Night of the Seagulls – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1975
Director: Amando de Ossorio
Writer: Amando de Ossorio
Cast: Víctor Petit, María Kosty, Sandra Mozarowsky, José Antonio Calvo, Julia Saly, Javier de Rivera, Pilar Vela, Fernando Villena, María Vidal, Oscar Phens, Susana Estrada, Luis Ciges

Release Date: February 13th, 2018
Approximate running time: 89 Minutes 5 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.99

"A village possessed by unspeakble evil… When a doctor and his wife move to a coastal village, they encounter strange and terrifying things: the town harbors an ancient evil that demands ritual sacrifice! For seven consecutive nights, the undead come from the sea to demand the horrific deaths of the town's young women. Dr. Stein and his wife try to save one of the young women from her horrible fate.” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Night of the Seagulls comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.4 GB

Feature: 21.5 GB

No information is provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, the source is in very good shape, and any source debris is minor. Flesh tones look correct, colors look very good, the image generally looks crisp (there is an intended soft focus look to some scenes), black levels fare well, and compression is very good. Also, there appears to be some digital noise reduction, which is more noticeable in some scenes than in others.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish), 3.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Though both audio tracks sound clear and balanced, the Spanish-language track sounds more robust, and the English-language track has some background noise that occurs around the 45-minute mark for about 20 minutes. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish-language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (5 minutes 12 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of the Podcast, NaschyCast.

Summary:

Directed by Amando de Ossorio, who is most known for directing four Blind Dead films: Tombs of the Blind Dead, Return of the Blind Dead, The Ghost Galleon, and Night of the Seagulls. Other notable films that he directed are Fangs of the Living Dead, and The Loreley's Grasp.

The narrative revolves around a doctor and his wife, who have recently moved to a rural seaside village where the inhabitants worship the undead Templar knights.

The longer a series goes on, there is going to be some repetitiveness. And though the locations change with each Blind Dead, the core elements are always the same: Templars stalking and killing their prey. Also, superstition and the supernatural usually play a role in the story at hand.

Night of the Seagulls does a great job laying the foundation for what unfolds. It opens with a flashback sequence that fills in the Templars' backstory before shifting to the present day. Unfortunately, after this strong opening, there is a long stretch where it is not much more than mundane character interactions. Fortunately, things pick up once the Templars arrive on screen.

The performances are best described as serviceable. No performance really stands out more than any other. Notable cast members are María Kosty (A Dragonfly for Each Corpse) in the role of the doctor's wife and Sandra Mozarowsky (Beatriz) in the role of Lucy, a local girl who befriends the doctor and his wife.

Though it is clear from its early moments that Night of the Seagulls is a film working on a limited budget, the result is a film that often exceeds its resources. When it comes to atmosphere, Night of the Seagulls delivers in spades. And without a doubt, the greatest strength of Night of the Seagulls are the moments with the Templars, especially when they move in slow motion. Ultimately, Night of the Seagulls is a good addition to the Blind Dead film series that unfortunately does not hold up well as a stand-alone film.

Night of the Seagulls gets a strong release from Shout! Factory that comes with a good audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary.

Written by Michael Den Boer