visible.

Soavi, Everett, and Falchi sit down for new interviews totaling nearly 80 minutes. They’re not meandering, career-spanning conversations; each key player offers a deep dive into the film. Soavi details the film’s origin, capturing its unique atmosphere, and how the poetic conclusion came to be at the last minute. Everett recalls his excitement to take on the role and work in Italian cinema and expresses his pride in the film. Falchi details her three roles in the film, including the extensive makeup process.

A thorough, archival audio commentary by Soavi and Romoli is presented in Italian with English subtitles. The creatives examine how they got involved in the project, adapting the source material, how they pulled off in-camera effects, and budgetary limitations, among other topics. An archival making-of featurette, featuring some great behind-the-scenes effects footage along with cast and crew interviews, rounds out the extras.

For the mega-fan, Severin Films offers a limited edition set that includes an additional Blu-ray disc with eight more interviews (Romoli, Marchetti, Stivaletti, actors Fabiana Formica and Stefano Masciarelli, composer Riccardo Biseo, set designer Antonello Geleng, and film historian Alan Jones) and trailers, a soundtrack CD, a booklet written by horror scholar Claire Donner, and an exclusive slipcase.

Despite his horror output being limited to a mere four films (although he remains active in Italian television), Soavi is worthy of being in conversation with Italian maestros like Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Mario Bava. His auspicious earlier efforts — 1987’s StageFright, 1989’s The Church, and 1991’s The Sect — built toward Cemetery Man, a crowning achievement that continues to endure after 30 years.

Cemetery Man is available on 4K UHD + Blu-ray now.

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