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Released by: BCI
Released on: 5/8/2007
The Movie:
Paul Naschy is given the chance to play a dual role in Leon Klimovsky's bizarre 1972 film, Vengeance Of The Zombies. A strange and at times almost surreal take on the living dead, it's an interesting film even if it isn't the best movie that Naschy would star in.
A mysterious killer is running around England killing off pretty ladies. Oddly enough, every woman who this maniac kills is soon brought back to life by an East Indian named Kantaka (Naschy) to join his army of zombies. Meanwhile, Kantaka's brother, Krishna (Naschy again), is running around trying to help people feel enlightened. Kantaka, on the other hand, sets his sights on a foxy redhead named Elvire (Romy) whose father has just been murdered, hoping to add her to his growing legion of hot zombie ladies.
Vengeance Of The Zombies is pretty trippy stuff, even by seventies Euro-cult standards. Klimovsky keeps the film moving at a very solid pace and the story, is a little clunky, is at least an entertaining yarn. The make up holds up well, particularly during the scene where Satan himself (Naschy again!) shows up on screen or when Kantaka's doing his evil deeds. Naschy does a great job playing both brothers and it's a kick seeing him decked out like Ol' Scratch as well. He brings a nice manic enthusiasm to the character of Kantaka and balances that out nicely with the more mellow and mystical Krishna. Romy brings a nice smoldering bit of female sex appeal to the screen as do many of the female supporting players (some of whom will look familiar to those who have seen more some of Naschy's other films made around the same time frame as this one).
As well cast and as bizarre as the film is, the real star quality of the picture is the visuals. The cinematography makes great use of the frame and the location shooting and set design really adds an otherworldly atmosphere to an already very strange story. Lots of odd colors give the movie a very alien look in spots and the whacked out jazz soundtrack just serves as the icing on this freaky-deeky cake.
While this isn't Naschy's best, it's certainly one of his strangest as it mixes giallo-esque set pieces and costumes that wouldn't look out of place in a Bava movie with Caribbean voodoo sequences set in some obviously European locations. Throw in some nudity, some strong gore and a genuinely sinister vibe and it's easy to see how the movie quickly adds up to a very worthwhile picture for fans of cult cinema. At times the low budget trappings are a bit obvious but seasoned fans will have no problem looking past that to be able to enjoy the visuals, the performances, and the weird world that these characters come to inhabit.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Presented in its original fullframe aspect ratio, the BCI/Deimos release of Vengeance Of The Zombies flat out slaughters the crappy 'public domain' version that could be found in Dollar Stores around the country a year or two ago. While there are some mild compression artifacts in the darker scenes and a little bit of motion blurring during scenes with particularly fast movement, for the most part the picture here is very solid. Color reproduction looks great and black levels stay strong. Print damage and heavy grain are held firmly in check while detail levels are quite revelatory. Not a perfect transfer, sadly, but a damn good one.
Three different sound mixes are provided, all three in Dolby Digital format - English Mono, Spanish 2.0 Stereo and English 5.1 Surround Sound - and optional subtitles are provided in English. The Spanish track isn't as clean as the English mono mix but it's certainly serviceable. The English tracks are definitely cleaner sounding, though all three tracks are fine in terms of levels and what not. Unfortunately the 5.1 track has a few synch problems at times but aside from that, things are alright here.
Alongside a fun introduction from Naschy himself, Deimos has also supplied the alternate language Spanish opening credits sequence which is nice to see. Alongside that bit are a few alternate 'clothed sequences' (with the unclothed scenes having been used in the uncut version on the disc) - again, nice to see them included.
Aside from that, we get some fairly intensive still gallery collections, the film's original English language theatrical trailer, and some stylish animated menus. Inside the keepcase is an informative set of liner notes courtesy of Mirek Lipinski that detail the background and the history of the film, while another fantastic piece of Wes Benscoter artwork adorns the cover and slipcase.
The Final Word:
Fans have been waiting for Naschy's films to get decent domestic treatment for some time now and thankfully BCI delivers. The package isn't quite perfect, but it's certainly very good and the man's fans owe it to themselves to add this release to their collections.