Jess Franco: From Bangkok With Bullets Blu Ray Review (Severin Films)

Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included (aKa Viaje A Bangkok, Ataúd Incluido and Bangkok by Night) is a 1985 action film written, composed, produced, and directed by Jesús Franco (She Killed in Ecstasy, Vampyros Lesbos, Jailhouse Wardress, Golden Temple Amazons, House of Cruel Dolls, Barbed Wire Dolls, Countdown to Esmeralda, Angel of Death, and Diamonds of Kilimandjaro). A cantankerous British agent Coronel Daniel J. Blimp (played by: Howard Vernon from Delicatessen, Faceless, Howl of the Devil, Angel of Death, She Killed in Ecstasy, Terminus, Zombie Lake, A Virgin Among the Living Dead, and Night of the Blood Monster) with the help of ambitious officer Philip Sanders (played by: José Llamas from Slave of Crime, Angel of Death, Night Has a Thousand Desires, Revenge in the House of Usher, and Thong Girls) is trying to stop politicians from being eliminated. They are on the dangerous trail of a creepy cult leader Professor Tao (played by: Trino Trives from Dark Mission: Evil Flowers, Bahía Blanca, and El Arte De Vivir)!!!! Bangkok, Date with Death (aKa Bangkok, Cita Con La Muerte) is a 1985 action film written, composed, produced, and directed by Jesús Franco (The Panther Squad, Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein, Night of the Blood Monster, The Blood of Fu Manchu, The Castle of Fu Manchu, The Sadist of Notre Dame, and Sinfonía Erótica) under the alias “Clifford Brown”. Private Investigator Panama Joe (played by: Bork Gordon) is hired by the wealthy Mr. Flanagan (played by: Eduardo Fajardo from Nightmare City, Django, The Murder Mansion, Hundra, Oasis of the Zombies, The Shark Hunter, and The Exterminators of the Year 3000) to get back his missing daughter Martha (played by: Helena Garret from The Last Women of the Philippines, Angel of Death, Revenge in the House of Usher, and Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included). This leads Panama Joe to a brutal crime spree kidnappers which includes the vicious Aminia (played by: Lina Romay from Female Vampire, Countdown to Esmeralda Bay, Downtown Heat, Faceless, Golden Temple Amazons, Angel of Death, Diamonds of Kilimandjaro, Barbed Wire Dolls, Jack the Ripper, Ilsa the Wicked Warden, and The Sadist of Notre Dame)!!!! This rare Jesús Franco double feature shows that the cult director can do more than sleaze and horror features. Both Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and Bangkok, Date with Death are just straight up independent action movies. They were some of the rarest efforts from Uncle Jess, he tries something different with these low budget productions from the 80s. The creative filmmaker wasn’t actually in Bangkok despite it’s titles, they were shot in Spain. The production designer did their best to make them resemble Thailand. The exotic locations are almost like their own characters, it provides a colorful backdrop for it all. Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included tackles the spy sub-genre. It’s a very loose adaptation from author Edgar Wallace. It has some really good moments but it’s not as crazy as I thought it would be. It drags a little bit at times but it’s still a fascinating adventure with some wacky people involved. It’s full of that international style with some unintentional humor thrown in the mix. It manages to keep the unknown elements a mystery until towards the end. It has a nice build up to it. It still has that familiar nudity from Franco but it’s not all over the place like he’s known for. Cult actor Howard Vernon elevates it with his presence as the relentless Coronel Daniel J. Blimp. José Llamas is solid as his sidekick Bangkok cop José Llamas. The rest of the supporting cast includes Trino Trives, Ana Espejo, Christian Borck (Puzzle), Rafael Corés (Angel of Death), Juan Soler (Cries of Pleasure), and Jesús Franco (Bloody Moon). Bangkok, Date with Death is definitely the better one when it comes to this collection. The action, suspense, and chaos is amped up here. It’s not really violent or erotic at all, it’s more of a normal type of film from Franco which doesn’t happen often. It’s highly entertaining and it has a great pace to it. This has a higher quality class of villains which makes even crazier. The fight scenes are hilarious, they weren’t meant to be that way but it goes with it’s random as hell no budget charm. Yeah, it’s so bad that it’s good but it has good replay value to it. It looks amazing for it’s overall setup plus it’s a fun mess. I thought they could have done better when it came to the lead actor Bork Gordon. He’s okay as Panama Joe but the role had way more potential than that. I’m not really surprised that he never did anything else again. Luckily, Date with Death has a real solid supporting cast that helps him out. Franco muse Lina Romay has a blast as the over the top kidnapper Aminia. She is sexy as always, she doesn’t show off body as much as she usually does. She is a wild card in this situation. Veteran actor Eduardo Fajardo is the powerful business man that just wants to get his daughter back safe. He is always consistent in everything that he does. Helena Garret is the feisty Martha. She’s just trying to survive this disaster and this kidnapping has traumatized her. Cult actor Antonio Mayans (Diamonds of Kilimandjaro, Night of Open Sex, The Killer is Not Alone, A Dog Called… Vengeance, Trauma, Mansion of the Living Dead, and Hellhole Women) shows up as the shady Malko. He’s out for himself and he’s willing to screw over anyone to achieve his goals. It’s probably the best performance for this. The rest of the cast includes José Llamas (Thong Girls), Albino Graziani (Two Female Spies with Flowered Panties), Maximiliano Quiroga, and Ramón García (Hour of the Assassin). Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets is another few movies available from the infamous visionary in the low budget world of cinema. It’s refreshing that a decent amount of his catalog has been released by a variety of boutique labels over the years and it’s not slowing down because there’s plenty more to be discovered. Franco is not for everyone but he took huge risks during his long career and he always made whatever he worked on very unique so I respect that!!!! Let’s discuss these high definition presentations and special features from Severin Films! These 1080p (1.66:1) uncensored transfers are from 4K restorations from the original camera negatives. I have never watched these until now so I have nothing to compare them to when it comes to the past but both action features look way better than expected. The sharp cinematography, impressive production and beautiful international locations stand out the most for the visuals. It has Spanish: DTS-HD 2.0 tracks for each movie. The action helps with the audio increase plus the suspensful scenarios. All of the dialogue is very clean, the thrills are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. The Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included disc has the little over 19 minute “Filmmaking On The Run”. It’s an interview with Carlos Aguilar. He goes over the development and motivations of this project. He brings up the Edger Wallace influence for it. He chats about Franco basically going back to some of his older themes here and he redoing them. He talks about the concept and some of the cast that was involved with it. It has the almost 29 minute “Colonel Blimp In Bangkok”. It’s an interview with Stephen Thrower. He chats about these being shot back to back. He talks about other work that inspired these low budget features. He mentions him revisiting similar material with both films. Franco was struggling with his previous genre favorites so he had to make other sub-genres to keep working during this period. Action was a more expensive genre to put together but he still did with his own unique style. It has the little over 18 minute “In The Land Of Franco Part 14” with Stephen Thrower. It’s another addition to the long running behind the scenes segments. All kinds of different movies are displayed for this familiar location. Franco liked to come back to the same spots over the years. Thrower even gets some Franco collaborators to share their personal experiences with the underground visionary. The Bangkok, Date with Death disc has the almost 25 minute “Carrara In Bangkok”. It’s an interview with Stephen Thrower. He chats about how obscure and rare it was. He points out the difference between this and the other one. He goes over the themes and key moments from it. He goes back to some of his older ways with this feature. He jokes about some of the cheap stuff thrown in it. He breaks it down the best that he can. It’s a ridiculous stretch from Franco but it’s entertaining. It has the little over 35 minute “Bangkok Back To Back”. It’s an interview with Dr. Álex Mendíbil. He chats about rare these films are, they are not exactly praised by most fans of the director. He talks about the S-Rated craze and how Franco took advantage of it. He had lots of freedom since there wasn’t much of a budget behind these smaller productions. He provides plenty of stories and information related to these movies. He doesn’t hold back in this conversation and he can be a little harsh at times. It has the almost 16 minute “In The Land Of Franco Part 15” with Stephen Thrower. I hope Severin Films edits these all together and puts together a full documentary someday with all of the material together. It’s one of the better location revisit extras. The author takes the viewer to several spots from these wild independent productions with all kinds of info to go with the visuals. It comes with a slipcover and reversible artwork. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!