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Burial Ground - Blu-ray Review

5 beersAnd THIS is why mothers should never breast feed their freaky-looking children recently turned zombie.

Directed by Strip Nude for your Killer’s Andrea Bianchi, Burial Ground is an Italian grindhouse romp through and through.  Complete with a paper-thin plot about a professor cursing himself and his property with the contents of hell itself, the highs of this spectacular (and poorly-dubbed) flick are spelled out in the amount of blood and goop left in the aftermath of an impressive amount of flesh-eating zombies. 

There’s plenty of blood draining and flesh chomping – both in and out of bed – as the fates of a few friends are decided and secrets revealed within the halls and the grounds of the infamous Villa Parisi in Frascati.  This is their burial ground and they are all doomed to die and live again as the everlasting undead, but this blu-ray release is the end all be all for Burial Ground.  Want the official example for definitive?  Skip Webster’s.  Look here at Severin Film’s epic handling of a cult classic.  We are indeed lucky to live in an era where a cheaply-made film, shot in 1981, can look as good as it does with this release.

Shot in under four weeks near Rome, Burial Ground – also known as Nights of Terror – is a relentless feast of flesh as some sex-starved Italians get it on and plan other sexual rendezvous only to be thwarted the next day by an endless wave of the undead as they attack with their open mouths and hands clasping knives and other sharp instruments of deadly terror. 

In a series of gruesome sequences, the green grass below the feet of the villa’s guests starts bubbling with decayed fingers and rotten flesh as the dead – some hooded – rise, grab sharp weapons, and go about the messy business of murdering and then eating the living souls unfortunate enough to be exposed on the romantic Italian property.

Starring Mariangela Giordano, Burial Ground is probably best remembered by the brilliant makeup effects from Gino De Rossi and Rosario Prestopino.  The undead in this giallo flick are without end and so too is the imaginative work of these two effect artists.  Full of blood, maggots, rotting teeth, muck, and fabulously detailed dead flesh, Burial Ground to this day still comes across as a celebration of walking dead creativity than of anything else.  It might be creaky in other areas of its development, but Bianchi’s flick is rather a special treat for anyone inspired by creature effects.

Bianchi was no stranger to sexed-up romps.  Burial Ground is no different than some of his other offerings.  The women are quick to reveal themselves to their partners and, due to their breathy performances, most of them are climaxing while being eaten instead of shrieking with terror. 

And who can ever forget that this is the film that went THERE with mother and son relationships?!  The bizarre casting of 25-year-old Peter Bark as Giordano’s young son, who becomes sexually attracted to his mother after her ample bosom is revealed to him (all over again) after they barely escape their first zombie encounter is unforgettable.

Some things, once seen, can never be unseen.  This is true for Burial Ground; a certifiable cult classic if ever there was one.

Thank you, Severin Films, for handling this film with the respect it deserves.

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Burial Ground - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
98 mins
Director
: Andrea Bianchi
Writer:
Piero Regnoli
Cast:
Karin Well, Gianluigi Chirizzi, Simone Mattioli
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
The Gate sof Hell Have Opened
Memorable Movie Quote: "You look just like a little whore, but I like that in a girl."
Theatrical Distributor:
Film Concept Group (FCG)
Official Site:
Release Date:
December 10, 1985
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
October 25, 2016
Synopsis: Mariangela Giordano (of SATAN'S BABY DOLL and MALABIMBA fame) stars in the splatter classic about a cursed country estate besieged by horny houseguests, undead Etruscans and the unusual relationship between a mother (Giordano) and her mega-creepy young son (disturbingly portrayed by diminutive adult actor Peter Bark) that will trigger perhaps the most jaw-dropping scenes in grindhouse history.

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Burial Ground - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Severin Films
Available on Blu-ray
- October 11, 2016
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: Region-free playback

Featuring a 2k scan and restoration from a film element recently discovered beneath the floorboards of a Trastevere church rectory, Burial Ground gets a brand new coat of paint complete with shot-by-shot color correction.  The results are wildly specific and pure.  Colors have as much bite as the zombies in the flick.  Black levels are deep and defined.  Flesh tones are warm and inclusive.  With nary a scratch on the transfer, Burial Ground has never looked better and probably never will.  The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is front-loaded and purposeful.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • While highly recommended, it is sad that there are no commentaries for the film.

Special Features:

Available on www.severinfilms.com, Burial Ground arrives with a free 12×18 poster showcasing the new cover art by Wes Benscoter.  The disc is also loaded with solid supplemental offerings featuring a look at the historic house and its location, a festival session with Peter Bark, a new interview with actor Simone Mattioli, interviews with producer Gabriele Crisanti and actress Mariangela Giordano, a look at the deleted and extended scenes in the movie, and the theatrical trailer.  Fans of this gem will be very pleased with Severin’s work.

  • Villa Parisi – Legacy of Terror
  • Peter Still Lives
  • Just for the Money
  • The Smell Of Death
  • Deleted/ Extended Scenes/ Shots
  • Theatrical Trailer

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[tab title="Art"]Burial Ground - Blu-ray Review

 

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