The Horrible Dr. Hichcock – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1962
Director: Riccardo Freda
Writer: Ernesto Gastaldi
Cast: Barbara Steele, Robert Flemyng, Silvano Tranquilli, Maria Teresa Vianello, Harriet Medin, Spencer Williams, Aldo Cristiani, Evaristo Signorini, Giovanni Querrel, Neil Robinson, Howard Nelson Rubien

Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 87 Minutes 43 Seconds (Italian Version), 76 Minutes 34 Seconds (North American Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (Italian Version), DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English (Italian Version), English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $59.98

"Brilliant scientist, Professor Bernard Hichcock, harbors a secret fascination with the corpses of beautiful young women. His perverse desires are so strong that he has developed a unique serum capable of placing people into a death-like state; a drug he has decided to experiment with on his wife, Margaretha. However, after accidentally giving her a lethal dose, the doctor panics and covers up his wife’s death. Hichcock soon remarries, this time to the orphaned Cynthia, whom he brings to live with him at his isolated castle. Shortly after her arrival, Cynthia begins to experience increasingly strange and ghastly goings-on. While her new husband dismisses these seemingly supernatural occurrences, Cynthia becomes convinced that someone - or something - is lurking in the castle and her loving husband might know more than he’s letting on…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Italian Cut 4K UHD), 4.5/5 (American Cut 4K UHD, Italian Cut Blu-ray), 4.25/5 (American Cut Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.7 GB

Feature: 49.6 GB (Italian Cut), 42.5 GB (American Cut)

The source used for this transfer is excellent, as the information provided about the transfer points out that extensive work was done to clean up the source. That said, there are a few very minor instances of source debris, like a hair in the frame; fortunately, none of these are ever distracting. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated and at times vivid, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. The source used for the American cut is comparable to the source used for the Italian cut. The sources used for this release are comparable to the sources that Radiance Films used for their UK Blu-ray release. That said, seeing both cuts of The Horrible Dr. Hichcock in 4K with HDR10 makes this release the clear winner.

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.2 GB

Feature: 23.4 GB (Italian Cut), 16.3 GB (American Cut)

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian), 3.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Both Versions)

The Italian cut comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Italian language track is in great shape; it sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, ambient sounds are well-represented, and the score sounds robust. The English language track has some background hiss and some minor sibilance issues. That said, dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

The American cut comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. This track is comparable to the English-language track that is included with the Italian version.

Extras:

Extras on the 4k UHD disc include an audio commentary with film historians Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson for the Italian cut.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a still gallery with music from the film playing in the background, Italian theatrical trailer (2 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Italian with removable English subtitles), English language version "Raptus" title sequence (1 minute 56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), a scene select audio commentary track with actress Barbara Steele, and moderated by Barbara Steele archivist Russ Lanier (26 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Marcello Avallone on Italian horror and his experiences of working within the genre titled Necropolises and Necrophiliacs (16 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi titled The Most Honorable Julyan Perry (30 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles),  an interview with second assistant director Marcello Avallone titled The Horrible Dr. Freda (20 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Eugenio Ercolani, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson for the Italian cut, and American cut of The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (76 minutes 34 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (limited to 8,000 units), and a 40-page perfect bound book (limited to 8,000 units) with an essay titled Death Becomes Her written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an essay titled Are Those Maggots in Your Eyes or Are You Just Happy to See Me ? written by Erica Shultz, and an essay titled The Shadow of the Grave: Dissecting The Horrible Dr. Hichcock written by Nathaniel Thompson.

Summary:

Directed by Riccardo Freda, a prolific filmmaker who is most remembered for his work within the gothic horror and peplum genres. Notable films that he directed or co-directed include I Vampire, The Witch’s Curse, The Ghost, Double Face, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire, Tragic Ceremony, and Murder Obsession.

A renowned doctor returns to the home he once shared with his first wife, Margaret. It has been twelve years since Margaret’s untimely death, and since then, the doctor has had a new bride named Cynthia. Shortly after their arrival, things take a turn for the worse when it becomes apparent that the doctor has become fixated on the past. And with Cynthia’s blood, he will be able to resurrect the only woman he truly loved, Margaret.

The U.S. release version of this runs about 77 minutes, and it was released under The Horrible Dr. Hichcock. When the film was released in the UK, it was under the title The Terror of Dr. Hichcock, which reportedly runs six minutes longer than the U.S. release version. The film’s Italian title, L’orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock, roughly translates into The Frightening Secret of Dr. Hichcock, and this version of the film is the longest known version at around 88 minutes.

The foundation for what is now known as the Italian gothic horror genre can be traced back to I Vampire, though the genre has continued to evolve over the years. This genre reached its apex during the first half of the 1960s. With the main directors' work within this genre being Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti, and Ricardo Freda.

After co-directing with Mario Bava I Vampire, Ricardo Freda would not return to the Italian Gothic horror genre until five years later, with arguably one of the best films to emerge from this genre, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, whose premise dealing with necrophilia was well ahead of its time. The narrative is meticulously constructed, and each new revelation is given just the right amount of time to resonate. Also, pacing is never an issue, and the main characters and their motivations are well defined.

The one thing that can make or break even the most well-intentioned Italian Gothic horror film is its visuals. Fortunately, this is not the case with The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, a film that delivers in spades when it comes to creating atmospheric visuals that drive the mood of the story at hand. The standout moment visually is the moment when the once thought-dead first wife shows her replacement that she is alive and well, and more importantly, ready to take back what she once had.

Performance wise the weight of this film rests on the shoulders on its leading lady Barbara Steele (The She Beast / Shivers) in the role of Cynthia Hichcock. Other notable performances include, Robert Flemyng (The Blood Beast of Terror) in the role of Doctor Hichcock and Maria Teresa Vianello (The Giants of Thessaly) in the pivotal role of Margaret, the doctors deceased who is not ready just yet to let go of the man she loves.

Performance-wise, the entire cast is very good in their roles, especially Barbara Steele (Black Sunday) in the role of Cynthia Hichcock. She delivers a pitch-perfect performance that is arguably one of her best performances. Another performance of note is Robert Flemyng (The Blood Beast of Terror) in the role of Dr. Hichcock, a man who prefers his women to be lifeless when making love. Ultimately, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock is a high water mark of Italian gothic horror cinema and Ricardo Freda’s crowning achievement as a filmmaker.

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock gets a phenomenal release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two versions of the film, and informative extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

                                            Italian Cut Screenshots.

                                            American Cut Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer