NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Mondo Macabro Blu-ray (March 2025): Mondo Macabro have transferred Jesús García de Dueñas's The Killer Is Not Alone to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand new 2K restoration from film negative". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The 1080P seems a shade dull but consistent with reasonable detail. Grain textures are limited but there is consistency. There are a very few instances of depth.

NOTE: We have added 84 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Mondo Macabro use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original Spanish language. The Killer Is Not Alone has a sound queue identifying the trauma of the youth in flashback - leaning on dissonant stabs and train whistles, tying his past to his present unraveling. Plus there are a few effects including screams exported with modest depth. The functional score was credited in the film’s opening titles to Carmelo Bernaola, a respected Spanish composer known for his work in film and classical music during the mid-20th century. The music sounds very typical of the era’s European thrillers although no where near as stylized as Morricone or Goblin's Giallo compositions. It is effective in supporting the film in the lossless transfer. Mondo Macabro offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Mondo Macabro Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Euro-cult cinema experts Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films and Rod Barnett (The Naschycast.) They cite The Killer Is Not Alone as obscure in the Giallo-style, and that it was made in 1972 - but only released in Spain in 1975. They share details of the production, information on the cast;  Spanish actress, and singer Lola Flores, Teresa Rabal, and others plus the crew, director and more. It's at their high level and worth a listen. Included is a 23-minute interview with Spanish writer, film critic, Angel Sala, director of the Sitges Film Festival. With a background in law, Sala has carved out a significant niche in the realm of fantastic and horror cinema. He’s authored, co-authored, or edited around 30 books, many focusing on these genres, such as Cine fantástico y de terror alemán. 1913-1927 (2005), Universo Lynch (2006), and American Gothic. El cine de terror USA. 1968-1980 (2007). His work often digs into the cultural and historical layers of genre filmmaking, blending scholarly analysis with a fan’s enthusiasm. Great video segment. Lastly is a theatrical trailer for "El asesino no está solo".      

The Killer Is Not Alone is a Spanish psychological thriller directed by Jesús García de Dueñas, marking a curious footnote in 1970s European genre cinema. Made during the twilight of Francoist Spain, this 85-minute film blends elements of horror, drama, and proto-giallo vibes, though it sidesteps the Italian subgenre’s flashier tropes. It’s a slow-burn oddity - less about gore, more about mood - that’s gained a cult flicker thanks to this new Blu-ray release from Mondo Macabro. The story follows Julio (David Carpenter), a rich kid with a fractured psyche, who slits a prostitute’s throat with a wire hidden in a rhinoceros trinket after she tries to seduce him. Traumatized by a murky childhood event - flashed back in disjointed snippets - he’s got a lethal aversion to women who stir his desires. Fleeing to Madrid, he holes up in a boarding house run by Dolores (Spanish actress, bailaora - aka flamenco dancer - Lola Flores,) a dancer instructor and single mom. There, he meets her daughter Mónica (Teresa Rabal - Buñuel's Viridiana,), sparking a tentative romance that teeters on danger as his killing urge grows. The cast rounds out with American actor James Philbrook (I Want to Live!, Woman Obsessed, and 1964's The Thin Red Line) as his aloof dad and Austrian actress and producer Maria Rohm (Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, Count Dracula, And Then There Were None,) pulling triple duty - playing the opening victim, a housemate hooker, and Julio’s old babysitter in wig-swapping cameos. Dueñas, a documentary vet stepping into features, crafts a film that’s more introspective than slash-happy. The killer’s revealed upfront - no whodunit here - shifting focus to his inner mess. Cinematographer José Luis Alcaine (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) washes it together with Málaga’s Holy Week processions adding a cynical backdrop - hooded penitents clashing with Julio’s secular sins. It’s stylish but restrained - think close-ups of eyes and shoes (a fetish nod) -and the pacing drags if you’re expecting bloodbath intensity. I was very happy with the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray - especially for the commentary and to see this obscure - submerged previously in murky VHS, English-unfriendly, dups - early genre entry from Spain. Recommended to those who have read this far.

Gary Tooze