Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death
1 Blu-ray disc
Genre:  Horror
Color, 117 minutes, in English and Korean with English subtitles
Production year:  1978 in Korea
Director:  Kim Ki-young
Cast:  Kim Ja-ok, Nam Kung Won, Kim Man, Am Park, Hyang Lee, Po Yeo, Lee Hwa-si

As a kind of crazy cinematic ghost train ride, WOMAN CHASING THE BUTTERFLY OF DEATH takes us on a journey deep into the darkness of one man’s fears and fantasies. That man is Young-gul, a lonely and rather morbid student in the late 1970’s South Korea. Narrowly surviving a murder-suicide attempt by a woman wearing a butterfly pendant, he next finds himself besieged by a seemingly insane bookseller who claims he can never die. Even after Young-gul burns the man’s body his skeleton comes back to taunt him. As if that weren’t enough, the poor student then finds himself the victim of a beautiful thousand-year-old woman (she looks about 25) who says she is hungry and wants to eat his liver!

The director, Kim Ki-young, was one of Korea’s most successful filmmakers. His 1960 production THE HOUSEMAID is now a recognized classic of world cinema. With this film, he goes far beyond the bounds of the real and takes us into a world where anything seems possible, a world where a kind of dream logic rules. Almost impossible to summarize, the film is nevertheless insanely enjoyable. A real one-of-a-kind production that opens our eyes to the limitless possibilities of cinema.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 4k transfer from the film negative.
• Digitally restored.
• Interview with actress Lee Hwa-si.
• Interview with producer Jeong Jin-woo.
• Interview with cinematographer Koo Jong-mo.
• Interview with Darcy Paquet.
• Audio commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Paul Quinn of the “What’s Korean Cinema?” Podcast.
• Mondo Macabro previews.

*****                                   *****                                   *****

Killer of Dolls

1 Blu-ray disc
Genre:  Horror
Color, 103 minutes, in Spanish (Castilian) with English subtitles
Production year:  1974 in Spain
Director:  Michael Skaife
Cast:  David Rocha, Helga Liné , Inma de Santis, Elisenda Ribas Marina Ferri, Lupe Rocha, Salvador Buchila, Alejandra Del Rio

In this bizarre and totally unique piece of Spanish horror, David Rocha plays Paul, a young man thrown out of medical school due to his inability to deal with the sight of blood. He goes home to Montpellier in France where his father is a gardener on a huge estate belonging to Countess Olivia (played by Helga Liné, the ageless diva of Spanish horror). We soon discover that fear of blood is not Paul’s only quirk. He was raised as a girl after his sister died and likes to play with dolls, performing strange operations on them, attempting to extract their hearts.

Meanwhile, in the park surrounding the Countesses’ home, a number of young girls have been found murdered. The killer seems to be a mysterious individual wearing a black wig, a white doll mask and speaking with a woman’s voice. As the killings multiply around him, Paul sinks ever deeper into a world of hallucination and nightmare.

Released here for the first time ever on Blu-ray and in its US premiere, THE KILLER OF DOLLS is an original and unforgettable film that will be treasured by all who like their horror weird and unsettling.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Brand new 4k transfer from the film negative.
• Digitally restored.
• Exclusive interview with actor David Rocha.
• Interview with Dr. Antonio Lázaro-Reboll.
• Audio commentary from Kat Ellinger.
• Audio commentary from Robert Monell and Rod Barnett.
• Newly created, optional English subtitles.
• Mondo Macabro previews.