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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Undead" )

 

directed by Faye Jackson
UK 2009

 

One night, ex-Communist land owner Constantin Tirescu (Constantin Barbulescu, BLOODRAYNE) and his wife Ileana (Roxanna Guttmann) are sentenced to death without trial by the village priest Tudor (Dan Popa) for the death of elderly drunkard Florin Cojocaru (Nicolae Stanila). They are executed by shovel and buried, after which the villagers pillage Tirescu's home of its clothes and appliances. Meanwhile, young non-practicing doctor Vlad Cozma (Catalin Paraschiv, CALIFORNIA DREAMIN') had returned from Italy after a failed internship; having grown tired of frying chicken in a fast food joint. Vlad not only finds Florin's death suspicious (particularly the bruising on his neck), but also the townspeople's sudden conspicuous displays of affluence (including kindly neighbor Mara Tomsa's [Camelia Maxim, ILS/THEM] suddenly well-equipped kitchen). At first, he suspects Tirescu of killing Florin for his land and bribing the villagers, the priest, and the police (especially when he learns that he is listed as the doctor who pronounced Florin's cause of death), until he visits Tirescu and his wife who have developed a bizarre insatiable hunger. Vlad is under threat for voicing his suspicions, but the villagers do not realize that Tirescu and his wife are not only strigoi (undead), but the traditional methods for dealing with them seem to be mere folklore. A British production shot in Romania with a Romanian cast speaking English (Paraschiv acted in the Romania-shot direct to disc RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: RAVE TO THE GRAVE and PUMPKINHEAD: ASHES TO ASHES sequels, while Barbulescu appeared in the Romania-shot RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD: NECROPOLIS and HELLRAISER: DEADER as well as a handful of Charles Band Full Moon productions from his Romanian period), STRIGOI is a quirky new take on the vampire genre; although, one can't help but feel it wants to be quirkier or and even whimsical (hence, the use of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit of the Sky" during the opening credits). The political metaphorical meaning here for strigoi is really nothing new, but double meaning of Mara's line "It's our fault, we created them," regarding the Tirescu's Communism and their newly undead existence lends some depth to the vileness of the film's corrupt religious, political, and authority figures (the mayor charges that young Vlad has no respect for tradition, yet he and the others discover that strigoi can eat garlic, they can enter churches, and burying strigoi at crossroads does not deter them from rising again). The English language performances are sometimes stilted, but not distracting (it's easier to the suspend disbelief that all of these Romanian characters are speaking to each other in English). Maxim's Mara and Rudi Rosenfeld (MADHOUSE) as Vlad's grandfather are the standout performers here (and are given some of the film's funniest lines). The film has already won some festival awards including Best Film, Best Actor (Catalin Paraschiv), and Best Actress (Roxana Guttmann) at Montevideo Fantastico in Uruguay, Best Independent Feature at Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Audience Award and Best Fantasy Feature at Cinefantasy in Sao Paolo, and Melies d'argent at Neuchatel Fantastic Film Festival.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: August 17th, 2009 (Toronto After Dark Film Festival)

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DVD Review: Bounty Films - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover

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Distribution

Bounty Films

Region 2 - PAL

Runtime 1:41:21 (4% PAL speedup)
Video

1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.23 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio
Subtitles English SDH, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Bounty Films

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• LUMP - short film by Faye Jackson (16:9; 11:48)
• Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 1:06)

DVD Release Date: 22 August 2011
Amaray

Chapters 12

 

Comments

Bounty Films presents STRIGOI in a strong dual-layer, anamorphic transfer with 5.1 audio and optional English SDH subtitles (very helpful due to some of the thick accents).

The film's theatrical trailer and a creepy short film by director Faye Jackson are also included. The US DVD (HERE) release is set for August 2, 2011 from Breaking Glass Pictures.

  - Eric Cotenas

 



DVD Menu
 

 


Screen Captures

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 


DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution

Bounty Films

Region 2 - PAL

 




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