ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS: A COMPENDIUM OF FOLK HORROR VOLUME 2, SEVERIN’S FOLLOW-UP TO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BOX SET IN COMPANY HISTORY WILL BE AVAILABLE AT RETAIL ON NOVEMBER 12, 2024

TO FIRE YOU COME AT LAST (UK/USA, 2023)

A Severin Films Production

Worldwide Disc Premiere

In 17th century England, near a rural village where unquiet spirits gather, a grieving Squire hires three local men to help carry his son’s coffin to a graveyard across the countryside. But as darkness descends upon their journey, disturbing secrets will be revealed. Violence will rise to the surface. And as the hellhounds of local lore howl in the night, this quartet of the damned will discover a realm of supernatural terror that not even dawn – or death – can readily contain.

Mark Carlisle, Harry Roebuck, Richard Rowden, Stephen Smith and James Swanton star in this “chilling” (Nigtmarish Conjurings), “intense” (Bloody Flicks) and “satisfyingly wicked” (Horror Fuel) shocker written and directed by Sean Hogan (THE DEVIL’S BUSINESS, THE BORDERLANDS), produced by Severin Films and hailed by Starburst as “a great addition to the pantheon of British folk horror.”

Special Features For TO FIRE YOU COME AT LAST

• Audio Commentary With Director Sean Hogan And Co-Producers Paul Goodwin And Nicholas Harwood
• On The Lych Way – Corpse Road Chronicler Dr. Stuart Dunn Discusses The Pathways Of The Dead
• Trailer

Short Films

• WE ALWAYS FIND OURSELVES IN THE SEA
• Audio Commentary For WE ALWAYS FIND OURSELVES IN THE SEA With Director Sean Hogan And Co-Producers Paul Goodwin And Nicholas Harwood
• EPK For WE ALWAYS FIND OURSELVES IN THE SEA
• OUR SELVES UNKNOWN

Feature Specs For TO FIRE YOU COME AT LAST

• Runtime: 45 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.9:1
• Audio: English Stereo
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

PSYCHOMANIA (UK, 1973)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative Provided by The British Film Institute

Seven suicides!’ screamed the posters, ‘and they roared back as The Living Dead!’ In this “incredible, to say the least” (The Psychotronic Encyclopedia Of Film) cult classic, Nicky Henson (THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL) stars as the leader of motorcycle gang whose pact with Satan grants life him after death. After convincing his cohorts to commit their own creative self-destructions, the bikers burst from their graves to wreak havoc, taunt the law, and crush a world of psychedelic hippie pleasures under the wheels of black leather occult mayhem.

Beryl Reid (THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR), Robert Hardy (ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL) and Oscar® winner George Sanders (ALL ABOUT EVE, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED) star in this beloved ‘70s mindblower – also known as THE DEATH WHEELERS – directed by horror veteran Don Sharp (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK, DARK PLACES) from an insane script by the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriters of HORROR EXPRESS and featuring some of the wildest cycle stunts of the decade. This cult classic known as “the grooviest zombie biker movie of them all” (Cinesploitation) has now been scanned in 4K from the original negative.

Special Features For PSYCHOMANIA

• Introduction By Film Historian Chris Alexander
• Audio Commentary With Maria J. Pérez Cuervo, Founding Editor Of Hellebore Magazine
• Stone Warnings – Dr. Diane A. Rodgers On Stone Circles And Standing Stones In Film And Television
• Return Of The Living Dead – Interviews With Actors Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder And Rocky Taylor
• The Sound Of PSYCHOMANIA – Interview With Soundtrack Composer John Cameron
• Riding Free – Interview With “Riding Free” Singer Harvey Andrews
• Theatrical Trailer

Feature Specs For PSYCHOMANIA

• Runtime: 91 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Audio: English Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 2: THE ENCHANTED / WHO FEARS THE DEVIL Blu-ray

THE ENCHANTED (USA, 1984)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

Worldwide Home Video Premiere

According to backwoods Central Florida folklore, there’s one world for humans, another for magic, and what sometimes crosses between them is known as The Enchanted: When a young man returns to his remote family home, he’ll encounter a strange family working the land. But as he becomes romantically involved with their eldest daughter, her bizarre contradictions – and the mysterious arrival of a beast that slaughters local livestock – may unlock a supernatural secret that cannot be explained by the laws of man or nature.

Julius Harris (LIVE AND LET DIE, BLACK CAESAR) stars in this “good and creepy” (Miami Herald), “stunningly beautiful” (Dallas Times Herald) and rarely seen regional thriller that EOFFTV hails as “offbeat and haunting horror that feels like it’s been based on the real thing and is right for rediscovery”, now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.

Special Features For THE ENCHANTED

• Audio Commentary With Director Carter Lord And Camera Assistant Richard Grange, Moderated By Filmmaker/Author Kier-La Janisse
• Audio Commentary With Chesya Burke, Author Of Let’s Play White, And Sheree Renée Thomas, Author Of Nine Bar Blues
• A Magical Place – Interview With Composer Phil Sawyer
• Hole In The Wall – Character Notes By Screenwriter Charné Porter
• Trailer

Short Film

• SWIMMER

Feature Specs For THE ENCHANTED

• Runtime: 90 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audio: English Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

WHO FEARS THE DEVIL (USA, 1972)

2K Scan from the Last Existing 35mm Print

Worldwide Disc Premiere

In this rarely seen adaptation of the ‘Silver John’ stories by American pulp author Manly Wade Williams and set in the Ozark communities of moonshine, sawmills, hound dogs and divining rods, Grandpappy John (Denver Pyle of The Dukes Of Hazzard and The Life And Times of Grizzly Adams) challenges the devil to a guitar duel. But will his defiance of local superstition lead his free-spirited troubadour grandson (Hedges Capers) into his own battles with manifestations of ancient evil?

Severn Darden (BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES), Susan Strasberg (THE MANITOU), Harris Yulin (SCARFACE) and R.G. Armstrong (CHILDREN OF THE CORN) star in “offbeat and unique” (Every ‘70s Movie) fantasy adventure – also known as THE LEGEND OF HILLBILLY JOHN – directed by John Newland (DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK) with music by Oscar®-nominee Roger Kellaway (A STAR IS BORN) and featuring songs by Hoyt Axton, now scanned in 2K from the only 35MM print known to exist.

Special Features For WHO FEARS THE DEVIL

• THE LEGEND OF HILLBILLY JOHN Alternate Opening Introduced By Actor Severn Darden
• Audio Commentary With Television Historian Amanda Reyes
• Crumble Will The Feet Of Clay – Interview With Producer Barney Rosenzweig
• Silver Strings – Interview With Actor/Musician Hedges Capers
• Manly Of The Mountains – Author David Drake Remembers Manly Wade Wellman
• Occult Appalachia – Occult Historian Mitch Horowitz On The Arcane Texts Of Wellman’s John The Balladeer Stories
• Theatrical Trailer

Feature Specs For WHO FEARS THE DEVIL

Runtime: 98 Minutes

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Audio: English Mono

Closed Captions: English SDH

Region: A/B/C

Disc 3: THE WHITE REINDEER / EDGE OF THE KNIFE Blu-ray

THE WHITE REINDEER (Finland, 1952)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

North American Blu-ray Premiere

The debut feature film by acclaimed Finnish cinematographer and documentarian Erik Blomberg (KUN ON TUNTEET, KIHLAUS), this “fascinating, intoxicating and truly haunting folk horror fairy tale” (Behind The Couch) remains a pioneering shocker of shamanism, vampirism and female sexuality: Unknowingly born a witch, a frustrated young Lapland wife shape-shifts into a bloodthirsty white reindeer with an insatiable appetite for the local herdsmen. Co-writer, star and Blomberg’s spouse/creative collaborator Mirjami Kuosmanen gives an award-winning performance in this “eerie and spectacularly filmed horror experience that’s hard to shake” (Mondo Digital) which also won Le Grand Prix International des Films Légendaires at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the 1956 Golden Globe Awards, now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.

Special Features For THE WHITE REINDEER

• The Projection Booth Episode On THE WHITE REINDEER Hosted By Mike White And Featuring Kat Ellinger, Author of Daughters Of Darkness, And Talk Without Rhythm’s El Goro

Short Films

• A WITCH DRUM
• THE NIGHTSIDE OF THE SKY
• WITH THE REINDEER

Feature Specs For THE WHITE REINDEER

• Runtime: 68 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Audio: Finnish Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

EDGE OF THE KNIFE (Canada, 2018)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

American Disc Premiere

The first feature film made entirely in the Haida language — a critically endangered language spoken fluently by only two dozen people — Edge of the Knife is a stunning cinematic achievement and a spellbinding tale of pride, tragedy, and remorse set in Haida Gwaii in the 1800s. Two extended families meet at their annual fishing camp one summer on the shores of Haida Gwaii, in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. Charming Adiits’ii is close with the family of his best friend, Kwa, and an ardent teacher to Kwa’s young son. The boy looks up to him, but Kwa’s wife, Hlaaya, is concerned that Adiits’ii’s appetite for challenge may lead to reckless choices. Tragedy strikes when a storm hits the small encampment and Adiits’ii becomes estranged from the group. Presuming him dead, they return to their winter home without him. Adiits’ii creeps deep into the forest and begins his ominous transformation into Gaagiixid — the legendary Haida Wildman. In this spectacular rendering of a classic Haida story, life on the land is shaped by the power of the elements, where natural and supernatural forces co-exist. Co-directed by Haida filmmaker Gwaai Edenshaw and Tsilhqot’in filmmaker Helen Haig-Brown, this ambitious project was a collaboration with Isuma, the team behind the landmark film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, Edge of the Knife proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel

for riveting storytelling and a vital act of Indigenous language and culture

revitalization.

Special Features For EDGE OF THE KNIFE

• Audio Commentary With Directors Gwaai Edenshaw And Helen Haig-Brown
• RETAKE – Making The World’s First Haida-Language Feature Film

Short Films

• HAIDA CARVER
• NALUJUK NIGHT

Feature Specs For EDGE OF THE KNIFE

• Runtime: 101 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: Haida 5.1, Haida Stereo
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 4: BORN OF FIRE Blu-ray

BORN OF FIRE (UK, 1987)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

North American Disc Premiere

It’s been called “hallucinatory and powerful” (Screen Anarchy), “visually ravishing” (Mondo Digital) and “a breathtaking journey for the senses” (DVD Drive-In). Now experience “one of the most beautiful British horror movies of the ‘80s” (DVD Beaver) like never before: when a renowned concert flutist (Academy Award® Nominee Peter Firth of EQUUS and LIFEFORCE) is unnerved by visions of unnatural solar phenomena, he will become obsessed with finding the enigmatic ‘Master Musician’ who counseled his late father just before his fiery demise. His search will lead to the mountains of Turkey where djinns roam the plains, mysticism rules the night, and an increasingly unstable volcano threatens devastation. But will this infernal quest for meaning ultimately deliver the most shocking secrets of all?

Suzan Crowley (THE DEVIL INSIDE, THE DRAUGHTSMAN’S CONTRACT), Stefan Kalipha (THE JUNGLE BOOK) and Orla Pedersen (THE ELEPHANT MAN) star in this “fascinating and startling work of surrealism with tinges of macabre horror” (Rock! Shock! Pop!) from award-winning producer/director Jamil Dehlavi (JINNAH, INFINITE JUSTICE), now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative.

Special Features For BORN OF FIRE

• Igniting The Fire – Interview With Director Jamil Dehlavi
• The Silent One Speaks – Archival Interview With Actor Nabil Shaban
• Between The Sacred And The Profane – Archival Lecture On The Cinematic World Of Jamil Dehlavi By Dr. Ali Nobil Ahmad
• The Djinn Revisited – Director Dalia Al Kury Examines The Role Of The Djinn In Contemporary Arab Culture
• BORN OF FIRE And The Roots Of Pakistani Horror – Interview With Scholar Syeda Momina Masood
• Trailer

Short Films

• TOWERS OF SILENCE
• QÂF

Feature Specs For BORN OF FIRE

• Runtime: 84 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audio: English Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 5: IO ISLAND / SCALES Blu-ray

IO ISLAND (South Korea, 1977)

2K Scan from the Internegative

International Disc Premiere

Suspected of being responsible for the death of a man near Io Island, a mythical location considered by promoters as the namesake for a new spa resort, Sun, one of the executives on the project, travels to the neighboring Parang to uncover the truth and clear his name. Legend has it that Io Island leads Parang’s fishermen to their death. Its community is therefore haunted by the souls of lost sailors and survived only by its women. Confronted by their matriarchal ways, the businessman is soon caught in the tides of time — the specific push and pull between past and present, folklore and modernity, ritual and capital. The murder mystery starts to unravel. Championed by Bong Joon-ho, who often cites him as his favorite filmmaker, and best known in the West for The Housemaid and Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death, Kim Ki-young remains criminally underseen. In Io Island he tackles the ravages of corporate greed on native cultures through a beguiling narrative of environmental devastation that, while initially familiar (shades of The Wicker Man comes to mind), soon unfolds in wholly unexpected — that is, gruesome and seedy — directions. A complex structure of nested flashbacks transforms the vistasof Parang into a claustrophobic psychic prison as the tale’s stranglehold gets progressively tighter. Io Island culminates in a shocking experience like few others (save, perhaps, for recent folk horror touchstone The Wailing), offering further proof that Kim Ki-young is a major filmmaker — perhaps the key filmmaker to understanding a specific lineage of South Korean genre auteurs and their unparalleled proficiency in allegorical storytelling.

Special Features For IO ISLAND

• Audio Commentary With Archivist And Korean Film Historian Ariel Schudson
• Shaman’s Eyes – Dr. Hyunseon Lee On Shamanism In Korean Visual Culture

Short Film

• THE PRESENT

Feature Specs For IO ISLAND

• Runtime: 112 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Audio: Korean Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

SCALES (Saudi Arabia, 2019)

Sourced from the 2K Digital Master

Worldwide Disc Premiere

During the full moon, first born daughters must be sacrificed to the sirens of the sea – only to transform into a mermaid and eventually be hunted down by the very people who gave them to the creatures. When Hayat (Basima Hajjar) is saved from that haunting fate, another destiny is set in motion. As an outcast Hayat also becomes a survivor, and her instincts quickly elevate her to the hunter roles which are reserved for the men of the village. However, with scales on her foot, Hayat must find a way to exist in two worlds and may be helpless in changing what has already been preordained. Scales’ dystopian landscape is unforgiving,but underlying that is a sense of defiance and resilience. Loosely based on director Shahad Ameen’s short film Eye & the Mermaid (also starring Hajjar), the opulent black and white cinematography by João Ribeiro underscores these themes in Ameen’s stunning feature length film debut. Scales received the Verona Film Club Award at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and was submitted by Saudi Arabia as their entry for the 93rd Academy Awards.

Special Features For SCALES

• Telling Our Stories – A Conversation With Director Shahad Ameen And Producer Rula Nasser, Moderated By Filmmaker/Author Kier-La Janisse
• Trailer

Short Film

• KINDIL

Feature Specs For SCALES

• Runtime: 76 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audio: Arabic 5.1 Surround
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 6: BAKENEKO: A VENGEFUL SPIRIT / NANG NAK Blu-ray

BAKENEKO: A VENGEFUL SPIRIT (Japan, 1968)

4K Scan from the Fine-Grain Negative

Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere

Also known as Ghost Cat of the Cursed Pond, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit is one

of the many mid-century Japanese explorations of “Kaibyo” or “ghost cat” mythology, and one of the best. Director Yoshihiro Ishikawa was no stranger to kaibyo country, having co-written Nobuo Nakagawa’s equally chilling Black Cat Mansion (1958) and directed Ghost Cat of Otama Pond (1960). Released the same year as Kaneto Shindo’s more well-known Kuroneko, Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit mines that indelible trope of the cat ghost story: a violent and greedy Lord kills a young woman when she refuses to become his concubine, only for her cat to drink her blood and become her shapeshifting avenger. “Beginning in a quietly haunting vein reminiscent of Ugetsu,” wrote Spectacle Theatre in their promotional text for a 2016 screening of the film, “Bakeneko descends into a nightmarish parade of splattered blood, decapitations and ghosts gnawing on severed limbs.” Not to be missed by anyone with a beloved feline familiar!

