The Other Hell — The Other Hell (Blu Ray)

Here we have a deliriously bonkers sleazefest from the master of cheap Italian exploitation cinema, Bruno Mattei released uncut and uncensored in HD for the first time. The Other Hell represents nunsploitation in its most extreme form, it has all the trappings of this subgenre, possession, stigmata, murder, Satanism, sexual violence, and explicit brutality. The Other Hell remains Mattei’s crazed, stylized masterpiece of exploitation cinema, one that continues to shock and surprise over 30 years after its initial release.

Attempting to describe the plot to The Other Hell is something better men than I have failed at. Writer Claudio Fragasso and director Bruno Mattei are notorious for their work making little to no sense at all, and this is no exception. The general gist of the story is that a group of nuns led by Mother Vincenza (Franca Stoppi) appear to be possessed by a strange presence in the attic. After several nuns are discovered brutally murdered, a priest, Father Valerio, played by Carlo De Mejo is enlisted to investigate the strange goings on at the convent. As Valejo’s investigation unravels he begins to realise that the nuns are not merely hysterical as he first fears, but that there is a supernatural element to the events that are taking place. The film features a wonderful soundtrack from Goblin, stolen straight from Joe D’Amato’s sleazy masterwork of necrophilia, Beyond the Darkness. It adds a little bit of class to what is otherwise a large slice of exploitative madness. I like The Other Hell, much of it makes no sense and it’s ineptly fashioned, however it has a charm all its own that ensures we are still able to watch it and find it enjoyable all these years later.

Overall Severin have made a pretty good job of this disc. The colours are vibrant and whilst there are still a few cases of artifacting, the print is largely clean, but thankfully preserves a reasonable amount of grain. My one criticism is that during some of the darker sequences, early in the film, there seems to be an increase in the amount of grain. This can be a little off-putting, however it represents a minor quibble and my general opinion is that Severin have done an excellent job of transferring this oddity into a high definition format.