Independent U.S. distributors Scorpion Releasing and Kino Video have confirmed that they are planning to release on Blu-ray Italian director Mario Bava's
Planet of the Vampires (1965), starring Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, and Stelio Candelli. The release is scheduled to arrive on the U.S. market in late October.
Synopsis: Mario Bava, (
Hatchet for the Honeymoon,
The Whip and the Body), master of the Italian suspense film, tries his hand at science fiction with this stylishly mod twist on the vampire legend. Two spacecrafts on the same mission land on a strange, misty planet. The crew members each find themselves overcome by a hostile alien force which causes homicidal impulses in each of them. As the astronauts are killed one by one, the dead won't stay dead, which complicates things greatly for the remaining living crew who are attempting to unravel the mystery of the strange forces at hand. Great set design, pleasingly garish colors, and a genuine sense of dread have made this film a cult favorite.