The Creature is a late 70’s Spanish martial drama with low-key thriller and horror touches. It regards a troubled couple who take a mysterious black dog into their lives. The picture was helmed by Eloy de la Iglesia- who created the likes of The Cannibal Killer (1972) a serial killer/ arty drama that landed up on the Video Nasty list. He also directed key Quinqui films- controversial/transgressive juvenile delinquency dramas- such as Navajeros (1980), El Pico (1983), and Pals (1983).  Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray release of the picture- taking in a nice bright & bold scan of the film, and a few interviews.

Released in the year 1977 The Creature ( aka La Criatura) was the 11th film from Eloy de la Iglesia, and though it has subtle moments of treat/ tension, and suggestions it could go all-out horror or thriller- it remains squarely a marital drama.

The film focuses on a married thirty-something couple- Marco ( Juan Diego) a moustached host of a TV show, and Cristina( Ana Belén) a housewife who wants more out of her life. From the off, it’s clear the marriage is strained/ troubled- but there is hope, as Cristina has just found out she is pregnant- and Marco is over the moon, treating her like China.

One day, towards the end of her pregnancy, the pair are out driving- they stop off to get petrol- and she approaches a bedraggled and scared large black German Shepherd, it jumps her- and she is rushed into hospital, losing the child.

The pair go on a coastal town holiday-  which they visited early on in their relationship and are now going back to try and fix themselves/ get over the loss of their baby. They keep constantly seeing a large black German Shepherd, and in time it approaches the couple- it seems a friendly-if- rather mysterious animal.  Each day they go down to the beach or walk into town- the dog appears. When they finish their holiday the dog runs along the coast following their car, they pull over & take the dog back to their Madrid apartment.

As the film unfolds the pair buy a cliffside house- with a room, especially for the dog, and Cristina's relationship with the canine grows and grows- pushing a deeper wedge between the couple.  Added into the mix we have Vicky(Claudia Gravy) the middle-aged, constantly flirting with Marco co-host of the TV show he works on.

Throughout the film, there are more than a few moments of suggestion/ subtle uneasiness- these go from brooding glances of the dog-though- to dog footprints on her nightdress suggesting Zoophilia. Around this, we have the growing tension between the pair- which at points gets quite unpleasant. 

The Creature is a very well-made and atmospherically scoped film, with both of our leads doing well enough in their roles. As a marital drama, it’s fine, the problem is it keeps hinting at/ teasing it’s going to some more than it is- be that a dog vs man thriller, or malevolent horror film- but it never fully goes there.

The region-free disc features a 2k scan- this is lovely crisp and bold, really enhancing the film’s 1970s colour pallet. On the extra side, we get a few things- first on the extras side we have. A Strange Movie ( 27.41) This is an Interview with assistant director Alejo Loren. He starts by talking about how he first met Eloy de la Iglesia. He chats about how the director could be quite bad-tempered on set, yet equally a kind man- often staying up through the night to talk to Alejo. He touches on Iglesia's other films, including relating some amusing stories from these films- like the time they had to stick hair on a woman who had shaved down below. He moves onto the film to hand- talking about how it was quite a difficult shot, but also a very strange film. Next, we have Gaspar / Eloy( 14.07) which finds filmmaker Gaspar Noé(Irreversible, Climax). And lastly, we get an archive introduction to film from Noé.

Having enjoyed pretty much all of Iglesia's output put out by Severin over the last few years. I was very much looking forward to The Creature, but while it’s very well-made and I can appreciate what Iglesia is trying to do here-  I’m afraid the genre elements are just too vague/ not impactful enough. So, I’m glad to see this getting released/ the Severin treatment, but this just wasn’t for me.