In what is effecyively a double dose of news, Indicator has announced both its March and April Blu-ray and UHD releases, and it's a fascinatingly eclectic collection.
In March, Indicator is releasing its latest excursions into the exciting world of Mexico's lucha libre cinema, with three classics of the genre from director René Cardona and producer Guillermo Calderón, The Panther Woman (1967), The Bat Women (1968) and Santo vs. the Riders of Terror (1970).
In April, Indicator presents two more 4K restorations in its critically acclaimed series of films by legendary European horror auteur Jean Rollin, The Nude Vampire (1970) and The Demoniacs (1974), both of which will be released in Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions.
THE PANTHER WOMEN [LAS MUJERES PANTERAS] (1967)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 25 March 2024 | £19.99
Gothic horror and lucha libre collide in The Panther Women (Las mujeres panteras), which showcases a host of Mexico's top female stars, including Elizabeth Campbell, Ariadne Welter, and Yolanda Montes aka Tongolele.
The Panther Women are a witch cult who resurrect their leader by sacrificing the descendants of the family which murdered him. As the cult seeks to kill the youngest descendent, they are taken on by fearless luchadoras Loreta Venus (Welter) and the Golden Rubí (Campbell).
Directed by René Cardona (Night of the Bloody Apes), scripted by Alfredo Salazar (The Bat Woman), and produced by Guillermo Calderón (Santo vs. the Riders of Terror), The Panther Women is an action-packed and influential classic of the cine de luchadoras.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 2K restoration from the original negative
- Original Spanish mono audio
- Audio commentary with the publisher of From Parts Unknown and screenwriter of Los campeones de la Lucha Libre, Keith J Rainville (2024)
- Let Them Fight! (2024, 15 mins): the Killer Film, el critico enmascarado (the Masked Critic), lucha libre specialist, and filmmaker behind the Monterrey female wrestlers documentary La femenil, discusses the protagonists of the film, the cine de luchadoras, and the controversial story of Mexican female wrestling
- Cat Fight (2024, 24 mins): academic and Latin American horror specialist Valeria Villegas Lindvall, also known as Morena de Fuego, examines the struggle for empowerment and the subverted representation of the female characters in the film
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Iain Robert Smith, archival essays by Janina Möbius and Ricardo Cárdenas Pérez, an archival interview with Guillermo Calderón, and full film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 8,000 individually numbered units for the UK and US
All extras subject to change.
THE BAT WOMAN [LA MUJER MUCIÉLAGO] (1968)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 25 March 2024 | £19.99
Wrestlers, mad doctors, and human-fish hybrids abound in The Bat Woman (La mujer murciélago), a colourful showcase for the talents of Italian Mexican sex symbol Maura Monti.
When Acapulco's wrestlers start being murdered and their pineal glands mysteriously extracted, the wealthy luchadora Gloria (Monti) adopts her crime-fighting persona of the Bat Woman. Donning her disguise of shiny blue mask, cape, and micro-bikini, she teams up with agent Mario (Héctor Godoy) to foil the evil Dr Williams (Roberto Cañedo) in his dastardly plan to create an army of amphibious 'fish-men'.
Produced by Guillermo Calderón (Santo vs. the Riders of Terror) and directed by René Cardona (The Panther Women), The Bat Woman is an eye-popping, high-camp blend of lucha libre and superhero action.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 4K restoration from the original negative
- Original Spanish mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historian and Mexican cinema specialist David Wilt (2024)
- Adventures in Mexicolour (2024): journalist, writer and indie editor of Belcebú, and formerly DC Comics, Mauricio Matamoros Durán examines the position of The Bat Woman within the Mexican and international pop and comic-book culture of the time
- Fantastique Creatures (2024): José Luis Ortega Torres, film critic, teacher, and author of the book Mostrología del cine mexicano, explores the representation of monsters in early Mexican genre cinema
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Dolores Tierney, archival essays by Doyle Greene and Andrew Coe, archival interviews with Maura Monti, and full film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 8,000 individually numbered units Blu-rays for the UK and US
All extras subject to change.
SANTO VS. THE RIDERS OF TERROR [SANTO CONTRA LOS JINETES DEL TERROR] (1970)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | 25 March 2024 | £19.99
El Santo, the Silver-Masked Man, rides into the Wild West in Santo vs. the Riders of Terror (Santo contra los jinetes del terror), a unique blend of gunplay and lucha libre action.
When a group of lepers escape from their asylum, they fall under the influence of a band of outlaws who are terrorising a small western town. The desperate sheriff calls for El Santo to defeat the bandits, defend the townsfolk, and help the exploited lepers.
Produced by Guillermo Calderón (The Bat Woman) and directed by René Cardona (The Panther Women), Santo vs. the Riders of Terror sees the cine de luchadores meet the 'chili western' and adds dashes of horror and romance along the way.
This striking 4K restoration is also coupled with Lepers and Sex (Los leprosos y el sexo), the recently rediscovered 'sexy' reworking of Santo vs. the Riders of Terror, which was created by the producers for the export market – all without the knowledge of the family friendly El Santo!
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- 4K restoration from the original negative for Santo vs. the Riders of Terror and the alternative softcore version, Lepers and Sex
- Original Spanish mono audio
- Audio commentary with film historian and Mexican cinema specialist David Wilt (2024)
- Never-seen-before archival interview with co-star Armando Silvestre in which he discusses his involvement with the Calderón family (2024)
- Western a la mexicana (2024): lucha librespecialist and filmmaker the Killer Film, el critico enmascarado (the Masked Critic), assessed the film, its different versions, and its place within Santo's acting and wrestling career
- Cardona Bonanza (2024): writer and Mexican genre film programmer of Trash-Mex Armando Hernandez discusses René Cardona's career and the Cardona dynasty
- Alternative French opening credits
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Colin Gunkel, archival essays by Doyle Greene, Olivia Cosentino and Brian Price, archival interviews with El Santo and Viviana García-Besné, and full film credits
- UK premiere of Santo vs. the Riders of Terror on Blu-ray
- World premiere of Lepers and Sex on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 8,000 individually numbered units Blu-rays for the UK and US
All extras subject to change.
THE NUDE VAMPIRE [LA VAMPIRE NUE] (1970)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | Limited Edition UHD | 22 April 2024 | £19.99 (Blu-ray), £24.99 (UHD)
Jean Rollin's second feature film, and his first in colour, The Nude Vampire (La Vampire nue) finds the master of the fantastique combining his trademark erotic-vampire themes with an homage to the mystery serials of his youth.
When Pierre (Olivier Martin), the son of a wealthy industrialist, witnesses a beautiful woman (Caroline Cartier) being pursued and captured by men in bizarre masks, he decides to investigate, uncovering a sinister vampire cult...
Starring Caroline Cartier (Lumière), veteran French character actors Bernard Musson (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) and Paul Bisciglia (The Demoniacs), Lettrist artist Maurice Lemaître (co-writer of Rollin's The Iron Rose), and Rollin regulars Olivier Martin (The Rape of the Vampire) and twins Cathy and Marie-Pierre Castel (Lips of Blood), The Nude Vampire is one of Jean Rollin's most eccentric and effective works.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD AND BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- Brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) (UHD only)
- Original French and English mono soundtracks
- Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2024)
- Jean Rollin Introduces 'The Nude Vampire' (1998)
- Le Passage (2024): updated documentary on the making of The Nude Vampire by Rollin's personal assistant, Daniel Gouyette, including interviews with key collaborators Natalie Perrey, Jean-Noël Delamarre, and Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
- Fragment d'un dialogue (2024): extracts from selected interviews with Rollin conducted by Gouyette between 1998 and 2003
- Interview with archivist Lucas Balbo exploring Rollin's connection to the French anarchist union (2024)
- Critical appreciation by author and film historian Virginie Sélavy (2024)
- Original French and English theatrical trailers
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
- New and improved English translation subtitles for the French soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a selection of new and archival writing including a new essay by David Jenkins, an archival introduction by director Jean Rollin, an archival interview with Rollin, and full film credits.
- Limited edition of 10,000 individually numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US
All extras subject to change.
THE DEMONIACS [LES DÉMONIAQUES] (1974)
Limited Edition Blu-ray | Limited Edition UHD | 22 April 2024 | £19.99 (Blu-ray), £24.99 (UHD)
The Demoniacs (Les Démoniaques) sees director Jean Rollin eschew his regular subject of vampirism for a brutal nautical tale of ritual horror and supernatural vengeance.
A gang of ruthless pirates, known as 'the wreckers', rape two survivors of a shipwreck. The women, now mute, are guided by a mysterious clown to a ruined castle, where they receive magical powers with which to exact their revenge on the gang.
Starring Joëlle Coeur (Schoolgirl Hitchhikers), John Rico (Blood Orgy of the She-Devils), Willy Braque (Lips of Blood), and Mireille Dargent (The Iron Rose), The Demoniacs is one of its director's most shocking and violent tales of the fantastique.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD AND BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- Brand-new 4K HDR restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) (UHD only)
- Three presentations of the film: the original theatrical version; the longer, explicit export version; and Curse of the Living Dead, the alternative English-language cut
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with film expert Tim Lucas (2024)
- Selected scenes commentary with Jean Rollin (2005)
- Jean Rollin Introduces 'The Demoniacs'(1998)
- One of the Demoniacs (2024): new presentation of an interview with regular Rollin collaborator Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
- Newly edited archival interview with actor Willy Braque (2024)
- Critical appreciation by author and musician Stephen Thrower (2024)
- Outtake footage
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for Curse of the Living Dead
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an archival piece on the making of the film by Jean Rollin, an archival interview with Rollin, an archival interview with actor Monica Swinn, and full film credits.
- World premiere on 4K UHD
- Limited edition of 10,000 individually numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US
All extras subject to change.
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