6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Fanged terror rises from the tomb in this artfully executed vampire chiller. An upper-class patriarch must keep the body of his deceased wife sealed in his jungle mansion's secret mausoleum because her corpse is now inhabited by a demon. Consumed with a thirst for human blood, the animalistic "Mother" puts the bite on her own son Eduardo, who proceeds to make victims of other family members and their loved ones. But the forces of darkness don't have a monopoly on invading the mortal world. Soon Eduardo is contending with a ghost who has come back for the ultimate battle of good vs. evil...
Starring: Amalia Fuentes, Romeo Vasquez, Eddie Garcia (I), Johnny Monteiro, Mary WalterHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is also available as part of The Hemisphere Box of Horrors.
For certain lovers of cult cinema, the name Hemisphere Pictures will most likely forever be linked to The Blood Island Collection, and perhaps more generally to Philippine shot outings in
general,
but as the movies collected in Hemishpere Box of Horrors make clear, this relatively small scale independent “studio” (if it could even be
called that) at least attempted to try a few (marginally?) different things through the years. The five films assembled for this set document an
approach that might be thought of as part Hammer, part Roger Corman (especially his Poe adaptations), but with a very peculiar, and some may
reasonably feel distinctive, air. Part of that is due to the features shot in the Philippines, but there’s a weirdly exotic feel to even the stateside
shot,
admittedly low budget and often generally lo-fi offerings. One of the fun supplements on some of the Blood Island Collection discs were
the
reminiscences of Hemisphere marketing guru Samuel S. Sherman, and Sherman is back with more background information here, helping to
explain
how Hemisphere was seeking some kind of identity on the grindhouse and/or drive-in circuit(s), finding some unexpected success along
the
way. There's little doubt that any, and indeed probably all, of these films fits rather snugly into the confines of "cult cinema", but even devoted
acolytes of this particular cult may need to temper expectations based on the source elements Severin was able to procure.
Curse of the Vampires is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's back cover advertises that this was "scanned in 2K from the only surviving film elements", so fans may be willing to grant the results a bit of slack. While I'm scoring this at the same 3.0 level I did The Blood Drinkers, the overall color reproduction here is probably at least a bit better, even if things often skew pretty noticeably toward the purple or pink side of things. Both color temperature and densities are somewhat variable, but there are moments in this presentation where things pop at least relatively well, with an especially good accounting of reds and greens. Detail levels are generally at least adequate, helped by a surplus of close-ups. De Leon's almost Bava-esque proclivity toward lighting sections of the frame in lurid reds, purples and yellows can mean fine detail can falter at times. A couple of dark and/or nighttime scenes feature inconsistent contrast, with some occasionally milky gray blacks. Once again there's pretty consistent if minor damage in the form of small scratches and the like. Grain resolves without any issues. My score is 3.25.
Curse of the Vampires features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which is quite similar in tone to that of The Blood Drinkers. The high end especially can sound almost painful at times in some of the more energetic, brass inflected, scoring choices, and the entire track actually struck me as a bit hot, something that leads to minor but noticeable distortion even in louder dialogue moments. There are occasional pops and cracks along the way, but nothing too distracting.
This is another Hemisphere horror outing that might be appreciated more for its stylistic flourishes than for any plot mechanics. In the "don't believe everything you read" department, Severin's back cover lists a supposed pull quote from this site touting the film, but I can't find any reviews of it from other regions where the quote might have been printed. Video and audio both have intermittent issues, but Severin has included some interesting supplements.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1966
1966
Season 1
2013-2014
Collector's Edition
1970
2014-2016
Лептирица | The She-Butterfly | Limited Edition
1973
AIP Cut | 60th Anniversary
1963
Los ritos sexuales del diablo
1982
Le scomunicate di San Valentino
1974
1966
Mania
1960
2018
2013
1943
2008
1989
2000
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1990
Exorcismo
1975
Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht / + Cuadecuc, Vampir
1970