By WILLIAM J. WRIGHT
This year, Severin Films is injecting some bloody 4K depravity into your Halloween viewing. On October 24, just in time for the creepiest time of the year, the cult video label will unleash stunning new high-def upgrades of two underrated horror classics – COUNT DRACULA, Jesús Franco’s faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s immortal novel, and Marino Girolami’s grindhouse gorefest DR. BUTCHER, M.D. Complementing the COUNT DRACULA re-release are new scans of Pere Portabella’s fascinating companion films, CUADECUC VAMPIR and UMBRACLE.
Earlier this year, a Madrid film archivist unearthed the uncut camera negative of Franco’s atmospheric 1970 gothic COUNT DRACULA. Untouched for over 50 years, the pristine negative has yielded an eyepopping 4K scan of the vampire film starring Christopher Lee as the Count, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, Soledad Miranda as Lucy, Maria Rohm as Mina and Klaus Kinski as Renfield. With over five hours of special features, including the U.S. premiere of Carles Prats’ 2017 documentary DRÁCULA BARCELONA, which chronicles the simultaneous filming of CUADECUC VAMPIR by Pere Portabella, this special edition is COUNT DRACULA as it has never been seen before.
Along with COUNT DRACULA, Severin also delivers CUADECUC VAMPIR and UMBRACLE, Portabella’s hypnotic companion pieces to Franco’s film. A noted subversive filmmaker and frequent target of Spain’s fascist government, Portabella was invited by Franco to chronicle the making of COUNT DRACULA. The results, however, were the haunting CUADECUC VAMPIR, a dreamlike deconstruction of myths, monsters and moviemaking featuring stars Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom and Soledad Miranda., and UMBRACLE, a hypnotic journey through dread and violence starring Lee at his most candid. Scanned from Portabella’s vault elements, Severin’s HD release of CUADECUC VAMPIR and UMBRACLE marks the first time the films have been officially available in America.
Grindhouse and gore fans have cause to celebrate with Severin’s long-awaited HD transfer of the notorious DR. BUTCHER, M.D. A landmark of Italian horror film and a Eurotrash cinema masterpiece, DR. BUTCHER, M.D., set the standard for cannibal zombie mayhem in the 1980s. Starring Ian McCulloch (Zombie), Alexandra Delli Colli (The New York Ripper), Sherry Buchanan (Tentacles) and Donald O’Brien (Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals), the film was originally released as ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST. Re-edited and re-titled by its U.S. distributor, DR. BUTCHER, M.D. became infamous, inspiring riots on 42nd Street and creating legions of dedicated gorehounds. In this new UHD release, Severin Films presents both films scanned in 4K from original vault elements discovered in Manhattan and Rome, with four hours of archival footage and all-new special features that reveal the unbelievable truth behind its bizarre history, infamous marketing and legacy.
Check out the trailer for Severin’s October releases and a detailed rundown of the discs’ contents and special features below:
Special Features for COUNT DRACULA
Disc 1: UHD (Feature + Special Features)
- Audio Commentary With Horror Historian David Del Valle And Actress Maria Rohm
- Trailer
Disc 2: Blu-ray (Feature + Special Features)
- Audio Commentary With Horror Historian David Del Valle And Actress Maria Rohm
- Illustrated 1973 Christopher Lee Audio Interview With Filmmaker Donald Glut
- Beloved Count – Interview With Director Jess Franco
- Handsome Harker – Interview With Actor Fred Williams
- An Interview With Actor Jack Taylor
- Stake Holders – An Appreciation By Filmmaker Christophe Gans
- Trailer
Disc 3: Blu-ray (Special Features)
- DRÁCULA BARCELONA – 2017 Documentary (90 mins)
- Jess Franco’s BRAM STOKER’S COUNT DRACULA – Stephen Thrower On COUNT DRACULA
- In The Land Of Franco Bonus Sequence With Alain Petit And Stephen Thrower
- Alternate Title Sequences
Disc 4: CD SOUNDTRACK
Feature Specs for COUNT DRACULA:
- Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
- Audio: English Mono, Spanish Mono
- Closed Captions: English SDH
- Region: A/B/C
Special Features for CUADECUC VAMPIR/ UMBRACLE
- A Cinema Of Vampires: Pere Portabella, Jess Franco And The School Of Barcelona – Interview With Spanish Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil
- Trailer
- Booklet Featuring Text By Pere Portabella And Film Critics Jonathan Rosenbaum And Federico Karstulovich
Feature Specs for CUADECUC VAMPIR/ UMBRACLE
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Audio: English Mono (CUADECUC), Spanish Mono (UMBRACLE)
- Closed Captions: English (CUADECUC)
- Subtitles: English (UMBRACLE)
- Region: A/B/C
Special Features for DR. BUTCHER, MD
Disc 1: UHD (DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. Feature + Special Features)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Video Release Trailer
- TV Spot
Disc 2: UHD (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST Feature + Special Feature)
- Trailer
Disc 3: Blu-ray (DOCTOR BUTCHER M.D. Feature + Special Features)
- Butchery & Ballyhoo – Interview With Aquarius Releasing’s Terry Levene
- The Four Boroughs Of Blood – Rue Morgue’s Michael Gingold Tours New York Locations Of Italian Horror
- Down On The Deuce – Nostalgic Tour Of 42nd Street With Temple Of Shock’s Chris Poggiali and Filmmaker Roy Frumkes
- Tales That Tore Our Heart Out – Filmmakers Frank Farel And Brendan Faulkner Discuss Unfinished Anthology Film
- Roy Frumkes’ Segment Of Unfinished Anthology Film TALES THAT WILL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT With Accompanying Director Commentary
- The Butcher Mobile – Interview With Gore Gazette Editor And Butcher Mobile Barker Rick Sullivan
- Cutting Doctor Butcher – Interview With Editor Jim Markovic
- Illustrated Essay: “Experiments With A Male Caucasian Brain (…And Other Memories Of 42nd Street)” By Gary Hertz
- Theatrical Trailer
- Video Release Trailer
- TV Spot
Disc 4: CD SOUNDTRACK
Feature Specs for DR. BUTCHER, MD
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Audio: English Mono (BOTH), Italian Mono (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST)
- Subtitles: English (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST)
- Closed Captions: English SDH (BOTH)
- Region: A/B/C
