Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 7, 2017

Antonio Margheriti's "Web of the Spider" a.k.a. "Nella stretta morsa del ragno" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Garagehouse Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an original German trailer for the film; deleted scene; two exclusive new audio commentaries; uncut Italian version of the film; other vintage trailers; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"It is a scary place"

I am a big admirer of Michele Mercier and there was a period early into the DVD cycle when I attempted to gather as many of her ‘smaller’ films as possible. This meant that I had to look for them overseas, though, either in France or Italy, where local distributors were slowly bringing them to the market. Unfortunately, it also meant that virtually all of these releases were not English-friendly. Nevertheless, I picked up a pretty good number of them for my collection while they were available and was able to fill in some very important gaps. And as I did, it became clearer to me that a lot of the ‘smaller’ films that were essentially impossible to see in the United States were actually just as good as the ‘big’ ones, sometimes even better. Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath for instance is a very popular title, but Dino Risi’s Il Giovedi a.k.a. The Thursday, which is virtually unknown in the United States, is a vastly superior film. Mario Monicelli’s Casanova '70 is another well-known classic title from Mercier’s filmography, but Denys de la Patelliere’s God’s Thunder is again a much better film. So the more films I acquired, the more obvious it became that there were plenty of very big and very good films that were, for whatever reason, ignored by our distributors.

I mention all of the above because I don’t remember ever searching for a copy of Antonio Margheriti’s Web of the Spider, so when a few months ago Garagehouse Pictures revealed that they are planning to release it on Blu-ray I immediately checked my catalog and decided that I have to get it. In addition to Mercier, Klaus Kinski and Anthony Franciosa also contributed to this film, so I instantly knew that it would be something that I will enjoy.

Web of the Spider is a period European genre project that uses many of the same tricks that Black Sabbath does to create and sustain an attractive Gothic atmosphere while trying to thrill its audience. Kinski plays the unsettled Edgar Allan Poe who meets the overconfident American journalist Allan Foster (Franciosa) and then challenges him to survive a night in the legendary Blackwood Castle, a haunted place that has apparently claimed the lives of many brave gentlemen craving exotic adventures. Assuming that the castle’s reputation is wildly exaggerated, the reporter instantly accepts the challenge and then gets dropped off in front of the old building’s massive metal gate. (The night on which this challenge takes place has a special significance, but I don’t want to mention it because I will almost certainly spoil the film for you). Soon after, and much to the reporter’s amusement, the place comes alive, and he finds himself stuck in a perplexing web of overlapping events that gradually begin to overwhelm his mind.

The entire premise behind the challenge is a bit out there, but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think it matters much. To be perfectly clear, if you enjoy what you see during the initial fifteen or so minutes then there is an excellent chance that you will have a great time with the rest of the film. In other words, the Gothic atmosphere is the story, so expect plenty of spooky shadows, creepy noises, and all sorts of other bizarre happenings that these types of films are known for.

Mercier looks more elegant than gorgeous here, though as it is the case with the Angelique films the camera instantly falls in love with her and as a result there are plenty of magazine-type perfect stills with her.

The great maestro Riz Ortolani scored the film, but I would not rank the soundtrack amongst his very best.

*Web of the Spider is a loose remake of Castle of Blood (1964) with Barbara Steele, which is currently available on Blu-ray as part of this tripple-feature release from Severin Films.

Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Antonio Margheriti's Web of the Spider arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Garaghouse Pictures.

The release is sourced from a brand new master that was created after a new 4K scan of the uncut U.S. theatrical version of the film. The new transfer does look healthy, but my guess is that the folks at the label worked with an element that was at the very least a generation away from the OCN. In fact, from what I saw, especially in terms of density and fluidity, I would say that it is very possible that a 35mm theatrical print of some sort was accessed. (Australian label Umbrella Entertainment did some very similar for its local release of Richard Franklin's Road Games). Either way, definition is mostly pleasing and during the darker footage from the castle there is equally mostly pleasing depth, but it is also quite easy for me to see that ideally the film should better density and more convincing ranges of shadow nuances. Additionally, while there are no traces of compromising digital tinkering -- which I consider a big bonus here -- grain is not as nicely exposed ad resolved as it should be. There are random spikes and drops, and in some areas it appears as if it is mixed with noise. There a good range of primary colors, but again ideally the overall balance and the nuances should be better. Image stability is good. Also, there are no large and distracting cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, the technical presentation fluctuates between decent and good, but given the lack of digital tinkering I rather like it. (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).

*The release comes with a rather impressive selection of bonus features, but only a single-layer disc was used. I would like to encourage Garagehouse Pictures to use BD-50 (dual-layer) discs in the future and optimize the encoding of the main feature because from what I see here it is very obvious that some of the quality was compromised to accommodate the bonus features.

Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

Similar to the overwhelming majority of the Italian genre films from the 1960s and 1970s, Web of the Spider was overdubbed in English. This means that at times there is some rather obvious unevenness in the exchanges and even in the dynamic movement during more dramatic sequences. I personally had a bit of trouble understanding Klaus Kinski's lines in the beginning of the film, so I had to adjust the volume a bit. Other than that there are no severe age-related imperfections to report, or digital anomalies that might have been introduced during the remastering process. Still, optional English SDH should have been included on this release.

Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries - Garagehouse Pictures have produced two brand new audio commentaries that offer an abundance of information about the production history of Web of the Spider, the socio-cultural climate in Europe at the time when the film was produced as well as the U.S. theatrical release, the discrepancies between the longest Italian version of the film (which was never dubbed into English) and the international version, the film's visual style and appearance and the possible influence of Paul Morrissey on them, the rhythm of the film, the fans' love for Italian genre films, etc.
  
  1. Commentary One - with critics George Reis and Keith Crocker.
  2. Commentary Two - with critic Stephen Romano.

• German Trailer - presented here is German theatrical trailer for Web of Spider. In German, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• German Super 8 Movie Digest Part I - a black-and-white German TV Super 8 version of the film. In German, with optional English subtitles. (17 min).

• German Super 8 Movie Digest Part II - in German, with optional English subtitles. (17 min).

• Deleted Scene - dubbed in German, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Uncut Italian Version - uncut Italian version of Web of the Spider in standard definition (VHS master). With optional English subtitles.

• Deleted Scene - a collection of original promotional materials from around the world, including German lobby cards and various VHS and DVD jackets.

• Antonio Margheriti Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for other Antonio Margheriti films. (16 min).

• Garagehouse Pictures Trailers - a collection of trailers for other Garagehouse Pictures films. (8 min).

Web of the Spider Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really, really enjoyed Antonio Margheriti's Web of the Spider, but I fully understand that it may not be everyone's cup of tea. In fact, one of the reasons why I liked it so much is the fact that it is very slow and very moody, which interestingly enough the two gentlemen that recorded one of the exclusive audio commentates for this release cite as a major weakness. My take on this 'issue' is quite different. These types of Gothic horror films do not have to be fast and with a consistent rhythm, they need to evolve in unique and even outlandish ways in order to be effective. (Remember, even though many had international distribution deals, they did not aim to be universal crowd-pleasers). So my advice to you is this: If you like the moody Gothic ambience of Riccardo Freda's The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, take a look at Web of the Spider as these two films are pretty much in the same category.

I like a lot of the things that were done for this release. In fact, I wish to specifically mention that it is very obvious to me that Garagehouse Pictures wanted to make it a special one. The technical presentation is rather good, but I think that the folks at the label can actually deliver excellent product. So when preparing such elaborate releases I would like to encourage them to consider double-layer discs and optimize the encoding of the main feature, and then use the rest of the available space for the bonus features. All in all, I can't wait to see what the folks at Garagehouse Pictures have in the pipe for 2018. I am pretty sure that there will be some very special treats coming from them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.