Aenigma – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Yugoslavia, 1987
Director: Lucio Fulci
Writers: Lucio Fulci, Giorgio Mariuzzo
Cast: Jared Martin, Lara Naszinski, Ulli Reinthaler, Sophie d’Aulan, Jennifer Naud, Riccardo Acerbi, Kathi Wise, Milijana Zirojevic, Dragan Bjelogrlic, Dusica Zegarac, Lucio Fulci

Release Date: August 25th, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 17 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.98

"When a bullied student at a New England girls school becomes comatose after a prank gone wrong, her tormenters will suffer graphic telepathic punishment that includes the infamous ‘death by snails’ scene." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "scanned in 4k from the original negative for the first time ever in America."

Aenigma comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.3 GB

Feature: 22.3 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape, and any source-related debris is minimal. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels look strong throughout, compression is very good, and grain remains intact.

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

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks are in great shape; there are no issues with distortion or background hiss, the dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH subtitles for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include Italian opening and closing credits (6 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), English language theatrical trailer (3 minutes, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Italian language theatrical trailer (3 minutes, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Giorgio Mariuzzo titled Writing Nightmares (14 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a featurette titled Italian Aenigma: Appraising Late Day Fulci (38 minutes 26 seconds, in English and Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Troy Howarth, author of Splintered Visions – Lucio Fulci & His Films and film critic Nathaniel Thompson.

Summary:

Aenigma was co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci, a filmmaker who’s most remembered for the horror films that he directed, starting with Zombie in the late 1970s and culminating with Manhattan Baby in 1982.

Aenigma continues Italian genre cinema’s long tradition of taking elements from successful films. Though most of Lucio Fulci’s films post-Manhattan Baby are divisive, even among Lucio Fulci’s most die-hard fans, there are few films like The Devil’s Honey. Enigma and Cat in the Brain remind you of what Lucio Fulci was capable of achieving as a filmmaker.

Content-wise, Aenigma is equal parts Carrie and Phenomena. It also features a heavy dose of elements that have become synonymous with 1980s horror. That said, there are areas where Aenigma shows its lack of resources. Most notably, when it comes to its special effects The same cannot be said when it comes to Lucio Fulci’s ability to create murder set pieces (murder by snails).

One area where Italian genre films can be problematic is their English dubbing. And because of post-sync dubbing, far too many Italian genre films do better when watched in Italian. That said, the performances are best described as serviceable. With Aenigma’s strongest performance being Lara Naszinski (A Blade in the Dark) in the role of Eva Gordon, a student who’s used as a conduit by a comatose teenager to exact her revenge.

From a production standpoint, Aenigma is a film that often exceeds its limited resources. The premise is well-executed, and the narrative does a great job maintaining tension. Ultimately, with Aenigma, Lucio Fulci takes what in lesser hands would have been a mediocre film and crafts a very satisfying supernatural horror that has an ample amount of atmosphere.

Aenigma gets a first-rate release from Severin Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer