Color, 1981, 85m.
Directed by Andrea Bianchi
Starring Karin Well, Mariangelo Giordano, Peter Bark, Gianluigi Chirizzi, Simone Mattioli, Roberto Caporali, Claudio Zucchett, Anna Valente
Severin Films (Blu-ray & DVD) (US R0 HD/NTSC), 88 Films (Blu-ray) (UK RB HD), Media Blasters (Blu-ray & DVD) (US R0 HD/NTSC) / WS (1.66:1) (16:9)

Burial GroundBurial GroundWithout a doubt the most influential, shocking, and essential Italian zombie film from the golden age of European horror.... is Lucio Fulci's Zombie. However, the prize for the most outrageous and lovably cracked Italian zombie film should go to Burial Ground, known in Europe as The Nights of Terror, which throws a heavy dose of T&A into the mix and has become the most beloved film by exploitation director Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer, Malabimba).

Unholy evil is rising up in the Italian countryside when a professor discovers through ancient texts that a hidden crypt houses the secret to immortality. Upon entering the tombs he unfortunately discovers that the key Etruscan ritual unleashes a horde of zombies, who start to climb above ground when some aristocratic sex fiends arrive at an adjoining villa for a weekend getaway. Among them are Janet (Weil), Mark (Chirizzi), James (Mattioli), Leslie (Antinori), and George (Caporali). However, the most memorable new arrivals are easily voluptuous Evelyn (Giordano, Satan's Baby Doll) and her son, Michael, who's played by wide-eyed, twentysomething actor Burial GroundPeter Bark -- a casting move that catapults the film from the level of fun trash to sheer genius. While Michael stumbles around watching everyone copulate and remarking about the death-like scent of ancient fabrics, the zombies close in for a night of bloody slaughter. Burial Ground

A perfect film in its own lunatic, technically slipshod fashion, Burial Ground delivers virtually every exploitation element you could possibly want from a 1981 Italian film. Nudity, creepy electronic music (with some disorienting jazz thrown in for good measure), borderline incest, a wide variety of crafty zombies, the world's slowest scythe beheading, maggots, worms, and a nihilistic ending (with a great typo to boot) have made this one lodge in viewers' memories ever since its unrated theatrical run in the U.S. from FCG. '80s horror fanzines boosted the film's reputation through the roof with young gorehounds scrambling to find the Vestron VHS release, which was notoriously murky (several night shots turned into complete mud) but still earned many fans. A sought-after Japanese laserdisc was quite a bit brighter and more watchable, but few could actually get their hands on it.

Media Blasters brought the film to DVD in 2002 with a pretty drab, chunky, overly bright, heavily compressed, and cropped transfer in 2002, though it was still a revelation of sorts after the VHS release. The label was also responsible for the film's first Blu-ray release in 2011, which had a solid HD transfer at its core destroyed by a heavy, distracting layer of chroma noise swimming over the entire film. Extras on both formats (the DVD was included with the later Blu-ray) include the European trailer Burial Ground(as The Nights of Terror), an image gallery, almost 10 minutes of silent outtake footage (most of it from the film's first half), and a raw 20-minute reel of video interviews with producer Gabriele Crisanti and the very charming Giordano looks back a making this "winning formula" of horror and sex, with Bark being cast because of legal regulations about child actors, and other topics, with questions asked in halting Italian.Burial Ground

In early 2016, 88 Films brought the film to UK Blu-ray and DVD in separate editions with a new remastered transfer that mercifully removes that swarming color distortion entirely and looks quite impressive in motion. In addition to the usual English dub (LPCM mono) you also get the Italian track with English subtitles (translated from the Italian, not dubtitles), which is a bit classier and not even remotely as amusing; it's a very different viewing experience. (Unlike some other 88 Films titles, you can switch audio and subtitle options on the fly during playback.) An audio commentary with "expert" John Martin and moderator Calum Waddell covers the wave of Italian zombie films from the late '70s through the '80s and goes into detail about the film's history with the BBFC and the ins and outs of VHS horror at the time. There isn't a ton of production detail here but they're certainly appreciative of Bianchi's directorial flourishes. One nice video bonus here is a "35mm grindhouse version" option, an HD transfer of one of the few circulating theatrical prints complete with heavy grain, flickering, and scratches, not to mention the American opening and closing titles. It's not pretty, of course, but it actually makes the film feel a lot more dirty and creepy throughout and admirably recaptures the feeling of seeing this in a theater if you've ever caught one of the film's (surprisingly frequent) repertory screenings. Also included are the trailer, the outtakes reel, a bonus trailer for Zombie Holocaust, and a 26-minute interview with author Mikel Coven, who puts Bianchi's Burial Groundcareer and particularly his zombie opus in context with the demands of Italian commercial cinema at the time. It's probably the most academic dissection of his work you'll ever hear. Burial Ground

Shortly before Halloween in 2016, Severin Films issued separate Blu-ray and DVD editions of Burial Ground in an edition that easily eclipses the prior American one. The transfer appears to be sourced from the same film element as the 88 Films release, but it's been given a more proficient encoding that results in detail and film grain that are more defined; it's also darker and richer in appearance. (The frame grabs seen in the body of this review are all from the Severin Blu-ray.) Either one is a good option, but the Severin pulls out ahead in the end. English and Italian audio are included with optional English (translated) subtitles, with both sounding very solid. The trailer and outtakes reel are ported over here, but there's a nice helping of new goodies as well. The 15-minute Freak-o-Rama featurette "Villa Parisi: Legacy of Terror" takes an in-depth tour with film historian Fabio Melelli of the venerable Italian location seen in this film and others like Nightmare Castle, The Third Eye, Bay of Blood, Blood for Dracula, and Beyond the Darkness. In the 7-minute "Peter Still Lives," Bark appears for a 2007 Italian screening and chats about the film, greeting his fans and talking about tasting prosthetic breasts, doing screwball comedies, and disco dancing on Italian TV (which we also see far too briefly). In "Just for the Money" (9 mins.), actor Simone Mattioli recalls having fun with Bark, enjoying the locations, dealing with "offal and worms" everywhere, being embarrassed by his sex scene, and having no personal investment in the project beyond a paycheck. The 9-minute "The Smell of Death" edits the Giordano and Crisanti interviews from the Media Blasters release into a more linear piece without all the dead air and protracted questions. If you're a real Peter Bark fan, there's also a lavish "Nights of Terror Bundle" available directly from Severin including a "Smells of Death" T-shirt, shot glass, poster, and pin -- the perfect Christmas gift for the zombie or incestuous man-child completist in your family.

88 FILMS BLU-RAY

Burial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial Ground

88 FILMS GRINDHOUSE TRANSFER

Burial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial Ground

MEDIA BLASTERS BLU-RAY

Burial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial Ground

MEDIA BLASTERS DVD

Burial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial GroundBurial Ground

Reviewed on October 22, 2016.