The Mask of Satan - Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy/Spain/West Germany/France/Portugal, 1989
Director: Lamberto Bava
Writers: Lamberto Bava, Massimo De Rita, Giorgio Stegani
Cast: Giovanni Guidelli, Debora Caprioglio, Stanko Molnar, Wanja Mary Sellers, Alessandra Bonarota, Laura Devoti, Michele Soavi, Stefano Molinari, Ron Williams, Eva Grimaldi

Release Date: February 25th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 98 minutes 18 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"When a group of skiers becomes trapped in a crevasse, their discovery of a long-frozen female corpse will unmask an ancient evil, unlock a portal of the damned and unleash a nightmare of Satanic vengeance." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative for the first time ever in North America."

The Mask of Satan comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.9 GB

Feature: 29.1 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are solid, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish. Both tracks are comparable; they sound clean, clear, and balanced and robust when they should. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian-language track and removable English subtitles for the Spanish-language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with actress Debora Caprioglio titled Sabina The Teenage Witch (11 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Mary Sellers titled Una Americana a Roma (11 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an interview with director Lamberto Bava titled The Curse of the Mask (37 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles).

Summary:

Lamberto Bava directed The Mask of Satan. He’s most known for Macabre, A Blade in the Dark, Demons, and Demons 2. The Mask of Satan is an adaptation of Nikolay Gogol’s novella Vij. Lamberto’s father, Mario's directorial debut, Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan), was also an adaptation of Vij.

A group of skiers fall into a crevice and awaken a witch from her tomb.

While Lamberto Bava’s The Mask of Satan is linked to his father's film by name and using the same literary source, their only other connection is an iron mask worn by the witch. Where his father's films, like the source story, were set in the past, he sets his film in the present. That said, Lamberto Bava’s The Mask of Satan is better described as an homage to his father's film and not a remake of it.

Of all of the genres that Lamberto Bava worked in, horror is the one that he was most suited for. Not only was he one of the best working in Italy from the 1980s onward when it came to onscreen carnage, but he also excelled when it came to fantastical elements. Because of these qualities, it should not come as a surprise that he was one of the few Italian filmmakers who found consistent work throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

The one area that dramatically changed in Italian genre cinema from the late 1980s onward was the cast. Fresh-faced actors and actresses with no or little experience replaced most of the names that had dominated the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s. When it comes to the performances in The Mask of Satan, they are best described as servicable. Cast members of note are Debora Caprioglio (Paprika), Eva Grimaldi (Convent of Sinners), Michele Soavi (a filmmaker in his own right), and a frequent collaborator of Lamberto Bava’s Stanko Molnar (Macabre, A Blade in the Dark).

The Mask of Satan is typical of Italian genre films of the late 1980s; they were working on very limited budgets and often kept locations to a minimum. Its premise is well-executed, and the narrative takes on a dreamlike quality that ensures it's anything remotely predictable. While the special effects have not dated well, in every other area, The Mask of Satan holds up well. Simon Boswell, who worked with Lamberto Bava more than any other composer, delivers a solid mood-enhancing score. Ultimately, The Mask of Satan is a well-crafted supernatural atmospheric horror film.

The Mask of Satan gets a first-rate release from Severin Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer