Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 9, 2023

Jess Franco's "Mansion of the Living Dead" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with author and critic Stephen Thrower as well as archival program with the director and actress Lina Romay. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

Take her away!

If you know your genre films you will quickly realize that Jess Franco does some very serious mocking in the wild parody Mansion of the Living Dead a.k.a. La mansión de los muertos vivientes. Actually, I need to immediately correct myself. It is probably better to describe Mansion of the Living Dead as a mad film with an oddly inconsistent wicked sense of humor because most of the time it does not work particularly well as a parody. I can identify about a dozen films Franco enthusiastically mocks -- like Amando de Ossorio’s Tombs of the Blind Dead and Ken Russell’s The Devils -- but I can also point out several episodes where the wicked sense of humor intentionally evaporates. Is this good or bad? It works for me and I would like to explain why because it will almost certainly make or break Mansion of the Living Dead for you.

Franco made Mansion of the Living Dead on the Canary Islands with the financial support of the tiny local production company Golden Films International, S.A. in the early 1980s. This is the same company that funded the likes of Cries of Pleasure, The House of Lost Women, and Macumba Sexual, which are all very interesting experimental films. I have a theory that they are interesting because at the time Franco, his muse Lina Romay, Antonio Mayans, and a couple of other frequent collaborators were routinely experimenting with different drugs, and I am convinced that I am right, but the crucial point is that in the 1980s Franco’s work was difficult to profile. (Before the 1980s, Franco went through periods that emphasized psychedielica, exploitation, horror, etc.). Unsurprisingly, like most of the other films Franco made for Golden Films International, S.A. Mansion of the Living Dead blends plenty of contrasting genre material which makes it an experimental film, too. But all these films were made with very small budgets, even by Franco standards, so in order to be interesting they had to become even stranger than their predecessors. Not all of them turned out as intended, but I am quite certain that this was the plan and the exact reason drugs were often used. This is also the reason Mansion of the Living Dead does plenty of mocking but is more than a parody.

The constant overlapping of different genre material -- which ranges from comedy and mystery/suspense material to horror and sexploitation material -- works for me because it makes Mansion of the Living Dead an utterly unpredictable film. However, I must clarify that some of the developments that emerge from this material look and feel completely random, so the unpredictability of Mansion of the Living Dead cannot be cited as one of its main strengths. Also, while not an adult film, Manson of the Living Dead is certainly a bit more explicit than a conventional older sexploitation film.

As you can already guess, the story that is told in Mansion of the Living Dead is a big mish-mash of ideas. Four very good friends, all waitresses in a gentlemen’s club somewhere in Munich -- Romay, Elisa Vela, Mari Carmen Nieto, and Mabel Escano -- arrive at the Canary Islands to enjoy what is supposed to be their first vacation in years. However, the massive hotel on the beach where they have booked rooms turns out to be empty, so shortly after the kooky receptionist (Mayans) hands them their keys they begin exploring it and the area around it. One of the girls ends up in a nearby mansion that has been taken over by semi-dead creatures dressed as monks, another girl goes looking for her, and back in the hotel another girl accidentally discovers that the kooky receptionist keeps his wife (Eva Leon) chained to a bed in a room not too far from her room. What happens after that is difficult to describe. The rest of the story evolves into a hallucination of some sort that offers a good variety of Franco-esque excess.

Mansion of the Living Dead cannot be placed among Franco’s best films because its mockery makes it impossible to develop a fine atmosphere. It only manages to be unpredictable. In Franco’s films, unpredictability is essential but it needs to be managed well so that a special atmosphere materializes and legitimizes the exotic, wild, and scandalous that make them memorable.

Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mansion of the Living Dead arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films.

The release is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master, which is very good. However, like most smaller Jess Franco films, Mansion of the Living Dead has several sections with small fluctuations in terms of delineation and clarity. It is how Franco shot many of these films, so it is the quality the 2K master reproduces. Yes, elaborate restoration work would have produced superior visuals, but I think that the quality of the current presentation is very convincing. For example, virtually all of the daylight footage boasts very fine delineation, clarity, and depth. However, once Franco begins shooting indoors and especially in areas where light is restricted, you will notice many of the fluctuations I mentioned above. There is quite a bit of cheap stylizing as well, such as the one seen in screencaptures #11 and 15. Color balance is good. However, small highlights and shadow nuances could be better. There are no image stability issues to report, but I must warn you about the existence of some pretty abrupt transitions. A few nicks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no large distracting cuts, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (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).

Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

All exchanges are very clear and easy to follow. Stability is good too, but some minor unevenness is present because it is how the original soundtrack was finalized. Dynamic intensity is very modest. In a few areas, I did notice small pops and light hiss, so the audio could have been cleaned up a bit. The English translation is very good.

Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jess Franco: Heretic - in this new program, author and critic Stephen Thrower discusses Mansion of the Living Dead and exact period in which Jess Franco directed it. In English, not subtitled. (37 min).

• The Mansion That Jess Built - in this archival program, Jess Franco discusses the stylistic appearance of Mansion of the Living Dead and some of the very unique Spanish themes that are channeled through the film. Franco's muse, actress Lina Romay, discusses her involvement with the film and her professional relationship with fellow actor Antonio Mayans. At the end of the program, there are some very interesting comments about the way erotic material was shot and appeared in Franco's films. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

Mansion of the Living Dead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though the mockery in Mansion of the Living Dead has a very special Spanish resonance, the contrasts it produces are very easy to place in a familiar context. However, this mockery makes it impossible to develop the type of special atmosphere that legitimizes the exotic, wild, and scandalous in Jess Franco's best films. So, Mansion of the Living Dead is a decent film, but I would recommend it only to seasoned Franco aficionados and completists. Severin's release is sourced from a solid new 2K master and features two good programs, one of which has excellent clips from a lengthy interview with Franco and actress Lina Romay. RECOMMENDED.