Kill, Baby, Kill! – Arrow Video (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1966
Director: Mario Bava
Writers: Mario Bava, Romano Migliorini, Roberto Natale
Cast: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erika Blanc, Fabienne Dali, Piero Lulli, Luciano Catenacci, Micaela Esdra, Franca Dominici, Giuseppe Addobbati, Mirella Pamphili, Valerio Valeri, Giovanna Galletti

Release Date: September 11th, 2017
Approximate running times: 83 Minutes 27 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free/Region 2 NTSC (UK)
Retail Price: OOP (UK)

"In the early 20th century, pathologist Dr Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) is summoned to a remote Carpathian village to perform an autopsy on a woman who died under mysterious circumstances. With the locals convinced they are being haunted by the spirit of a young girl who died years ago, can the steadfastly rational doctor find a logical explanation to the strange goings-on... or will his rational beliefs be destroyed by the dark secret that lies within the crumbling walls of the ancient Villa Graps?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

The transfer for this release was sourced from the best available original element, an original 35mm internegative, which was scanned in 2K resolution at LSP Medien Kuhn und Albrecht GbR, Germany.

Kill, Baby, Kill! comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 36.9 GB

Feature: 24.3 GB

Kill, Baby, Kill! is a film that’s never looked great on home video. That said, considering that the original negative appears to no longer exist, All things considered, this new transfer from Arrow Video looks remarkably good. Colors look very good (it should be noted that there are a few brief moments where colors fluctuate), image clarity and black levels look strong throughout. There are no issues with compression and the grain remains intact.

Audio: 4/5 (LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in English and a LPCM mono mix in Italian. Both audio mixes are in very good shape; the dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and, range-wise, the ambient sounds are well-represented. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (27 images–lobby cards/posters), International theatrical trailer (2 minutes 32 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a vintage Kill, Baby, Kill! photo-comic, German opening credits (3 minutes 25 seconds, LPCM mono), an introduction with actress Erika Blanc (35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Erika Blanc titled Erika in Fear (11 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival featurette with assistant director Lamberto Bava titled Kill, Bava, Kill! (25 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), video essay by critic Kat Ellinger titled The Devil’s Daughter (21 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava – All the Colors of the Dark, a short film titled Yellow (6 minutes 49 seconds, LPCM stereo), reversible cover art and a 20-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Legacy of Melissa Graps: Creepy Kids of Italian Horror Cinema written by Travis Crawford and information about the transfer.

Included with this release is a DVD that has the same content as the Blu-Ray included as part of this combo release.

Summary:

Though Mario Bava was a versatile filmmaker who worked in every film genre, He’s most remembered for his contributions to the Gothic horror and Giallo film genres. Most notably, films like Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, and Blood and Black Lace.

Content-wise, Kill, Baby, Kill! combines the two genres that Mario Bava most excelled in. The look of Kill, Baby, Kill! has all the trappings of Gothic horror cinema and Melissa the ghost child's depiction is at times reminiscent of black-gloved killers from Giallo cinema.

Kill, Baby, Kill! The film opens with a pre-credits sequence where a frightened woman runs frantically away from an unseen menace that’s stalking her. And the moment after the woman gets impaled by spikes on top of a gate, a child’s sinister laughter is heard. Without any dialog, this opening sequence does a superb job of foreshadowing what’s about to unfold.

The narrative revolves around a village that’s besieged by a ghost child who haunts those who it blames for its tragic death. And when the outside world tries to intervene, the superstitious villagers view them with suspicion. With the finale act providing a very satisfying twist that perfectly ties everything together,

Performance wise, the cast are very good in their respective roles, especially Valerio Valeri's creepy portrayal of Melissa, the ghost child. Notable cast members include Giacomo Rossi-Stuart (Knives of the Avenger, Weekend Murders) in the role of Dr. Paul Eswai and Erika Blanc (The Devil’s Nightmare, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave) in the role of Monica Schuftan, a young woman who’s returned to the village for the first time in twenty years.

Mario Bava’s films are known for their exquisite cinematography. With Kill, Baby, Kill!, he once again delivers a film that’s overflowing with striking imagery that’s filled with symbolism. Other areas where the visuals excel include extraordinary use of color, languid camera movements of decaying landscapes, dense fog and howling winds that create a tremendous amount of atmosphere.

Throughout his career, most of Mario Bava’s films were made on miniscule budgets and tight schedules. What he was able to do with Kill, Baby, Kill! is astounding, especially when you factor in that he made the film in twelve days. That said, Kill, Baby, Kill! is a film that looks richer than its anemic budget.

Kill, Baby, Kill! gets a definitive release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer