Forbidden Game of Love – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1975
Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Writers: Eloy de la Iglesia, Juan Antonio Porto, Antonio Corencia
Cast: Javier Escrivá, John Moulder-Brown, Inma de Santis, Simón Andreu

Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.99

"Breaking up for the summer vacation, popular literature teacher Don Luis wishes his students well and sets them a holiday project on the myth of “delayed revenge”. Later, driving away from the city, Don Luis sees two of his students, Miguel and Julia, hitch hiking. He offers them a ride and they eventually agree to spend the night at Don Luis’s isolated house in the country, which they soon discover is a palatial mansion with extensive private grounds.

The young lovers get to spend their first night in bed together and discuss the possibility of staying on in the large house, its only other inhabitant being Jaime (Simon Andreu), a man in his 30s, who seems to be some sort of servant to Don Luis. The next day they decide to go for a walk, only to discover that the tall iron gates of the house are firmly chained shut. They challenge Don Luis, who then produces a pistol and they realize that they are now prisoners, along with Jaime.

What then follows is a series of bizarre and highly charged “games” which seem designed to break down their spirit of resistance and force them to accept Don Luis as their superior and mentor. However, when Don Luis finally returns to his teaching duties, Miguel, Julia and Jaime begin to see a way to reverse the power balance. As things change in the house, the forbidden game becomes one of life and death." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4k restoration from negative."

Forbidden Game of Love comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.5 GB

Feature: 25.2 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are solid, there are no issues with compression, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. Although there are some minor instances of background crackle and hiss, the bulk of the audio track sounds clean. That said, dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to an interview with Angel Sala, who discusses director Eloy de la Iglesia (18 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles).

Summary:

Eloy De La Iglesia directed Forbidden Game of Love. He's known for The Glass Ceiling, The Cannibal Man, No One Heard the Scream, Murder in a Blue World, The Creature, and El pico.

A teacher picks up two students trying to hitchhike while on holiday from school and invites them to stay with him.

Although the narrative begins in the classroom, most of the events take place in the isolated mansion of the teacher, Don Luis. The opening sequence in the classroom foreshadows where the narrative is going; the assignment given to the students before the holiday break is Delayed Revenge. The narrative effectively builds tension and momentum, culminating in a powerful finale. In this climax, Don Luis's worldview wins as the two students and another man who has been staying with him fully embrace the lessons he taught them.

What starts off as an innocent invitation quickly takes a dark turn when the two students find themselves prisoners. Instead of embracing Don Luis’ ideology, the two students are defiant, and no matter how much he pushes them, they remain steadfast and refuse to bend to his will. Throughout his career Eloy de la Iglesia often injected social commentary into his films, and a familiar target was fascism. That said, Don Luis’ worldview and actions can be viewed as an allegory about fascism.

The four leads deliver exemplary performances: Javier Escrivá (Tormento) as Don Luis, John Moulder-Brown (Ludwig), Inma de Santis (The Killer of Dolls) as two runaway students, and Simón Andreu (The Blood Spattered Bride) as Jaime, a man who assists Don Luis in his acts of cruelty. Don Luis is an affluent man who inherited his fortune at the age of 25, and he only sees teaching as a hobby to fill his time.

As mentioned before, the narrative does an excellent job building momentum by building tension and throwing in a few well-timed twists, notably one that reshapes everything with 30 minutes to go. The visuals effectively highlight the performances, making them the main focus. Additionally, the diverse range of musical styles featured is noteworthy, especially the incorporation of classical music by Richard Wagner. Ultimately, Forbidden Game of Love is a well-crafted psychological drama that leaves a lasting impression with its moment of truth.

Forbidden Game of Love gets a first-rate release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an insightful extra. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer