6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
this film is about nine people who attend a showing at a mysteriously deserted theater and find themselves trapped inside and picked off one-by-one by a mysterious masked killer, who may be motivated by revenge.
Starring: Rosanna Schiaffino, Chris Avram, Eva Czemerys, Lucretia Love, Paola SenatoreForeign | 100% |
Mystery | 32% |
Erotic | 14% |
Thriller | 9% |
Surreal | 4% |
Psychological thriller | 4% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Giallo
Essentials (Black Edition).
Some curmudgeons may want to quibble with the term "essentials", but Arrow is continuing its relatively recent tradition of offering three gialli
collected together in a specially "colored" slipbox, so that this Black Edition joins the previously released Giallo Essentials (Red Edition), which included The Possessed, The Fifth Cord and The
Pyjama
Girl Case, and Giallo Essentials (Yellow Edition), which included What Have They Done to Your Daughters?, Torso and Strip Nude for Your Killer. While probably none of the six previously released or the three currently
released
(so far) films
that Arrow has been offering with this kind of branding would probably jump to the top of anyone's list of "must see" gialli, they all have
considerable style and often intriguing elements that make them interesting in their own ways. As usual, Arrow combines some nice packaging
along
with a copious supply of supplements to help sweeten the pot.
The Killer Reserved Nine Seats is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
The Killer Reserved Nine Seats is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono audio.While all three of the films in this set enjoyed 2K scans of their original camera negatives, there are noticeable quality variations between the three presentations, and I'd personally rate this as the least consistently pleasing looking transfer in Arrow's new set, though I'm assuming that unlike the other two transfers in this set, Arrow at least started with a master done for the Camera Obscura Blu-ray release of several years ago. The palette here seems a bit wan at times, and grain is considerably grittier and more mottled looking than in either of the other transfers, something that can probably add to at least the perception of a diminution in fine detail in some of the darkest moments, as can perhaps be made out in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. There's a kind of weird yellow-green cast to things, something that can give flesh tones in particular a somewhat "alien" look, and there are noticeable variations in color temperature throughout, sometimes in the same scene (on the same take), where you can make out the palette shifting from warmer to cooler and back again. This transfer also shows at least somewhat more (admittedly minor) damage than the others. Still, there's considerable pop in the more brightly lit moments, and close-ups offer good if not outstanding fine detail. My score is 3.25.
The film was restored in 2K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative by Movietime and Camera Obscura / Uber Productions. Additional grading and restoration work was completed by Arrow Films at R3Store Studios, London.
The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period.
All original materials used for the restoration were made available from Movietime.
The Killer Reserved Nine Seats features LPCM Mono tracks in either the original Italian or an English dub. I followed my standard operating procedure of toggling between the tracks as I watched, and I have to say I noticed little to no difference between them in terms of general amplitude and especially things like underscore (this is another film with a weirdly anachronistic but hugely enjoyable score, this one sounding rather like some of Paul Mauriat's memorable work from the sixties). There is just the slightest hint of crackle in some of the string cues, but I noticed no problems with regard to dialogue. The English track may have minimally more hiss than the Italian, and the Italian dialogue sounded dryer (i.e., less reverb) to my ears than the dialogue on the English language track. Optional English subtitles are available.
The Killer Reserved Nine Seats seems to have a bit of its own identity crisis in that it tries to be a "traditional" locked room murder mystery and a more florid, supernaturally tinged, Gothic thriller. I'm not sure it all is organically woven together, and after a point, some may be screaming at the movie not to have some character suddenly run screaming out of a room where everyone has safely congregated together, where she's more than apt to meet her fate in some gruesome manner. This presentation had the least pleasing video quality of the three in this set, but things are certainly watchable. Kat Ellinger's commentary is another plea from the analyst that an underappreciated film get some love, and the two interview featurettes are also enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1972
1972
La ragazza dal pigiama giallo / The Pajama Girl Case
1977
L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco
1971
La polizia chiede aiuto
1974
Le foto proibite di una signora per bene
1970
Island of Terror / 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto
1970
Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave
1972
La donna del lago
1965
Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?
1972
4 mosche di velluto grigio
1971
Il coltello di ghiaccio
1972
Giornata nera per l'ariete
1971
I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale / Carnal Violence
1973
Special Edition | La morte accarezza a mezzanotte
1972
La coda dello scorpione
1971
Nude per l'assassino
1975
Das Rätsel der roten Orchidee
1962
Una libélula para cada muerto
1975
Madeleine, anatomia di un incubo
1974