By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Indonesia’s Queen of Horror will now be casting her spell on a wider audience.
Severin Films will release the three-disc Blu-ray set SUZZANNA: EMPRESS OF DARKNESS on April 28; pre-orders are now open at the Severin webstore. The package combines five films starring the Indonesian genre star, full name Suzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, with David Gregory’s documentary SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC. The doc features interviews with the late actress’ family, colleagues, filmmakers and historians, telling the full story of how she became a cult figure in Asia while remaining barely known outside of it.
Four of the features—PACT WITH THE FORCES OF DARKNESS (pictured above), WHITE CROCODILE QUEEN, MALAM SATU SURO and KLIWON FRIDAY NIGHT—are making their North American disc premieres, scanned in 2K from the original camera negatives and presented in 2.39:1 widescreen with new English subtitles. Her final film GHOST AMBULANCE is also included. Disc 1 contains PACT WITH THE FORCES OF DARKNESS and WHITE CANNIBAL QUEEN; Disc 2 pairs MALAM SATU SURO and KLIWON FRIDAY NIGHT, with the following special feature:
- Hantu Retribution: Female Ghosts Of The Malay Archipelago: Interview With Filmmaker Katrina Irawati Graham And Dr. Rosalind Galt, Author Of ALLURING MONSTERS: THE PONTIANAK AND CINEMAS OF DECOLONIZATION
Disc 3 features SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and GHOST AMBULANCE, with the following extras:
SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC:
- A Conversation With Director/Co-Producer David Gregory And Co-Producer Ekky Imanjaya
- David Gregory Introduction At Jakarta Film Week Screening, October 2024
- Trailer
GHOST AMBULANCE:
- The Making Of GHOST AMBULANCE
- ShowBiz On LocationInterviews With Cast And Crew
- GHOST AMBULANCE SiletInterview With Actors Suzzanna And Clift Sangra
- Promo Clips
- Trailer
Retail price is $79.95, and the pre-order price is $55. Severin also has Lucio Fulci’s VOICES FROM BEYOND making its UHD premiere in a 4K/Blu-ray/CD set, streeting April 28 and up for pre-order here. The movie is newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative and presented in 1.85:1 widescreen; the 4K UHD includes the trailer and the Blu-ray has these bonus features:
- About Death: Audio Interview With Lucio Fulci
- Beyond The Living: Interview With Actor Pascal Persiano
- A House For The Dead: Interview With Set Designer Antonello Geleng
- Like A Father: Interview With Prop Master Vincenzo Luzzi
- Lucio’s Last Wave: Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of BEYOND TERROR: THE FILMS OF LUCIO FULCI
- Trailer
Plus the CD of Stelvio Cipriani’s score. Retail price is $54.95, or $38 for the pre-order.
