Deep Blood Blu Ray Review (Severin Films)
Deep Blood (aKa Sharks and Sangue negli abissi) is a 1989 sharksploitation film directed by Raffaele Donato (Con gli occhi chiusi, Century of Cinema, and My Voyage to Italy) and Joe D’Amato (Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, Anthropophagus, Beyond the Darkness, Absurd, 2020 Texas Gladiators, and Zombie 5: Killing Birds). It was written by George Nelson Ott. It was shot and produced by Joe D’Amato (Ator: the Fighting Eagle, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, Emanuelle in America, Porno Holocaust, Troll 2, Ghosthouse, Witchery, Hitcher in the Dark, and StageFright) for Filmirage. Original director Raffaele Donato only directed one scene and quit the production after that short shoot so Joe D’Amato took over. 1995’s Cruel Jaws used footage from this feature.
On a deserted beach, four friends which includes Miki (played by: Frank Baroni from Margaret Bourke-White), John (played by: John K. Brune), Jason and Allan (played by: Cort McCown from Teen Wolf, Can’t Buy me Love, One Man Force, and Beverly Hills Brats) are told by an Indian (played by: Van Jensens) the story of the monstrous marine being Wakan. They all seal a blood pact, a bond of their friendship and mutual assistance in case of danger. Ten years later, the boys reunite as young men and they decide to go on a trip together. A killer shark terrifies the entire community with it’s attack and it kills John. They try to get help from Sheriff Cody (played by: Tody Bernard from Hologram Man, The Ghost, Aftermath, and S.W.A.T.). The three remaining friends decide to take revenge for John’s death and they hunt down the blood thirsty predator. Their plans will not be easy, the legend claims that the underwater monster is an incarnation of an ancient hoodoo spirit that has taken the form of a killer shark. The boys set an underwater trap for the shark and lure it into an area in which they have planted powerful explosives. Can they kill this non killing machine before their all whole town is gone???/
I was kinda expecting Deep Blood to be very sleazy considering who the director was but it’s probably the most clean and mainstream style film that I’ve ever seen from Joe D’Amato. He was really trying to do something bigger here and he was hoping to cash in on Jaws for this Italian rip off. It does have a few shark attacks in it but it’s mainly a drama and thriller more than anything. Joe D’Amato doesn’t show the shark much and keeps it more of a mystery. The cast was full of unknowns and one timers for the most part except for Cort McCown and Tody Bernard. Laura Gemser (Emanuelle franchise) has a quick cameo as the lab assistant. This one isn’t as random as some of the other Italian jaws rip offs and sharksploitation. It’s solid for the most part and the underwater cinematography is beautiful here. It looks bigger than what it is for it’s lower budget. It’s definitely worth checking out if you are fan of killer sharks and Italian horror.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation and special feature from Severin Films. This 1080p (1.33:1) transfer is from a brand new 2K scan from the original negative for the very first time on home video! It’s the best it’s ever looked and this one will never be reference quality but it’s a major improvement from every past release. The underwater cinematography looks amazing here and it’s the highlight when it comes to the visuals. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks are better than expected. All of the dialogue is very clean, the shark madness is elevated and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an HD version of the “Trailer” and that’s the only extra on this disc. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
