Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

The Body Beneath Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 5, 2021

Note: This film is available as part of The Dungeon of Andy Milligan.

Lovers of what might be charitably termed Grade Z Cinema have had a number of outstanding releases by a variety of labels over the past few years. Arrow has offered fans surprisingly deluxe-ified (that's a word, I insist) editions of The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection, among others, while Severin Films has gotten into exploring this decidedly odd nook and/or cranny with releases like Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection. Severin's back with more, um, "masterpieces" with this inventively packaged homage to the late Andy Milligan, a kinda sorta auteur whose professional life had more than its fair share of hurdles, and whose personal life unfortunately ended up not being much better. The 14 films (with one bonus film in HD, Toga Party) aggregated in this set are exploitation outings at their "finest" (?), which means those with more patrician tastes are probably well advised to steer completely clear of this release. Those with grittier sensibilities will find some at times oddly entertaining movies and Severin's usual supply of appealing supplements.

Part of what made the first glut of Hammer horror films so memorable was their astonishing use of color, and while said at least a little in jest, The Body Beneath may be Andy Milligan's homage to such hyperbolic palettes. This is another Milligan film that is variably competent in everything from performance to things like focus pulling, but which has a certain lunatic charm as it documents the efforts of a supposed holy man named Alexander Algernon Ford (Gavin Reed) who returns to his native England ostensibly to re-open a dormant church, when in reality he's a vampire with more nefarious goals in mind.

This is a Milligan effort that is kind of simultaneously "traditional" while also offering near psychedelic levels of weirdness. If blue skinned harpy types aren't your thing, stay tuned for what may be Milligan's attempt to outdo Roman Polanski's demonic dream sequence in Rosemary's Baby. This was one of Milligan's English productions and for some that may give it the perceived imprimatur of literacy, a perception which the film itself almost immediately dispels.

The Body Beneath Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Body Beneath is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's booklet included with this release has the following information on the transfer:

Nightbirds and The Body Beneath are 2K restoration sourced from their 16mm original camera reversal elements.

There's an agreeably gritty organic appearance to this presentation that is especially evident in some of the more brightly lit outdoor material. Detail levels are surprisingly fulsome throughout large portions of the film, which textures on fabrics nicely rendered. The palette is also nicely robust a lot of the time, and primaries register especially strongly throughout. There is some extremely bad damage on display at around the one hour mark which is not extremely long lived but which is impossible not to notice (see screenshot 9). My score is 2.75.

The Body Beneath Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Body Beneath features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono which may be marginally better than some of the others in this set in terms of amplitude spikes and valleys, but which still has a slightly bright sound in the upper registers in particular. Dialogue is mostly clearly presented, but optional English subtitles can help to elide any difficulties in that regard.

The Body Beneath Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:11)


• Audio Commentary with Film Scholars Vic Pratt and Will Fowler

The Body Beneath Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Body Beneath offers a field day for some of the actors, notably Gavin Reed, though the Milligan tendency toward, um, energetic performances may end up grating on some sensibilities after a while. This is one of many presentations in this set that are constrained by the inherent limitations of the source elements, but while there's some pretty bad damage on display, there's also a nicely organic appearance and a reasonably intact palette. The commentary provides some added interest for those who are considering making a purchase.