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[tab title="Movie Review"]
“It’s a beautiful world; I shall enjoy it,” says Spain’s Paul Naschy as he, playing The Devil himself, launches on a trek of mayhem across the countryside of 16th century Spain. He knows what will happen and he’s down for it; ALL of it as both virtue and vice come out from their perspective corners of the boxing ring in this heavy and hard-hitting round of metaphysical mayhem.
Welcome to the consequential landscape of The Devil Incarnate. The earth itself shakes under each weighty moment of this production, which sees Mr. 666 himself crucified after a 6-day search stemming from a glance at the apocalyptic future of man(un)kind itself.
From drowning blind men in shallow creeks to wooing farmhouse wives before robbing them blind and putting an upside down cross on their ass (because The Devil always brands his cattle), it appears that he’s having a whole hell of a lot of fun. And you will too as he discusses with his audience, when choosing between the devil and humanity, who is the worse creation?
The Devil Incarnate (aka The Traveler and El Caminante/The Walker), one of Naschy’s most acclaimed movies, finally makes its blu-ray debut thanks to the luscious HD transfer and remastering job done by Mondo Macabro. In this tale of the evils of mankind, The Devil/Leonardo (Naschy) takes a companion – a boy servant named Tomas (David Rocha) – whom he tries to influence and educate as to the weaknesses of mankind. Tomas sees everything and, believing Leonardo to be his master and his friend, trusts in him completely.
Directed by Naschy (as Jacinto Molina), this thought-provoking film also has a wild side. There is a lot of flesh on display and, as it doesn’t ever blink, has a lot of fun being absolutely sacrilegious. And Naschy, sometimes pretending to be a Holy Man along the road, absolutely eats it up threatening to give one Mother Superior the greatest Exorcism of her life with his thick and long turnip. Oh, yeah, he goes there.
From convents to whorehouses, this film is busy keeping The Devil’s lusts back in business. The film is as, as Naschy says in one of the featurettes included with the release, his very best film. It is personal and filled with fascinating discussions on the nature of mankind and, as this is set when Catholicism was king, merely hints at the evils in the world yet to come. It is consistently on point and fascinating to see roll out as it is both horrific and comedic.
The film is fiercely ontological. You can’t walk away from it without being affected by the scene in which Satan is crucified and berates Jesus for sacrificing himself for the bastards he walked among. This film, still celebrated by Naschy followers (and for damn good reason) is equal parts poetic and wanton. I am not sure there is any other way with Naschy’s outut.
The Devil’s work is a full time job.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Paul Naschy
Writer: Paul Naschy
Cast: Paul Naschy, Sara Lezana, David Rocha
Genre: Horror
Tagline: El Caminante.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: Horus Films
Official Site:
Release Date: April 23, 1980
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 8, 2018
Synopsis:The action takes place in 16th century Spain. The Devil comes to earth to live as a mere mortal. Together with a human companion, Tomas, he travels, like Don Quixote, through the countryside and has a series of wild encounters with both men and women. On the way he acquires great wealth and even fathers a child. But too late he learns a terrible lesson about we devious humans.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Mondo Macabro
Available on Blu-ray - May 8, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.66:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: Spanish: LPCM Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Mondo Macabro’s 4K scan of The Devil Incarnate, presented with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, is a genuine work of art. The crispness in the image cannot be overstated as the preparation for the HD transfer is quite superb. And the saturation – especially in the bright, bright outdoors – is especially engaging. Skin tones are solid and black levels plunge into the darkness with explicit directness. Some of the edges are lost in the all that blackness, though. Not everything, but a noticeable amount with both rooms and lighting are on the darker side of the spectrum. Yet, colors are pronounced and most of the dirt and debris seem cleared from the negative. Some pops and scratches appear. The audio is presented in a Spanish (with English subtitles) LPCM Mono track.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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Exclusive to this release is a fabulous audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth.
Special Features:
Loaded with exclusive interviews, Mondo Macabro doesn’t disappoint with their 4k remastering of The Devil Incarnate.
- Paul Naschy Introduction (10 min)
- David Rocha Interview (15 min)
- Sergio Molina Interview (29 min)
- Bruno Molina Interview (5 min)
- Mondo Macabro Previews
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[tab title="Art"]
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