DEFA Fairy Tales: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: East Germany, 1961 (Snow White), East Germany, 1962 (Little Red Riding Hood), East Germany, 1963 (Frau Holle), East Germany, 1977 (The Devil's Three Golden Hairs), East Germany, 1979 (Snow-White and Rose-Red)
Directors: Gottfried Kolditz (Snow White, Frau Holle), Götz Friedrich (Little Red Riding Hood), Egon Schlegel (The Devil's Three Golden Hairs), Siegfried Hartmann (Snow-White and Rose-Red)
Cast: Doris Weikow, Marianne Christina Schilling, Wolf-Dieter Panse, Harry Hindemith, Steffie Spira, Arthur Reppert, Jochen Köppel, Georg Irmer, Fred Delmare, Heinz Scholze, Willi Scholz (Snow White), Blanche Kommerell, Helga Raumer, Horst Kube, Friedel Nowack, Werner Dissel, Harald Engelmann, Ernst-Georg Schwill, Jochen Bley, Waltraud Lohrmann (Little Red Riding Hood), Mathilde Danegger, Karin Ugowski, Katharina Lind, Elfriede Florin (Frau Holle), Hans-Joachim Frank, Kurt Radeke, Rolf Ludwig, Katrin Martin, Wolfgang Greese, Hannjo Hasse, Fred Ludwig, Peter Köhncke (The Devil's Three Golden Hairs), Julie Jurištová, Katrin Martin, Pavel Trávníček, Bodo Wolf, Hans-Peter Minetti, Johannes Wieke, Annemone Haase, Hajo Mende (Snow-White and Rose-Red)

Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 63 Minutes 2 Seconds (Snow White), 59 Minutes 37 Seconds (Frau Holle), 71 Minutes 43 Seconds (Little Red Riding Hood), 92 Minutes 14 Seconds (The Devil's Three Golden Hairs), 70 Minutes 35 Seconds (Snow-White and Rose-Red)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films Except The Devil's Three Golden Hairs), 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Devil's Three Golden Hairs)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono German (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films), English SDH (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $69.95

Snow White: "This lovely live-action version of the classic Bros. Grimm tale is in many ways the prototypical DEFA fairy tale film, with Doris Weikow radiating storybook charm as Snow White." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Little Red Riding Hood: "Red Riding Hood (Blanche Kommerell) faces off against some of the mangiest and most terrifying forest creatures ever conceived, including The Big Bad Wolf (Werner Dissel) -- basically an American Werewolf in East Germany.  Sure to give your 6-year old self nightmares for life." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Frau Holle: "Lazy daughter Pechmarie (Katharina Lind) and hardworking stepdaughter Goldmarie (Karin Ugowski vie for the approval of magical Frau Holle, who lives in an insanely artificial Pee Wee’s Playhouse-meets-Lidsville underground world." - synopsis provided by the distributor

The Devil's Three Golden Hairs: "Crazy fantasy/comedy about a clumsy young man (Hans-Joachim Frank), who is forced to rob three hairs from the Devil (Dieter Franke). The Devil’s psychedelic lair with shrunken heads and gruesome Halloween décor must be seen to be believed." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Snow-White and Rose-Red: "Excellent fantasy / fairy tale about peasant girls Snow White (Julie Juristová) and Rose-Red (Katrin Martin) trying to outwit an enraged dwarf (Hans-Peter Minetti) guarding a jewel-filled mine. Would make a good double bill with Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, “The DEFA Foundation provided the best available source materials for this new Blu-ray release. Please note that some limitations from the source material may be noticeable."

Snow White and Frau Holle come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.5 GB

Feature: 18.1 GB (Snow White), 17.2 GB (Frau Holle)

Little Red Riding Hood comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.7 GB

Feature: 20.6 GB

The Devil's Three Golden Hairs comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 23.1 GB

Feature: 23 GB

Snow-White and Rose-Red comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 36.4 GB

Feature: 20.3 GB

The sources for these five films are comparable; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and while there appears to be some use of digital noise reduction, it is never intrusive. These discs were authored by Vital Passenger.

Audio: 4/5 (All Audio Tracks)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in German with removable English subtitles and English SDH. All tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for Snow White include an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.

Extras for Frau Holle include an audio commentary with film historian Michael Brooke.

Extras for Little Red Riding Hood include an audio commentary with film historians Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Anne Golden.

There are no extras for The Devil's Three Golden Hairs.

Extras on the disc with Snow-White and Rose-Red include an interview with comics artist (Swamp Thing), film historian and author Stephen R. Bissette and Deaf Crocodile’s Dennis Bartok, an essay by film historian Evan Chester titled Socialist Fantasies, the Bros. Grimm and DEFA Studios: Fairytale Filmmaking in East Germany (18 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Samm Deighan.

Summary:

The films in DEFA Fairy Tales are based on stories written by the Brothers Grimm. Gottfried Kolditz, who directed Snow White and Frau Holle, is most known for Signals: A Space Adventure and In the Dust of the Stars. The other three directors, Götz Friedrich, Egon Schlegel, and Siegfried Hartmann, have limited filmographies, and their films are not well known outside of East German audiences.

Snow White: A young woman named Snow White is marked for death by her wicked stepmother, who’s envious of her beauty.

Snow White is one of the most iconic fictional characters and there have been numerous film adaptations of her story. Gottfried Kolditz’s film adaptation of Snow White follows closely the core elements of the original source story. There is a mirror that the wicked stepmother looks into, asking, "Who's the most beautiful?"; a huntsman who spares Snow White’s life instead of killing her; seven dwarves; and multiple attempts to kill Snow White, notably an apple that puts her into a deep slumber.

Although the narrative offers few surprises, it is always an engaging film that works as well as it does because of the performances, notably Doris Weikow’s enchanting portrayal of Snow White. Another performance of note is Marianne Christina Schilling’s diabolical portrayal of the evil queen, aka the wicked stepmother. At just over an hour in length, the narrative moves along quickly, as it is very effective at building momentum to a finale where the wicked stepmother faces consequences for her actions. The most surprising aspect of Gottfried Kolditz’s Snow White is the quality of the production design. Ultimately, Snow White is a well-crafted film that remains faithful to its original source.

Frau Holle: A widow has two daughters, her biological daughter Pechmarie, and a stepdaughter named Goldmarie. Where the former is not attractive and lazy, the latter is beautiful and hardworking. Despite the mother going out of her way to please Pechmarie, she is constantly jealous of any attention given to Goldmarie.

The thing that immediately grabs you while watching Frau Holle is its minimalism. Where Gottfried Kolditz’s previous fairy tale film adaptation, Snow White, had a solid production design, later DEFA fairy tale films like Frau Holle were more stripped down. Some of the sets and scenic landscapes in Frau Holle are literally cardboard cutouts. That said, despite its minimalism, the set design actually works well with the story that unfolds.

The narrative does an excellent job drawing you in and at just under one hour in length, there are never any lulls. While there is an artificiality to the story as a whole, things really excel when the narrative shifts into the realm of fantasy. Forced to retrieve a spindle she dropped into a well, Goldmarie jumps in, only to discover a wondrous fantasy world inhabited by a woman named Frau Holle. Goldmarie is rewarded by Frau Holle for her hard work and respectful manners. When Goldmarie returns home, Pechmarie becomes jealous and decides to jump into the well. Only her wickedness and laziness do her no favors, and she returns home covered in tar. Ultimately, Frau Holle is an entertaining fairy tale about good and bad behavior and the appropriate reward for each.

Little Red Riding Hood: A little girl named Red Riding Hood travels the treacherous forest with her bunny friend on her way to visit her sick grandmother. 

Red Riding Hood is another character and story that has been adapted into numerous films over the years. Although Götz Friedrich’s Little Red Riding Hood brings little that is new to the table, it never strays too far away from the source story’s core elements. Red Riding Hood is constantly looking for the positive in everyone, and it is her naivety that puts her in danger. Little Red Riding Hood is a story firmly rooted in deception; there is a wolf and a fox who want to eat Red Riding Hood, and they try to deceive her in various disguises.

While Little Red Riding Hood’s production design is not as stripped down as Frau Holle, its costumes, specifically the ones that are clearly people in obvious animal suits, reveal the film’s lack of resources. At 72 minutes in length, the narratives' peaks and valleys are well handled, and pacing is never an issue. Considering the subject matter, it's not surprising that a few scenes are grim, notably a scene where the mother cuts open the wolf to remove a still-alive grandmother from his stomach. That said, the film does remarkably well when it comes to its use of humor. Ultimately, Götz Friedrich’s Little Red Riding Hood is too much by the numbers, making its shortcomings more glaring.

The Devil's Three Golden Hairs: Jakob, a blacksmith's apprentice, crosses paths with the king and enrages him. The king gives him a letter calling for his execution. Before Jakob is able to deliver said letter, his former coworkers get ahold of it and rewrite it. When Jakob finally delivers the letter, it says that he’s supposed to marry the king’s daughter.

While The Devil's Three Golden Hairs is a film firmly rooted in fantasy, it also leans heavily into humor. The protagonist Jakob is a klutz and those around him are often the recipients of clumsiness, which often ends with bodily harm. Knowing Jakob’s limitations, the king tries to prevent him from marrying his daughter by insisting that he retrieve the devil’s three golden hairs.

By far, The Devil's Three Golden Hairs is DEFA’s most accomplished fairy tale film and one of its longest in duration, clocking in at 92 minutes. Its production design, which is for the most part solid, does an excellent job pulling you in to the world depicted. When Jakob ventures into hell, these moments are where the production design excels the most. While The Devil's Three Golden Hairs is a colorful film, the use of color for the scenes in hell is striking.

As mentioned before, humor plays a significant role in the story that unfolds. While there is an absurdist quality to the events, the performances at times are a little over the top, notably Rolf Ludwig’s delirious portrayal of the king. When it comes to pacing, there is never an issue, as the narrative does a superb job building to its finale. Ultimately, The Devil's Three Golden Hairs is a very satisfying blend of humor and fantasy that fans of fairy tales should thoroughly enjoy.

Snow-White and Rose-Red: Two sisters unknowingly fall in love with two princes who are transformed into animals by a mountain spirit.

Snow-White and Rose-Red have it all: princes, an enchanted forest, and an evil mountain spirit. What begins innocently as a story about two women finding their Prince Charmings turns dark when supernatural elements take over, turning the two princes into animals. The only thing that can break the spell is if the two sisters prove their love is pure.

The most entertaining aspect of this film is a wizard that numerous times encounters Snow White and Rose Red as they search for the two men they love. Each one of these encounters begins with the wizard’s lengthy beard caught in something. When it proves impossible to free his beard without cutting it, Snow White and Rose Red do the logical thing, which ultimately enrages him. While there is not a lot of humor, most of it comes from scenes where the wizard’s beard is cut.

Although the film’s 70-minute duration is not overly long or too short, it is not without its faults. The opening setup is slow moving and things don’t settle until the fantastical elements take center stage. That said, there are areas where the film does excel, like its visuals. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Snow-White and Rose-Red's positives outweigh its negatives.

DEFA Fairy Tales is a solid release from Deaf Crocodile. Highly recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of DEFA Fairy Tales that comes in a slipcase and a 80-page booklet with an essay written by film scholar Qinna Shen, an essay written by film scholar Rolf Giesen, an essay written by film scholar Walter Chaw, an essay written by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an interview with screenwriter Stefan Kolditz, son of Snow White and Frau Holle director Gottfried Kolditz, and rare production photos.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) – Indicator Series (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/West Germany/USA, 1971
Director: Mario Bava
Writers: Mario Moroni, Charles Ross, Guido Leoni
Cast: Daniela Giordano, Brett Halsey, Pascale Petit, Robert H. Oliver, Dick Randall, Valeria Sabel, Rainer Basedow, Brigitte Skay, Calisto Calisti

Release Date: June 29th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 83 Minutes 2 Seconds (Quante volte... quella note), 81 Minutes 27 Seconds (Four Times That Night)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian (Quante volte... quella note), LPCM Mono English (Four Times That Night)
Subtitles: English (Quante volte... quella note), English SDH (Four Times That Night)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99

"Handsome model John (Halsey) takes the virginial Tina (Giordano) on a date. When Tina returns to her overbearing mother in tears, her dress in tatters, everyone has a different account of what really happened that night..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Both Versions)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Four Times That Night was scanned in 4K Augustus Color in Rome using the original negative. 4K HDR color correction and image restoration work was undertaken at Filmfinity, London, when Phoenix and Diamant image-processing tools were used to remove many thousands of instances of dirt, eliminate scratches and other imperfections, and repair damaged frames. No grain management, edge enhancement, or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way.”

Here’s information provided about the differences between these two versions, “In addition to containing different opening titles and end cards, the US and Italian theatrical cuts of Four Times That Night diverge in a number of other ways. The US version includes two erotic scenes which proved too risqué for the Italian version, whilst the Italian version includes two unique experimental and comedic scenes, featuring the scientist character, towards the end of the film. The dialogue also differs markedly at times across the two cuts.”

Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.3 GB

Feature: 50.4 GB

This release uses seamless branching for the two versions. Both versions have never looked better; they are a marked improvement over their previous home media releases. Flesh tones look healthy; colors are nicely saturated; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image always retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 4.5/5

Quante volte... quella notte comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. Four Times That Night comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. The main difference between these tracks is that dialogue sounds slightly fuller on the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (16 images—stills/posters), the original US theatrical trailer (2 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a video essay by critic Rachael Nisbet titled The ‘Rashōmon’ Effect (18 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Roberto Colangeli, the son of prolific editor Otello Colangeli titled Like Father, Like Son (13 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with assistant director, and son of Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava, titled Scenes from a Memory (12 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Mario Bava: All the Colors of Dark author Tim Lucas for Quante volte... quella notte, an audio commentary with genre-film experts Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth for Four Times That Night, and an 80-page book with cast & crew information, an essay titled Swingers in a pop-Giallo World written by Leon Hunt, a new writing on the film’s Italian censorship history titled How Many More Times? written by Roberto Curti and Alessio Di Rocco, an archival interview with Mario Bava conducted conducted by Giuseppe Lippi and Lorenzo Codelli, an archival interview with Brett Halsey conducted by Phil Hardcastle, an archival interview with Daniela Giordano conducted by Chris Milewski, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Although Mario Bava is most known for his horror films, his filmography was diverse, and he excelled in whatever genre he worked in. Comedy was the genre Mario Bava is least known for; he only directed two films in this genre, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (Le spie vengono dal semifreddo) and Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note). Where Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (Le spie vengono dal semifreddo) was a satire of 1960s spy cinema, Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) marked Mario Bava’s only foray into commedia sexy all'italiana. That said, humor was a central element throughout Mario Bava’s filmography.

Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) employs the Rashomon effect, a storytelling method based on Akira Kurosawa's film of the same name. Narratives that use the Rashomon effect revolve around a collection of characters who each provide their memories of an event and each memory contradicts the others. Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) revolves around a lecherous playboy and a virginal, virtuous young woman whose accounts of a date greatly differ. Two other characters provide their accounts of what happened that night: a peeping Tom doorman and a scientist.

While a narrative that features the same scenario four times might turn out redundant, Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) always manages to engage with its four distinctly different recollections of that night; they are all equally entertaining. Most of the humour comes from characters' reactions to unwanted sexual advances and character stereotypes. That said, the funniest moments come from the guard character. There is a cartoonish-like quality to the moments with the guard.

All around the cast are outstanding in their roles, especially the two leads, Daniela Giordano (Violent Rome) and Brett Halsey (The Devil’s Honey). Another performance of note is Dick Randall in the role of the doorman. Although the female cast members provide plenty of eye candy, the male cast members are not left out; Brett Halsey’s character wears a speedo.

When discussing the cinema of Mario Bava, Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note), like all of his films, is beautifully photographed. Other areas where Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) excels are its exemplary production design and Coriolano Gori’s (Massacre Time) score, which perfectly underscores the mood. Ultimately, Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) is arguably Mario Bava’s most underrated film; it is a highly entertaining example of commedia sexy all'italiana.

Powerhouse Films gives Four Times That Night (Quante volte... quella note) its best home media release to date. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Note: Limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units (4,000 4K UHDs and 1,000 Blu-rays) for the UK.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer

Macabre – Indicator Series (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1980
Director: Lamberto Bava
Writers: Antonio Avati, Pupi Avati, Lamberto Bava, Roberto Gandus
Cast: Bernice Stegers, Stanko Molnar, Veronica Zinny, Roberto Posse, Ferdinando Orlandi, Fernando Pannullo, Elisa Kadigia Bove

Release Date: June 29th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 90 Minutes 51 Seconds (Italian Theatrical Version), 89 Minutes 51 Seconds (International Theatrical Version, Frozen Terror - Retitled US Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (All Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian (Italian Theatrical Version), LPCM Mono English (International Theatrical Version, Frozen Terror - Retitled US Version)
Subtitles: English, English SDH (International Theatrical Version, Frozen Terror - Retitled US Version)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99

"Traumatised by the deaths of both her son and her lover, Fred (Roberto Posse), Jane (Stegers) retreats to a boarding house run by the blind Robert (Molnar), where she builds a shrine to Fred and passionately calls his name when she is alone in her room. Both Robert and Jane’s daughter Lucy (Veronica Zinny) sense that something strange is going on and begin to investigate her bizarre behaviour..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (All Versions)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Macabro was scanned in 4K Augustus Color in Rome using the original negative. 4K HDR color correction and image restoration work was undertaken at Filmfinity, London, when Phoenix and Diamant image-processing tools were used to remove many thousands of instances of dirt, eliminate scratches and other imperfections, and repair damaged frames. No grain management, edge enhancement, or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way.”

Macabre comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 79.9 GB

Feature: 57.9 GB

Seamless branching is used for the three presentations of the film. The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy; colors look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image always retains an organic appearance. 

Audio: 5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

The Italian theatrical version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. The international theatrical version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH and English subtitles for text in Italian. Frozen Terror, the re-titled US release, comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH and English subtitles for text in Italian. All tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (34 images—stills/lobby cards/press book/home video art/posters), international theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Italian theatrical trailer (2 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), a Q&A with Lamberto Bava filmed after a Macabre screening at the 2025 World Wide Weird cult-cinema event held in London (58 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and Italian translated into English), an interview with Pierpaolo De Sanctis the founder of Italian soundtrack specialists Four Flies Records titled Jazzing for a Murder (22 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an appreciation by Italian genre film expert and Macabre aficionado Mark Thompson Ashworth titled Macabre Love (22 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Roberto Gandus titled Danse Macabre (23 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Pupi Avati titled New Orleans Gothic (9 minutes 43 seconds, Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with producer Antonio Avati titled A Head for Producing (18 minutes 7 seconds, Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with director Lamberto Bava titled The Bloody Beginning (17 minutes 6 seconds, Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles),an audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth, and Nathaniel Thompson, and an 80-page book with cast & crew information, an essay titled A Domestic Apocalypse written by Roberto Curti, an archival interview conversation with Lamberto Bava conducted by Alberto Morsiani, an archival interview with Pupi Avati and Antonio Avati conducted by Lorenzo Ricciardi, critical response, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

A middle-aged woman traumatized by the death of her son and her lover moves into a boarding house and creates a shrine for the latter.

Although Lamberto Bava has forged a four-decade career as a director, most of his contemporaries have stopped making films. There’s no denying that it must have been difficult living in the shadow of his father, Mario Bava, Italian cinema’s most celebrated director of horror cinema. Looking over Lamberto Bava’s filmography, there are a few standout films that have held up well over time. His best films are the result of collaborations with other prominent Italian filmmakers. For example, Macabre is a film that stands out in Lamberto Bava’s filmography.

That said, how much of Macabre is due to Lamberto Bava or filmmaker Pupi Avati's creative influence? The idea for Macabre originated with Antonio Avati and Pupi Avati, who then reached out to Lamberto Bava with the idea of directing it. Besides coming up with the idea, there are many elements throughout Macabre that bear a strong resemblance to Pupi Avati’s The House of the Laughing Windows, which ultimately furthers the premise that Lamberto Bava was a director for fire whose contributions to the film were minimal.

While there are many elements in Macabre that are widely associated with horror cinema, it is important to note that the film also incorporates other genres. To simply approach Macabre as a horror film would be doing this film a serious disservice, since the result is something that is closer to a psychological melodrama. Outside of a few moments, like the scenes where the protagonist’s lover's head is decapitated and where she drowns a child in a bathtub, Macabre’s level of carnage is minimal. Fortunately, Macabre is a film that relies heavily on atmosphere.

When discussing a film like Macabre, its taboo subject matter, a deranged love story that involves necrophilia, is front and center. The protagonist, a woman named Jane Baker, procures her deceased lover's severed head and keeps it in a freezer. Although some of the shock derived from its taboo subject matter, it’s rather tame when compared to other similar-themed films that succeeded it, like Nekromantik.

Macabre’s heart and soul are Bernice Stegers’ (Xtro) portrayal of Jane Baker. She delivers an utterly convincing portrayal of a character who’s consumed by obsessive love. Other performances of note are Stanko Molnar in the role of a blind man who runs a boarding house and Veronica Zinny’s (in her one and only role) terrifying portrayal of Jane’s equally demented daughter Lucy. Ultimately, Macabre is an exceptional debut film that set the bar so high that Lamberto Bava never made a better film.

Macabre gets an exceptional release from Powerhouse Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Note: Limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units (4,000 4K UHDs and 1,000 Blu-rays) for the UK.

Written by Michael Den Boer