99.9 (1997)
Label: Cult Epics
Rating: Not Rated
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 111 Minutes
Audio: Spanish language with Optional English subtitles
Video: 2080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Audio: Spanish LPCM 2.0 Stereo, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Agustí Villaronga
Cast: Maria Barranco, Gustavo Salmerón, Miguel Picazo, Simón Andreu, Ruth Gabriel, Ángel de Andrés López, Terele Pávez
Director Agustí Villaronga's third film, coming nearly a decade after Moon Child (1989), was the spooky 9.99 (1997), starring Maria Barranco (The Red Squirrel) as Lara, the host of a late-night psychic phenomena radio show, who after receiving a package in the mail containing a VHS tape, discovers that her former lover Victor (Gustavo Salmerón, The Art of Dying), and father to her infant son, has been found dead in the small Spanish village of Jimena under with mysterious circumstances.
Lara consults paranormal investigator Galiana (Miguel Picazo, The Spirit of the Beehive) who was an associate of Victor's who tells her that after their split Victor became obsessed with the paranormal, particularly the phenomenon of psychophany, the recording of the voices of the dead via electronic mediums, and in his case, using an untuned TV to channel to pick-up voices from beyond, using homeless drug addicts as conduits, as it seems that those in altered states tend to be more conductive. The videotape she was sent shows some of his experiments and a nude Victor, apparently only minutes before his mysterious death, running scared, only to be later found impaled nude atop the wrought iron fence of a cemetery. Small clues like creepy faces seemingly molded into the stone wall of a house seen on the videotape help her zero in on Victor's location at the time of his death.
Arriving in Jimena Lara takes a room at a boarding house run by sculptor local boarding house run by sculptor Simon (Simón Andreu, The Blood-Spattered Bride) and begins to investigate, with the help of boarding house employee Julia (Ruth Gabriel). She visits the property where Victor shot the videotape, which is owned by farmer Lázaro (Ángel de Andrés López, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), who tells her to steer clear of the property, chasing her off with a shotgun when she trespasses, but Lara tracks down the farmer's mother Dolores (Terele Pávez, Witching & Bitching) who has been committed to an asylum. AFter talking to her she learns more about the property, like that 200 years earlier French soldiers murdered the women and children living there back when it was a brothel, and it has apparently been haunted ever since, with the spirits
manifesting as faces in the walls that seem to move on their own.
This is what attracted Victor to the location, and maybe what lead to his death, but Lara is more convinced that his death was a murder committed by a mortal person in the village, and not supernatural in nature. The truth of the matter might be stranger than either explanation, and a bit of both, but the slow-burn thriller doesn't quite deliver on the EVP-type communicating with the dead via technology aspect it's seemingly setting up, but it does deliver on the tense creepy thrills with a wild ending that satisfied me.
This is the sort of supernatural chiller that leaves a lot of the creepiness to your own imagination, which largely worked for me because of the craft of the filmmaking, which includes cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe (The Others) and a score from Javier Navarrete (Pan's Labyrinth); plus the strength of the cast, who are all fantastic. This might not be a chiller for all tastes though, when it comes to supernatural chillers this is a bit light on visual phenomena and ghostly happenings, but like each of the three films I've seen from Villaronga so far it's a unique and well-made feature that defies expectations.
Audio/Video: 99.9 (1997) makes it's Blu-ray debut on dual-format Blu-ray+DVD from Cult Epics with a brand new 2K scan of A 35mm print presented in 1080p HD and framed in 1.66:1 widescreen. It's a gorgeous new scan with good depth and clarity throughout, the grain structures looks organic, and colors are strong throughout. The black levels are nice and deep and skin tones look natural throughout and compression is never an issue.
Audio on the Blu-ray comes by way of Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 stereo, with the DVD sporting Dolby Digital audio, with optional English subtitles. The Spanish audio is clean and precise, with atmospheric touches and score from Javier Navarrete (Devil’s Backbone) sounds terrific. I preferred the stereo audio as I thought it was more direct and powerful sounding on my system, but the surround does filter atmospherics and score tot eh surrounds.
As far as extras, we begin with a 10-minute interview with Villaronga, which is padded out quite a bit with scenes from the film. In it he talks about how the film started out as a pilot for a paranormal series that never came to fruition. There's also an EPK-style making of from '97 with the participation of director Villaronga, actors Barranco, Salmerón, Picazo, Gabriel, Pávez and cinematographer
Aguirresarobe. We also get trailers for Villaronga's films, and a 47-minute isolated music score highlighting Javier Navarette;s atmospheric film score.
The 2-disc dual-format release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original VHS artwork, which is replicated on both the discs as well. It might no longer be available but there was also a limited edition Cult Epics website exclusive edition, on 250 made, with a bonus CD soundtrack.
Special Features:
- New 2K Transfer (from original 35mm print)
- Original LPCM 2.0 Stereo.
- New DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround
- Interview with Agusti Villaronga (2018) (10 min)
- The Making of 99.9 (1997) (18 min)
- Isolated Score by Javier Navarette (47 Mins)
- Agusti Villaronga Film Trailers: In A Glass Cage (3 min), Moon Child (3 min), 99.9 (2 min)
- New 2K Transfer (from original 35mm print)
- Original LPCM 2.0 Stereo.
- New DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround
- Interview with Agusti Villaronga (2018) (10 min)
- The Making of 99.9 (1997) (18 min)
- Isolated Score by Javier Navarette (47 Mins)
- Agusti Villaronga Film Trailers: In A Glass Cage (3 min), Moon Child (3 min), 99.9 (2 min)
This is another solid release from Cult Epics who previously released both In A Glass Cage and Moon Child from Villaronga. Cult Epics continue to do the Cinema Lord's work spotlighting, restoring and lovingly archiving interesting films from around the world. In the recent past they've highlighted the works of the erotic titans Radley Metzger and Tinto Brass, the disturbing art of Jørg Buttgereit and the arthouse Nouchka van Brakel and Pim de la Parra just to name a few - they're definitely a label that surprises me with each new release, and while it's never quite what I was expecting I am always happy to hitch a ride with them no matter the destination.
Screenshots from the Cult Epics Blu-ray:
