The Night of the Sorcerers / The Loreley's Grasp – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Spain, 1974 (The Night of the Sorcerers), Spain, 1973 (The Loreley's Grasp)
Director: Amando de Ossorio (Both Films)
Cast: Simón Andreu, Kali Hansa, María Kosty, Loreta Tovar, José Thelman, Bárbara Rey, Jack Taylor (The Night of the Sorcerers), Tony Kendall, Helga Liné, Silvia Tortosa, Josefina Jartin, Loreta Tovar, José Thelman, Luis Induni, Francisco Nieto, Betsabé Ruiz, Luis Barboo (The Loreley's Grasp)

Release Date: July 25th, 2017
Approximate running times: 85 Minutes 4 Seconds (The Night of the Sorcerers), 84 Minutes 52 Seconds (The Loreley's Grasp)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Night of the Sorcerers), 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Loreley's Grasp)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish, DTS-HD Mono English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $19.97

The Night of the Sorcerers: "A group of explorers arrive in Africa to study the wildlife in the same area where a brutal native ritual occurred in 1910. All is tranquil until night falls and distant drumming draws one of the female members of the group to investigate the jungle. From there, a nightmare will be awakened … a nightmare of zombie natives and scantily-clad vampire women who prowl the moonlight jungle in search of fresh blood and more victims to sacrifice." - synopsis provided by the distributor

The Loreley's Grasp: "In a town by the Rhine river, young women are turning up dead … savagely torn to pieces and their hearts missing. Concerned that whatever beast is doing these horrible murders will end up attacking the female students, a nearby school for women hires a hunter to find and kill the creature. The hunter will soon find out that this is no ordinary beast that craves human hearts, but rather a deceptive, alluring and mysterious being – The Loreley – who is already looking for another heart to use in a gruesome ancient ritual." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5 (The Night of the Sorcerers, The Loreley's Grasp)

The Night of the Sorcerers and The Loreley's Grasp come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.9 GB

Feature: 19.6 GB (The Night of the Sorcerers), 20.7 GB (The Loreley's Grasp)

No information is provided about the source used for these transfers. 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, 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)

Each film comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Quality-wise, all of these tracks are comparable; they all sound clean, clear, and balanced. That said, range-wise, the Spanish language tracks are stronger than their English language counterparts. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish-language track.

Extras:

Extras for The Night of the Sorcerers include alternate clothed sequences (4 minutes 47 seconds, DTS-HD mono Spanish with removable English subtitles), a Spanish language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 45 seconds, DTS-HD mono Spanish with removable subtitles), and an English language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 45 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles).

Extras for The Loreley's Grasp include Spanish opening and closing credits (2 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD mono Spanish, no subtitles), a Spanish language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD mono Spanish with removable subtitles), an English language theatrical trailer (2 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Rod Barnett And Troy Guinn From The NaschyCast Podcast.

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.

The Night of the Sorcerers: An expedition in Africa goes awry when explorers' discovery of an ancient sacrificial altar puts them in harm's way of vampires.

Though The Night of the Sorcerers has horror elements like voodoo and vampires, it is essentially an adventure film with horror film elements thrown in for good measure. Despite leaning more towards the adventure film, that is not to say that when it veers into the realm of horror, there are not some genuine, effective moments. Notably, there are scenes where women are tied to a tree, whipped, and then tied to an altar, where they are beheaded and turned into vampires.

The Night of the Sorcerers has a good cast, notably Simón Andreu (The Blood-Spattered Bride) in the role of Rod Carter, the explorer's guide, and Jack Taylor (Succubus) in the role of Professor Jonathan Grant, the head of the expedition. And the female cast members provided an ample amount of eye candy, as they tend to wear outfits that are not normally associated with jungle expeditions.

From a production standpoint, it is obvious that director Amando de Ossorio is working with limited resources, yet the result is a film that at times exceeds expectations. Notably, there are a few atmospheric visual set pieces that are well executed. Also, though there is a solid opening sequence, from there, the narrative tends to drag as it propels to a predictable conclusion. Ultimately, The Night of the Sorcerers is one of Amando de Ossorio’s weaker films.

The Loreley's Grasp: Loreley, a beast that's been living in a grotto beneath the Rhein, attacks girls at a nearby boarding school.

The Loreley's Grasp opens with a spectacular opening sequence where a beast claws and sheds tears to shred a bride. This sequence does a phenomenal job setting the stage for the events that follow. That said, the narrative does a great job balancing the explosion and Loreley's next gruesome attack.

The Loreley's Grasp has a strong cast who are all very good in their roles, especially Helga Liné (Horror Rises from the Tomb) in the role of the protagonist, an immortal woman or beast who feeds off of human blood. Also, the female cast members who parade around in bikinis and nightgowns provide an ample amount of eye candy.

From a production standpoint, once again, director Amando de Ossorio is given limited resources. Fortunately, outside of the crude-looking special effects, this is never an issue. The premise is well executed, and the narrative does a great job maintaining momentum. There’s never a shortage of atmosphere, and when it comes to the kill sequences, they are gory. Ultimately, The Loreley's Grasp is a solid monster horror film that is arguably one of Amando de Ossorio’s best films.

The Night of the Sorcerers and The Loreley's Grasp make their way to Blu-ray via a strong release from Shout! Factory that comes with good audio/video presentations and an informative audio commentary.

Written by Michael Den Boer