Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 4, 2024

Severin offered fans a 1080 release of Jess Franco's Count Dracula way back in 2015, a release that had some perhaps less than spectacular technical merits, but which had, in typical Severin fashion, some really appealing supplements, including the so-called "expressionist" behind the scenes film Cuadecuc Vampir, which is probably really not a behind the scenes film in a traditional sense. More recently, Severin brought out Count Dracula 4K, which upped the technical merits game significantly, while also offering a glut of bonus material, including quite a bit ported over from that first 1080 release, though noticeably not inclusive of Cuadecuc Vampir. That may be because Severin deemed the weird feature suitable for its own release, paired now with another odd outing from Pere Portabella, Umbracle. Without punning too horribly on his surname, some may feel that Mr. Portabella may have been indulging in fungi of a more "magical" type when making these unabashedly hallucinogenic presentations.

For reviews of the films on this disc, please click on the following links:

Cuadecuc Vampir Blu-ray review

Umbracle Blu-ray review

Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Severin has packaged Cuadecuc Vampir and Umbracle together on one disc, with the following supplements available once Cuadecuc Vampir has been selected:

• A Cinema of Vampires: Pere Portabella, Jess Franco and the School of Barcelona (HD; 35:40) is a fascinating interview with Spanish film scholar Dr. Alex Mendibil, who contextualizes the films in this set as well as the kind of, um, widely divergent reputations of Portabella and Franco. Subtitled in English. This makes for a really thought provoking companion piece to Dracula Barcelona, included on Severin's 4K release of Count Dracula.


• Trailer (HD; 1:50)

Additionally, Severin offers a very nicely appointed insert booklet, with writing from Pere Portabella, Jonathan Rosenbaum and Federico Karstulovich.

Cuadecuc Vampir / Umbracle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This double feature is not going to be everyone's cup of tea and/or THC as the case may be, but for those interested in Spanish cinema from the Franco (Francisco, not Jess) era and especially fans of Christopher Lee may find these outings bizarrely enjoyable. Technical merits are generally solid and the main supplement is very interesting. At least foor those with adventurous spirits, Recommended.