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The Scapular (El Escapulario) + The Body Snatcher (Ladron De Cadaveres): Double Feature - VCI Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Mexico, 1968 (The Scapular), Mexico, 1957 (The Body Snatcher)
Directors: Servando González (The Scapular), Fernando Méndez (The Body Snatcher)
Cast: Enrique Lizalde, Enrique Aguilar, Carlos Cardán, Federico Falcón, Alicia Bonet, Ofelia Guilmáin, Eleazar García, Jorge Russek, Jorge Lavat (The Scapular), Columba Domínguez, Crox Alvarado, Wolf Ruvinskis, Carlos Riquelme, Arturo Martínez, Eduardo Alcaraz, Guillermo Hernández, Yerye Beirute, Alberto Catalá (The Body Snatcher)

Release Date: March 22nd, 2022
Approximate running times: 89 Minutes 23 Seconds (The Scapular), 79 Minutes 9 Seconds (Body Snatcher)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Spanish (Both Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

The Scapular: "The story takes place during the Mexican Revolution. A dying woman sends to call the priest of the town to confess that she has a scapular with the power to protect the life of whoever owns it, leaving him impressed, while she on her deathbed begins to tell him some of the stories where the scapular has been...” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

The Body Snatcher: "In Mexico, Police Captain Carlos Robles (Crox Alvarado) has no leads to solving a series of grisly murders of several of Mexico's top athletes. Unknown to the Comandante, scientist Don Panchito is responsible for the murders and has been murdering the athletic community in order to provide test subjects for his experiments..." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4/5 (The Scapular, The Body Snatcher)

The Scapular and The Body Snatcher come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.2 GB

Feature: 18.2 GB (The Scapular), 16.1 GB (The Body Snatcher)

Though no information is provided about the sources for these two films' transfers, Both films are in great shape, and any source debris is minimal. Outside of a few moments where image clarity looks soft and black levels are not as convincing as they should be, both image clarity and black levels look very good.

Audio: 3.5/5 (The Scapular), 3.75/5 (Body Snatcher)

It should be noted that though the back box art lists LPCM mono Spanish for both films, the only tracks actually included are Dolby Digital mono mixes in Spanish for both films.

Each film comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in Spanish, and both films come with removable English subtitles.

Though The Scapular’s audio sounds clear and balanced. There are some issues related to background hiss, which at times is more pronounced than it sounds for the bulk of the track, where it is minimal.

The Body Snatcher’s audio sounds are clean, clear, and balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by film historian Dr. David Witt for The Scapular titled Relationships in Mexican Cinema (22 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable Spanish subtitles), and a video essay by film historian Dr. David Witt for The Body Snatcher titled Mexican Horror and Lucha Libre (28 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable Spanish subtitles).

Also, the front and back covers and menu are bilingual, English and Spanish.

Summary:

The Scapular: The narrative revolves around an object (a scapular) that has the power to protect whoever wears it, as long as the wearer believes in the scapular's power. After a setup where a dying old woman reveals the scapular's power to a priest on her deathbed, the bulk of the narrative is then told via a series of flashbacks about people who have worn the scapular. With the finale providing one last twist that brings everything together,

Though there are horror elements in The Scapular, they are mostly elements that are rooted in the supernatural. The result is best described as a melodrama with some supernatural elements thrown in for good measure. Also, religious imagery plays a significant role in the story at hand.

From a production standpoint, The Scapular is a film that achieves its goals. The premise is well-executed, the narrative does a great job of building momentum, and there is a twist ending that provides a perfect climax. Though no performance stands out, the entire cast is all very good in their roles. And not to be overlooked are the visuals, which are filled with symbolism and an abundance of atmosphere. Ultimately, The Scapular is a gripping tale that fans of the supernatural should enjoy.

The Body Snatcher: Sometimes an opening sequence is misleading as to what will follow. Despite opening with a ghoulish graverobing sequence that is reminiscent of Universal’s classic monster movies, after this opening sequence, The Body Snatcher takes an abrupt turn that mixes a wide variety of genres.

The Body Snatcher was directed by Fernando Méndez, whose other notable films include The Vampire, The Vampire’s Coffin, The Black Pit of Dr. M, and The Living Coffin. And anyone who is familiar with these other films knows that Fernando Méndez has a strong visual eye. There are several visually arresting moments in The Body Snatcher.

The performances are best described as serviceable. Carlos Riquelme (Under the Volcano) gave the most memorable performance as Don Panchito, a scientist who kills athletes and uses their corpses for his experiments, which involve animal brain transplants. He delivers a scene-stealing, diabolic performance.

What would you get if you had a mad scientist, his evil henchmen, a police detective, a wrestler, and a werewolf man? You would end up with a film like The Body Snatcher, a horror/wrestling hybrid film that predates the Santo films by a few years. Ultimately, The Body Snatcher is an interesting mix of genres that, most importantly, is a lot of fun.

The Scapular and The Body Snatcher make their way to Blu-ray via strong audio/video presentations and a pair of informative extras, recommended.