Guest Blu-ray Review: CALTIKI: THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959)

CALTIKI:  THE IMMORTAL MONSTER
Directed by:  Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava
Distributed by Arrow Films / MVD Entertainment Group

  I haven't had a guest review posted on my website in a long time.  I figured it's about time to change that.  You're all probably tired of my ramblings anyway!   This time though, you don't get just one guest reviewer, you get two!  It's not a fellow blogger, or a known writer, either.  Nope, this time the guest review is being done by my twin 10 year old boys!   I don't review too many horror films that the boys can watch with me, so they were super excited to be able to watch this one.  It's a pretty tame black and white horror film from 1959 called CALTIKI:  THE IMMORTAL MONSTER.  Here's the synopsis of the film courtesy of the MVD website:

 Arrow Video presents a collaboration between two giants of Italian cult cinema - Riccardo Freda (The Vampires, The Horrible Dr Hichcock) and Mario Bava (5 Dolls for an August Moon, Blood and Black Lace)! A team of archaeologists led by Dr John Fielding (John Merivale, Circus of Horrors) descends on the ruins of an ancient Mayan city to investigate the mysterious disappearance of its inhabitants. However, the luckless explorers get more than they bargained for when their investigation of a sacrificial pool awakens the monster that dwells beneath its waters - the fearsome and malevolent god Caltiki. Though Riccardo Freda received sole directing credit, a significant portion of the film was in fact the work of Mario Bava, who also served as its cinematographer and was responsible its striking special effects. Drawing on a diverse array of influences, from The Quatermass Experiment to the works of HP Lovecraft, Caltiki the Immortal Monster is a unique and unforgettable sci-fi chiller which showcases these two legendary filmmakers at their most inventive. Presented here for the first time in a newly restored high definition transfer, Caltiki shines - and terrifies! - like never before.

  I've shown my kids THE BLOB (1958) and THE BIRDS (1963), and they loved those, so I figured they would enjoy this one.  I also knew being from 1959 (and doing a little internet research) that it was going to be tame enough to let them watch it.   So here you go, each review is just a short paragraph, but I think they did a pretty good job!   **SPOILER ALERT **  Bewarned, there are some spoilers in these reviews! 

 
  I have not seen too many horror movies in my life but I enjoyed this one. Caltiki came out in 1959 so it was tame enough for me to watch.  This movie had good parts and bad parts. One of my favorite scenes was when Max was running from the police. It was very intense and kept me on the tip of my chair.  Another one of my favorite scenes were when the mother and the baby were crawling outside the windows trying to escape from the monster that was taking over their house.  Something that I really enjoyed about this movie was the music. I think it really fit the movie considering the intensity of it. Also considering the effects were not as great as they are today back in the late 50’s,  these effects were pretty good. A few things bad were that some of the story was sort of hard to follow. Also, they quickly came to the conclusion that you could just burn him, making him not that immortal. Over all the movie was great.  Good for someone who doesn’t want something too scary, but just a little creepy.
   - Levi

  I am not the biggest horror movie fan but I enjoyed “Caltiki the immortal monster” because it was not as scary as some as the new movies coming out today. I liked the scenery on the jungle ruins, they showed a lot of hard work and effort put into them. The music was not often played as in some other movies, but when it was played it sounded really good! The effects were good for the time of 1959. A bad thing that I found was that the natives wore American looking clothing instead of tribal and/or old clothes. Another not so great thing was that they said “You can only kill it with fire but they only tried 2 things, guns and fire.  It’s more like “Caltiki the bullet proof monster”. Also they killed the “immortal” monster and there wasn’t even a twist ending that he was still alive, so much for immortal! Finally the fire effects and fire tanks where really cool! If you love horror movies or even if you're not a big fan like me,  you can still enjoy this movie whoever you are.
  - Luke
 

Well, there you have it.  I couldn't have said it better myself!  I think they did a great job and I found it interesting that they both mentioned the music in the film, pretty good observation I thought.

CALTIKI:  THE IMMORTAL MONSTER is available now from Arrow Video and MVD Entertainment and contains the following special features:

Brand new 2K restoration of the film from the original camera negative

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations

Original mono Italian and English soundtracks (lossless on the Blu-ray Disc)

Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack

New audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark

New audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of The Haunted World of Mario Bava and So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films

From Quatermass to Caltiki, a new discussion with author and critic Kim Newman on the influence of classic monster movies on Caltiki

Riccardo Freda, Forgotten Master, an archival interview with critic Stefano Della Casa

The Genesis of Caltiki, an archival interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi

Archival introduction to the film by Stefano Della Casa

Alternate opening titles for the US version

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Kat Ellinger and Roberto Curti

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray