Dr. Orloff’s Monster – Kino Lorber/Redemption Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain/Austria/France, 1964
Director: Jesus Franco
Writers: Jesús Franco, Nicole Guettard, A. Norévo
Cast: Hugo Blanco, Agnès Spaak, Perla Cristal, Magda Maldonado, Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, Pepe Rubio, Pastor Serrador, Marta Reves, Daniel Blumer, Luisa Sala

Release Date: February 7th, 2017
Approximate Running Time: 84 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"When Melissa (Agnés Spaak) returns to her ancestral home to claim her inheritance, she finds that the castle is filled with strange characters and dark secrets. Governing the crumbling manor is a diabolical scientist, Dr. Conrad Jekyll (Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui), who uses high-frequency mind control to command an undead henchman (Hugo Blanco) to perform a series of vicious murders. When a dry-witted detective (Pastor Serrador) and Melissa's suitor (Pepe Rubio) trace the crimes back to Jekyll's castle, they realize the only way to trap the zombie is to use Melissa as bait." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.25/5

Dr. Orloff’s Monster comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 27.9 GB

Feature: 24.1 GB

The image looks crisp, and the black and contrast levels look strong throughout. Though it is not mentioned, the transfer used for this transfer looks like a brand new HD master that improves upon Image Entertainment’s DVD. It should be noted that this Blu-ray release is missing the second murder scene and some nudity that are on Images Entertainment’s region 1 DVD release.

Audio: 3.5/5 (LPCM Mono French), 3/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options: a LPCM mono mix in English and a LPCM mono mix in French. There are no issues with distortion; dialog comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced. It should be noted that there is a background hiss present on both audio tracks, and it is more pronounced on the English audio mix. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a French theatrical trailer (2 minutes 5 seconds, LPCM mono French with removable English subtitles), an Italian theatrical trailer (2 minutes 5 seconds, LPCM mono Italian with removable English subtitles), alternate footage (11 minutes 27 seconds – no sound with this extra) and an audio commentary with Tim Lucas, co-author of Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco.

The alternate footage has more sexually explicit content than what appears in the version of Dr. Orloff’s Monster included for this release.

Summary:

Before Jess Franco made the transition away from more traditional cinema, that pushed the envelope when it came to eroticism in cinema. He was more known for directing a handful of horror films in the first half of the 1960's, like The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus and The Diabolical Dr. Z.

Another horror film from this time period of his career includes Dr. Orloff’s Monster. This film’s title is derived from another film Jess Franco directed, The Awful Dr. Orlof. And though this film bears a familiar name in its title, it is a sequel in name only.

Content-wise, Dr. Orloff’s Monster has all the ingredients that one would expect and want from a Gothic Horror film. And another influence on this film is Universal’s classic monster movies from the 1930’s, most notably Frankenstein. The premise is wonderfully executed, the narrative is straight-forward and there are no issues with pacing as things move along at a good pace.

From a production standpoint, the film takes full advantage of all of its resources. The film features a superb score from frequent Jess Franco collaborator Daniel White that perfectly captures the mood of the film. And when it comes to the visuals, Jess Franco once again delivers striking imagery that is filled with atmosphere.

Performance wise, the cast is more than adequate in their respective roles. With the most memorable performance being Hugo Blanco (Texas, Adios, Paranoia) in the role of Andros, the young woman’s deceased father, who has been brought back to life as a walking assassin. Other notable cast members include Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui (Attack of the Robots, Lucky, the Inscrutable, and Two Undercover Angels) in the role of the Mad Scientist and Agnès Spaak (La Ragazzola) in the role of the young woman looking for answers about her father’s death.

Dr. Orloff’s Monster gets a good audio/video presentation from Redemption Films.

Written by Michael Den Boer