Black Magic Rites — Black Magic Rites ( Blu Ray/ UHD)

Black Magic Rites (aka The Reincarnation of Isabel, The Ghastly Orgies of Count Dracula) is a decidedly weird ‘n’ wacky example of the erotic euro-horror genre. The early 70’s Italian production blends and blurs Witch, Vampire, and Derange Priest tropes- for one hell of a puzzling, often non-sensical, and tripped-out cinematic ride. Here from Powerhouse is a new release of this lesser-seen/ known oddity- coming as either a Blu-Ray or UHD disc. Taking in a new bold ‘n’ bright 4k scan of the picture, and a wonderful selection of new extras- including a new commentary track, a documentary about the director, and more.

Black Magic Rites( original title Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel Trecento...) was made in the year 1973. It was filmed in and around a Middle Ages-Renaissance castle- which is set in the mountainous countryside of Balsorano Vecchio, Italy.  It’s directed/ written by Frosinone, Lazio, Italy-born Renato Polselli- who for this film went under the name of Ralph Brown. He had twenty five feature length credits to his name- and he covered most bases in cult/ euro-exploitation genres. Going from the campy gothic horror of The Vampire and the Ballerina (1960), onto early Nazisploitation/ WIP film Last Chance For Live(1962),  through to deranged doctor horror/ sci-fi Mania(1974), onto sexual transgressive adult drama Oscenità( 1980)- which apparently regarded all manner of strange perversion such as tree branch or toe masturbation, bathtub assaults, and bestiality.

The film's plot regards a group of vampires who are trying to resurrect a witch who died some six hundred years ago.  A group of groovy twenty-somethings turn up at their castle- have a party, and go down into the castle dungeon- where time shifts, reality melts, and all manner of sleaziness, torture and death goes on.  I think the group have brought the castle, or at least part of it- as a droopy-moustached, balky-haired, and wildly-eyed man seemingly still lives in part of the building- and gets ranted at by the group, as things become more & more deranged.

And really deranged is the key & important word when describing Black Magic Rites. As we often switch back and forth between the 70’s & the Middle Ages in the blink of an eye. Women are randomly fondled, tied up, tortured and go into screaming fits. There are all manner of sinisterly leering male figures- who often have colour filters on their faces. We have a group of dark art-focused monks, deformed-faced locals chanting. Lots of topless nudity, sexual moans, and sudden drifts into art-house erotic horror. To be honest I’m not really sure how much of it makes sense, or has any reason- and I think my trying to find a logical plot in this film was really detrimental to watching the picture- as really it’s a film you just need to fall into and go on a horror and flesh filled trip.

Added to this we have a few characters that have bizarre sort of comic twitches and mannerisms. With the sonic tone of the film( seemingly) randomly shifting from the expected dark ‘n’ trippy, to the playful & comic, onto tuneful psych rock simmers. At one point the switch to comic music occurs during a rape- which is most jarring & unpleasant.

Along the film's length, there are some really unsettling/ unnerving moments- a prime example of this is the continued appearance of the naked, pale and strapped up by her hand's figure of the witch- who has a gapping burnt-out hole in the centre of her chest.

 It goes without saying Black Magic Rites will most certainly not be for everyone. And I think even those fairly familiar with erotic horror from the likes of Jess Franco, or Jean Rollin- will not find this a less-than-easy ride. I guess if I were to try and compare it to another film I’d say 1971’s sexploitation horror film The Toybox- though with the added edge of wacky/tripped-out euro-horror added into the mix.

 

Moving onto this new release- either in its Blu-Ray or UHD form- we get a 4k scan of the picture. This is a nicely clean & bold scan of the film- which really enhances the film's more macabrely tripped-out elements.

Onto the extras side of things- and we get a wonderful selection. First off we have a commentary from genre critics/ track pros Kim Newman & David Flint, and as you’d expect it’s very well-researched/ informed/ entertaining. They begin by discussing the film's different titles- some of them rather lengthy. They sum up the film's plot/ flow well as both absurdly simple and very difficult to follow. They talk about the director's other work- and how this and his other films always had run-ins with the Italian censor. They debate what is real/ unreal in the film, and how deliberate this was. They talk about the film's non-narrative flow, and give a brief potted history of other genre films that utilize this structure. Later on they discuss when the film tries to explain all that has gone on, and basically gets more confused/ nonsensical.  We get chat about the theme of reincarnation in genre film, comment on the look of the ritualists, whether any of the rites were genuine, and much more. Another excellent track from these two, and a must-play.
Otherwise, we get The 7th Art According to Ralph Brown (33.43) this is a new documentary mixing in archive interviews with the director Polselli and actor/ key collaborator Mickey Hargitay- who is one of the male leads in Black Magic Rites. With new interview footage with director and programmer Luca Rea- who was a fan of the director's work, and after going to see a presentation of the man's films started up regular contact with him. Next, we have When We Were Crazy( 18.37) which is an on-camera interview with the film's composer Gianfranco Reverberi- this is in itlain with English subs. There’s Chaos Magic (38.57) which finds genre expert/ author Stephen Thrower talking about the filmography in general of Polselli- with mini review/overview of each key picture. Then in the second half he goes on to focus on the film at hand. As with all of Thrower's extras, it’s very well-researched, passionate, and most interesting.  Finally, we have Rock Delirium ( 24.57) here DJ and soundtrack enthusiast Lovely Jon first gives an overview of composer Gianfranco Reverberi- touching on key releases. Before discussing the film at hand soundtrack, as well as a soundtrack scene breakdown. All in all a wonderful and fascinating selection of extras.

Topping off the disc we have the original trailer and image gallery. With the finished release presented with an eighty-page book featuring a new essay by Miranda Corcoran, a career-spanning archival interview with director Renato Polselli by Jay Slater, an archival autobiographical piece by Polselli assessing his career as a filmmaker, Roberto Curti on Black Magic Rites’ censorship history, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.

The film is getting a joint UK & US issue with an edition of 10,000 numbered copies- covering both UHD & Blu-Ray variants of the release.  I’d say if you enjoy bizarre ‘n’ deranged erotic horror Black Magic Rites is a must. With the folks at Powerhouse going the extra mile with the extras, and the wonderful 4k scan.