Every year, people are usually asked, or post something about what we’re thankful for. It usually ranges in being thankful for their family, a good job, being healthy, or a variety of subjects of that nature. A lot of those things are stuff we tend to take for granted every other day of the year. But when you really look, I’m sure you’ll find a little more light than dark in one’s life. Even for us evil horror fanatics!
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What could make the month of October even better? The announcement from Mondo Macabro that they are releasing another Naschy film in 4K & Blu-Ray! Going on sale tomorrow as part of their Flash Pre-Sale, you’ll be able to order the 2-disc special edition of Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf!
Now just so everyone knows up front, there were several of Naschy films (and Spanish horror films in general) where they would film one scene with nudity, then film it again with them clothed. This title is one of those, and as hard as they tried, after searching for close to a year, they could not locate the film material for the export version, which has the nudity. They only had the Spanish “clothed” cut of the film. So, they were able to add the inserts to it to create the uncut version, but this will only be on the Blu-ray disc of the film, where the UHD disc will have the Spanish “clothed” version.
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While this isn’t technically a horror film, it is Paul Naschy so of course I have to mention this. Any time one of his movies that had never been released here in the states (aside from a Spanish language version that was released) gets a release, it is something to be celebrated! And Mondo Macabro have continued to wave the Naschy flag in releasing a lot of his titles, that now American audiences are going to see Night of the Executioner (1992) for the first time.
Naschy plays a family man whose life is forever changed after his wife and daughter are both raped and murdered, and he has his tongue cut out. He then goes out on a killing spree avenging his family. This is a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative, in Spanish language track with optional English subtitles. It also has an audio commentary by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn from the Naschycast podcast. Plus, there are interviews with Naschy son, Sergio Molina, and with actors Pepe Ruiz, Manuel Zarzo.
Right now, you can order the special “Red Case” edition, which comes with a full color booklet with a brand new essay by Troy Howarth, author of Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. This edition is limited to 1500 copies and can be ordered by clicking HERE.
When the first couple of Paul Naschy movie titles first hit Blu-ray, even the biggest fan out there couldn’t not have a clue of just how many of those titles were going to continue to come out in that format. Some titles even hitting the digital format for the very first time, while some never even officially released here in the states. So grainy multi-generation bootlegs is all that we had to deal with. But thanks to companies like Shout Factory, Scorpion Releasing, Mondo Macabro, and others, they continue to show the care that these movies deserve, and putting out some amazing releases, helping to save these from moving into obscurity.
Today, Mondo Macabro announced two more Naschy titles they will be releasing some time next year. The first one is El aullido del diablo, better known as Howl of the Devil (1988), co-starring Howard Vernon and Caroline Munro, who told me that Naschy was “a huge favorite of mine to work with.” In the film, Naschy appears as more than a few of the classic monsters, from Frankenstein’s creature to the wolf man, Quasimodo the Hunchback to the Devil himself. This was one that fans have been dealing with shabby looking bootlegs for years. But now, it will get an official release for the first time anywhere in the world, AND a 4K restoration from a recently discovered negative. Continue reading
Back on this day, in 1934, Jacinto Molina was born. He would later adopt the name of Paul Naschy for his film work, which happened to be massive by the time of his death in 2009. He wasn’t just an actor, writer, and director, but he was one of us… a lover of the horror genre. I can’t think of too many other people in the industry that has created the work he had in his lifetime, dedicated to this “cinéma fantastique”, as he referred to it. That really puts him in the icon status. Not to mention that he made a hell of a lot of entertaining films! Continue reading
After 3 1/2 decades after it’s release, you can finally get a legit copy of Paul Naschy’s 1983 epic The Beast and the Magic Sword, all thanks to Mondo Macabro! This is one of those Naschy titles that for some reason never made it to the states in a legitimate release, which is a damn shame since it is a great little flick. I mean, when is the last time you saw a werewolf battling samurais?
Not a lot of info is out about this release, other than it will be a 2K restoration from an original camera negative, and will feature an audio commentary by Rodney Barnett and Troy Guinn from the Naschycast! Those two things, besides that it is a Naschy film, are more than enough reasons to add this to your collection! They are aiming for a Aug/Sept release, with delivery in October.
Then this coming Monday, the 22nd, you will have the chance to order your copy of Naschy’s The Mummy’s Revenge that is coming out from Scorpion Releasing, that will be available through Ronin. Keep in mind, this will only be a limited edition run of 1500 and will not be sold in the usual retail markets, but only through Ronin. So make sure Monday, you are paying attention!
This version will be not only the HD version of the Spanish cut, but also an HD version of the longer Spanish cut as well. They both with have Spanish and English language options and subtitles. There will be an audio commentary by Troy Howarth and liner notes by Mirek Lipinski.
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h yes…another fond memory from the old grey market VHS days. Finding an uncut version of Jean Brismée The Devil’s Nightmare (1971) was something you were always on the lookout. Even if you were lucky enough to score the big box VHS of it, under the title The Devil Walks at Midnight, you still were missing footage. Thankfully it was released on DVD in its uncut form, but now, Mondo Macabro is setting out to do that one even better with its HD debut of a brand new restoration from the uncut negative!
On January 24th, they will be taking pre-orders for their new Blu-ray release of this great Euro-horror classic. There will be a limited edition version, with a standard one being available at a later date. Final details on the specs are being worked out still, and there might be different specs between the limited edition and the regular ones, but here is what they have released so far:
El Caminante (1979)
Directed by Paul Naschy
Starring Paul Naschy, David Rocha, Sara Lezana, Ana Harpo, Blanca Estrada, Silvia Aguilar
Recently released on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabre under the title The Devil Incarnate, this is noted as being one of the writer/director’s favorite films. But for those expecting the usual horror outing from Naschy, with vampires and werewolves, you might be a little disappointed. If you’re looking for a very unusual horror/comedy, one that had a very deep and personal meaning to the writer/director, then you might find yourself very intrigued by it. While I really did enjoy it, I sort of felt sad that its creator was ever in that dark of a period in his life, of not trusting many people in the business around him.
In his autobiography, Memoirs of a Wolfman, he stated “I wrote El Caminante in a very special frame of mind. Life had dealt me several harsh blows and I had gained a pretty negative impression of people. For me personally, friendships had been a lamentable disappointment. I knew all about betrayal and lack of loyalty and apart from my family – my parents, my wife and two sons – I didn’t believe there were many things worthwhile in this filthy rotten world. Later on three people appeared in my life who I consider true friends. However, the cry of anguish from the bottom of my soul which found expression through this movie is still valid today.” This film was made almost 40 years ago, and like Naschy wrote in his book over 20 years ago, the way society is still today, this message still rings true. Which again, is a pretty sad statement.
It looks like the Year of Naschy will continue into 2018!!!
El Caminante (1979), a film that Naschy co-wrote, directed, and stars in, will be making it’s way to Blu-ray early in January, from the fine folks at Mondo Macabro. For Naschy fans, this is a pretty amazing news since this title had never been released over here in the states on DVD or even VHS, so to not only be able to finally see it, but to see it in a nice brand new 4K restoration!?!?! Just amazing.
Also known as The Devil Incarnate, the story is about the Devil who takes human form and walks the earth to see how humans have progress over the years. But the story here is a very dark one depending on how deep you look, especially in today’s terms. In 1994, a special double Naschy issue of Videooze came out where the actor/writer/director himself talks about each of his films. His thoughts on this film are even more meaningful today than ever.
Naschy says that “we live in the age when becoming rich is the most important thing, no matter who may stand in the way. The age when friendship has no value; we sell it out for nothing. The age in which a man could take his friend’s wife to bed and think nothing of it. The age in which even murder is justified with politics. We live in the age of the Devil.” That was said over 20 years ago.
Mondo Macabro: Weird & Wonderful Cinema Around the World
By Pete Tombs
Published St. Martin’s Griffin, 1998. 192 pages.
Any fan of horror or just strange cinema has heard of the DVD/Blu-ray label Mondo Macbro and most likely has a few of their titles in their own collection. Well, this is where it all started from.
In 1995, Pete Tombs and Cathal Tohill wrote the book Immoral Tales: European Sex and Horror Movies 1956-1984. It talked about different European styles of cinema, like from German, French, Spanish, and Italian. They also covered directors like Jean Rollin, Jess Franco, Jose Larrez, and a few others. Well, four years later, Tomb follows it up with this title, Mondo Macabro, which goes even farther in his quest for bizarre cinema.
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