The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 21, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Eureka! Entertainment's Terror in the Fog: Wallace Krimi at CCC collection.

Eureka recently released Mabuse Lives!, a really fun box set featuring six early to mid-sixties efforts that reintroduced the enigmatic title character to global audiences, including the first film in the series which offered a "return visit" from "founding Mabuse director" Fritz Lang. A number of the supplements on that set allude to some of the films in this set, since both the Dr. Mabuse productions and these so-called Wallace Krimi films were the brainchild of one Artur (also spelled as Arthur) Brauner, a German impresario who founded Central Cinema Company (CCC) in 1946 as his nation was in the throes of recovering from the disasters of World War II. Brauner was an absolutely fascinating man as is evidenced not just by his studio's output, but also his own personal history, a lot of which is discussed in passing by his energetic daughter Alice, who is featured in interviews included both in the Mabuse Lives! set and this one as well. One of Brauner's early producing "revelations" was that while, yes, he could produce "message" films that were important to him, he needed to fund those efforts with other less portentous offerings that would appeal to a broader demographic. Therefore, as Alice mentions, while his earlier career had a number of rather interesting and distinctive films that may not have had mass market appeal, Brauner actually had to wait until after series like the Mabuse and Wallace Krimi franchises raked in enough dough for him to really concentrate on films about a central focus of his, the effects of the Holocaust on European Jews. And in fact part of Brauner's entrepreneurial spirit was keeping track of other studios' successes, perhaps none more so than more or less direct competitor Rialto Film. When Rialto had huge hits with their line of Edgar Wallace krimi films, Brauner rather smartly if perhaps just a bit deceitfully entered into a deal with Edgar's son Bryan Edgar Wallace for the rights to that Wallace's writing, but probably more importantly, to that Wallace's name, which then allowed Brauner to market films with a supposed Wallace imprimatur that quite frequently had next to nothing (and in some cases, absolutely nothing) to do with Wallace.

Anyone who may think that 1983's The Star Chamber offered some kind of hugely innovative premise might want to check out this 1963 opus to be rather quickly disabused of that notion. As with the later Michael Douglas film, there's an "underground" (in more ways than one) association of "judges" who are out to bring nasty criminal types to justice, especially if those nasty criminal types have evaded the more traditional justice system. Where The Mad Executioners departs from the "rogue vigilante(s)" playbook is in a simultaneously unfolding plot that involves a serial sex abuser. That gives the film an almost lunatic ambience a lot of the time, with one of the more complex and multilayered plots in the series. This may not have the overt presentational style of some of the other films in this set, though there are certainly standout moments, like the initial death of a criminal. As might be presumed from the "dual plot" structure, there are also some layers of police types in the story, with the venerable Werner Preiss playing Inspector Smith and Hansjörg Felmy playing younger detective Hillier, who has a personal stake in finding the mad sex killer.

The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Mad Executioners is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1 (the first film in the set in that particular aspect ratio). The widescreen framings are quite expressively utilized throughout this presentation, and this transfer boasts some really nice contrast and well modulated gray scale that help to support the often Gothic atmosphere. Detail levels are routinely very good to excellent throughout, even in some of the wider framings. There are occasional deficits in shadow detail in some of the darkest moments. Once again some very minor age related wear and tear can be spotted. Grain resolves without any issues.

The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Mad Executioners features LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in either German or English. In this case, the German track is significantly louder than the English (more so than in the first two films), but both of these tracks can show a somewhat abrasive high end at times that can be especially noticeable in some of the higher amplitude scoring cues, but also on occasion with regard to some of the sound effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Eureka! has packaged The Mad Executioners and The Phantom of Soho together on one disc with the following supplements:

• The Mad Executioners

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 11:12) is available as a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu where it is authored to lead directly to the main feature.




Audio Commentary by Kevin Lyons & Jonathan Rigby

• The Phantom of Soho

Introduction by Tim Lucas (HD; 8:45) is available as a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu where it is authored to lead directly to the main feature (you actually have to get a Submenu in this particular instance).




Audio Commentary by Kim Newman & Barry Forshaw is accessible in the aforementioned Submenu.

• Bryan Edgar Wallace - An Era (HD; 9:58) features Alice Brauner in another fantastically engaging interview which serves as a companion to the one offered as a supplement on the Mabuse set. Subtitled in English.


• Trailers

The Mad Executioners German Trailer (HD; 3:46)




The Mad Executioners US Release Trailer (HD; 1:48)




The Phantom of Soho German Trailer (HD; 2:55)




The Phantom of Soho International Trailer (HD; 2:55)




The Phantom of Soho US Release Trailer (HD; 1:14)

The Mad Executioners Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Mad Executioners may frankly offer a bit too much in terms of competing plot dynamics, but that makes it a rather breathless watch a lot of the time. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.