{jatabs type="content" position="top" height="auto" skipAnim="true" mouseType="click" animType="animFade"}
[tab title="Movie Review"]
There’s really nothing I can do to save you from yourself if the first five minutes of director Vicente Aranda’s The Blood Spattered Bride does absolutely nothing for you. Tarantino has alluded to its mesmerizing effectiveness, going so far as to name one of his chapters in Kill Bill after this erotic vampire-themed horror film. And he’s absolutely correct.
Beginning with the drip, drip, drip of its blood soaked titles, this horror film stabs at the audience’s heart at the very beginning. It is, at times, nearly poetic in its execution as we are quickly thrust into a newly married couple’s honeymoon getaway. The joy is exhaustive as they jet across the countryside in the groom’s (Simón Andreu) car. Theirs is the collective anticipation of the wedding night. The hotel; the changing of the clothes…
And then it all breaks down. Completely. The unexpected (and completely hallucinated) rape of a mentally unsteady bride, Susan (Maribel Martín) will do that to a marriage. There is a stranger in the closet and he wants what is on the other side of the door…but there are worse things waiting for them should they leave.
The twists and turns in this thriller have only just begun. This is a Spanish exploitation flick, bound for the grimiest of theaters along 42nd Street, after all. And, yes, there will be blood…and boobs…and ass…and plenty of other blood-filled lesbian themes. Gothic vampirism delights – especially when they are as full of full frontal nudity and explicit gore to the genitals – are a lot like that.
From naked discoveries on the sandy beach (I am, of course, referring to the hotness of Alexandra Bastedoto) to the heart-wrenching finale, The Blood Spattered Bride has never performed as well as it does here with Mondo Macabro’s brand new 4k transfer from the original 35mm film negative. This is a fully restored version that most American audiences have never seen before. It is completely uncensored and brave in its treatment of vampirism courtesy of the inclusion of the vampire (but is she?), Mircalla Karstein (Bastedoto).
Aranda, who wanted to be a novelist, amps up the violence in his thriller, filling the screen with some of the most lusciously depraved situations every filmed. He tops it with lots of hot girlie action, too, as they strive to defy the male-controlled world around them. And, seeing as how this adaptation of Carmilla also presents us with dream items that manifest in the real world with physical attributes, there is quite a lot to interpret.
Surrealism. Eroticism. And blood, blood, blood. The version included here, with newly created subtitles, improves the pacing of the story with additional scenes that help smooth out the rough edges on prior releases. It also firmly establishes The Blood Spattered Bride place in the sub-genre of lesbian vampire flicks that ravaged the countryside in the 1970s.
With this wicked release, Monod Macabro slays us again.
[/tab]
[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 82 mins
Director: Vicente Aranda
Writer: Vicente Aranda; Sheridan Le Fanu
Cast: Simón Andreu, Maribel Martín, Alexandra Bastedo
Genre: Horror
Tagline: The revenge of a young bride on her wedding night!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Is that the woman in the portrait? How did she die?"
Theatrical Distributor: Europix International
Official Site:
Release Date: April, 1974
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 4, 2017
Synopsis: Susan, a young bride, travels with her husband to his family's ancient manor house in the far north of Spain. Susan is a virgin and is very hesitant about her husband's sexual demands. She is also disturbed about her unfamiliar surroundings and wonders if she will ever come to terms with her new married life. She is stocked to discover that all the old portraits of female members of her husband's family have been locked away in the basement. When she finds them, she discovers that one of the portraits shows a woman holding a strange dagger. The woman's face has been cut out of the painting. Her name is Mircala Karstien.
[/tab]
[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Mondo Macabro Exclusive | Red Case Limited Edition | Limited to 1000 numbered copies
Home Video Distributor: Mondo Macabro
Available on Blu-ray - December 4, 2017
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: Region-free playback
Mondo Macabro presents The Blood Spattered Bride on 1080p with stellar results. Simply put, the film has never looked as good as it does with this release. The region free Blu-ray premieres in HD with a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative. The film is presented with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 24fps mono audio track. There are also new English and Spanish language tracks with optional English subtitles. The film looks crisp with lots of engaging locations, interiors, and a steady attention to strong reds and blues.
Supplements:
Commentary:
-
Provided by Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan, the feature-length commentary provides us with all we need to know about this Spanish horror film.
Special Features:
Included with this release are NEW interviews with the cast and crew and historians. The Limited Edition version, now completely sold out, includes a reversible cover, a 12-page booklet with a brand new essay on the film by Vanity Celis, and a series of double-sided postcard reproductions of the Italian 'fotobustas' for the film.
- Two-part interview with actor Simón Andreu
- Interview with cinematographer Fernando Arribas
- Interview with Jonathan Rigby, author of the book Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema
- Three never-before-seen alternate scenes
- Alternate ending
- Multiple trailers and radio spots
[/tab]
[tab title="Trailer"]
[/tab]
[tab title="Art"]
[/tab]