Special Features For BAKENEKO: A VENGEFUL SPIRIT

• Audio Commentary With Jasper Sharp, Author Of Behind The Pink Curtain: The Complete History Of Japanese Sex Cinema
• Scratched – A History Of The Japanese Ghost Cat
• The Vampire Cat – The Classic Folk Tale Read By Tomoko Komura With Original Music By Timothy Fife
• Trailer

Short Film

• MAN-EATER MOUNTAIN

Feature Specs For BAKENEKO: A VENGEFUL SPIRIT

• Runtime: 87 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Audio: Japanese Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A

NANG NAK (Thailand, 1999)

Sourced from the HD Master

International Blu-ray Premiere

Based on one of the most famous folk legends in Thai culture, this “Asian horror masterpiece” (Asian Movie Pulse) broke all domestic box office records, launched the Thai New Wave of moviemaking, and remains “the film that transformed Thai cinema forever” (The Bangkok Post): Devoted husband Mak goes off to war, leaving his pregnant wife Nak awaiting his return. But when Mak is severely wounded in battle, he comes home to discover his village ravaged by sickness, his friends consumed with fear, and a familial devotion that transcends death itself. Winai Kraibutr (BANGKOK REVENGE) stars in this award-winning tale of immortal love and supernatural vengeance directed by Nonzee Nimibutr (JAN DARA) that Time Out hails as “the definitive Thai ghost story…the horror is as moving as it is grisly.”

Special Features For NANG NAK

• Audio Commentary With Mattie Do, Director Of THE LONG WALK, And Asian Gothic Scholar Katarzyna Ancuta
• Love And Impermanence: NANG NAK And The Rebirth Of Thai Cinema – Interview With Director Nonzee Nimibutr
• Trailer

Feature Specs For NANG NAK

• Runtime: 101 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: Thai 5.1, Thai Stereo
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A

Disc 7: SUNDELBOLONG / SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC Blu-ray

SUNDELBOLONG (Indonesia, 1981)

Sourced from the RAPI Films’ HD master

Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere

Indonesian superstar Suzzanna is Alisa, an ex-prostitute who marries the handsome Hendarto (Barry Prima). Hoping that she can put her old life far behind her, Alisa is soon confronted by her ex-madam Mami (Ruth Pelupessi) and sexually assaulted by several of Mami’s henchmen. After an emotional trial, Alisa finds out she’s pregnant and kills herself while attempting to perform an impromptu abortion. Her anger at the injustice of her life manifests itself into Sundelbolong, a vengeful ghost hellbent on

vengeance. A popular – and much feared – legend in Indonesia, Sundelbolong (which roughly translates into “Prostitute with a Hole”) is the name of a spirit known for the large hole in her back. More than a ghost story, the horror of her situation also speaks to the political state of Indonesia in the early 1980s. As Sophie Siddique writes, “[During] the height of former President Suharto’s power, Sundelbolong occupies a space in which the gender ideologies of the New Order Indonesian government and the gender fantasies of the world of the vampire ghost are confronted with each other, with the Sundelbolong threatening to rupture the symbolic order with its grotesque fantasies of the feminine.” Playing the dual role of Alisa and her sister, Shinta, Suzzanna’s legendary hypnotic stare elevated the actress to superstardom in Indonesia.

Special Features For SUNDELBOLONG

• Hantu Retribution – Female Ghosts Of The Malay Archipelago

Short Film

• WHITE SONG

Feature Specs For SUNDELBOLONG

• Runtime: 106 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Audio: Indonesian Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC (USA, 2024)

New Documentary Directed by David Gregory

Worldwide Disc Premiere Blu-ray

She starred in 42 classic movies, was hailed as ‘The Queen of Indonesian Horror’ and crowned ‘Asia’s Most Popular Actress’. But who was Suzzanna Martha Frederika van Osch, long-beloved by the Asian world as Suzzanna yet virtually unknown outside it? In this fascinating new documentary by David Gregory, whose previous explorations of transgressive cinema include LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON and ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, discover the enigmatic horror star best known for portraying vengeful spirits from Indonesian folklore, demons whose supernatural retribution are widely believed to have influenced her controversial life and mysterious death. Through exclusive interviews with family, colleagues, filmmakers, and historians, as well as clips from her classic films including SUNDEL BOLONG (1981), NYI BLORONG (1982), MALAM SATU SURO (1988) and more, Gregory unearths the legacy of the Indonesian Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most compelling icons in cinema history.

