MY NIGHTS WITH SUSAN, SANDRA, OLGA & JULIE (1975) (Cult Epics Blu-ray Review)

MY NIGHTS WITH SUSAN, SANDRA, OLGA & JULIE (1975)

Label: Cult Epics
Duration: 85 Minutes
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Dutch DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Pim de la Parra
Cast: Willeke Van Ammelrooy, Nelly Frijda, Hans van der Gragt, Marja de Heer, Franulka Heyermans, Serge-Henri Valcke

Erotic-thriller/black comedy My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie (1975) was the last of Scorpio’s “Dutch Sex Wave” exploitation films, directed by Pim de la Parra (Obsession) with cinematography by Marc Felperlaan (The Lift), featuring the last ever score by composer Elisabeth Lutyens (Never Take Sweets from a Stranger).

The film opens in the rural Dutch countryside where the sexy and promiscuous young women Sandra (Marja de Heer) and Olga (Franulka Heyermans) are picked-up by an American tourist driving through the area. Along the way the trio crack open and bottle of bourbon and before you know it they're pulled over on the side of the road getting to know each other intimately. While he's giving it to one of the ladies the other one for reasons not quite clear picks up the bourbon bottle and whacks him over the head with it, killing him instantly. The girls drive the corpse to a nearby pond and dump his corpse in the water attempting to cover-up their crime, unaware they are being spied upon while doing so. 

They abandon the car and return home, a sort of communal living arrangement where they share a house with a former model named Susan (Willeke Van Ammelrooy, Frank & Eva), the very-sleepy looker Julie (Marieke van Leeuwen) and an anti-social weirdo named Albert (Serge-Henri Valcke, The Lift) who keeps hidden away in a windowless room. Unbeknownst to nympho-killers Sandra and Olga Albert has a peep hole looking right into their bedroom, with him becoming privy to their murderous ways and erotic activities. 

The living arrangement at the house begins to sour with the arrival of new guy Anton (Hans van der Gragt), a young man who seems to be trying to recruit Susan back into modeling world. He ends up staying for a few days and becomes infatuated with all the young women at the house, bedding several of them, as you did in the 70's, I guess. During his stay he becomes increasingly alarmed by the activities in and around the house, including the presence of an dim-witted female weirdo named Piet (Nelly Frijda) who lives in a shack near the property, and who has gone and picked-up the water-logged corpse of the American tourist for her own amusements.

The film is a solid little thriller with plenty of skin, though it's no mere skin show, there are some rather interesting and notable moments of suspense and tension throughout, along with a strange sense of humor that I found very pleasing. 

Audio/Video: My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie (1975) arrives on region-free Blu-ray+DVD combo from Cult Epics with a new HD restoration & transfer sourced from a 35mm print of the film. The 2.35:1 framed image looks solid for a print, colors are nicely saturated, and blacks are decent looking. While there's a bit of white speckling throughout there's not as much as I anticipated, and the grain is well-managed if a bit course, but overall this is a pleasing HD image.   

The disc includes a par of audio options, both the original Dutch and an English-dub via DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono. The Dutch is more natural sounding with better fluidity and nuance. I found the boxy English-dub a bit distracting, probably adding a bit more humor to the film that was originally intended. The atmospheric score from Hammer/Amicus regular Elisabeth Lutyens sounds great. Notably the English dub is sourced from an eighties VHS cassette, so the fidelity of it is of much lower quality, and is also a different translation that the original Dutch audio dialogue, but I commend Cult Epics for the completest inclusion.

Extras on this release include an 11-min introduction from the director who speaks about the troubled production history of the film, as well as his intention to cast of Rutger Hauer  (The Hitcher) in the lead male role! We also get a trio of short films spanning from '66-'70, plus an image gallery and trailers for all four of the Scorpio films currently available from Cult Epics. 

The 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo arrives in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, the same artwork featured on the wrap also appears on the DVD disc, the Blu-ray disc features a tantalizing illustration of a threesome from the Italian poster artwork  which is available as a limited edition of 500 slipcover when ordered directly through the Cult Epics website. The DVD mirrors the exact same content as the Blu-ray, in standard-definition. 

Special Features:
- New HD Restoration & Transfer from 35mm original print
- Introduction by director Pim de la Parra (2019) (11 min) HD
- Scorpio Short Films: Heart Beat Fresco (1966)(10 min) HD, Joop (1969) (11 min) HD, Joop Strikes Again (1970) (11 min) HD
- Original Scorpio Films Trailers (HD)
- Poster & Photo gallery

My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie (1975) is a quirky Dutch thriller with ample amounts of naughty eroticism and weird little touches that keep it plenty entertaining. It never wears out it's welcome and ending with an odd bit of macabre strangeness that really put a smile on my face. Of the three that I've seen this is my favorite of the four Scorpio films released by Cult Epics, though I have yet to catch up with Blue Movie (1971). With it's broader appeal this ones comes highly recommended for fans of erotic thrillers with an offbeat slant. 

Cult Epics Presents FRANK & EVA: Living Apart Together - A Pim de la Parra film, featuring Sylvia Kristel in her debut.

Cult Epic's FRANK & EVA: Living Apart Together Revised Street Date to 6/5/2018

FRANK AND EVA (1973)

Label: Cult Epics
Release Date: REVISED STREET DATE: June 5th 2018 
Duration: 97 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Full Screen (1.33:1)
Audio: Dutch Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 
Director: Pim de la Parra
Cast: Willeke van Ammelrooy, Hugo Metsers, Sylvia Kristel

Frank (BLUE MOVIE's Hugo Metsers) and Eva (THE LIFT's Willeke van Ammelrooy) cannot live with or without each other. In the liberal 1970s, Frank sleeps with every woman he can get. Eva, meanwhile, is looking for more security and wants to start a family. Frank's behavior frustrates her so much that she starts an affair with their mutual friend. This social drama offers a view on relationships not much different than today. For Sylvia Kristel (her debut prior to EMMANUELLE), a special role was written after she said to Pim de la Parra, "Why won't you discover me? I'm the best."

Frank & Eva is the second artsploitation film by director Pim de la Parra, after he produced BLUE MOVIE with his partner Wim Verstappen. Cult Epics presents its worldwide premiere on Blu-ray & DVD, in High-definition with extensive bonus features.

Special Features: 
- New High-definition transfer
- Audio Commentary by Pim de la Parra (2018)
- Up Front + Naked: Sex in Dutch films (2017) featurette with Willeke van Ammelrooy a.o.
- Frank and Eva Poster + Photo Gallery
- Sylvia Kristel Film Poster Gallery
-Original Theatrical Trailers

THE LIFT (1983) (Blue Underground Blu-ray Review)

THE LIFT (1983)

Limited Edition (3000) DVD/Blu-ray Combo

Label: Blue Underground
Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 99 Minutes 
Rating: R 
Audio: Dutch: DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1; Dutch, English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 ; Dutch Dolby Digital Surround EX 5.1; Dutch, English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 
Director: Dick Maas
Cast: Huub Stapel, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Josine van Dalsum

Synopsis: There is something very wrong with the elevator in a stylish office high-rise. The passengers never end up on the floor of their choice. They end up dead! When Felix, an inquisitive repairman, investigates the faulty deathtrap, he discovers that something other than malfunctioning machinery is to blame. Some dark, distorted power has gained control of the elevator for its own evil design. After his horrifying discovery is given the shaft by the authorities, he joins a nosy female journalist to battle the unholy force inside THE LIFT!

The Dutch 80's sci-fi horror flick The Lift (1985) opens inside the Icarus office building where a rowdy group of late-night revelers find themselves trapped in an elevator when the power goes out during a storm. One of the couples attempt to make the most of it, with the man groping the woman's bare breasts greedily in the dark, but soon the air proves too thin and they all nearly suffocate. Lift repairman Felix Adelaar (Huub Stapel, Amsterdamned) shows up to check out the faulty equipment but can find no malfunction that would account for the lack of air or any other mechanical-based issues. 

However, the elevator soon racks up a decent body count, beginning with a blind man who walks into an empty shaft and falls to his death, and a security guard loses his head when his he becomes stuck in the doors as the lift descends upon him. It's a fun scene, though the prop head looks mighty fake it is still a fun low-budget decapitation with his head falling several stories down the shaft, landing on the corpse of the as of yet undiscovered blind man. Another security guard, who was helpless to prevent the tragedy, though he didn't seem to try all that hard, can be seen puking into his cap when it happens. 

Felix makes several more trips to the office building to check on the elevator but each time finds nothing peculiar, though he does meet a reporter named Mieke (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who teams-up with Felix to get to the bottom of the seemingly murderous lift. What they discover is a weird experiment being conducted by Rising Sun, a manufacturer of microprocessors, who secretly supply electronics for the Deta Liften, the elevator company that manufactures the lift and who employ Felix as a repairman. His nosing around angers his boss, who puts him on a leave of absence, but Felix is already obsessed with the lift and he and Mieke continue their investigation on their own.

The movie is a weird little entry, the idea of a killer elevator is truly absurd, but is no less strange that a killer car (Christine, The Car, The Hearse) or dry-cleaning press (The Mangler), and Maas clearly knows that, but the actors play this straight as can be, and it makes for a fun, campy watch. There are some slow parts though, Felix sorting through various newspaper  clippings and circuitry diagrams for the lift can me a bit tedious, and the growing rift between he and his wife doesn't exactly set the film on fire, but the fun kills and well-crafted low-budget thrills make for a good watch with stylish visuals and an incredulous premise that somehow works.  

A scene involving a young girl playing in the lobby near a trio of lift doors is well done, she plays a game with the seemingly sentient apparatus, a sort of peek-a-boo that nearly ends in the young girl's death, crushing her precious dolly in it's doors. The finale of this one is a bit kooky, with Felix facing off against the lift's organic-microprocessor brain, but it does manage to squeeze in one more kill with the lift using it's tentacle-esque cables to murder one f it's creators, it's a fun scene and close the movie out on an appropriately cheesy/awesome note. 

Audio/Video: The Lift (1983) debuts on Blu-ray and DVD in the US from distributor Blue Underground with a brand new 2K restoration from the original negative approved by director Dick Maas, framed in the original 1.66:1 widescreen aspect ratio. The image looks solid with a nice looking grain field, the oftentimes neon-infused visuals pop in a low-budget sort of way, but there are certain limitations due to the source, with some scenes looking softer than others, but the transfer and encode look fantastic. Audio on the disc comes by way of a fun Dutch DTS-HD MA  5.1 surround mix with optional English subtitles, the surrounds get some use for this one, which is awesome. There are also DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo mixes in both Dutch and dubbed-English, the dubbed track is not too bad, but the dialogue obviously sounds more natural and less canned on the Dutch tracks, with the synth score from Maas also coming through with more power and fidelity on the Dutch tracks. 


Onto the extras we have a new commentary from Writer/Director Dick Maas and Editor Hans van Dongen moderated by David Gregory, a lively discussion as the director recalls making this low-budget horror film, how certain effects were achieved, creating the synth score himself and the inspirations seen in the movie from Jaws to Star Wars. He also tells of how actress Willeke van Ammelrooy was not a fan of his direction style, after the film wrapped she left him a cassette tape with notes on how to be a better director with actors, which he never listened to. There's a nine-minute interview with star Hubb Stapel, a continuation of his boat-tour interview we saw on the Amsetrdamned disc, speaking of how he came from a theater background, having appeared in a stage pay of Harold and Maude, being cast in the role, struggling a bit with how Maas directed, and the success of the film, and how he didn't receive any work after the film for another two years, despite how successful it was. The extras are finished up with a gallery of various poster and release artwork from various territories, behind the scenes images, still, Dutch and US trailers and Maas' 2003 short film "Long Distance". 

This 2-disc release comes housed in a clear Criterion-style Scanavo case with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring two art options including the original VHS artwork sporting the infamous tagline "Take the stairs. Take the stairs. For God's sake take the stairs!!!". The discs likewise offer up the same two key artworks on their visage. There's a 20-page collector's booklet with new writing on the film by former Fangoria editor Chris Alexander, this includes cast, crew info plus chapter selection, and behind-the-scenes images and stills, plus various posters for this and the American remake and John Carpenter's Christine. 

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Dick Maas and Editor Hans van Dongen moderated by David Gregory 
- Going Up – Interview with Star Huub Stapel
- “Long Distance” – Short Film by Dick Maas (2003) (4 min) HD
- Dutch Trailer (4 min) HD 
- U.S. Trailer (2 min) HD 
- Poster and Still Gallery (88 Images) HD 
- BONUS 2o-Page Collectible Booklet with new essay by writer and filmmaker Chris Alexander

Blue Underground give The Lift (1982) a top-floor 2-disc release, the new 2K transfer looks great and the extras are a great value-add. I've only seen a handful of Dick Maas's movies, but I love them all so far, his quirky sense of humor an affinity for stylish well-staged thriller/horror action continues to please. In my opinion you can never have too much Dick Maas, and Blue Underground continue the love with this release, which coincides with their release of Maas' American remake of The Lift, Down (2001), starring Naomi Watts (Twin Peaks: The Return), also on 2-disc DVD/BD, and to be reviewed soon.  

THE LIFT (1983) on DVD/BD from BLUE UNDERGROUND on 10/10

THE LIFT (1983)

Limited Edition (3000) DVD/Blu-ray Combo

Label: Blue Underground
Release Date: October 10th 2017 
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: R
Audio: Dutch: 5.1 DTS-HD; Dutch, English: 2.0 DTS-HD / DVD: Dutch: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX; Dutch, English: Dolby Digital Stereo
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 
Director: Dick Maas
Cast: Huub Stapel, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Josine van Dalsum

Synopsis 
A New Kind Of Horror Lurks In The Shadows Of The Lift…

There is something very wrong with the elevator in a stylish office high-rise. The passengers never end up on the floor of their choice. They end up dead! When Felix, an inquisitive repairman, investigates the faulty deathtrap, he discovers that something other than malfunctioning machinery is to blame. Some dark, distorted power has gained control of the elevator for its own evil design. After his horrifying discovery is given the shaft by the authorities, he joins a nosy female journalist to battle the unholy force inside THE LIFT!

Huub Stapel (AMSTERDAMNED) and Willeke van Ammelrooy (ANTONIA’S LINE) star in this chilling cult classic from Writer/Director Dick Maas (SAINT), who also composed the score and later helmed the 2001 English-language remake, DOWN (aka THE SHAFT). Long unavailable on U.S. home video, Blue Underground now proudly presents THE LIFT in a brand-new 2K restoration from the original negative, approved by Dick Maas!

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Dick Maas and Editor Hans van Dongen
- Going Up – Interview with Star Huub Stapel
- “Long Distance” – Short Film by Dick Maas (2003, 4 Mins.)
- Dutch Trailer
- U.S. Trailer
- Poster and Still Gallery
- BONUS Collectible Booklet with new essay by writer and filmmaker Chris Alexander

Sell Points:
- Writer/Director Dick Maas’ chilling cult classic finally arrives on U.S. Blu-ray/DVD for the first time ever!
- WORLD PREMIERE of brand new 2K restoration from the original negative approved by Dick Maas
- Blu-ray features Full 1080p HD Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio for the ultimate home theater experience
- Exclusive Limited Collector’s Edition includes Blu-ray, DVD, bonus collectable booklet, reversible sleeve, and special packaging
- Exciting NEW Extras produced exclusively for this release
- Extensive online exposure on top websites, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Rue Morgue, Blu-ray.com, and many more
- National print advertising
- From acclaimed Writer/Director Dick Maas (AMSTERDAMNED, DOWN, SAINT) 
- Starring Huub Stapel (AMSTERDAMNED, SAINT), Willeke van Ammerlrooy (ANTONIA’S LINE, THE LAKE HOUSE), and Josine van Dalsum (ZUS AND ZO)
- GRAND PRIX – FESTIVAL D’AVORIAZ 1984
- “Ingenious Black Comedy Thriller… It’s A Wonder Hitchcock Didn’t Think Of It First!” – The Seattle Times
- “Fine Suspense… Plenty Of Laughs And Thrills!” – Variety
- “Surprisingly Effective!” – TV Guide
- “A Disturbingly Plausible Idea Made Vividly Real!” – Screen International
- “Intensely Wound Suspense… Some Nicely Eerie Set Pieces And Effective Shocks!” - Moria