Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 27, 2026

Lamberto Bava's "Macabre" (1980) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson; recent program with Lamberto Bava; recent program with writer/director Pupi Avati; recent program with screenwriter Roberto Gandus; recent program with film music historian Pierpaolo De Sanctis; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The cheater

All legitimately great horror films were made during the last century. It is the brutal truth. But this was an unavoidable development. In the last century, horror films were made to impress in two simple yet effective ways. They produced a special atmosphere and routinely introduced special characters. The horror films of this century are made to impress with graphic visuals. On top of this, they are loaded with digital trickery. Graphic visuals and digital trickery galore can never substitute special atmosphere and special characters. This is why the horror films of this century are so average. Seeing one Saw film is enough to know what is in the other nine. They are all boring one-trick ponies.

Italian directors delivered some of the greatest horror films, all of which produced a special atmosphere. Many of them had unique characters, too. However, Italian directors were among the best creators of special atmosphere, which was usually the biggest strength of their films. Sadly, as the last century came to an end, they, too, began making horror films that prioritized graphic visuals and digital trickery. It is why the current crop of Italian horror films is indistinguishable from all other recent horror films.

Lamberto Bava made his directorial debut with Macabre in the early 1980s, a decade when Italian horror films peaked before quickly disintegrating. By the end of the 1980s, most Italian horror films resembled American ones, and by the 1990s, the two were already sharing the same identity. The unique horror films that Mario Bava and Riccardo Freda had made several decades earlier and inspired Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci to direct their horror films were now a lost art, and projects like Macabre were becoming practically impossible to link to them. However, it was not only because Italian directors were making these films differently. It was also because filmgoers wanted them to be different, meaning more shocking and more explicit. (It is for this very reason that the extreme Italian cannibal films peaked during the 1980s as well).

A short text immediately after the opening credits informs that Macabre recreates events from a horrific true story. Apparently, these events took place in New Orleans, which is why Macabre was shot there as well.

While cheating on her older husband with a younger lover, a bored housewife (Bernice Stegers) is informed that a terrible accident has occurred at her home. She rushes back with her lover, but he crashes his car and dies on the spot. After spending a year recovering in a mental hospital, the housewife returns to the boarding house where she regularly met her late lover, now managed by the blind son of her previous landlady, and rents their favorite room. In the days ahead, the housewife attempts to reconnect with the spirit of her late lover, and while the perplexed landlord struggles to rationalize her behavior, a terrible secret is revealed.

The true story is somewhat amusing. However, Bava mismanages all parts of it that could have been used to produce a memorable horror film. All characters are instantly forgettable, and the special atmosphere that a proper horror film of this kind needs never materializes.

*Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release presents three versions of Macabre: Italian Theatrical Version (91 min); International Theatrical Version (90 min); and Frozen Terror, the re-titled U.S. Version (90 min).

Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Indicator/Powerhouse Films' 4K Blu-ray release of Macabre does not have a Blu-ray copy of the film. If you need one, you should consider acquiring this Region-B Blu-ray release.

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray.

The release presents a new 4K restoration of Macabre, sourced from its original camera negative. In native 4K, the K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision.

I do not have any other releases of Macabre in my library. Also, I have not owned any in the past. However, I can comfortably state that the new 4K restoration is the best presentation of the film to date. Indeed, it produces visuals whose quality cannot be replicated by an older master, whether displayed in native 4K or 1080p. Delineation, clarity, and sharpness are consistently excellent, and, perhaps most importantly, the dynamic range of all visuals is very impressive. Color reproduction and balance are convincing. During the opening credits, there are a few minor inconsistencies, but elsewhere, all primaries and supporting nuances are properly set. As a result, the film has a good period appearance. I thought the Dolby Vision grade was convincing, especially during the brighter daylight footage, where the dynamic range of the visuals is terrific. However, I do not have a Blu-ray disc to compare the same footage in 1080p. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. My score is 4.75/5.00.

Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH (for the former) and English (for the latter) subtitles are provided.

I viewed the entire film with the English track, which should be considered the original track for the film. However, this track, like the Italian track, utilizes overdubbing, and in some areas there is noticeable unevenness. Dynamic contrasts are very modest, but the film does not have a great soundtrack. In other words, the lossless track replicates native limitations introduced by the overdubbing and the original mixing.

Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critics Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson. The commentators correctly point out that during the 1970s and 1980s the American South became a favorite destination for many Italian directors, and discuss the exact period and environment in which Lamberto Bava made his directorial debut with Macabre. Later in the commentary, there are interesting bits of information about the tone and style of Macabre, as well as the true story that it recreates.

• Lamberto Bava: The Bloody Beginning - in this recent program, Lamberto Bava discusses the evolution of post-war Italian cinema and the crises it experienced at different times, as well as the current state of Italian genre films. Bava also discusses the conception and production of Macabre, as well as the the true story inspired him to do it. Bava also has some interesting comments about Demons and several other classic horror films. In Italian, with English subtitles. (18 min).

• Antonio Avati: A Head for Producing - in this recent program, screenwriter Antonio Avati, brother of writer/director Pupi Avati, discusses the early stages of his career, as well as his relationship with "scary films". Also, Avati reveals how he became involved with Macabre and comments on his interactions with Lamberto Bava. In Italian, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Pupi Avati: New Orleans Gothic - in this recent program, writer/director Pupi Avati confesses that he wrote some of his screenplays for "travel perks". Avati's screenplay for Macabre was one of them, because as a jazz fan, he desperately wanted to visit New Orleans. Later in the program, Avati also discusses his relationship with Dario Argento, whose interest in books and cinema was identical to his. In Italian, with English subtitles. (10 min).

• Roberto Gandus: Danse Macabre - in this recent program, screenwriter Roberto Gandus discusses his professional relationship with Antonio and Pupi Avati and recalls their collaboration on Macabre. Gandus also has interesting comments about Bernice Stegers's performance and the type of suspense it brings to the film. In Italian, with English subtitles. (24 min).

• Mark Thompson Ashworth: Macabro Love - in this recent program, critic Mark Thompson Ashworth, an expert on Macabre, explains what makes Lamberto Bava's directorial debut special. In Italian, with English subtitles. (23 min).

• Pierpaolo De Sanctis: Jazzing for a Murder - in this recent program, film music historian and CEO of Four Flies Records Pierpaolo De Sanctis rightfully points out that Italian genre films from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s routinely had brilliant soundtracks, and discusses Ubaldo Continiello's soundtrack for Macabre and its unique qualities. In Italian, with English subtitles. (23 min).

• Q&A with Lamberto Bava - in this recent filmed Q&A session, Lamberto Bava answers a series of questions about his background and love for cinema, the conception and production of his directorial debut and the evolution of his work. The Q&A session is moderated by Eugenio Ercolani. In Italian and English. (59 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is a remastered original Italian trailer for Macabre. In Italian, with English subtitles. (3 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is a remastered original international trailer for Macabre. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a gallery of original promotional materials for Macabre.

• Book - a limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Roberto Curti, archival interviews with director Lamberto Bava and writer/producer Pupi Avati, an overview of Italian critical responses, and technical credits.

Macabre 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

New Orleans is one of the great playgrounds America could offer for a special genre film. Unfortunately, in Lamberto Bava's directorial debut, Macabre, the city is a meaningless ornament. In a recent program, Pupi Avati confesses that he penned some of his screenplays for "travel benefits", and the one for Macabre materialized because, as a hardcore jazz fan, he was dying to visit the city. While this is not the only reason Macabre fails to impress, it is the main reason the absence of a special atmosphere in it is so obvious. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release presents a very good new 4K restoration with an excellent selection of bonus features.