Absurd (Rosso Sangue) – Severin Films (Blu-ray/CD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1981
Director: Joe D’Amato
Writer: George Eastman
Cast: George Eastman, Annie Belle, Charles Borromel, Katya Berger, Kasimir Berger, Hanja Kochansky, Ian Danby, Ted Rusoff, Edmund Purdom, Carolyn De Fonseca, Cindy Leadbetter, Lucia Ramirez, Mark Shannon, Michele Soavi, Martin Sorrentino, Goffredo Unger

Release Date: September 25th, 2018
Approximate Running Times: 88 Minutes 33 Seconds (Rosso Sangue), 93 Minutes 55 Seconds (Absurd)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (Rosso Sangue), DTS-HD Mono English (Absurd)
Subtitles: English (Rosso Sangue), English SDH (Absurd)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.98

"Borrowing heavily from Halloween, D’Amato unleashes gut-spewing Greek boogeyman (screenwriter George Eastman) into suburban America for a saga of doomed nurses, butchered babysitters, bio-chemical clergy and some of the most insane splatter scenes in Italian gorehound history." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "a 2k scan from the original negative."

Rosso Sangue and Absurd come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46 GB

Feature: 16.9 GB (Rosso Sangue), 23.3 GB (Absurd)

There are two versions of this film included with this release, and they are both in excellent shape. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is very good, and both transfers retain an organic look.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English)

Audio options for Rosso Sangue are a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with removable English subtitles. Audio options for Absurd are a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Both audio tracks are in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono with English text), an archival interview with director Aristide Massaccesi titled D’Amato on Video (19 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Michele Soavi titled A Biker (Uncredited) (17 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with co-screenwriter/actor/co-producer Luigi Montefiore aka George Eastman titled The Return of the Grim Reaper (30 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and a CD with Carlo Maria Cordio’s score. It should be noted that the CD is only available with the first 2500 copies.

Summary:

Directed by Joe D’Amato (Emanuelle in America), a prolific filmmaker who has just under two hundred films that are accredited to him as a director. And besides his extensive filmography as a director, he also worked extensively as a cinematographer, most notable on films like The Antichrist and What Have You Done to Solange?. 

Though Absurd is an indirect sequel of sorts to Anthropophagus, its only connection to Anthropophagus is that they both feature George Eastman (Rabid Dogs) in similar-type roles. Alternate titles for Absurd include Anthropophagous 2, Rosso Sangue (Red Blood), and Horrible.

The narrative revolves around a priest who is in pursuit of a living-dead madman who possesses an unusual ability to heal himself when injured.

The narrative is simple: George Eastman is cast in the role of Nikos Karamanlis, a man with a rare blood disease that allows him to heal his wounds quickly. Nikos escapes from a laboratory in Greece where a priest had taken care of him. Somehow Nikos boards a plane and flies to America, where he then proceeds to raise hell, ripping to shreds anyone who crosses his path. The priest enlists the help of local law enforcement to track down Nikos, who is becoming more demented with each new injury from which he heals himself. In many ways, the Nikos character is like the Frankenstein monster, and the priest is his creator, who is now forced to kill the thing he helped bring to life.

Of course, the best part of Absurd is watching George Eastman go bonkers. All of the kill scenes are entertaining and on par with other kill scenes from similar Italian horror films from this era. Some of the deaths include a drill bit through the temple, a meat-cutting saw to the head, and a woman being forced into a blazing hot oven.

Besides George Eastman, the cast also features two other familiar faces in prominent roles: Edmund Purdom (Pieces) in the role of the priest and Annie Belle (House on the Edge of the Park) in the role of a nurse named Emily. Other notable cast members brief cameos come from Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man) and Mark Shannon, whose appearance in Absurd appears to be taken from another film that he also did with Joe D’Amato. Ultimately, Absurd is a crazy film that sticks to its strengths—blood and guts.

Absurd gets an exceptional release from Severin Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two versions of the film, and a wealth of extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer