Hell of The Living Dead – 88 Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Spain, 1980
Director: Bruno Mattei
Writers: Claudio Fragasso, José María Cunillés, Rossella Drudi
Cast: Margie Newton, Franco Garofalo, Selan Karay, José Gras, Gabriel Renom, Josep Lluís Fonoll, Bernard Seray, Víctor Israel, Joaquín Blanco

Release Date: February 27th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 35 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Italian, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK)

"There’s been a nasty outbreak of the living dead in Papua New Guinea and it’s up to an intrepid reporter (Margit Evelyn Newton), her cameraman (Gaby Renom) and an on hand squad of commandoes to find out why – and to try and stop it." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (4K UHD), 3.75/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K Remaster from the original negatives".

Hell of The Living Dead comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 75.6 GB

Feature: 74.8 GB

Though the foundation on which this transfer is based is in great shape, all print-related debris or imperfections have been cleaned. When it comes to colors, though there are many moments where colors look great, there are many instances where reds look magenta. That said, there is definitely inconsistency when it comes to colors. Image clarity looks strong (stock footage is not at the same level as the rest of the film), and black levels leave room for improvement. There are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic look.

Hell of The Living Dead comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.8 GB

Feature: 32.9 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 3.5/5 (LPCM Mono Italian), 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Italian and a LPCM mono mix in English. The Italian language tracks sound muffled and lack the range that the English language track has. The English language track fared much better. Dialog always comes through clearly, and when it comes to ambient sounds and the score, it is more robust than its Italian counterpart. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with Italian genre film experts Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 46 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Attack of the VHS Zombies (27 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Rossella Drudi titled Writing the Dead (22 minutes 56 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Claudio Fragasso titled Vincent and Clyde (39 minutes 2 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Claudio Fragasso titled Poor Zombies (13 minutes 15 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Margie Newton titled Beauty and the Dead (26 minutes 36 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcase (limited to first pressing), A3 fold-out poster (limited to first pressing), and a 12-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with an essay titled Keeping it Funny: The Giddiness of Bruno Mattei’s Zombie Creeping Flesh written by Francesco Massaccesi.

Summary:

Though there have been many Z-grade filmmakers who have built up a rabid following. One person’s garbage is another person’s treasure. There is a fine line between what is considered entertaining and what is flat-out so bad it's bad cinema. Case in point: a filmmaker like Bruno Mattei, whose filmography is filled with no-budget knockoffs of successful American films. That said, despite my not connecting with most of Bruno Mattei’s films, of the few I did enjoy, I would put Hell of the Living Dead at the top of the list.

Content-wise, besides being an obvious cash-in on George A. Romero’s The Dawn of the Dead, The Hell of the Living Dead also uses music cues from The Dawn of the Dead. Other films in which The Hell of the Living Dead uses music cues include Luigi Cozzi’s Contamination and Joe D'Amato's Beyond the Darkness. Also, The Hell of the Living Dead uses footage that was originally shot for New Guinea, the Island of Cannibals (aka The Real Cannibal Holocaust).

The narrative revolves around an elite group of soldiers who are sent to New Guinea after a chemical plant that was conducting secret government experiments explodes and unleashes a deadly virus. Once there, the soldiers cross paths with a reporter and her cameraman as they all fight for their lives as hordes of living dead surround them.

Hell of the Living Dead is not a film where you try to make sense of what is happening. The narrative does a good job setting everything up and then letting the chaos that unfolds take center stage. Also, when it comes to pacing, there is not an issue since things move along briskly. Another strength are the special effects, especially when it comes to the gory, gut-munching moments.

When The Hell of the Living Dead is not using stock footage, Bruno Mattei’s direction is actually very effective. Another area where The Hell of the Living Dead comes out ahead is its absurd dialog that provides an ample amount of humor. With lines like, "Hey you. What are you staring at? Are you hungry? Ah, I get it. You want a little bite out of me. Sure, why not? What meat do you like? Drumstick... or wing?"

The acting is best described as adequate. Though there are a few performances that do leave a lasting impression, most notably Franco Garofalo’s (Colt 38 Special Squad) delirious performance in the role of Zantoro, one of the soldiers sent to the plant in New Guinea. His character is also responsible for the above-quoted section of dialog. Another performance of note is Margit Evelyn Newton (The Bronx Executioner), whose character provides The Hell of the Living Dead with some much-needed T&A by stripping for the natives. And though it is easy for most to knock a film like Hell of the Living Dead, the end result is far from the train wreck many proclaim it to be!

Hell of the Living Dead makes its way to 4K UHD via a problematic release from 88 Films that comes with a transfer that has color space issues and an Italian language track that somehow is of lesser quality than the one that they used for their 2017 Blu-ray release.

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 VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer