Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz — Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz( Blu Ray bo

José Ramón Larraz stands as one of the un-sung names of the euro-cult genre- while the likes of Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, and Joe D’Amato have seen many of their films released on DVD & Blu Ray in the last few years. The same can’t be said for Larraz, with only until recently one of his films Vampyres- been readily available & praised. Here on Arrow Video (both in the Uk & US) is a new three-film boxset that tries to start redressing this issue- the set offers up two of his brooding, at times shocking & bloody British set films from the early 70's, and a late 1970’s soft-core drama filmed in his native country Spain. The set brings together new prints of all three films, and a good selection of extras, and an 80-page book.

Opening up the set we have Whirlpool- this was released in 1970- it’s a Danish production filmed in rural Britain, and it’s a slow burning, at times uneasy & sexually fired thriller. For many years this directorial debut of Larraz was thought lost until the early 2000’s when a film dealer posted a version online. The film’s key characters are young blond & creepy photographer Theo(Karl Lanchbury) & his middle age ‘aunt’ Sara (Pia Andersson). The pair live in an isolated cottage surrounded by woodland.  After the opening credits which see Theo searching for something in a woodland lake- the film properly begins with a young model departing from Sara’s bed, saying she’s leaving - we never see her again.  Fairly soon while in London, Sara meets up with naive model Tulia(Vivian Neves)-  taking her back to the cottage for a new photo shoot.  From here the film unfolds in a wonderful brooding & uneasy manner- as Tulia gets deeper & deeper into the depraved lives of Theo & Sara. We also find out about another model called Rhoda, who has seemingly disappeared- and this fires the film's mystery.  Whirlpool moves between wonderful creepy shots of the woodlands, & a local village where we find a flute playing creepy tramp. Sleazy & at times taut encounters between the trio, with along the way some quite shocking & impactful psycho-sexual action & violence. The film features a nicely dramatic score from Stelvio Cipriani, though often the most unsettling moments happen when Larraz strips back to just the sound of nature, or the tramps' creepy flute playing. While it’s clearly not as accomplished or moodily intriguing as his later films, Whirlpool is an effective enough debut film from Larraz- that features a balanced small cast, eeriely shot house setting & it’s surrounding woodland, and flitting, but shocking psychosexual encounters.
Extras wise on this first disc we get a commentary track from genre critic & author Tim Lucas- this sees him going from discussing memories of seeing the film advertised back when it was first released in the USA, but unable to go as the film got one of the first X certificates. Ramón Larraz career in general & reoccurring themes that appear in all of his work, the films production company, various actors bios, the films more disturbing elements- which may have gone onto influence the likes of Last House On The Left, etc- as usual with Lucas tracks he covers a fair bit of ground, though you don’t really get any great insight into the film production it’s self, as seemingly not much is known. Next we have  Obsessive Recurrence: The Early Films of José Larraz- a twenty-four minute featurette from Kim Numan- this sees him discussing the  downbeat tone of Larraz early Uk shot films, the difficulty of trying to put his films in any one genre- as each has elements of sexploitation & horror- but, aside from Vampyres, really  none fully fit into ether genre. Next, we get a nine-minute interview with English actor Larry Dann who got a very small part in the film of a barman, but due to the small cast landed up high in the film's credits- this was most worthy, giving one a nice insight to what it would have been to be a bit part actor in the ’70s. Next, there are Deviations of Whirlpool – which is a half an hour comparisons between the US cut & alternative cut. Lastly, we get a thirteen-minute interview Vivian Neves on respected UK talk show Parkinson from 1972.

 

 
On the second disc we have 1974 Vampyres - the sixth film directed by Larraz, and really stands as his most known & infamous film. The film plot revolves around two cloaked women- Fran(Marianne Morris) & Miriam(Anulka Dziubinska) who are luring men back to a grand abandon mansion for wine, love-making & death. Into the story comes a young couple Sally(Sally Faulkner) & John(Brian Deacon) doing that most British of things, caravanning- the pair set up camp near the house, and get more & more curious about the dusk & night-time comings & goings. The film uses classic horror tropes such as a creepy house, cobwebs, mist, rain & thunder- and adds in subtle nods towards vampire lore & myths, yet never really fully bites down into what exactly the pair are- vampires, ghost, bloodthirsty killers, or figments of tired travels minds?. The film is one of the more shocking & brutal examples of erotic horror - featuring more than a few bloody smeared 'n' pumping scenes. As with all of his films Larraz managers to conjuring up a feeling an of dreamy-to-very real dread, but with Vampyres it’s put across in a more formal & approachable manner, taking the horror tropes of the past, and like the best 70’s horror films amping & twisting things up to very shocking & brutal heights. The film features a very effective soundtrack from respected British soundtrack & library music composer James Clarke- the score moves between moody and darkly sensual flute weaved organ & guitar tracks, horror-house piano creepiness, and malevolent string fed atmosphere- all of which subtle heighten the action on film. If you are new to Larraz bleakly moody, glum & at times brutal/ bloody cinema then I’d say start with this film first- as it’s certainly his most approachable & conventional- a classic of 1970’s British/ euro horror.
Extras on this disc take in a commentary with genre expect & author Kat Ellinger- this sees her starting out by discussing her passion for Larraz films in general, going onto discuss the themes in Vampyres & his wider filmography. Next, she goes on to talk about other female themed vampire films of the time, and how Vampyres ties into the other more brutal & grimy brit horror films of the time. Next, she talks about the way with this film he updated Gothic horror and his general approach to the horror genre. She also discusses the films cast, it’s writing & Larraz influences on writing the film's script.  All in all, it’s another great track from Ellinger, stuffed full of interesting facts & observations- it would be great to see her one day write a book on Larraz, as she clearly has a real passion for his work in general.
Next we have seven new stand-alone interviews with various cast & crew- these each last between ten & twenty minutes a piece. We get an around a fifteen-minute archival interview with  Larraz. There’s an interview with Larraz’s friend and collaborator Victor Matellano, discussing his 2015 remake of Vampyres.  A 1994 Q & A with Jose Larraz and Marianne Morris, trailer  & Image gallery.

Finishing off the set with the third disc we get  1978’s The Coming Of Sin(La visita del vicio )was the 10th film from Larraz- It’s best described as an exotic drama with very fleeting moments of symbolism, artiness & a little blood in its last quarter.  The film sees Larraz filming in a native Spain- & the plot sees a young gipsy servant girl going to live with a well-to-do female artist in her isolated country chateau. Fairly soon we find out the servant girl has recurring dreams about a naked man on a horse-  he starts appearing at the chateau & it’s surrounding green corn fields. Next the three start up a love triangle, which ends in death.  To say the least, The Coming Of Sin is extremely plodding times downright dull- it seems it doesn’t know what it wants to be, and at quite a few points through out the film, it felt like the plot has been made up as it went along. There are fleeting, and I mean fleeting moments of tension, but most of the time it moves between rather bland dialogue-heavy scenes between the servant girl & the rich painter, bland soft-core encounters, and fleeting moments of threat & violence. Half of the soundtrack track is taken up by rather uninspired Spanish guitar noodlings, and the other half a mixture organ, guitar, and flute blends which sort of nod towards what Clarke was doing on the Vampyres- but lacks its impact or dramatic mood. I found myself checking how much longer was left of the film's runtime- as it often felt more like two-plus hours, instead of the just under one & a half hours runtime. Things are made even worse by the English dub- with the two young leads, the servant girl & the horseman, voiced by what sounds like bored semi cockney soap stars!. I really tried to like The Coming Of Sin, but just came away feeling it was a rather forgettable & bland soft-core tinged drama.
Extras wise on this disc we get English & Spanish subtitled version of the film. We have a commentary track with Kat Ellinger returning, been joined by Samm Deighan- the pair start off the track talking about the cultural impact of sexploitation films in Europe. Going onto discuss the unknown actors in the film, talking about what they think is the meaning behind selected scenes. Moving onto analysing the different version of the film, including the italian hardcore version, and beyond. It’s an informative and chatty track, which certainly pointed out interesting facets in the film- but I’m afraid it still didn’t convert me to the film.
Next we get Remembering Larraz- a thirty-five minute featureet- which sees British  author and filmmaker Simon Birrell talking about his relationship with Lazzar in the early 2000’s- this is most fascinating, as he gives a good oversight of Lazzar in his later years, and we get a good selection of anecdotes from the filming of the films.
Next there's His Last Request- a 27 minute short that Burrell made under the guidance of Lazzar. Then, there’s the around nine minutes of Variations of Vice: The Alternate Versions of The Coming of Sin- this see Marc Morris discussing the different versions of the film. You get a short interview with Lazzar from his later years, trailer & image gallery.

It’s great to see Arrow taking so much time & effort with restoring all three films, and the extras through-out are most worthy & interesting.The first two films are great examples of brooding, at times nasty & sleazy 1970’s fare- and are really up there with the likes of similar gritty, bloody & grim British genre pictures Norman J Warren & Pete Walker. The last film was interesting to see, but sadly did little or nothing for me- but don’t let that put you off!. If you enjoy 70’s euro-cult films- you need to pick this boxset up!... let's hope some more reissues of Larraz's darker & horror-tinged work surface soon.