4K Ultra HD Review: NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER (1970)

 

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER (aka THE BLOODY JUDGE)

Directed by:  Jess Franco

Distributed by:  Blue Underground / MVD

  If you like films about witches and period war films, you've come to the right place! The infamous Jess Franco brings you, NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MONSTER, or THE BLOODY JUDGE, which is actually the title I prefer, as there is no monster in this film!   Christopher Lee stars at the Judge that is sentencing innocent women to acts of torture and even death due to them being charged as practicing witchcraft.  There are also some very realistic battle scenes, and like most Jess Franco movies, it doesn't all makes sense!  Here is a brief synopsis from the Blue Underground website:

Christopher Lee (THE WICKER MAN) gives one of his most unforgettable performances as Judge Jeffreys, the infamous 17th Century witchfinder whose unholy obsession with a luscious wench (Maria Rohm of EUGENIE) fuels a jaw-dropping spree of torture, brutality and flesh-ripping perversion. Howard Vernon (SUCCUBUS), Margaret Lee (FIVE GOLDEN DRAGONS), Maria Schell (99 WOMEN) and Oscar® nominee Leo Genn (QUO VADIS) co-star in this landmark epic of sexual violence and sadism, complete with a superb score by Bruno Nicolai (COUNT DRACULA) and directed with spectacularly deviant glee by the one and only Jess Franco (VENUS IN FURS).

 I'm not going to pretend that this is some masterpiece by any means, although for a Jess Franco film, it is actually very impressive and I would assume one of his bigger budget films in his filmography.  It looks like much more of a mainstream film that I am used to seeing from his films.   The plot is a bit hard to follow, at least it was for me.  The mix of politics and war into the Salem witch trail type plot was hard to get around.   The torture scenes were dispersed in strange places in my opinion, but they did keep the film entertaining, as they were the best parts of the film to me.   The torture scenes are actually pretty tame compared to more recent movies, but there was one scene in particular that was very disturbing and realistic which was a scene of a woman's hand getting chopped off in a guillotine.  This scene happens very quickly and really catches you off guard....just don't rewind it like I did and pause right before she gets her hand cut off, as you will see a laughable fake hand that is a completely different color than her real hand.  Maybe this wasn't as noticeable on older releases, but it was hard to miss in 4K! 

 Speaking of 4K, this new release from Blue Underground is a beautiful 4K Ultra HD edition.   If you didn't know this film was from 1970, you would never guess by the look of this transfer.  It looks as if it could have been shot recently with such picture clarity and vibrant colors.   Even if you have the old BLOODY JUDGE dvd, you will want to make the upgrade to this new release.  Also, for us lover of physical media, it comes with a beautiful slip cover featuring some great new cover art!

Also, check out all these amazing special features that are included on the discs:

Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

• Audio Commentary #1 with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Audio Commentary #3 with Film Historians David Flint and Adrian Smith

Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

• Audio Commentary #1 with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Audio Commentary #3 with Film Historians David Flint and Adrian Smith
• Bloody Jess – Interviews with Director Jess Franco and Star Christopher Lee
• Judgement Day – Interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of “Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco”
• In The Shadows – Interviews with Filmmaker Alan Birkinshaw and Author Stephen Thrower on Harry Alan Towers
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Trailers and TV Spot
• Still Galleries

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the 4K Ultra HD / BD combo