High Tension: Four Films By Lamberto Bava

In the late ‘80s, Lamberto Bava agreed to direct a four-part anthology series for Italian TV under the title High Tension. But when executives saw the completed features’ extreme themes and graphic violence, their broadcast was blocked for nearly a decade and they have only existed as grey market bootlegs since. Severin Films now presents their Official Worldwide Blu-ray Premiere: Tomas Arana stars as a horror director stalked by evil forces in THE PRINCE OF TERROR, written by Dardano Sacchetti and featuring grisly FX by Sergio Stivaletti. In THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE, adapted
from a short story by poliziotteschi novelist Giorgio Scerbanenco, the survivor of a home invasion seeks vengeance. Daria Nicolodi stars in SCHOOL OF FEAR about a student academy with a dark secret. And in the giallo shocker EYE WITNESS, Barbara Cupisti stars as a blind woman who sees a murder. All four films are scanned in 2K from the original camera negatives with Italian and first-time ever English tracks, plus over 5 hours of Special Features and a Soundtrack CD curated by Simon Boswell featuring music from High Tension, THE MASK OF SATAN, DEMONS 2, DELIRIUM and more.

4 FILMS RESTORED UNCUT
5+ HOURS OF ALL-NEW SPECIAL FEATURES
PLUS BONUS BOSWELL/BAVA SOUNDTRACK CD

Disc 1: THE PRINCE OF TERROR

For the first film in the series, director Lamberto Bava and screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti (THE BEYOND, DEMONS) delivered “a wild ride” (Euro Fever) that’s part home-invasion thriller, part supernatural shocker and one totally over-the-top gorehound blast: ‘Prince of Terror’ Vincent Omen (Tomas Arana of THE CHURCH and THE SECT) is cinema’s top horror director. But when a disgruntled screenwriter – a no-holds-barred performance by David Brandon of STAGEFRIGHT – attacks Omen and his family in their secluded villa, it will unleash a grisly maelstrom of graphic brutality courtesy of special effects maestro Sergio Stivaletti (THE MASK OF SATAN, CEMETERY MAN). Carole André (YOR: THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE) co-stars in “one of the rarest of Bava’s ‘80s horrors” (The Bloody Pit of Horror), now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative with a first time-ever English language track. 

Runtime: 92 mins

Disc 2: THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T DIE

In the early ‘70s, the legendary Mario Bava began adapting a savage short story by poliziotteschi novelist Giorgio Scerbanenco (CALIBER 9) for a film project. When Lamberto Bava eventually directed it in 1989 – from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici (HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, THE NEW YORK RIPPER) – Italian TV refused to broadcast the violent thriller for nearly 20 years: After an art heist in a luxury villa goes horrifically wrong, a gang member (Gino Concari of Andrea Bianchi’s MASSACRE) left for dead will hunt down his accomplices in a mission of brutal revenge. Keith Van Hoven (Fulci’s THE HOUSE OF CLOCKS), Lino Salemme (DEMONS) and Martine Brochard (THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS) co-star in “the rarest film in the High Tension series” (FilmTV), now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative with a first time-ever English language track. 

Runtime: 95 mins

Disc 3: SCHOOL OF FEAR

In the most unsettlingly creepy film of the quartet, producer/director Lamberto Bava – along with screenwriters Roberto Gandus (MACABRE, PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS), Dardano Sacchetti (THE PSYCHIC, ZOMBIE), Giorgio Stegani (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, EYE WITNESS) and composer Simon Boswell (DEMONS 2, SANTA SANGRE) – present a private academy where the curriculum is defined by unadulterated evil: When an idealistic young teacher (Alessandra Acciai of Luigi Cozzi’s THE BLACK CAT) arrives mid-semester at an exclusive school, she’ll anger the stern principal (Italian horror icon Daria Nicolodi), unlock a nightmare of trauma and discover that child’s play can be the deadliest game of all. Stefano De Sando (Bava/Cozzi’s Night Shift) co-stars in this “absolutely wild” (B&S About Movies) shocker, now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative with a first time-ever English language track.  

Runtime: 100 mins

Disc 4: BOSWELL/BAVA Compilation CD

Disc 5: EYE WITNESS

For his final film in the High Tension series, director Lamberto Bava crafted a unique twist on the giallo genre with a screenplay by Giorgio Stegani (SCHOOL OF FEAR, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST) and Massimo De Rita (BLASTFIGHTER, STREET LAW) from a story by Bava, a haunting score by Simon Boswell (PHENOMENA, STAGEFRIGHT) and an outstanding performance by Barbara Cupisti of CEMETERY MAN, THE CHURCH and OPERA fame: When a blind woman (Cupisti) is the only witness to a murder, the cops – and the killer – set their sights on ending her ordeal forever. Mary Sellers (THE MASK OF SATAN), Alessio Orano (LISA AND THE DEVIL) and Antonella Antinori (BURIAL GROUND) co-star in “one of the best Bava films ever” (ItaloCinema), now scanned in 2K from the original camera negative with a first time-ever English language track.  

Runtime: 100 mins