Special Features For SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC

• A Conversation With Director/Co-Producer David Gregory And Co-Producer Ekky Imanjaya
• Trailer

Feature Specs For SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC

• Runtime: 88 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: Indonesian Stereo
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 8: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST / THE NINTH HEART Blu-ray

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Czechoslovakia, 1978)

1080 Master by Národní Filmový Archiv Prague

North American Blu-ray Premiere

For this richly perverse retelling of the original fairy tale, Slovakian director Juraj Herz puts his own inimitable Gothic stamp on Beauty and the Beast, combining bold, visceral horror and understated eroticism with more traditional elements. When Julie (Zdena Studenková) tries to save her misguided father’s life by sacrificing herself at a monstrous being’s isolated lair, an unlikely romantic relationship develops. Most evident in this adaptation is the director’s trademark stamp of summoning true horror in almost every genre he worked in, with the Beast (Vlastimil Harapes) envisioned as a disturbing birdman with a bloodlust to match his horrific looks. Despite the fact she is forbidden to look at him, Julie cannot resist the Beast’s brooding, Byronic qualities; nor he, her enduring bright spirit, her bravery, her true beauty. What ensues is a tale of forbidden love and dark desire, packed with magical realism and Gothic splendor.

Special Features For BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

• Audio Commentary With Film Historian Michael Brooke
• Archival Interviews With Director Juraj Herz And Actors Vlastimil Harapes And Zdena Studenková

Short Film

• FRANTIŠEK HRUBÍN

Feature Specs For BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

• Runtime: 91 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Audio: Czech Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

THE NINTH HEART (Czechoslovakia, 1979)

1080 Master by Národní Filmový Archiv Prague

North American Blu-ray Premiere

Though Juraj Herz’ most critically lauded work remains his 1969 film The Cremator, his opulent fairytale, The Ninth Heart is an uncanny trip into an underworld of automatons, stolen hearts and magic. A struggling student befriends an itinerant marionette troupe (led by iconic actor Josef Kemr, who also appeared in folk horror favorites Marketa Lazarová and Witchhammer), and when they collectively run afoul of the local Lord, he volunteers to rescue the Lord’s daughter, who has been put under a spell by an evil alchemist. Inanimate objects spring to life as the living succumb to death in the topsy-turvy world of this dark fable. Herz has been noted by historian Kat Ellinger as the only filmmaker in Soviet-era Czechoslovakia to openly identify as a horror director, and studied puppetry at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alongside Jan Svankmajer. It is thus in The Ninth Heart that many of his aesthetic and thematic obsessions converge — puppetry, poverty, imprisonment and death — illuminated by a parade of golden candelabras and a playful sense of the grotesque.

Special Features For THE NINTH HEART

• Audio Commentary With Kat Ellinger, Author Of Daughters Of Darkness
• The Uncanny Valley Of The Dolls – The History And Liminality Of Dolls, Puppets And Mannequins
• The Curious Case Of Juraj Herz And The Švankmajers – Video Essay By Czech Film Programmer Cerise Howard

Feature Specs For THE NINTH HEART

• Runtime: 92 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Audio: Czech Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 9: DEMON / NOVEMBER Blu-ray

DEMON (Poland, 2015)

Sourced from the HD Master

A young man returns to his homeland of Poland to marry his fiancee on a large rural farm belonging to her family. In the middle of renovations, he unearths skeletal remains, triggering disturbing visions of a specter in a wedding dress. Later, as the reception rages into a drunken fury, the bridegroom succumbs to possession in a flailing spectacle. Adapted from Piotr Rowicki’s 2008 play Adherence, Demon’s uneasy mixture of comic surrealism and bodily possession exposes dark family secrets while also giving voice to Poland’s tragic history with the Jewish population during the Holocaust. Director and co-writer Marcin Wrona explores these issues through the Jewish legend of the dybbuk, which is a spirit that has not been properly laid to rest. The dybbuk wanders the earth until it finds the right human body to cling to. In Demon, the spirit sets out to both reconcile the violent past of the country and her own untimely death. A slow burn chiller, Wrona’s ambitious and thoughtful film is a haunting allegory for social amnesia.

Special Features For DEMON

• Introduction By Slavic Horror Scholar Dr. Agnieszka Jeżyk
• Audio Commentary With Film Historian Daniel Bird And Film Critic/Actress Manuela Lazić
• In The Shadow Of The Dybbuk – Video Essay By Peter Bebergal, Author Of Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story Of The Technological Quest For The Supernatural, And Filmmaker Stephen Broomer
• Trailer

Short Film

• DIBBUK

Feature Specs For DEMON

• Runtime: 94 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Audio: Polish 5.1 Surround, Polish Stereo
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

NOVEMBER (Estonia/Poland/Netherlands, 2017)

Sourced from the HD Master

Based on Andrus Kivirähk’s novel Rehepapp ehk November (translated into English under the title The Man Who Spoke Snakish), November is a somber and satirical Estonian fairytale about unrequited love. As winter approaches, pagan villagers employ kratts (inanimate objects that embody a human soul) to do their labor, while they steal and deceive each other. In the midst of this treachery, a young woman named Liina (Rea Lest Liik) pines for Hans (Jörgen Liik), but his heart belongs to a beautiful baroness (Jette Loona Hermanis). Shot in a startling and crisp black and white, director Rainer Sarnet’s rural set fantasy intertwines beautiful imagery with an oppressing ugliness, capturing a poverty ridden community that can’t seem to elevate their circumstances despite their ability to perform acts of magic, including shapeshifting and spellcasting. November has won several awards, including the Spotlight Award by the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Fantasy Film Award at Fantasporto, and Best Cinematography in an International Narrative Feature at Tribeca Film Festival.

Special Features For NOVEMBER

• The Supernatural Lore Of NOVEMBER – Archival Video Essay With Film Critic John DeFore
• Kratt Test Footage
• Theatrical Trailer

Short Films

• BOUNDARY
• JOURNEY THROUGH SETOMAA
• MIDVINTERBLOT

Feature Specs For NOVEMBER

• Runtime: 115 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: Estonian, German And Italian 5.1 Surround /

Estonian, German And Italian Stereo

• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 10: LITAN / BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING Blu-ray

LITAN (France, 1982)

HD Master from the Original Camera Negative

North American Blu-ray Premiere

From Jean-Pierre Mocky, the legendary provocateur whom Le Monde hails as “perhaps the most inventive, the most prolific, the most anarchic of French film directors”, comes this “unquestionably weird” (366 Weird Movies) “one of a kind bizarre” (Worldwide Celluloid Massacre) “cult horror sensation” (Filmhounds Magazine): When a couple visits the picturesque French village of Litan during its annual festival of the dead, they will find themselves trapped in a nightmare of murderous community customs, bizarre medical procedures, and local waters with terrifying transformative properties. Marie-José Nat (ANATOMY OF A MARRIAGE), famed singer-songwriter Nino Ferrer and Mocky himself star in this award-winning surreal tale that Film Authority calls “a wild and entertaining film that would appeal to anyone who enjoys the mysteries of David Lynch, LOST and secret hidden worlds.”

Special Features For LITAN

• Audio Commentary With Film Historian Frank Lafond
• Un Tournage LITAN – Archival Making-Of Made For Antenne 2
• Jean-Pierre Mocky, Un Drôle D’Oiseau – 1982 Episode Of Temps X

Feature Specs For LITAN

• Runtime: 88 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Audio: French Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING (USA, 2006)

2K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere

Thirteen years in the making, Christiane Cegavske’s first feature length film is an evocative, dreamlike feast for the senses. A stop-motion animated tale, Blood Tea and Red String is shot on 16mm and revolves its tale around the Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak, a sort of fox-bird hybrid, who build a doll and refuse to sell it to the aristocratic mice who commissioned its design. Frustrated, the mice abscond with the doll in the middle of the night, and are soon pursued by the Creatures who encounter hallucinogenic vegetation, a wizard frog and a savvy bartering spider along their journey. Cegavske wrote, produced, directed and designed all of the puppets and sets in this ambitious, poignant fable that explores the binaries of creation and destruction. The doll is both revered and simply an object to possess. And, as the bestiary tale unfolds in Cegavske’s crisp and colorful forest, the doll becomes an expression of love, desire and obsession. In an interview with Beautiful Bizarre, Cegavske comments “I think the doll signifies the public self. The construction that protects or hides the tender inner self. The doll is the mask that is mistaken for the real face.”

Special Features For BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING

• Introduction By Director Christiane Cegavske
• 2021 Indie Scream Online Film Festival Q&A With Christiane Cegavske
• Production Stills And Concept Illustrations
• Trailer
• Trailer For SEED IN THE SAND, Cegavske’s Work-In-Progress

Feature Specs For BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING

• Runtime: 70 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Audio: English Stereo
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 11: NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF / AKELARRE Blu-ray

NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF (Argentina, 1975)

HD Scan of the Only Existing Print

Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere

From award-winning Argentinian writer/director Leonardo Favio (ANICETO) comes this “beautiful, hypnotic and ahead of its time” (Terror Weekend) adaptation of the infamous Paraguayan Guarani folk horror legend: Despite warnings from a local witch that he will carry the werewolf curse, the seventh son of a family of sons is born and given the holy name Nazareno Cruz as protection. But when Nazareno grows to become a well-liked young man without a single transformation, the devil appears in the guise of a beguiling stranger to offer him wealth, power and a permanent escape from lycanthropy in exchange for renouncing his love for the beautiful Griselda. Nazareno refuses, and the next full moon unleashes the full horror of his affliction. Is a descent into Hell itself Nazareno’s only hope for negotiation? Juan José Camero (VERONICO CRUZ), Marina Magali (DEATHSTALKER), Alfredo Alcón (LOVE LETTERS OF A NUN) and Lautaro Murúa (SHUNKO) star in “perhaps one of the most important films in Argentine cinema” (Cinreservas) though rarely seen outside the country, now making its worldwide HD premiere nearly 50 years after its legendary release.

Special Features For NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF

• Audio Commentary With Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Director Of HERE COMES THE DEVIL, And Nicanor Loreti, Director Of PUNTO ROJO

Short Film

• LOVE FROM MOTHER ONLY
• Audio Commentary For LOVE FROM MOTHER ONLY With Director Dennison Ramalho

Feature Specs For NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF

• Runtime: 88 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Audio: Spanish Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

AKELARRE (Spain, 1984)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere

From acclaimed director Pedro Olea (TORMENTO, THE FENCING MASTER, THE ANCINES WOODS) comes the film that shocked the 34^th Berlin International Film Festival, became a landmark of Spanish cinema, and has lost none of its power to shock and disturb: In a small village in the Navarrese valley, the Spanish Inquisition brutally targets a peaceful community of pagans with accusations of witchcraft. An award-winning cast that includes Mary Carrillo (DARK HABITS), Walter Vidarte (THE NIGHT OF THE SUNFLOWERS), Patxi Bisquert (CELL 211) and legendary actress/writer/director Silvia Munt (IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN) star in this “gem of a film” (Corre Camara) based on the true story of the 17^th century Araitz witchcraft trials in which 27 people were arrested and 11 women and 2 men were executed in the name of Catholicism.

