The Diabolical Dr Z (1966)

It's time for a welcome release of some more Jess Franco on UK Blu-ray as one of the best films from his early black and white period gets a release from Eureka.

Dr. Zimmer (Antonio Giménez Escribano) has developed a technique for drilling into the brains of criminals and removing their ability to be evil, turning them into placid subservients. Zimmer’s research presentation is laughed out of a meeting with his colleagues and he dies from a heart attack as a result. His daughter Irma (Mabel Karr) is also a doctor (so this could have been called ‘THE DIABOLICAL DR ZS’) and decides to take revenge on the three doctors she holds most responsible for her father’s death. To effect this, Irma uses the brain-drilling machine and a kidnapped nightclub dancer with poisoned fingernails. 

For anyone claiming Jess Franco was a shoddy filmmaker (as opposed to making some shoddy films, which he certainly did), THE DIABOLICAL DR Z is one to show them. The black and white photography is sharp, the lighting carefully considered, and the opening scenes of the Woodside Strangler escaping from prison could look at home in a classic film noir. The plot is crazy but in the best way, and while there’s not a lot of subtext, Franco can’t help but include some of his recurring obsessions, the poisoned nightclub dancer ‘Miss Death’ aka Nadia (Estella Blain) among them.

Archival extras on Eureka's disc include Tim Lucas' commentary track ported over from Redemption's Blu-ray, and a trio of fascinating talking head pieces from a French 2018 release, with DIABOLICAL DR Z's screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere talking about his work with Franco (18 minutes), Franco expert Lucas Balbo discussing this period of Franco's film-making (16 minutes) and journalist Stéphane Di Mesnildot talking about the film (12 minutes).

New extras consist of Xavier Aldana Reyes discussing European Gothic Cinema including Caligary, Mario Bava, Georges Franju, Paul Naschy and others including, of course, Jess Franco. Samm Deighan offers a 19 minute piece on Mad Science in Gothic Cinema which is absolutely fine if you haven't read my Frightfest Guide to Mad Doctors or attended my lectures on the subject. Finally the set comes with a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film from Antonio Lazaro-Reboll, co-editor of The Films of Jess Franco.

Jess Franco's THE DIABOLICAL DR Z is out on Blu-ray from Eureka on Monday 20th October 2025

The Coffee Table - Blu-ray Release (2022)

 

After its successful UK release on digital from Second Sight last year, Caye Casas' excruciating, shocking and at times hilarious (depending on your sense of humour) horror film gets a disc release, with a limited edition offering some extra features as well.

The film opens with married couple Jesús (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefania de los Santo) in a furniture shop where Jesús wants to buy a coffee table that Maria is distinctly unimpressed by. Over the course of their conversation we learn that Maria has made all the major decisions in the relationship, right down to the naming of their newborn son.

They buy the table and take it back to their flat. Jesús' brother and his much younger girlfriend are coming over for tea, while the 13 year old girl upstairs is under the delusion that Jesús wants to run away with her but has yet to tell his wife. Maria goes shopping, leaving Jesús to mind the baby.

So far, so Alan Ayckbourn or Fawlty Towers-type in its set up for something to happen that needs to be covered up and will cause mounting tension throughout the rest of the film. It's this event that results in the following hour  displaying some of the broadest swings between humour and horror ever put on screen. Many, of course, will not find the film funny at all and it likely takes a very special kind of black sense of humour to appreciate it. Suffice to say this is a film you probably need to think twice about viewing if you're a parent, and even if you're not it's definitely going to be a bit much for some.

New extras on Second Sight's Blu-ray include a commentary track by 'extreme cinema enthusiasts' (a good choice) Zoe Rose Smith and Amber T, interviews with the director (23 minutes), stars David Pareja (15 minutes) and Estenfania de los Santos (12 minutes), and DP Alberto Morago (11 minutes). Rebecca Sayce contributes a 19 minute visual essay that looks at the film from the perspective of post partum depression and anxiety, and we get two Casas short films: RIP and Nada SA (both 16 minutes). The limited edition comes with a 120 page book with new writing on the film and six art cards with a rigid slipcase to keep it all in.

Caye Casas' THE COFFEE TABLE is out in both limited and standard edition Blu-ray sets from Second Sight on Monday 28th April 2025

The Coffee Table (2022)

 

"Hilarious and Shocking and Not for the Faint of Heart"

That's a serious warning, by the way. Caye Casas' THE COFFEE TABLE, which is getting a digital release from Second Sight, is a film you probably need to think twice about viewing if you're a parent, and even if you're not, it's definitely going to be a bit much for some.

The film opens with married couple Jesús (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefania de los Santo) in a furniture shop where Jesús wants to buy a coffee table that Maria is distinctly unimpressed by. Over the course of their conversation we learn that Maria has made all the major decisions in the relationship, right down to the naming of their newborn son.

They buy the table and take it back to their flat. Jesús' brother and his much younger girlfriend are coming over for tea while the 13 year old girl upstairs is under the delusion that Jesús wants to run away with her but has yet to tell his wife. Maria goes shopping leaving Jesús to mind the baby.

So far, so Alan Ayckbourn or Fawlty Towers-type in its setting up for something that will happen and cause mounting tension throughout the rest of the film. It's this event that results in the following hour of THE COFFEE TABLE having some of the broadest swings between humour and horror ever put on screen. Many, of course, will not find the film funny at all and it likely takes a very special kind of black sense of humour to appreciate it. I'm not going to say what happens but suffice to say THE COFFEE TABLE is likely to make as many 'Best Of' lists as 'Most Hated' lists purely because of how skilful it is at achieving what it sets out to do. I thought it was brilliant in its excruciating execution and I'll leave it at that, I think. Here's the trailer:

Caye Casas' THE COFFEE TABLE is out on Digital from Second Sight on Monday 20th May 2024

The House That Screamed (1969)

Narciso Ibanez Serrador's 1969 girls school slasher gets a new, sparkling, extras-packed release from Arrow Films.

New pupil Therese (Cristina Galbo) arrives to take up a place at the kind of Victorian Gothic boarding school for wayward girls where it would seem odd if there wasn't something strange going on. Having to deal with the usual power struggles, petty rivalries, and a strict disciplinarian of a headmistress (Lilli Palmer), aided by one of the older girls (Mary Maude), it all gets a bit much for her. Despite starting a relationship with Luis (John Moulder-Brown), the headmistress' son, Therese is soon planning to escape. But there's a killer on the loose and climbing out of the school at night might not be the best idea.

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED boasts a fine sense of the Gothic and a dénouement that, strangely enough, provided the basis for another Spanish horror made 12 years later. I won't mention its title here for those who have yet to watch it, but that climax is suitably (and surprisingly) perverse for a film made in a country still suffering at the time from strict movie censorship laws. The location is great, the acting is intense, and the action is complemented well by Waldo de Los Rios' music score.

Arrow's transfer is a new 2K restoration with both the 104 uncut LA RESIDENCIA version and the 94 minute US theatrical release. Anna Bogutskaya (whom some will know from when she sometimes fills in for Mark Kermode on his podcast) provides the new commentary track. Interviews include Mary Maude at 2012's Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films, a previously unreleased interview with John Moulder-Brown, new interviews with Juan Tebar who wrote the original story, the director's son Alejandro, and Dr Antonio Lazaro-Reboll who discusses the film & its director. There are also trailers, TV and radio spots and an image gallery. The first pressing will come with a booklet featuring new writing on the film and a fold-out poster with new artwork.

Narciso Ibanez Serrador's THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is out on Blu-ray from Arrow Films on Monday 6th March 2023

[Rec] 2007

 

 "Brutally Effective Modern Horror Classic"

One of the best zombie movies ever made gets a much deserved whistles and bells Blu-ray release courtesy of Arrow Films. I reviewed the DVD release of [REC] on here eight years ago, but to save you looking back through the archives here's what I said back then, with a few minor edits before we move onto the extras on Arrow's new release:

Out of the plethora of zombie movies made over the last 20 years, Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's [REC] remains one of the best. It's the best paced, the scariest, the most kinetic and the one with the power to still leave you shaking by the end. 

Taking the format of footage filmed for a documentary about a night in the life of the local fire service, [REC]'s narrative is told entirely from the point of view of Pablo, the cameraman whom we see only very intermittently, and who somehow manages to keep filming under the direst of circumstances. In this respect [REC] is a little bit like Ruggero Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST but without the breaks from the filmed footage, and mercifully free of the mean-spiritedness. 

Manuela Velasco is the presenter (apparently her real job on Spanish TV) who does her best to provide a running commentary of events when the team gets called to a residential block where an old lady is apparently trapped in her flat. Once the team are inside the building and have discovered the woman covered in blood and keen to chew on anyone who comes within biting distance, the building is sealed by the authorities. 

Initially there is no explanation as to what is going on and the film becomes extraordinarily tense as more and more people succumb to the zombie plague that has been unleashed. The brief running time of less than eighty minutes means that once the action begins the only time the film truly pauses for breath is close to the end, and even that is just so something even more terrifyingly horrible than what we've already seen can appear. In fact the climax almost tops everything that has gone before as the film veers off into deliciously ambiguous territory regarding the cause of the disaster, and the ending is anything but comforting.

Arrow's new Blu-ray gives you then option of viewing [REC] at either 24fps (the 'theatrical' release) or at 25fps (the 'production version). You may think 1 frame per second difference wouldn't matter that much but it actually does, with the 25fps offering a smoother image and the 24fps being grainier. 

Extras include everything previously available on the two-disc UK DVD release, including a very informative 40 minute making of, archive commentary by the directors (who admit their individual styles are very different), panel discussion with JA Bayona (THE ORPHANAGE and JURASSIC WORLD 2), Gonzalo Lopez Callego and Plaza and Balaguero, interviews with DP Pablo Rosso, sound supervisor Xavi Mas and sound designer Oriol Tarrago plus a whole host of deleted & extended scenes, casting spots and Manuela Velasco's video diary. You also get a new commentary from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas as well as the usual trailers, TV spots and reversible sleeve. 

Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's REC is out on Blu-ray on Monday 4th January 2021 and available to stream on ARROW:https://bit.ly/AVCUK
What a great New Year present from Arrow 

Dhogs (2017)

"Brutal Art House Satire of Human Behaviour"

Receiving its UK premiere at FrightFest, Andres Goteira's visceral, brutal art house take on the nature of human behaviour is now getting a DVD release courtesy of Yume pictures.

The title is a corruption of two terms which are defined as the film begins: Dogs (submissive & obedient animals) and Hogs (dirty & wicked animals). We're only going to meet one dog and no hogs at all in the ensuing 85 minutes, because what director Goteira is really setting out to do here is comment about some of the more sordid aspects of human beings.

He does this within the context of three chapters detailing several storylines that intersect and cross over each other. A taxi driver takes a man to a hotel where he gets talking to a woman and they end up going up to his room. After, the woman is kidnapped by a guy with a pickup truck who drives her out into the bleak Spanish landscape. There we meet another man (and his dog) who lives in a tumbledown shack, his prized possession an expensive-looking rifle with telescopic sights.

But there's more going on here. Who is the mysterious audience we see observing these onscreen proceedings throughout the film? Are the actions we're seeing perhaps influenced by us watching them? Has director Andres Goteira  perhaps been somewhat influenced by a certain film by Michael Haneke? 

DHOGS has elements of David Lynch as well, so don't expect the film to end with everything explained. In fact that's one of the movie's strengths. If you like your art house movies bleak and contemptuous of humanity, with violence to match, then DHOGS might be just what you're looking for. 

Yume's DVD has no extras, but you do get the option of Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 sound mixes. 

Andres Goteira's DHOGS is out on DVD & Blu-ray from Yume Pictures on Monday 25th February 2019

Horror Express (1972)

"Full Steam Ahead For First Class Horror"

Everyone's favourite early 1970s English-Spanish coproduced science fiction horror picture set on a train gets a sparkling new 2K transfer courtesy of Arrow. 

