High Tension: Four Films by Lamberto Bava Blu Ray Review (Severin Films)

High Tension (aKa Alta tensione) is a 1993 Italian horror television series produced and directed by Lamberto Bava (Demons, Demons 2, Shock, Macabre, A Blade in the Dark, Blastfighter, Devil Fish, Delirium, and Body Puzzle). It was written by Dardano Sacchetti (Demons franchise, The Psychic, Zombi, Inferno, City of the Living Dead, The House by the Cemetery, The New York Ripper, and The Beyond), Giorgio Stegani (Cannibal Holocaust, Beyond the Law, Long Live Robin Hood, and White Vertigo), Massimo De Rita (The Violent Four, The Valachi Papers, Street Law, Revolver, Blastfighter, and Violent City), and Roberto Gandus (Madhouse, Macabre, No Way Out, Malamore, and Snatch). It was produced by Andrea Piazzesi (Chinese Wife, The Dragon Ring, Running Away, and Pirates: Blood Brothers). It aired years after it filmed on television due to it’s graphic violence and nudity. “The Prince of Terror” (aKa Il Maestro Del Terrore) follows horror director Vincent Omen (played by: Tomas Arana from Gladiator, The Sect, The Church, The Bodyguard, Tombstone, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Last Temptation of Christ). Omen with his family is attacked by a crazed screenwriter Paul Hilary (played by: David Brandon from StageFright, She, Delirium, Warrior Queen, and The Blade Master) after getting fired from the known filmmaker at their private home. His work in cinema is starting create nightmares in his real life. “The Man Who Wouldn’t Die” (aKa L’uomo Che Non Voleva Morire) follows A young man (played by: Gino Concari from Massacre) that lies in a hospital suspended between life and death after a home invasion. He’s a complete mystery to the police. He only remembers his involvement in a heist robbery lead by Fabrizio (played by: Keith Van Hoven from The House of Clocks, Operation Delta Force franchise, and Black Demons) and Madame Jacno (played by: Martine Brochard from Eyeball, Murder Obsession, A Man Called Blade, and The Violent Professionals). He’s still not safe because someone is still trying to eliminate him as his memory comes back to him. “School of Fear” (aKa Il Gioko) follows Diana Berti (played by: Alessandra Acciai from The Black Cat, Giallo, and Hotel Rome) with a troubled past that takes a teaching job at a mysterious school. She thinks that her predecessor was killed by her pupils lead by Preside (played by: Daria Nicolodi from Phenomena, Tenebrae, Mother of Tears, The Sect, Paganini Horror, Shock, Opera, Inferno, and Deep Red) and she is paranoid that they are planning to do the same thing to her. “Eye Witness” (aKa Testimone Oculare) follows Elisa (played by: Barbara Cupisti from StageFright, Cemetery Man, The New York Ripper, The Church, Opera, and Only You), she’s the only witness to a brutal murder in a department store late at night. She’s blind so she can’t actually visually describe the unknown killer. The paranoid psychopath (played by: Alessio Orano from Lisa and the Devil) stalks and tracks down the unlucky witness to eliminate any chance at getting caught!!!! Lamberto Bava’s High Tension features 4 different television movies from the horror veteran. It sat on the shelves for a few years before it actually aired due to it’s graphic content. It was considered too violent and sleazy for Italian TV at the time. They never hold back on any of these. It kinda similar to early American films that were made for like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime back in the day. There’s a nice variety here with a few different morbid stories and dark subjects. Everything from a horror director facing karma, revenge, a bizarre school, and a witness trying to survive a real life monster that will do whatever it takes to get away. Several different sub-genres were covered in High Tension especially Slasher, Home Invasion, and Giallo. My personal favorites from the show were The Prince of Terror and Eye Witness. I enjoyed the other two but they could been much better. I felt like they were a little slower. All of the leads for each full length segment were very impressive especially Tomas Arana and Barbara Cupisti. These two stood out the most when it comes to all these Italian horror movies. It was nice to see Italian horror star Daria Nicolodi show up in School of Fear. She’s one of the best things about that one. The cast of the cast includes David Brandon, Keith Van Hoven, Martine Brochard, Alessandra Acciai, Alessio Orano, Carole André (The Bloodstained Butterfly), Ulisse Minervini (The Card Player), Marina Viro (Casablanca Express), Virginia Bryant (Demons 2), Lino Salemme (Demons), Stefano Molinari (Hudson Hawk), Peter Pitsch (Opera), Jacques Sernas (Super Fly T.N.T.), Stefano De Sando (Kidnapped), Giuseppe Pianviti (The Godfather Part III), Luca Fagioli (Sleepless), Stefano Davanzati (The Final Executioner), Wanja Mary Sellers (The Crawlers), Loredana Romito (Transformations), Francesco Casale (Arabella: Black Angel), and Antonella Antinori (Burial Ground). The special fx is one of the highlights from High Tension from artists Franco Casagni (Murder-Rock), Danilo Del Monte (The Church), and the legendary Sergio Stivaletti (Cemetery Man, Demons franchise, Opera, The Sect, Mother of Tears, The Wax Mask, and Phenomena). There’s a good amount of nasty and gruesome moments for High Tension that shows off the awesome gore from these television terrors. There’s plenty of eye candy for everyone. They are all very stylish for being lower budget TV productions. The Prince of Terror and Eye Witness are definitely two of Bava’s most underrated efforts during his career. Before this amazing collection from Severin, I think barely anyone outside of Italy knew anything about them so it’s cool to see them get a 2nd chance on home video. This is one of personal favorite box sets of the year so far, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Severin Films! These 4 1080p (1.66:1) transfers are from brand new 2K restorations from the original camera negatives. Considering these really haven’t been able in the states until now, they look excellent and I honestly can’t imagine any other versions looking better than this home video release. Each feature has it’s own style of cinematography, production designs, locations, and sharp special fx when it comes to the visuals. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks on these discs. The audio is pretty consistent through out all of these horror television productions. Some of the them do stand a little more than the other but overall everything is great especially the scores from composer Simon Boswell. All of the dialogue is very clean, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English subtitles for each HD presentation. The Prince of Terror disc includes an “Audio Commentary” with Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. It has the almost 17 minute “The Adventure Of Anfri”. It’s an interview with director Lamberto Bava on High Tension. He chats about his production company with producer Andrea Piazzesi. He brings up his relationship with Italian horror legend Dario Argento. He talks about how these films were developed and the process of making them. It has the almost 18 minute “We Call Him Maestro”. It’s another conversation with filmmaker Lamberto Bava on The Prince of Terror. He actually goes more into detail about this TV movie here. He chats about the cast, the concept, screenwriter, recording live sounds, and the special fx on it. The Man Who Wouldn’t Die disc includes “The Scerbanenco Touch”. It’s an interview with director Lamberto Bava. He chats about the author and the original short story that inspired this one. His father Mario Bava was going to adapt this but it never happened so he did it. He brings up it’s locations, the cast, and the crew on it. It has the “Stephen King Italian Style”. It’s an interview with screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti. The writer chats about some of his earlier work. Bava is brought up here and it’s a very honest take on him. The School of Fear disc includes the little over 18 minute “The Tale Of Evil Children”. It’s an interview with director Lamberto Bava. The director talks about kids in horror for this conversation. 1942″s Bambi made an impact on him and it freaked him out when he was younger. He shows his appreciation for the cast and crew from the production. It has the almost 10 minute “Play The Game”. It’s an interview with screenwriter Roberto Gandus. He praises and shows respect for director Lamberto Bava here. He mentions that Hitchcock’s Rope was an influence for this feature. He was going to originally get behind the camera for this television series for his directorial debut but it never happened. It has the almost 32 minute “When Bava Met Boswell”. It’s an interview with composer Simon Boswell. He chats about horror legend Dario Argento and how important his work was to the genre. He goes over some projects that he worked on over the years. He isn’t shy about calling some rip-offs and B-Movies. He talks about his collaborations with Bava. This home video release includes an additional CD with little over 46 minutes of music from Simon Boswell with 15 different tracks. Eye Witness disc includes an “Audio Commentary” with Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. It has the almost 16 minute “The Last Giallo”. It’s an interview with director Lamberto Bava. The filmmaker is very blunt and honest about the production. He goes over the origins of it and his experiences. He brings up the writer and their unique process on it. He mentions his iconic father Mario in this. It has the little over 12 minute “Love Is Blind”. It’s an interview with actress Barbara Cupisti. She goes a little bit about her acting career. She brings up meeting director Michele Soavi and how he helped her go from dancing to getting in front of the camera during an audition. She brings up her experience working with Bava and some of the other productions that she was involved with back in the day including Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper. She chats about her role in Eye Witness. This High Tension collection is packed with plenty of brand new exclusive extras. It will keep you busy for hours. It comes in a high quality slipbox with 4 separate cases inside. This is a must own for any Italian horror fan. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!