Region 4 Winners and Losers

    There have been two editions of Kill Baby…Kill released in the United States: One by VCI and the other by Brentwood Home Video. Both versions are taken from 16mm prints, presented cropped and in an aspect ratio of 4:3.

    The picture and sound quality on the VCI edition are comparable to our own Stomp Visual release, but on direct comparison, the VCI transfer loses quite a bit of information from the left and right sides of the screen. For example, in the VCI edition the burgomeister Karl is almost completely cut out of frame (10:39) and the maid is entirely missing from the right of the screen when she should be visible (21:40). There are other numerous examples where the compositions look too tight and important information is lost. Bonus features are limited to a text-based Mario Bava biography and filmography and trailers for The Night Visitor, Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Blood and Black Lace.

    The Brentwood release is shocking. Apart from a sickly brown hue, the print is almost devoid of any other colour. It is also cropped and, like the VCI transfer, loses important information from the left and right side of the screen. It contains no bonus features.

    There is also a Region 2 (German) release by Anolis Entertainment that goes under the rather lurid title Die Toten Augen Des Dr. Dracula. It has an interview (in Italian with German subtitles) with Erika Blanc that’s not available on any other version. It also has a U.S and German trailer and poster and still galleries. It’s presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but not 16x9 enhanced. A few fan forums have praised the picture quality, suggesting a lot of time and effort has gone into restoring it. Unfortunately, it contains only a German language audio track.

    If you can tolerate black bars on the top and bottom of your monitors and you can understand German, then the Region 2 Anolis Entertainment release is the best option.

    However, until the original negative or a pristine 35mm print is sourced or restored, then our correctly framed 16x9 enhanced Region 4 Stomp Visual release is the best version currently available for English-speaking fans.