China 1906. Geologist Sir Alexander Saxton (Christopher Lee), while exploring caves in Szechuan Province, comes across the frozen fossilised remains of what might be the missing link. Intending to take it back to England he crates it up and puts it on the Trans-Siberian Express. Where it thaws out, causing all kinds of trouble for both Saxton, his old chum / rival Dr Wells (Peter Cushing) and assorted EuroHorror character actors, as well as Telly Savalas who pops in for the final act.

One of the best, most creative and best written movies of the entire EuroHorror boom of the 1960s and 1970s, HORROR EXPRESS succeeds in practically every level despite its low budget. Justifiably loved and revered by fans and critics alike, if you've never seen it stop reading this now and go and obtain a copy. HORROR EXPRESS came out as a dual format release from Severin in the US a couple of years ago, and Arrow have just brought it out in a new transfer. 

So which is better?

First, the movie. Severin's version boasts only the Spanish opening credits whereas Arrow only has the English ones. A minor point but HORROR EXPRESS obsessives (of which I am one) will want to know as the credits are quite different. Secondly the transfer itself. Severin's transfer isn't quite as good. It's a little sharper and grainier and warmer, whereas the Arrow transfer looks cleaned up, softer and colours look more natural. 

Second, the extras. Nearly all the extras on the Severin disc (composer John Cacavas interview, director Eugenio Martin interview, producer Bernard Gordon's 'Notes From the Blacklist' and Chris Alexander introduction) have been ported over to the Arrow release. The only thing that's missing is the Peter Cusing audio interview from 1973 that the Severin disc runs as an additional 'commentary' track.

Where the Arrow disc wins is in the new extras, and best of these is an outstanding commentary track from Kim Newman and Stephen Jones which is engaging, enthusiastic, and packed with interesting pieces of information and genre commentary. It's truly excellent stuff and worth getting the new disc for. 

There's also a fascinating 15 minute piece from Ted Newsom on the career of HORROR EXPRESS producer Bernard Gordon, and an appreciation of the movie from filmmaker Steve Haberman. Purchasers of the first pressing also get a booklet with new writing on the film by Adam Scovell.

The genre classic that is HORROR EXPRESS is getting a Region B Blu-ray release from Arrow Films on Monday 11th February 2019

The Secret of Marrowbone (2018)

"Atmospheric High Class EuroHorror"

Oh yes, this may be set in America and feature American and British actors, but a quick look at the credits and it becomes obvious that THE SECRET OF MARROWBONE is a Spanish production, and a very good one indeed. After a brief theatrical run earlier this year eOne are now bringing MARROWBONE (the film's US title) out on DVD and Download in the UK.

Rural America in the late 1960s. The Fairbairn family arrive from England, take up residence in a crumbling manor house some distance from the nearest town, and change their surname to Marrowbone. Mother has a terminal disease and father is nowhere to be seen, and soon the four Marrowbone children are on their own. Or are they? Who's that watching the house? And what's making those sounds in the attic?

Starting off bit like one of those old-fashioned children's serials the BBC used to show at Sunday teatime, THE SECRET OF MARROWBONE doesn't take long in getting to the scary stuff, providing some really splendid shivers and a climax that will have any fan of classic BritHorror nodding with pleasure. 

The film was written and directed by Sergio Sanchez. He also wrote 2007's THE ORPHANAGE and quite a few of the same crew are involved here (ORPHANAGE director J A Bayona is executive producer). The young cast is excellent, with special mention going to George Mackay as oldest child Jack, and Anya Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth (horror & weird cinema veterans both) as Jack's love interest and sister respectively.

eOne's DVD comes with 27 minutes of extended and deleted scenes, plus a short VFX clip that's well worth a look to see just how much work went into transforming the Spanish locations into American-looking ones. 

One of my favourite films of 2018, THE SECRET OF MARROWBONE didn't get the press coverage it deserved on its initial release. Hopefully it will turn out to be one of those cult sleepers that more and more will discover as the years go on. Don't miss out on it. 

Sergio G Sanchez's THE SECRET OF MARROWBONE is out on DVD from Monday 19th of November 2018. It's already out on download.