Gothic Fantastico Blu ray

Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror (Lady Morgan's Vengeance, The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye. The Witch Blu ray

While Mario Bava remains the best-known purveyor of Italian Gothic horror, many other filmmakers tried their hand at the form throughout the 1960s. Gothic Fantastico presents four titles from this classic period, all of which demonstrate Italy’s ability to expand genre beyond the classic literary monsters that dominated elsewhere.

Gaslighting abounds in Massimo Pupillo’s Lady Morgan’s Vengeance – a tale of romance and mystery sprinkled with sadism and the supernatural – as newlywed Sir Harold Morgan tries to destroy his bride with help from his sinister maid. Meanwhile, the perverse influence of Poe is used to great effect in Alberto De Martino’s The Blancheville Monster – a tale of family curses and madmen in the attic, as Emilie de Blancheville returns home to her brother Roderic and finds her own family out for her blood. Mino Guerrini’s The Third Eye features an early role for Italian cult icon Franco Nero and a plot that borrows elements from Hitchcock, layered with a whiff of necrophilia. Finally, Damiano Damiani’s The Witch takes a more avant-garde approach, when a young historian is lured to work for an ageing woman, only to be held captive when he becomes obsessed with her beautiful daughter.

Madness, obsession and messed up families are the order of the day in these four lesser-known monochrome gems from Italy’s peak Gothic period, restored in 2K from their original negatives for the first time alongside an array of in-depth extras.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

New 2K restorations from the original negatives


High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations


Original Italian and English front and end titles on The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye and The Witch


Original lossless mono Italian soundtracks


Original lossless mono English soundtracks on The Blancheville Monster, The Third Eye and The Witch


Optional English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks


Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks


New video introductions to each film by Italian film devotee Mark Thompson Ashworth


Image galleries


Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Roberto Curti, Rob Talbot, Jerome Reuter, Rod Barnett and Kimberly Lindbergs


Fold-out double-sided poster


Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch

DISC 1: LADY MORGAN’S VENGEANCE

New commentary by author / critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas


New video essay by author / producer Kat Ellinger


New video interview with actress Erika Blanc


Newly edited video interview with actor Paul Muller


Newly edited audio interview with director Massimo Pupillo


The complete original cineromanzo, published in Suspense in April 1971


Trailer

DISC 2: THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER

New commentary by filmmaker / film historian Paul Anthony Nelson


New video essay by writer / pop culture historian Keith Allison


New video interview with author / filmmaker Antonio Tentori


Opening credits for the US release of the film


Trailer

DISC 3: THE THIRD EYE

New commentary by author / critic Rachael Nisbet


New video essay by author / filmmaker Lindsay Hallam


Newly edited video interview with actress Erika Blanc

DISC 4: THE WITCH

New commentary by author / producer Kat Ellinger


New video essay by author Miranda Corcoran


New interview with author Antonio Tentori