The People Who Own the Dark - Code Red (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1976
Director: León Klimovsky
Writers: Gabriel Moreno Burgos, Vicente Aranda
Cast: Nadiuska, Alberto de Mendoza, Teresa Gimpera, Emiliano Redondo, Julia Saly, Tomás Picó, Diana Polakov, Antonio Mayans, Maria Perschy, Paul Naschy

Release Date: December 9th, 2015
Approximate running time: 82 Minutes 59 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"The participants in a hedonistic orgy are somehow spared from the destruction of a massive nuclear holocaust in this post-apocalyptic thriller. The party-goers boogie down to the city for some chow, only for one member to lose it and kill an innocent blind survivor. Soon they are all under attack by the enraged blind radioactive survivors." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new HD telecine from a 35mm print."

The People Who Own the Dark comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 18.8 GB

Feature: 18.6 GB

The source used for this transfer is an unrestored source that has noticeable source damage throughout, and colors tend to be muted and at times look greenish. That said, image clarity is generally very good, black levels are never convincing, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 2.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The audio, like the video presentation, is not restored, and there are audio imperfections. That said, dialog comes through clearly enough to follow, and range-wise, this track is serviceable. 

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to a theatrical trailer (1 minute 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles).

Summary:

León Klimovsky directed The People Who Own the Dark. He frequently worked with Paul Naschy. His notable films are Werewolf Shadow, Vengeance of the Zombies, A Dragonfly for Each Corpse, and The Vampires’ Night Orgy.

The narrative revolves around a group of wealthy aristocrats and politicians getting together for a night of debauchery with some ladies in the dungeon of a castle. What should have been a decadent night of pleasure quickly turned into a walking nightmare. The partygoers discover that they are the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust.

Before I go any further into this review, it should be noted that I viewed the much shorter English-language version, which is missing about 16 minutes of footage that is present in the Spanish-language release version of this film. The shorter English-language version does not miss anything when it comes to violence, and it leaves most of the nudity intact. The cuts mostly involve dialogue and the shortening of many scenes.

The primary reason The People Who Own the Dark is effective lies in its intriguing premise and rich atmosphere. That said, there are many moments in which the narrative tends to drag, and yet the end result is a very eerie post-apocalyptic thriller that comes damn close to pulling off all its ambitions.

The People Who Own the Dark’s greatest strength is its scenes involving the blind (zombie-like characters) who shambled around town and eventually followed the survivors of the nuclear holocaust back to their home. The People Who Own the Dark features a notable amount of nudity and sexual content, along with sufficiently gory kills.

The cast performs well in their roles, and while no single performance stands out, many viewers who are interested in The People Who Own the Dark are particularly drawn to Paul Naschy (Horror Rises from the Tomb) in the role of Borne. That said, the cast is filled with many recognizable faces like Nadiuska (Beatriz), Alberto de Mendoza (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), Antonio Mayans (Cries of Pleasure), and Maria Perschy (Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll). Ultimately, The People Who Own the Dark is a Spanish post-apocalyptic film that is equal parts Night of the Living Dead and The Omega Man.

The People Who Own the Dark makes its way to Blu-ray via a lackluster audio/video presentation from Code Red.

Written by Michael Den Boer