Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 6, 2022

Jorge Grau's "Blood Castle" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson; exclusive new audio commentary by critics Robert Monell and Rod Barnett; archival programs with Jorge Grau; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In Spanish or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

How much of what you will see in Spanish helmer Jorge Grau’s Blood Ceremony a.k.a. The Legend of Blood Castle is true? Well, it is hard to tell, but not because it is quite obvious that Grau uses plenty of genre tricks to make his film seriously atmospheric. The true story of Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed is actually as problematic as the popular story about the legendary Count Dracula, which means that over the years it has been embellished so much that it is no longer possible to authoritatively remove from it all of the half-truths that have spoiled it. There are some basic facts about Countess Bathory’s life that are easy to validate, but the zesty material that her name is permanently linked to isn’t. Why? There are multiple reasons, so I would mention only a few.

It is believed that Countess Bathory’s transformation into a cruel monster that killed more than six hundred girls while feeding her obsession with eternal youth lasted a few years. However, it was only during the final stage of this transformation, when Countess Bathory’s atrocities became impossible to hide, that bold record keepers began documenting her condition. In other words, there are substantial gaps in her historic profile that make it incredibly difficult to understand the exact nature of her transformation. Additionally, it is believed that it was sometime after Countess Bathory lost her husband, Count Ferencz Nádasdy, in 1604 that she began her descent into madness with the assistance of numerous trusted servants, but the mass events that led to the uprising against her were apparently part of a complex political scheme that involved other high-ranking players attempting to claim substantial parts of her wealth. The big trial that followed the uprising was a staged political theater as well, which is precisely why Countess Bathory was never punished for the horrific deeds she supposedly committed.

As you can gather from the information above, while it is very likely that after the death of her husband Countess Bathory suffered some sort of a serious breakdown that altered her personality, the true story that accurately describes this period is missing. What about the ‘documented’ murders Countess Bathory and her trusted servants committed? Well, how do we know that the record keepers that ‘documented’ them weren’t paid by the high-ranking players to ruin Countess Bathory? Most of these high-ranking players were relatives of Countess Bathory.

The many gray areas in this story are probably the reason why Grau chose to go in a new direction as well. In Blood Ceremony, he introduces Erzebeth Bathory (Lucia Bose), a relative of Countess Bathory, who becomes obsessed with her age too and soon after begins bathing in fresh blood to regain her youth. However, Erzebeth Bathory has a willing accomplice (Espartaco Santoni) pretending to be a vampire and using his act to enjoy the intimate company of a local beauty (Ewa Aulin).

Grau’s overlapping reconstruction efforts are quite odd and instantly make it absolutely impossible to take Blood Ceremony seriously. However, this film is so dark and intense that if for whatever reason one chose to believe the most salacious bits about Countess Bathory, it almost looks legit. Indeed, some of its key characters reveal personalities that look perfect for a mad theater of perversions, and some emerge as the type of shady opportunists that undoubtedly had parts in the elusive true story of Countess Bathory. On top of this, Grau, cinematographer Oberdan Troivani, set designer Cruz Balleztena, and the rest of the tech crew did a wonderful job matching the period mise-en-scene with the film’s intended darkness.

*Mondo Macabro’s Blu-ray release features two versions of the film a Spanish Version, which is approximately 89 minutes long (01:28.55), and an International Version, which is approximately 91 minutes long (01:30.05). The International Version can be seen in English and Spanish. Both cuts have been restored in 4K from the original camera negative.

Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Blood Ceremony arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Mondo Macabro.

I found the technical presentation quite frustrating. The release is sourced from a 4K master that was prepared after the film was redone in 4K and it is very easy to tell that the raw files were excellent. Unfortunately, there are many obvious traces of digital adjustments that compromise the film's native qualities. It is difficult to tell exactly what was done and why, but it is a combination of filtering and electronic sharpening. As a result, a lot of fine detail is lost, plus often times when the camera moves you will notice light to moderate smearing as well. The most problematic areas are during darker indoor or nighttime footage, but even some of the daylight footage can reveal obvious anomalies. Often times the dynamic range of the visuals is affected as well. You can see examples of the effects of the digital adjustments in screeencaptures #16, 17, 20, and 21. Image stability is good, though during the opening credits some shakiness remains. Color balance is convincing, but there are entire ranges of darker, mostly black nuances that are lost. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided.

I viewed the International Version of the film in English. Obviously, some overdubbing was done on it, but a lot of the actors utter their lines in English. Some exchanges are uneven, with the most obvious fluctuations appearing in mid-range, but I have to assume that this is how the original audio was recorded. The upper register is fine. I did not encounter any distortions or audio dropouts to report.

Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. The bulk of the comments address the production and appearance of Blood Ceremony as well as Jorge Grau's directing style and legacy. There are some interesting comments about the evolution of Spanish genre films as well.

• Commentary Two - this audio commentary was recorded by critics Robert Monell and Rod Barnett. The commentary, which is dedicated to Lucia Bose, covers a wide range of subjects, from the popular story about Countess Bathory to Jorge Grau's augmentation of the story to the visual appearance of Blood Ceremony. Also, there are plenty of interesting comments about the careers and work of the many European actors that made the film. I like the commentary quite a lot.

• Jordi Grau: Getting Started - in this archival interview, director Jorge Grau discusses the evolution of his career and work on Blood Ceremony. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Jordi Grau on Blood Ceremony - in this archival interview, director Jorge Grau recalls how he became acquainted with the story about Countess Bathory and discusses the conception of Blood Ceremony. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (27 min).

• Press Book Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for Blood Ceremony. Presented with music. (2 min).

• Trailers - a few vintage trailers for Blood Ceremony. (8 min).

• Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel - a large collection of trailers for other Mondo Macabro releases.

Blood Ceremony Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though Jorge Grau's Blood Ceremony isn't a historically accurate film, it might be one of the most effective films about Countess Bathory and her legacy you can see. It feels like it should be easy to dismiss as an exploitation project, but it becomes genuinely creepy and at the same time, in a rather odd way, its efforts to reconstruct its version of a supposedly true story begin to look unexpectedly legit. The great Italian actress Lucia Bosè is excellent in it and there are fine contributions by Espartaco Santoni and Ewa Aulin. It is a wonderful addition to Mondo Macabro's catalog, but its 4K makeover should have been handled a lot better.