High Tension: Four Films by Lamberto Bava: The Prince of Terror/The Man Who Didn't Want to Die/School of Fear/Eye Witness – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Release Date: Italy, 1993
Director: Lamberto Bava (All Films)
Cast: Martine Brochard, Barbara Cupisti, Tomas Arana, Carole André, David Brandon, Lino Salemme, Wanja Mary Sellers, Stefano Molinari, Virginia Bryant, Antonella Antinori, Jacques Sernas, Daria Nicolodi

Release Date: August 26th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 91 Minutes 50 Seconds (The Prince of Terror), 94 Minutes 59 Seconds (The Man Who Didn't Want to Die), 100 Minutes 17 Seconds (School of Fear), 99 Minutes 53 Seconds (Eye Witness)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (All Films), DTS-HD Mono English (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films), English SDH (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $104.95

The Prince of Terror: "For the first film in the series, director Lamberto Bava and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (THE BEYOND, DEMONS) delivered “a wild ride” (Euro Fever) that’s part home-invasion thriller, part supernatural shocker and one totally over-the-top gorehound blast: ‘Prince of Terror’ Vincent Omen (Tomas Arana of THE CHURCH and THE SECT) is cinema’s top horror director. But when a disgruntled screenwriter – a no-holds-barred performance by David Brandon of STAGEFRIGHT – attacks Omen and his family in their secluded villa, it will unleash a grisly maelstrom of graphic brutality courtesy of special effects maestro Sergio Stivaletti (THE MASK OF SATAN, CEMETERY MAN).” – Synopsis provided by the distributor

The Man Who Didn't Want to Die: "In the early ‘70s, the legendary Mario Bava began adapting a savage short story by poliziotteschi novelist Giorgio Scerbanenco (CALIBER 9) for a film project. When Lamberto Bava eventually directed it in 1989 – from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici (HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, THE NEW YORK RIPPER) – Italian TV refused to broadcast the violent thriller for nearly 20 years: After an art heist in a luxury villa goes horrifically wrong, a gang member (Gino Concari of Andrea Bianchi’s MASSACRE) left for dead will hunt down his accomplices in a mission of brutal revenge.” – Synopsis provided by the distributor

School of Fear: "In the most unsettlingly creepy film of the quartet, producer/director Lamberto Bava – along with screenwriters Roberto Gandus (MACABRE, PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS), Dardano Sacchetti (THE PSYCHIC, ZOMBIE), Giorgio Stegani (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, EYE WITNESS) and composer Simon Boswell (DEMONS 2, SANTA SANGRE) – present a private academy where the curriculum is defined by unadulterated evil: When an idealistic young teacher (Alessandra Acciai of Luigi Cozzi’s THE BLACK CAT) arrives mid-semester at an exclusive school, she’ll anger the stern principal (Italian horror icon Daria Nicolodi), unlock a nightmare of trauma and discover that child’s play can be the deadliest game of all.” – Synopsis provided by the distributor

Eye Witness: "For his final film in the High Tension series, director Lamberto Bava crafted a unique twist on the giallo genre with a screenplay by Giorgio Stegani (SCHOOL OF FEAR, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST) and Massimo De Rita (BLASTFIGHTER, STREET LAW) from a story by Bava, a haunting score by Simon Boswell (PHENOMENA, STAGEFRIGHT) and an outstanding performance by Barbara Cupisti of CEMETERY MAN, THE CHURCH and OPERA fame: When a blind woman (Cupisti) is the only witness to a murder, the cops – and the killer – set their sights on ending her ordeal forever.” – Synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (All Films)

Here’s the information given about the transfer, “now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative."

The Prince of Terror comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.3 GB

Feature: 27.7 GB

Here’s the information given about the transfer, “now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative."

The Man Who Didn't Want to Die comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.7 GB

Feature: 28.5 GB

Here’s the information given about the transfer, “now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative."

School of Fear comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.4 GB

Feature: 30 GB

Here’s the information given about the transfer, “now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative."

Eye Witness comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.7 GB

Feature: 30.2 GB

All of the transfers are comparable; their sources look excellent. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 4.25/5 (All Audio Tracks Except DTS-HD Mono English - The Man Who Didn't Want to Die), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - The Man Who Didn't Want to Die)

Each film comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Itallian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. All tracks are comparable, except The Man Who Didn't Want to Die’s Italian-language track sounds more robust than its English-language track. All tracks sound clean, dialogue 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.

Extras:

Extras for The Prince of Terror include an interview with director Lamberto Bava titled The Adventure of Anfri; he discusses the High Tension TV series and Anfri production company (16 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Lamberto Bava titled We Call Him Maestro; he discusses The Prince of Terror (17 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years Of Italian Giallo Films.

Extras for The Man Who Didn't Want to Die include an interview with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti titled Stephen King Italian Style (15 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles) and an interview with Lamberto Bava titled The Scerbanenco Touch; he discusses The Man Who Didn't Want to Die (22 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles).

Extras for School of Fear include an interview with screenwriter Roberto Gandus titled Play The Game (9 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with composer Simon Boswell titled When Bava Met Boswell (31 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Lamberto Bava titled The Tale of Evil Children; he discusses School of Fear (18 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), a 15-track compilation CD of Simon Boswell’s scores for Lamberto Bava films, and an insert with the track listing.

Extras for Eye Witness include an interview with actress Barbara Cupisti titled Love is Blind (12 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with Lamberto Bava titled The Last Giallo; he discusses Eye Witness (15 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth.

