The Bell from Hell – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1973
Directors: Claudio Guerín Hill, Juan Antonio Bardem
Writer: Santiago Moncada
Cast: Renaud Verley, Viveca Lindfors, Alfredo Mayo, Maribel Martín, Nuria Gimeno, Christina von Blanc

Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 97 Minutes 31 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, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $219.95 (Exorcismo: Defying A Dictator & Raising Hell In Post-Franco Spain)

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “4K scan from the internegative by LTC Patrimoine & Cités de mémoire.”

The Bell from Hell comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.1 GB

Feature: 20.7 GB

The Bell from Hell has not been treated well on home media, and while this new release is a massive improvement, it is not without its shortcomings. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction. When it comes to compression, there are some issues, most noticeable during darker scenes.

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

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both tracks sound clear and balanced, and ambient sounds are well represented. That said, the Spanish-language track has a background that varies in degrees throughout. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish-language track and removable English SDH for the English-language track.

Extras:

Extras for The Bell from Hell include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 18 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with film scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil titled Censorship and Curses (30 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Kat Ellinger, author of Daughters of Darkness, an audio commentary with Rod Barnett, film historian and co-host of NaschyCast, and Robert Monell, writer and editor of I'm in a Jess Franco State of Mind, and a short film directed by Claudio Guerín titled Luciano (39 minutes 26 seconds, 1.66:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono Spanish with removable English subtitles).

Luciano: A teacher murders a boy skipping school.

The Bell from Hell is currently only available as part of a collection of films titled Exorcismo: Defying A Dictator & Raising Hell In Post-Franco Spain. That release comes with 17 additional films, a documentary about Spanish cinema titled Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada "S," and a 168-page book.

Summary:

The Bell from Hell was directed by Claudio Guerín Hill, whose only other theatrical feature film was The House of Doves. He would die on the last day of shooting The Bell from Hell, and Juan Antonio Bardem (The Corruption of Chris Miller) would be brought in to complete the film.

A man falsely accused of being insane is released from an asylum and returns to his family home. He tries to prove that he’s not losing his mind, while someone close to him sets in motion a plan to get rid of him once and for all.

While The Bell from Hell has horror elements like eerie atmosphere and a few well-placed jump scares, the result is something closer to a psychological thriller. The Bell from Hell is also a film filled with deception; no one is what they appear to be, and most characters have ulterior motives that are revealed as the narrative unfolds. Throughout the film, a bell travels through town, and the finale solidifies its significance.

Made during the Franco regime, The Bell from Hell is a clear example of a film using the oppressive system to its advantage by injecting subversive subject matter. Notable examples are how it conveys the protagonist's incestuous relationship with his three cousins and how it takes on the bourgeois. While The Bell from Hell does a superb job slipping subversive subject matter into the story that unfolds, it is not a film without faults. That said, The Bell from Hell is a film that relies more on atmosphere than on laying out a straightforward narrative.

There is not much in the way of fleshing characters out; fortunately, all of the performances are strong. Renaud Verley (The Damned) portrays Juan, a young man whose sanity others question. Juan is a mischievous person whose thought process is almost childlike, and his performance perfectly captures these qualities. The most notable cast member is Maribel Martín (The Blood Spattered Bride) in the role of Esther, one of Juan's cousins.

Besides an ample amount of atmosphere, another area where The Bell from Hell excels is its striking imagery. The most notable moment is a scene that takes place in a slaughterhouse, and the horrors of such a place are shown without a filter. Other visually arresting moments are the scene where Juan’s three cousins emerge slowly from the fog and an exemplary finale where Juan’s fate becomes intertwined with the aforementioned bell. Another strength is Adolfo Waitzman’s (The Other Side of the Mirror) score, which does a phenomenal job reinforcing the mood. Ultimately, The Bell from Hell does an excellent job drawing you in, holding your attention, and its finale stays with you.

Severin Films gives The Bell from Hell its best home media release to date. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer