Morituris:
Legions Of The Dead (2011/Synapse Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extra: D Film: C-
Full
of plenty of blood, guts, and torture to satisfy gore hounds, this
film is not for the squeamish and is still to this day banned in
Italy. With a nice release by Synapse, aside from the absence of too
many cool extras, Raffaele Picchio's Morituris: Legions of
the Dead (2011) has your typical 'Scooby Gang goes into the woods
only to be hacked apart by madmen' storyline only with some stand
alone scenes that are pretty grueling to watch and some pretty
interesting looking slasher characters that would make even Rob
Zombie shake in his boots.
Two
lovely Romanian girls take a trip with three Italian men to a rumored
midnight rave in the middle of a dark forest. As the gang proceeds
on foot to their final destination, a mysterious graveyard is
discovered, a shockingly vile plot twist is revealed and bloodthirsty
undead Roman gladiators rise from the dead to torture and mutilate
their victims! For the two women, an already terrifying night is
about to get much, much worse, as the zombified warriors hunt down
the group to tear their heads off! Will anyone survive the night?
If
you're a fan of Italian horror or films like Last House on The
Left, House of 1000 Corpses, Dario Argento films, or the like
then this may be up your alley. The special effects are by Argento
favorite Sergio Stivaletti, which is definitely another draw for fans
of the genre. Too bad it does not offer more.
The
film is presented on Blu-ray with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1
and an encompassing, lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) Italian 5.1
Stereo surround track that is highly effective and loud. There is
also a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) Italian 2.0 Stereo mix on
the disc if you prefer, if not as wide-ranging. Synapse delivers
another top-rate presentation.
The
only extras are a reversible cover and the original theatrical
trailer.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
www.facebook.com/jhl5films
