Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 26, 2024

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Danza Macabra: Volume Three — The Spanish Gothic Collection from Severin.

Since one might assume that one of the staples of Gothic media (film or otherwise), namely dank and spooky castles, were built in the veritable days of yore before the advent of the convenience of modern plumbing and water supplies, perhaps it's a more apt metaphor than usual to say that Severin is "returning to the well" for a third volume of offerings branded as Danza Macabra, after their previous releases of Danza Macabra: Volume One — The Italian Gothic Collection and Danza Macabra: Volume Two — The Italian Gothic Collection. As can probably be pretty easily gleaned from the subheading of this third collection, Severin is changing countries, and is here offering Spanish Gothic productions instead of the two previous volumes' concentration on Italian Gothic films, and with production dates ranging from 1971 to 1975 (with two films from each year). All four films in this collection are advertised as featuring new scans of the original negative for the first time. As with the other Danza Macabra collections, the films may be of variant interest and/or quality, but as usual Severin offers a really handsomely designed package that contains some outstanding supplemental features.

In another recent gargantuan release from Severin, The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1, one of the affable introductions by the entertaining Michael Worth mentions the "Frankensteining" of various elements (and in some cases, actual films) that resulted in any given offering. While Necrophagus does in fact have some alternate titles, it's ostensibly just one film, though you might not know it from a patently confusing story that does indeed "Frankenstein" two different strands together, to variant results. The first narrative involves Michael Sherrington (Bill Curran), a younger brother to the missing Earl of Binbrook, who returns to his "hometown" (home castle?) to discover his wife has died under mysterious circumstances, albeit tied somehow to childbirth that has also left Sherrington's baby a stillborn.

Suffice it to say Sherrington may suspect that his wife isn't quite dead yet when he disinters her coffin and finds it empty. All of this baroque plotting (there are any number of sidebar characters I'm not even going to mention), the last act give or take suddenly shifts over to that aforementioned missing brother, which is when the "real" monster movie aspect finally shows up. This is an undeniably moody affair, but it's often incoherent to the point of ultimate hilarity. For just one example of some (admittedly maybe subliminal) weirdness, it can be near impossible to try to figure out exactly when this tale is taking place. Also, in another fleeting example, while this is branded as "Spanish Gothic", there suddenly a kind of quasi-giallo aspect when a gloved nemesis (or is he/she?) is seen repeatedly from behind and/or below (so that the actual identity is hidden).

Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Necrophagus is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release touts a "worldwide Blu-ray premiere now restored uncut" culled from a 2K scan of "the recently discovered negative for the first time ever". While a lot of the production design here tends to favor either kind of dowdy browns or bland neutrals like beiges, the palette is really quite healthy throughout this presentation and can pop impressively in some of the brightly lit outdoor material. Detail levels are typically commendable throughout. Some flashback material features both black and white and recurrent optical dissolves, and fine detail can understandably ebb a bit in these moments. Minor age related wear and tear has made it past the restoration gauntlet, but there's nothing of any import. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Necrophagus features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either English or Spanish. There's really not a whale of a lot of difference between these tracks that I was able to discern in toggling between them, though I guess you could argue the Spanish version has a bit more full sounding midrange. It's obvious both versions have at least some dubbing, and so sync can be loose, as they say. Otherwise, though, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Andy Marshall-Roberts, host of The Nasty Pasty Podcast


• Something You've Never Seen (HD; 8:06) is an appreciation by Angel Sala, Head of Programming at the Sitges Film Festival. Subtitled in English.


• The First Horror Film Festival in the World (HD; 11:02) is a remembrance by Maria Pilar Rafales, daughter of Sitges Film Festival founder Antonio Rafales. Subtitled in English.


• The Butcher of Binbrook Trailer (HD; 2:10)


• Graveyard of Horror Trailer (HD; 1:35)

Necrophagus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of hilariously, the back cover of this release describes Necrophagus as "the most misunderstood Spanish gothic shocker of the early 70's", though that may actually have a bit of comical subtext, given the general incoherence of the script and even presentational aspects. There are a number of issues with Necrophagus that I'm not sure even this "new, improved" uncut version completely address, with a kind of haphazard narrative (and/or narratives) that kind of stumble forward through a number of vignettes before a gonzo last act. Technical merits are generally solid and as usual Severin has assembled some really appealing supplements, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.