Summary:

Lamberto Bava directed The Prince of Terror, The Man Who Didn't Want to Die, School of Fear, and Eye Witness; they are part of a TV series called High Tension. Notable films directed by Lamberto Bava are Macabre, A Blade in the Dark, Demons, and Demons 2.

The Prince of Terror: A horror filmmaker and his family, who live in an isolated villa, are terrorized by intruders seeking revenge against them.

The Prince of Terror opens with a clever moment of misdirection, a scene where a woman is being chased by a zombie, and when the camera pulls back, it's revealed that a movie is being made. This sequence does an excellent job foreshadowing what is yet to come for a film that is all about deception. The opening setup also establishes the protagonists and other key characters.

When it comes to the performances, they suit the story really well. Tomas Arana (Body Puzzle) is cast in the role of the protagonist, a horror filmmaker named Vincent Omen. The most memorable performance is David Brandon (StageFright), who portrays Paul Hilary, the screenwriter behind all of Vincent Omen’s films.

Lamberto Bava made a career out of films that are primarily in a central location, and the villa in The Prince of Terror makes for a perfect place for a killer to stalk their prey. Not only is the villa isolated, but it also has a ridiculous number of windows, giving someone on the outside a clear view of the inside of the house. While the villa does not offer Vincent and his family many places to conceal themselves, it does make for a very cinematic experience.

The premise is well-executed, and the narrative does a superb job building momentum with a series of tense moments. Vincent’s past comes back to haunt him; the intruders are using props and elements from his films. When it comes to carnage, most of it is offscreen, and the most gruesome moment is a character dying by a golf ball. Ultimately, The Prince of Terror is a well-crafted horror film whose finale offers up some supernatural undertones.

The Man Who Didn't Want to Die: Thieves robbing art and antiquities encounter trouble when one of them is gravely wounded. Fearing exposure, they do not take him to the hospital and instead dump his body. When they learn that someone discovered his body and took him to the hospital, they decide they must finish him off before he talks.

The origins of The Man Who Didn't Want to Die are more interesting than its actual execution. The Man Who Didn't Want to Die is an adaptation of Giorgio Scerbanenco’s (Milano calibro 9) story of the same name. According to Lamberto Bava, his father Mario originally was going to make a film adaptation of The Man Who Didn't Want to Die, but the production company went out of business.

Despite a strong opening setup and a solid final act, the narrative's lack of tension and overall ability to sustain momentum undermine any of its strengths. Another knock against the narrative is its overreliance on exposition. While things pick up considerably in the last 25 minutes, it is too little too late by then.

The acting is best described as serviceable. Gino Concari is cast in the role of Giannetto, the man who didn't want to die. His character spends most of his screentime in a hospital bed, which is good for the film since he’s easily the weakest link. The most notable cast member is Martine Brochard (Eyeball), who portrays Madame Jaclaud; her character arranges for the selling of stolen art and antiques.

Although Lamberto Bava has ventured outside of horror and fantasy, it is these two genres where he’s found his biggest success. With The Man Who Didn't Want to Die, Lamberto Bava makes a rare foray into the Poliziotteschi genre. The result is an uneven film that at its best delivers some tense moments, while the majority of the time it just plods along. Ultimately, The Man Who Didn't Want to Die is not one of Lamberto Bava’s better films and is only recommended for completists.

School of Fear: A young woman with a troubled past finds a teaching job at a school where her predecessor died under sinister circumstances.

While not directly an homage to the cinema of Mario Bava, School of Fear takes on the evil child character that played a significant role in several of his films. What drives the narrative are two things: what are the children hiding and why are the games they play so deadly? Opposite of the children is a young woman/teacher who’s never recovered from a traumatic event from her childhood.

The cast is predominantly made up of child actors who all more than fulfill the role of a Bad Seed-like child. When it comes to the adult cast, their performances suit the story well. The most surprising performance is Alessandra Acciai (The Black Cat) in the role of Diana Berti, the young woman with a traumatic past. The most notable cast member is Daria Nicolodi (Phenomina), who portrays the headmistress of the school.

While the opening setup does a solid job of setting things up, the narrative is too slow-moving and never really creates any momentum. An area where the narrative did deliver is its use of flashbacks, which reveal the extent of the trauma inflicted on Diana. Visually, School of Fear is a beautifully photographed film that has a handful of striking moments. Ultimately, for all of its shortcomings, one thing we can say about School of Fear is that it does not lack atmosphere.

Eye Witness: A blind woman witnesses a murder. When the killer discovers there is a witness, they set out to silence them.

It is a shame that Lamberto Bava did not make more gialli; it is a genre that he excelled at the most. Although Eye Witness employs many familiar giallo tropes, it does not try to conceal the killer's identity. That said, what drives the narrative is the cat-and-mouse game between a blind witness and the killer, where the latter has to go to great extremes despite the former's handicap.

Most of the performances exceed expectations, especially Barbara Cupisti’s (Opera) portrayal of Elisa, the blind witness. She delivers a remarkable performance that is always convincing. The weakest performance is Stefano Davanzati (The Final Executioner) in the role of police commissioner Marra.

When it comes to one of the staples of the giallo genre, the murder set pieces, Eye Witness delivers several stylish kills. The well-executed narrative is overflowing with tension and it is very effective at building momentum to its climactic moment of truth. Ultimately, Eye Witness is Lamberto Bava’s last great film and a solid giallo that fans of the genre should thoroughly enjoy.

High Tension: Four Films by Lamberto Bava is a solid release from Severin Films that gives each film a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer