Love Brides of the Blood Mummy – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain/France, 1973
Director: Alejandro Martí
Writers: Vincent Didier, Julio Salvador
Cast: George Rigaud, Michael Flynn, Catherine Franck, Frank Braña, Martin Trévières , Teresa Gimpera, Jenny Clève

Release Date: October 11th, 2022
Approximate running times: 86 Minutes 45 Seconds (Horror Cut), 92 Minutes 37 Seconds (Extended Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.99

"In ancient Egypt, the son of a high priest is sentenced to death for the murder and mutilation of young women. His father uses his influence to have his son placed in a cataleptic state and sealed intact in a grand sarcophagus. Thousands of years later, in a castle in remote 19th century Cornwall, Lord Dartmoor, an eccentric practitioner of the Black Arts, opens the sarcophagus and brings the body back to life through the power of electricity.

The Egyptian needs fresh blood to survive and using his telepathic abilities he enslaves Dartmoor’s servant, John, and forces him to kidnap young women and bring them back to the castle where they will be drained of their life fluid by the monster. Lord Dartmoor is locked in a cage in the castle’s dungeon and becomes a powerless witness to the ensuing scenes of horror.

One day, Dartmoor’s daughter Lucille arrives back at the castle, bringing with her a school friend. The two women soon fall victim to the lusts of the undead Egyptian. It seems that the horror will never end. But Dartmoor is determined to save his only child…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Horror Cut, Extended Cut)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Brand new 4k transfer form film negative, digitally restored.”

Love Brides of the Blood Mummy comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.8 GB

Feature: 14.8 GB (Horror Cut), 18.9 GB (Extended Cut)

The source used for this transfer looks excellent. Colors are nicely saturated, flesh tones look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both of the audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. Included with this release are removable English subtitles for the French language track. It should be noted that when watching the English language track, there are a few dialog exchanges in French and these come with English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, English language trailer under the title Lips of Blood (2 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), French language trailer under the title Lips of Blood (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), a French theatrical trailer under the title  Perversions sexuelles (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono French with removable English subtitles), alternate sequences (19 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), French opening credits (1 minute 13 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), French closing credits (46 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), publicity parade of stills and posters, super 8 version cut down version Love Brides of the Blood Mummy with text information about this version (8 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with David Flint.

Summary:

Love Brides of the Blood Mummy is a Spanish/French co-production that has many elements that one would associate with 1970’s French horror/fantasy films like Claude Mulot’s The Blood Rose and the cinema of Jean Rollin. That said, gothic horror elements can be found throughout Love Brides of the Blood Mummy.

The narrative revolves around Dartmoor, a man who is well versed in the occult arts who revives a mummy that feeds off the blood of women. After an initial setup which lays the foundation, the narrative is then told via a flashback, which explains what happened. With a fatansical ending in which the severed hand of the mummy wreaks havoc,

Even though there are plenty of things in Love Brides of the Blood Mummy that make it an entertaining film. Most notably, when it comes to its more exploitative elements, nudity and bloodshed. Love Brides of the Blood Mummy has one glaring misstep. A large portion of the narrative is Dartmoor’s servant, whose mind has been enslaved to the mummy, running around chasing and abducting women.

Though Love, Brides of the Blood Mummy is not the type of film that one watches because of the performances. One performance that stands out is George Rigaud’s (Knife of Ice) in the role of Dartmoor. He delivers an enthusiastic performance that perfectly captures his character's delirium. Ultimately, Love Brides of the Blood Mummy is a film that fans of 1970’s French horror and fantasy should thoroughly enjoy.

Love Brides of the Blood Mummy gets an excellent release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two versions of the film (three if you count the super 8 version) and an informative audio commentary, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer