Abrakadabra Limited Edition Blu Ray Review (Cauldron Films)
Abrakadabra is a 2018 giallo film written, produced, edited, composed, & directed by The Onetti Brothers (Francesca, Deep Sleep, What the Waters Left Behind, El pulpo negro, & A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio). It was co-written, shot, & produced by Carlos Goitia (What the Waters Left Behind, The 100 Candles Game, & ASYLUM: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales). It was produced by Michael Kraetzer (Johnny Z, Game of Death, Trauma, Dead Shadows, What the Waters Left Behind, & Inbred). This is the last film from The Onetti Brothers Giallo trilogy which features Sonno Profondo (Deep Sleep) & Francesca.
Thirty years after his father The Great Dante is tragically killed during a magic trick gone wrong, Lorenzo’s (played by: Germán Baudino from What the Waters Left Behind, ASYLUM: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales, Malvineitor, & Ecuación) own magic act is suddenly derailed by a series of gruesome magic themed murders. Caught between these gruesome events, he tries to distract himself with the beautiful assistant Antonella (played by: Eugenia Rigón from Dead End & Astrogauchos). Struggling to prove his innocence the relentless detective (played by: Gustavo Dalessanro from Francesca), he begins to unravel the mystery that leads him through an intricate, bloody trail all the way back to his father’s demise.
Abrakadabra is only around a little over 69 minutes so it moves very fast & it doesn’t let up the whole time. This works great for the pace & flow for this throwback giallo. The cast is very small but they have lots of fun here. Germán Baudino carries the film & his character goes through hell in this. Eugenia Rigón is excellent eye candy & she’s very unique. You haven’t really seen too many like her in cinema & she grabs your attention right away with her presence. The women here are not shy at all here either. Remember the detective from The Onetti Brothers previous giallo Francesca? Actor Gustavo Dalessanro shows up in Abrakadabra & adding a familiar vibe to everything. Carlos Goitia’s cinematography is top notch & very stylish, it reminds me of all those 70’s giallos from back in the day. It honesty feels like an older film to me, it has all kinds of homages & little winks at past features from this same sub-genre. Luciano’s score is very powerful. It’s almost like it’s own character here, it definitely pays tribute to the iconic Goblin & it reminds me of their older work. Abrakadabra kinda throws away the traditional suspense & thrills of the standard giallo effort, it comes right at you. It’s a very visual & wants to keep you on your toes from the gruesome kills in this. Don’t get me wrong, it does have twists & surprises like expected but it’s the type that has you waiting for the next brutal experience rather than trying to figure out who did it. They keep the script pretty simple here & let the actions speak for themselves. It delivers on the look, the music, special fx, & the overall atmosphere. It feels like a higher class Wizard of Gore at times. The short running time & slick editing make Abrakadabra an easy watch for anyone. There’s never dull moment in this. It’s very entertaining & I am so impressed with The Onetti Brothers. They bring you back to better times when it came to independent movies, I want to see more material like this made. They use their low budgets wisely & it always look bigger than it what it actually is. It’s hard to pull off a throwback to classic Italian cinema but Abrakadabra is a high quality appreciation & love letter to the giallo sub-genre. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from Cauldron Films! This 1080p (2.35.1) transfer looks gorgeous especially for a lower budget feature. It has beautiful cinematography & so much style to it. I love how they made it look like an older film. The Italian DTS-HD 5.1 track is real nice plus it has English & Italian 2.0 options. The score & overall music really shines here. It adds so much more to the Abrakadabra experience. The dialogue is very clean & all the gruesome moments are elevated. It has English & Spanish subtitles. “Backstage Raw” is a little over 11 minute behind the scenes look at the throwback giallo production. It shows the cast & crew set up scenes for the film. It’s a cool little inside look into the making the film. It has them setting up & putting together various shots from it. It has a “Trailer” for the feature. The score & soundtrack CD from Luciano Onetti features 14 tracks from Abrakadabra. You can now take this awesome music with you anywhere now. It has a high quality slipbox, reversible artwork, & a few throwback lobby cards plus the sound track listing. I am very impressed with this brand new home video label so far. They know exactly what collectors want, the packaging & overall presentation is excellent here. This limited edition (only a 1,000 copies were pressed) is currently sold out at DiabolikDVD & Cauldron Films but a wide release is coming soon. CHECK IT OUT!!!!
