Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie Review

Freckled Max and the Spooks is a beautiful and strange gothic horror-comedy. Combining elements of New Wave cinema with post- punk comedy, Freckled Max and the Spooks is an off-kilter experimental genre film. Based on the book Frankenstein’s Aunt by Allan Rune Pettersson, Freckled Max and the Spooks is adapted from the Czechoslovakian television series, recut into a theatrical feature film. Starring Martin Hreben, Eddie Constantine, Ferdinand Mayne, Viveca Lindfors, Gerhardt Karzel, and Mercedes Sampietro.

Orphan Max (Martin Hreben) runs away from home distraught. Max finds himself hiding out in a castle. As Max enters the strange and mysterious castle, Max discovers a merry band of odd monsters lurking within the castle.

The castle is the home of the monsters Alojz (Eddie Constantine), Count Dracula (Ferdinand Mayne), Countess Frankenstein (Viveca Lindfors), Frankenstein’s Monster Albert (Gerhardt Karzel), Lady Elizabeth (Mercedes Sampietro), and others. The group of misfit monsters find themselves searching for happiness and the company of others. Can these monsters find true happiness, love, and friendship while having some mad- cap adventures at their mysterious castle?

The performances are compelling. The ensemble cast has a lot of fun exploring the different characters and the different sides of each of them. The efforts of the ensemble help the filmmaking to be a lot more engaging.

The costume designs by Claudia Stich (Regina auf den Stufen, Gewitter im Mai) are well-done. One of the best aspects of the production is the excellent costuming. Stich is a gifted costumer and each of these “monster” characters has wonderful design elements. A great effort by the designer.

The art direction by Milos Kalina (Fontána pre Zuzanu, Falosny princ) is one of the strengths of the production. Kalina is talented art director and someone with a fantastic vision as a storyteller. A wonderful production effort and the canvas of the filmmaking is all the better as a result.

Edited by Patrik Pass (Bathory: Countess of Blood, All My Loved Ones), Freckled Max and the Spooks is well paced. The editing is one of the strengths of the production. The editing style works enormously well throughout. The editing is better than expected – especially given the theatrical feature is a compilation of the original television series. There are some sequences where one gets the sense that the television version might be more expansive compared to the theatrical release version. However, the cut is well-done and is something to appreciate.

The cinematography by Ján Duris (An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World, Bathory: Countess of Blood) is beautiful and makes an enormous impression. The lush visual language of the film offers a robust cinematic experience. Duris is a gifted cinematographer and someone with a keen vision for storytelling through poetic lensing.

Composed by Guido De Angelis (A Blade in the Dark, Torso), Freckled Max and the Spooks is an engaging score. The music plays a nice role in the production and certainly adds charm throughout the feature. A wonderful score.

Written by Jaroslav Dietl, Joachim Hammann, Juraj Jakubisko, Jozef Pastéka, and Alan Rune Pettersson, Freckled Max and the Spooks is a re-cut of the television series. As a result, there were a lot of writers involved. The myriad of writers worked on different episodes throughout the television version. The theatrical version condenses everything. The writing features enormously fun characterizations and dialogue, too.

Directed by Juraj Jakubisko (Bathory: Countess of Blood, An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World), Freckled Max and the Spooks is well worth seeing. A classic gothic comedy and one with an interesting visual style. Jakubisko made something creative and worthwhile. Impressive filmmaking.

Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Deaf Crocodile, Freckled Max and the Spooks is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. Restored by the Slovak Film Institute, the presentation is wonderfully filmic and cinematic. The transfer has natural grain and impresses with a beautiful image. The colors are well reproduced and look authentic to the presentation.

Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Slovak DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding is excellent on the release. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. An outstanding audio presentation and one that capably preserves detail in the soundstage.

Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited-edition version (available separately from the standard edition) is only available through the Deaf Crocodile webstore and select other retailers. The limited-edition version includes deluxe box-set packaging, additional artwork, and a booklet. A fantastic collectors edition by Deaf Crocodile. The standard edition comes with a clear case and is housed inside of the collectors version.

Audio Commentary by Samm Deighan

New Interview with Rastislav Steranka (HD, 17:06)

New Interview with Petra Galkova (HD, 17:54)

New Interview with Jan Duris (HD, 26:40)

Portrait of a film director: Filming On A Branch I Am Fine (HD, 42:27)

"Three Encounters: Film About Film No. 1/86" (HD, 4:43)

Frankenstein's Faster: The novel that became Freckled Max" (HD, 27:55)

Freckled Max and the Spooks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Freckled Max and the Spooks is an entertaining comedic feature with offbeat gothic horror elements. Freckled Max and the Spooks is well-done. There is something compelling about the vision. The feature is a condensed version of a longer television series and it still retains a compelling style. The filmmaking in Freckled Max and the Spooks is fun and the cast of characters are compelling.

The Blu-ray release provides excellent high-definition video, lossless audio, and a nice selection of bonus features. Deaf Crocodile continues to deliver with another fantastic release. Recommended.