Spanish Blood Bath: Night of the Skull / Violent Blood Bath / The Fish with the Eyes of Gold – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)
Theatrical Release Dates: Spain, 1974 (Night of the Skull), Spain/Italy, 1974 (Violent Blood Bath), Spain, 1974 (The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Directors: Jesús Franco (Night of the Skull), Jorge Grau (Violent Blood Bath), Pedro L. Ramírez (The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Cast: Alberto Dalbés, Evelyne Scott, William Berger, Maribel Hidalgo, Lina Romay, Vicente Roca, Yelena Samarina, Antonio Mayans, Ángel Menéndez, Luis Barboo, Swan Heinze, Jesús Franco (Night of the Skull), Fernando Rey, Marisa Mell, Máximo Valverde, Espartaco Santoni, Elisa Laguna, Julián Navarro, María Vico, Carmen Martínez Sierra, Nené Morales, José Lifante (Violent Blood Bath), Wal Davis, Norma Kastel, Ada Tauler, Ricardo Vázquez, Barta Barri, María Elena Arpón, Rex Martín, Víctor Israel, Montserrat Prous, Gustavo Re (The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 82 Minutes 31 Seconds (Night of the Skull), 92 Minutes 8 Seconds (Violent Blood Bath), 84 Minutes 19 Seconds (The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Night of the Skull), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Violent Blood Bath, The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish (All Films), DTS-HD Mono English (Violent Blood Bath)
Subtitles: English (All Films), English SDH (Violent Blood Bath)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $54.98
"In the early 70s, while Italy led the charge in the production of gialli, its neighbor to the West, Spain, began churning out more and more of its own takes on the genre. With their uniquely Catalan flavor and casts, this trio of criminally-underseen Spanish gialli have all been newly restored in 4K from their 35mm camera negatives and are at last making their worldwide Blu-ray debuts from Vinegar Syndrome.
After Lord Archibald Marion is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant, the bitter and feuding members of his family gather at his large country mansion for a reading of the will. But their arrival is marked by a second grisly killing, that of Archibald's wife, which sets into motion an increasingly chilling series of deaths. One of only a handful of traditional gialli directed by Jess Franco (Venus in Furs), the improbably Louisiana-set, Night of the Skull (La noche de los asesinos) is a delightfully pulpy old-dark-house whodunit.
A notoriously harsh French judge, vacationing at a luxury resort, finds his holiday interrupted when a mysterious killer begins murdering those in and around the hotel. But what makes these killings all the more unsettling is that they're being carried out identically to the methods used by the judge's executed murderers. Offering a more subtextual narrative which leads to a memorably cynical and downbeat ending, Jorge Grau’s (The Blood Spattered Bride) Violent Blood Bath (Pena de muerte) is a uniquely thought-provoking entry in the annals of Spanish gialli.
Derek, a handsome young Englishman, has recently moved to a Spanish seaside town. A lothario, Derek is quick to begin seducing the local women, only for a murderer to start picking them off one by one. Despite his protests of innocence, the police conclude that Derek is a sex maniac and responsible for the crimes. However, could another individual be behind the heinous killings? Remaining thematically and structurally aligned with its Italian forebears, Pedro Luis Ramírez’ (School of Death) The Fish with the Eyes of Gold (El pez de los ojos de oro) is an engrossing, twist-filled coastal caper with plenty of murders and other macabre surprises." - synopsis provided by the distributor
Video: 4/5 (Night of the Skull), 4.5/5 (Violent Blood Bath, The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Here’s the information given about the transfers, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from their 35mm original camera negatives".
Night of the Skull comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 27.8 GB
Feature: 22.4 GB
Violent Blood Bath comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 36.2 GB
Feature: 26.6 GB
The Fish with the Eyes of Gold comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 27.1 GB
Feature: 22.9 GB
When it comes to colors, image clarity, and black levels, the three films are comparable quality-wise. Flesh tones look correct, colors look very good, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and all three films always look organic. That said, all three films have some source-related debris and other source imperfections. Night of the Skull has the most of these imperfections.
Audio: 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish - Night of the Skull), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Spanish - Violent Blood Bath, Violent Blood Bath - DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Spanish - The Fish with the Eyes of Gold)
Night of the Skull comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. That said, there are some sibilance issues that are most noticeable when it comes to the score.
Violent Blood Bath comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks are in good shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and ambient sounds are well represented. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.
The Fish with the Eyes of Gold comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. The audio is in good shape, dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound very good.
Extras:
Extras for Night of the Skull include an interview with actor Antonio Mayans (13 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles) and an interview with Sitges Festival director Ángel Sala (9 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles).
Extras for Violent Blood Bath include an interview with Carlos Grau, son of director Jorge Grau (20 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor José Lifante (11 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles) and an interview with Ángel Sala (9 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles).
Extras for The Fish with the Eyes of Gold include 5 Spanish Giallo Recommendations by Ángel Sala (2 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles) and an interview with Ángel Sala (14 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Spanish with removable English subtitles).
Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 5,000 units).
Summary:
Night of the Skull: Though Jess Franco’s films from the 1970s were known for their erotic content, every now and then he would make films that were more conventional. Case in point: Nigth of the Skull is a film that would see Jess Franco return to his Gothic horror roots. That said, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cat and the Canary and an unnamed Edgar Wallace novel are two sources Jess Franco drew from for Night of the Skull.
The narrative revolves around a family who gathers for the reading of a will for their recently deceased patriarch.
After you have seen a good number of Jess Franco’s films, you start to notice recurring elements. And though Night of the Skull has a few of these elements, like his overreliance on zoom shots and a whipping scene that is reminiscent of his De Sade-influenced films, The result is a fairly straight-forward Gothic horror film that looks and feels like it could have been directed by anyone.
Besides Gothic horror elements, Night of the Skull at times feels like an Agatha Christie murder mystery. The bulk of the narrative is about the police and their investigation into the growing number of corpses. And when it comes to the kills, each one is different and inventive. When it comes to the kills, don’t expect gore; they are virtually bloodless.
The performances are best described as serviceable; there is no one performance that stands out, and the cast does have a few recognizable faces. Notably, Lina Romay was still in the early stages of her four-decade collaboration with Jess Franco. The cast also features Antonio Mayans (Cries of Pleasure), another frequent collaborator of Jess Franco.
When discussing the films of Jess Franco, there are generally two kinds of people: “those who love just about everything Jess Franco has done” and “those who think he is a talent-less hack." I would put myself in the first group of those who love just about everything he has done. I have seen 120 of his films to date, and I would say that I have enjoyed something about every one of them. Ultimately, Night of the Skull is a film that really never goes anywhere, and I can’t imagine anyone enjoying this film outside of Jess Franco completists.
Violent Blood Bath: Directed by Jorge Grau, whose other notable films are Blood Ceremony, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, and Hunting Ground.
The narrative revolves around a judge on vacation who starts to question his sanity when a series of murders happen that are identical to the cases he worked on.
Violent Blood Bath has an excellent premise about a judge known for his harsh punishments. The narrative explores how his judgments have weighed heavily on him; though he has sentenced many to death, they have committed heinous crimes and are most deserving of their verdicts.
Another area where Violent Blood Bath excels is the well-crafted narrative. Besides very effectively using flashbacks that provide insight into the people sentenced by the judge, the narrative also does a great job concealing who is committing the mimic killings.
When it comes to the performances, the cast is all very good, especially Fernando Rey (The French Connection) in the role of the judge. He delivers an exceptional performance that perfectly captures the essence of his character and their state of mind. Another performance of note is Marisa Mell (Danger: Diabolik) in the role of the judge’s much younger trophy wife.
Though there are a series of grisly murders, they all happen off-screen. Showing the aftermath of the carnage actually enhances these moments. That said, these moments are surprisingly strong, despite the lack of stylized onscreen kills.
Though Spanish and Italian thrillers of the 1970s have many similarities, Violent Blood Bath is a film that bears little connection to the Italian-made thrillers. In Violent Blood Bath, the protagonist's perspective and state of mind play a significant role since what unfolds is in the realm of the psychological instead of the visceral. Ultimately, Violent Blood Bath is a well-made psychological thriller that does a fantastic job of building momentum towards a twist finale that brings everything that preceded it into focus.
The Fish with the Eyes of Gold: Directed by Pedro L. Ramírez, who is most known for directing School of Death.
The narrative revolves around an Englishman who becomes the prime suspect while on holiday in a Spanish seaside town.
The Fish with the Eyes of Gold is a Spanish thriller that falls in line with Italian thrillers of the 1970s. The mystery of the killer and the murder set pieces are stylish and have a visceral tone. And another familiar trope of childhood trauma plays a significant role in The Fish with the Eyes of Gold.
One thing you can count on when watching an Italian thriller, and in this case, a Spanish thriller, is a violent kill that sets the narrative in motion. In the opening moments, someone wearing a diving suit savagely murders a woman on the beach. This scene does a superb job of setting the tone for what follows. Also, though there are clues to the killer's identity, the narrative does a good job concealing who the killer is.
When it comes to the performances, they are adequate; no one performance stands out. The most recognizable cast member is Montserrat Prous (Sinner: The Secret Diary of a Nymphomaniac) in the role of a promiscuous woman who ends up being the killer's second victim. She makes the most out of her limited screen time. By far and away, the weakest performance is by Wal Davis (The Horrible Sexy Vampire) in the role of the protagonist. Ultimately, The Fish with the Eyes of Gold is a well-made Spanish thriller that has an ample amount of carnage, sleaze, and a few well-placed red herrings.
Spanish Blood Bath is another solid release from Vinegar Syndrome; each film comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras for each film, recommended.
Written by Michael Den Boer
