You know how when you are a connoisseur of something, let’s say for instance; Italian fright flicks, there tends to be tiers of quality? I mean you got your Suspiria and your The Beyond, then you get a bit further out and you have your Buio Omega and other delightfully hardcore shit… then things get a bit cheaper with the likes of Bruno Mattei and titles like Hell of the Living Dead… and then you get right down there towards the bottom and you find things like the flick we are taking a look at today, Burial Ground, and well… that’s the type of unadulterated nonsense that yours cruelly can really sink his fangs into!
After an opening where the European equivalent of Rick Rubin attempts to stave off a zombie attack with this bon mot; “Wait, stand back; I’m your friend!” we get into the story proper of ol’ Burial Ground… and by that I mean a bunch of jet settin’ folks getting’ their fuck on. Amongst all of the lusty goings-on we get introduced to the young son of one of the goofs mentioned above (inexplicably played by what looks like a thirty year-old dude) and his totally normal, not in any way fucked up relationship with his mother. I’ll be back in a sec; I suddenly have a craving for a glass of milk…
Oh, yeah; there’s also those zombies I was jawin’ about earlier, who make the scene and begin dispatching folks with gleeful ultra-gory abandon…and let’s be honest; the ol’ red sauce is why you watch putrid pictures like these in the first place; and man o man does BG die-liver! Bodies are torn asunder, guts are dutifully munched, zombie skulls are smashed in loving close-up, and a decapitation scene occurs that’s just about as batshit as they come!
That’s pretty much all there is; people have sex, zombies show up, the folks have to survive…it’s simple, extremely fast paced, and fun (not to mention often completely ludicrous and astoundingly gory). If only modern zombie outings could be this way…
As great as Burial Ground is and as much as I have adored this flick for many, many years; I have to say I have never seen this film look better than it does on this release from Severin. Utilizing a new 4k transfer, this is one gorgeous looking presentation; filled to the brim with vivid color and clarity that’ll make your eerie eyeballs pop (and seriously; the first version of this film I saw in my misspent youth looked akin to the print having been stored inside a whale’s arsehole in the briny depths).
That would be enough for me to endorse this release as high as (in)humanly possible; but those devilish devils at Severin have included some choice cuts in the ol’ beastly bonus department as well! To kick things off, you get two audio commentaries; one featuring critics Nathaniel Thompson, Troy Howarth, and Eugenio Ercolani, and the other from Italian cinema experts Calum Waddell and John Martin. Between the two we get a complete view of the film’s production, legacy, and plenty of anecdotes.
Also included is the film’s theatrical trailer.
And that brings us to the end of the 4K version of the film…
Disc Two presents Burial Ground in Blu-ray format (along with the previously mentioned audio commentaries and trailer), as well as a horrid host of sinister special features!
Included are: a featurette on the film’s location main location Villa Parisi, followed by interviews with actors Simone Mattioli and the amazing Mr. Peter Bark (who also is featured in a Q&A sesh), producer Gabriele Crisanti, and actress Mariangela Giordano. Rounding things out you get some deleted and extended scenes.
Simply put; you need this freakin’ thing like Dracula needs a vein to drain; this is essential material for the collection of each and every fan of those walkin’ stalkin’ livin’dead that are all the rage these days. Highest recommendation from yours cruelly!