Special Features For AKELARRE

• The Realistic Inquisition – Interview With Director Pedro Olea
• Empowered Woman – Interview With Actress Silvia Munt
• Playing The Villain – Interview With Actor Iñaki Miramón
• Invoking The Akelarre – Dr. Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, Author Of Spanish Horror Film, On The Basque Witch Trials

Feature Specs For AKELARRE

• Runtime: 97 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Audio: Spanish Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 12: FROM THE OLD EARTH Blu-ray

FROM THE OLD EARTH (Wales, 1981)

2K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

Produced by Bwrdd Ffilmiau Cymraeg (the Welsh Film Board), this 1981 shocker was one of the first horror films in Welsh and became a landmark study of Celtic folklore terror: When a local farmer unearths an ancient stone head from sacrificial Druid burial grounds, it will trigger the rebirth of a horned demon and the murderous wrath of sacred Celtic gods. Directed by Wil Aaron (BLOOD ON THE STARS), O’R DDAEAR HEN/FROM THE OLD EARTH has been scanned in 2K from the original camera negative provided by The National Library of Wales and is presented with English subtitles for the first time ever.

Special Features For FROM THE OLD EARTH Blu-ray

• Introduction To FROM THE OLD EARTH By Musician Gruff Rhys
• Getting A Head In North Wales – Interview With Director Wil Aaron
• FROM THE OLD EARTH By The Book – Welsh Folklore And O’R DDAEAR HEN
• A Sword In The Battle Of Language – Welsh Film Scholar Dr. Kate Woodward On The Welsh Film Board

Short Films

• Introduction To BLOOD ON THE STARS By Gruff Rhys
• BLOOD ON THE STARS
• Reunion Hotel – BLOOD ON THE STARS Cast Reunion From Gwesty Aduniad
• THE WYRM OF BWLCH PEN BARRAS

Feature Specs For FROM THE OLD EARTH Blu-ray

• Runtime: 46 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Audio: Welsh Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Disc 13: THE CITY OF THE DEAD / THE RITES OF MAY Blu-ray

THE CITY OF THE DEAD (UK, 1960)

2K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

Whitewood, Massachusetts, 1692: In a small New England village besieged by witchcraft, a local woman rumored to have sworn a pact with Lucifer vows revenge as she’s burned at the stake. More than 265 years later, a young college student interested in the sociology of the supernatural is encouraged by her professor to visit the modern-day town. But as she begins to explore local lore, she will discover a living nightmare of occult sacrifice, immortal evil, and cataclysmic Satanic horror.

The legendary Christopher Lee leads a cast that includes Venetia Stevenson (STUDS LONIGAN), Betta St. John (CORRIDORS OF BLOOD), Dennis Lotis (SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST) and Patricia Jessel (THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP) in this “undisputed classic of British horror” (Rock! Shock! Pop!) – edited for American audiences and released under the title HORROR HOTEL – directed by John Llewellyn Moxey (THE NIGHT STALKER). Also notable as the first horror film co-produced by Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg – whose Amicus Productions would eventually produce classics that include THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD and TALES FROM THE CRYPT – CITY OF THE DEAD is now scanned uncut in 2K from the original camera negative.

Special Features For THE CITY OF THE DEAD

• Introduction By Kay Lynch, Director Of The Salem Horror Fest
• Audio Commentary With Film Historians Kim Newman And Barry Forshaw
• Archival Audio Commentary With Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
• Archival Audio Commentary With Actor Christopher Lee
• Archival Audio Commentary With Director John Llewellyn Moxey
• Sir Christopher Lee Remembers THE CITY OF THE DEAD
• Archival Interview With John Llewellyn Moxey
• Archival Interview With Actress Venetia Stevenson
• Burn Witch, Burn! A Tribute To John Llewellyn Moxey – Video Essay By TV Historian Amanda Reyes And Filmmaker Chris O’Neill
• Trailer

Feature Specs For THE CITY OF THE DEAD

• Runtime: 78 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Audio: English Mono
• Closed Captions: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C

THE RITES OF MAY (Philippines, 1976)

4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative

North American Disc Premiere

This startling first feature by iconic Philippines’ filmmaker Mike DeLeon (3^RD WORLD HERO, CITIZEN JAKE) was rediscovered thanks to its inclusion in the award-winning 2021 documentary WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, as well as 2022 retrospective screenings at The Cannes Film Festival and The Museum of Modern Art. Originally released in 1976 as ITIM, it remains “a fascinating foray into supernatural horror” (Rowe Reviews) and an international fear classic unlike any you’ve ever experienced: A magazine photographer returns to his rural hometown during Holy Week, only to uncover an unnerving nightmare of superstition, possession and shocking family secrets. Philippine acting legends Tommy Abuel (DAGSIN), Mario Montenegro (VENGANZA) and Charo Santos-Concio (WHETHER THE WEATHER IS FINE) star in “one of the most remarkable debuts in cinema history” (MOMA), now scanned in 4K from the 35MM negative preserved at The British Film Institute.

