Death Packs a Suitcase – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: West Germany/Spain/UK, 1972
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Artur Brauner, Jesús Franco
Cast: Horst Tappert, Fred Williams, Barbara Rütting, Elisa Montés, Luis Morris, Siegfried Schürenberg, Mara Laso, Eva Garden, Rainer Basedow, Ángel Menéndez, Wolfgang Kieling, Dan van Husen, Guillermo Méndez, Jesús Franco, Andrea Montchal

Release Date: October 14th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 80 Minutes 49 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono German
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"A black-gloved killer stalks London, packing the suitcases of their victims before murdering them with an exotic dagger. Surrounded by potential suspects but lacking hard evidence, a smooth-talking Inspector (Fred Williams, The Vengeance of Dr. Mabuse) seeks the help of famous crime novelist Charles Barton (Horst Tappert, German TV’s Derrick)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Death Packs a Suitcase comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25.9 GB

Feature: 20.6 GB

Although no information is provided about this transfer's source, it is a marked improvement over the German DVD release. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in German with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clear and balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

During his German period, after parting ways with Harry Alan Towers, Jess Franco made The Corpse Packer of Soho (Der Todesrächer von Soho). This era of Jess Franco began with a high point, marked by the film Vampyros Lesbos, and six films later culminated in Virgin Report. All the films he directed for producers Artur Brauner and Karl Heinz Mannchen were work for hire, with the exception of Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy. Death Packs a Suitcase is one of two Bryan Edgar Wallace adaptations from this era; the other film was The Devil Came from Akasava.

A knife-throwing maniac kills their victims after they pack their suitcase.

Death Packs a Suitcase is as conventional of a film as you will ever see from Jess Franco. Death Packs a Suitcase is a by-the-numbers police procedural that is actually surprisingly light when it comes to the murders; they are all very brief moments where an unseen character holding a knife aims the knife before throwing it into the victim's back. Throughout his career, Jess Franco has created some notably gruesome kill sequences. However, the murders in Death Packs a Suitcase feel extremely tame and lack any bloodshed.

The two male leads, Horst Tappert (She Killed in Ecstasy) and Fred Williams (The Devil Came from Akasava), worked with Jess Franco on multiple films. That said, the cast does not feature any of Jess Franco’s frequent collaborators. Another notable cast member is Elisa Montés, who worked with Jess Franco one other time on 99 Women. The performances are one-dimensional; no one stands out.

At just under 80 minutes in length, its leisurely pacing, even by Jess Franco standards, makes Death Packs a Suitcase feel much longer than its actual running time. The only aspect of the narrative that it manages to execute effectively is maintaining the secrecy of the killer's identity. Although Death Packs a Suitcase scales back from elements that are synonymous with the cinema of Jess Franco, it does feature one of his staples, the nightclub sequence. Ultimately, for a filmography that has over 200 films, there are bound to be some bad ones, and Death Packs a Suitcase is bottom-tier Jess Franco.

Death Packs a Suitcase gets a first-rate release from Kino Lorber that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary.

Written by Michael Den Boer