Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 24, 2026

Jess Franco's "Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included" (1985) and "Bangkok, Date with Death" (1985) arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with writer/assistant director Carlos Aguilar; recent program critic Stephen Thrower; documentary features; and more. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

"The new order. Show no mercy for them. His death is worth more than my life."

Jess Franco shot Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death at the same time in 1985. He also used several of the same actors in both films. While equally entertaining, or at least by Franco standards, one of these films is significantly more intriguing.

The significantly more intriguing film is Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included, but not because popular character actor Howard Vernon is its star. Trip to Bangkok is a contemporary reimagination of one of Franco’s very best films, Attack of the Robots, which legitimized his favorite character, the international spy-turned-playboy-turned-small-time gangster Al Pereira. Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included also borrows ideas from The Diabolical Dr. Z, the other very good film Franco shot at the same time with Attack of the Robots.

Vernon plays an aging British spy named Colonel Daniel Blimp – supposedly unrelated in any meaningful way to the famous character from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s classic film -- who arrives in Singapore to investigate the shocking assassination of the British ambassador at a lavish party. Blimp immediately goes to work and discovers that the killer, badly injured and treated in a local hospital, is a blind man without a criminal past but likely a member of an international cult. When a second killer, also a blind man, assassinates a foreign dignitary in Thailand, Blimp decides to travel to Bangkok to meet the mysterious cult leader Master Tao. In Bangkok, Blimp is joined by Philip Sanders (Jose Llamas), a significantly younger British spy with notably different working methods.

Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included has an unmissable sense of humor that makes it most effective as a silly spoof. Considering that it borrows so much from Attack of the Robots and The Diabolical Dr. Z, it is difficult to tell whether this was always Franco’s original intent for it. However, its mayhem makes sense only in a silly spoof, and Vernon, now seventy-seven years old, happily treats his character as the main attraction in precisely such a genre film.

In Bangkok, Date with Death, small-time criminals kidnap a young heiress, convinced that her multi-millionaire father will enthusiastically pay the massive ransom they have demanded to have her back. When the criminals realize that their greedy boss plans to let them keep only a tiny fraction from the ransom, they decide to improvise to get rich quickly, completely unaware that the young heiress’ multi-millionaire father has hired the notorious private detective-adventurer Panama Joe (Bork Gordon) to bring her back to him.

It is not impossible to argue that Bangkok, Date with Death is also most effective as a spoof. However, there is significantly more action in it without the silly humor from Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included. What gives Bangkok, Date with Death its spoofy quality is primarily its low-budget appearance and the struggle of its stars to appear authentic. It entertains rather well, but it does not feel like a film Franco genuinely cared about.

Severin Films’ two-disc release presents exclusive new 4K restorations of Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death, both sourced from the original camera negatives.

Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratios of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted 1080p transfer, Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

Both films are newly restored in 4K and look very, very good in high-definition. I do not have any older copies of them in my library, but I have many other smaller Jess Franco films, and these two are among the most impressively restored. Other than a few tiny nicks and minor frame jitters on Bangkok, Date with Death, they look as good as they should. Indeed, delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent. Color reproduction and balance are outstanding as well. Both 4K restorations also produces visuals with very healthy, very evenly distributed grain. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections, such as filtering, sharpening, contrast boosting, etc. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to access its content regardless of your geographical location).

Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death are presented with Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks. Optional English subtitles are provided for each film.

The two lossless track are easy to describe as healthy. However, reveal classic limitations that many tracks of films directed by Jess Franco have. For example, the action material often sounds pretty flat, while the music, even when it is clearly used to create good atmosphere, is difficult to describe as effective. However, this is how Franco shot his films. The English translation is very good. However, I would have preferred to see bigger English subtitles.

Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE - TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED

• Filmmaking on the Run - in this recent program, writer/assistant director Carlos Aguilar reveals when and how Trip to Bangkok came to exist and comments on its narrative, which is very similar to that of Jess Franco's famous film Attack of the Robots. Aguilar also discusses the visual style and tone of Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Vernon Howard's contribution to it. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (20 min).

• Colonel Blimp in Bangkok - in this recent program, critic Stephen Thrower discusses the production of Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and its strengths and weaknesses. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• In the Land of Franco: Part Fourteen - back in January of 2020, Severin Films released a promotional trailer for Stephen Thrower's exclusive new program In The Land of Franco in which he visits various locations throughout Europe where Jess Franco shot many of his popular cult films. Presented here is part fourteen of the program. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO - BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH

• Carrara in Bangkok - in this recent program, critic Stephen Thrower discusses the production of Bangkok, Date with Death and its strengths and weaknesses. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Bangkok Back to Back - in this recent program, film scholar Dr. Alex Mendibil the socio-political climate in Spain during the 1980s and the success of the S-rated films, as well as Jess Franco's output and the production of the two Bangkok films. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (36 min).

• In the Land of Franco: Part Fifteen - back in January of 2020, Severin Films released a promotional trailer for Stephen Thrower's exclusive new program In The Land of Franco in which he visits various locations throughout Europe where Jess Franco shot many of his popular cult films. Presented here is part fifteen of the program. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included is unquestionably the more intriguing film. It is a contemporary reimagination of one of Jess Franco's very best films, Attack of the Robots, featuring a rather frail Howard Vernon playing an old-school British spy trying to solve a bizarre murder mystery thousands of miles away from home. I found this film very funny in a very Franco-esque way, easily turning most of its many weaknesses into some of its greatest strengths. However, Bangkok, Date with Death is just as enjoyable, if, of course, it is seen at the right time and with the right mindset. Both films are fully restored in 4K and look great on this two-disc set, produced by Severin Films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.