Special Features For THE RITES OF MAY

• Audio Commentary With Filipino Film Historian Andrew Leavold
• ITIM: AN EXPLORATION IN CINEMA – Archival Documentary
• Portrayal Of Guilt – Filipino Film Scholar Anne Frances N. Sangil On The Darkness Of THE RITES OF MAY

Feature Specs For THE RITES OF MAY

• Runtime: 107 Minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Audio: Tagalog Mono
• Subtitles: English
• Region: A/B/C

Severin Films is the foremost independent studio dedicated to rescuing, restoring, and releasing the works of Oscar nominees and cult icons alike for Blu-ray, 4K UHD and digital platforms. Founded in 2006 by David Gregory, Carl Daft and John Cregan, the Los Angeles-based company features a library of 250+ films and television projects, as well as an international team of the industry’s most skilled and devoted genre experts. “World cinema speaks many languages,” says Severin co-founder David Gregory, “some whisper and others scream, but all deserve to be heard. From the obscure to the infamous, from the grindhouse to the arthouse, from the thought-lost to the proudly resurrected, Severin is committed to uplifting the most provocative voices in entertainment.”

The Severin distribution catalogue includes projects by iconic filmmakers Russ Meyer, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Paul Morrissey, Mike Leigh, Lucio Fulci, Peter Greenaway, Penelope Spheeris, Just Jaeckin, Roman Polanski, Alex de la Iglesia and UK comedy legends The Comic Strip; classics of Blaxploitation, Ozploitation, Sharksploitation and Nunsploitation; groundbreaking Filipino, Indonesian, Spanish & Soviet horror; American drive-in indies, controversial documentaries, renowned UK comedies, and the industry’s most formidable collection of Italian gialli, cannibal, zombie, erotic thrillers and ‘80s action hits. Along the way, Severin has elevated the oeuvres of such fringe auteurs as Bruno Mattei, Al Adamson, Andy Milligan, Joe D’Amato, Claudio Fragrasso, Umberto Lenzi, Ray Dennis Steckler, and Goya-Award winner – and Severin patron saint – Jess Franco.

Daft and Gregory met in middle school in their native Nottingham, England and by their mid-twenties had launched the VHS/DVD label Exploited, whose initial releases – including Todd Phillips’ HATED and Alan Ormsby’s DERANGED – quickly became popular titles of the post ‘Video Nasties’ era. In 2001, Exploited’s attempt to release an uncut edition of Wes Craven’s LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT ignited controversy when The British Board Of Film Classification demanded the film be censored. Daft, by then a practicing lawyer, immediately filed a series of landmark appeals. More than a generation later, the case remains a global flashpoint for cinema’s anti-censorship movement.

As Blue Underground UK, the pair began producing acclaimed featurettes for international DVDs such as DON’T LOOK NOW, BADLANDS, BETTY BLUE, WITHNAIL AND I, CALIGULA, THE NIGHT PORTER, DAWN OF THE DEAD and THE DEER HUNTER. In 2002, the pair lent the company name to the Los Angeles based Blue Underground for whom Gregory produced top-selling Special Editions that included THE MONDO CANE COLLECTION, THE ALAN CLARKE COLLECTION, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and DJANGO, as well as directing the IFC Original documentary THE SPAGHETTI WEST. In 2006, Gregory, Daft and Blue Underground U.S. editor John Cregan formed Severin Films, taking their name from the Velvet Underground track based on the protagonist of Sacher-Masoch’s Venus In Furs.

Severin’s most popular titles have included Peter Medak’s startling ghost story THE CHANGELING starring George C. Scott; Michele Soavi’s existential black comedy gorefest CEMETERY MAN starring Rupert Everett; Dennis Hopper’s lost classic OUT OF THE BLUE; Enzo Castellari’s INGLORIOUS BASTARDS with Bonus Materials featuring Quentin Tarantino; Just Jaeckin’s uncut erotic adventure GWENDOLINE; the epic prequel ZULU DAWN starring Peter O’Toole, Burt Lancaster and Bob Hoskins; Alejandro Jodorowsky’s masterpiece SANTA SANGRE, the Richard Burton/Richard Harris/Roger Moore mercenary saga THE WILD GEESE; the acclaimed BBC nuclear war thriller THREADS, ‘70s UK folk-horror favorite THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW, Buddy Giovinazzo’s ‘80s indie bombshell COMBAT SHOCK; and the restored Director’s Cut of Alex de la Iglesia’s PERDITA DURANGO starring Javier Bardem, Rosie Perez and James Gandolfini.

Severin’s webstore, YouTube Channel – which features rare trailers, exclusive release promos & The Severin Cellar – and its annual Super-Shock Pop-Up Film Festival all remain popular genre fan destinations. Their subsidiary label Intervision is dedicated to eclectic ‘80s softcore favorites, shot-on-video triumphs and regional rarities. And in 2019, the company launched the children’s label Severin Kids to release such generation-scarring classics as THE PEANUT BUTTER SOLUTION and WHEN THE WIND BLOWS.

Severin has produced feature films that include PLAGUE TOWN and THE THEATRE BIZARRE, as well as the award-winning documentaries BLOOD & FLESH: THE REAL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON; LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU; WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR; TALES OF THE UNCANNY; ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival; MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW; SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC and EXORCISMO: THE TRANSGRESSIVE LEGACY OF CLASIFICADA “S”. Severin also produces international projects for companies that include Second Sight UK, Kino Lorber, Shout! Factory, Umbrella Australia, Arrow Video, The British Film Institute and The Criterion Collection.