DVD REVIEW: THE BEAST IN SPACE:
DVD REVIEW: XXX VERSION
DVD REVIEW: SEVERIN FILMS [ 2008 ] 92'
DVD REVIEW: AVG. BITRATE: 4.58 Mb/sec
WTFFILM RATING:
The UNRATED EDITION of the film has been reviewed by WTFFILM as well - that review can be accessed by clicking anywhere on this inordinantly long expository sentance.

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The second half of Severin Films' upcoming DVD issue of Alfonso Brescia's bizarre amalgamation of sexploitation and sci-fi adventure is, arguably, a more impressive (in terms of dedication) release than the UNRATED EDITION earlier reviewed on this site . . .

It's difficult, to say the least, to dig up any information on this obscure alternate cut of Brescia's THE BEAST IN SPACE. While Brescia himself claimed to know nothing of the cut, some footage contained therein (namely those shots involving the beast and his beastly rubber appendage) seem to have been shot at the same time as the alternate soft-core shots of the same scenes that made their way into the theatrical release version. Making this considerably more confusing is the inclusion of explicit sex between two uncredited performers who obviously have no other place in the film. Severin claims that the print they utilized for this release was discovered "in the basement of a condemned porno theater outside Bologna" - that's the most in the way of explanation WTFFILM ever expects to hear in regards to this cut of the film.

The film itself is relatively unchanged - the running time of 92 minutes is maintained and only a few soft-core shots (during the orgy in the second act) are replaced with hardcore footage. The biggest draw to this cut of the film is, naturally, going to be the beast itself - unlike in the softcore version, he is here endowed with a massive rubber cock that should illicit cackles from even the most jaded b-movie film goer. Even in this hardcore cut the sequence involving the beast are no match for the sheer audacity of those in Walerian Borowczyk's LA BETE - this film's unlikely inspieration.

By volume of fake beast-semen alone, that film has this one beat.

Still, there's a ludicrous charm to Brescia's BEAST - from the re-used special effects footage and costumes (fifth time's the charm!) to the inane dialogue and complete lack of continuity in the final act, THE BEAST IN SPACE is an enjoyable if entirely asinine voyage into the weird world of vintage euro-sleeze.

THE FEATURE PRESENTATION:

There's very little new to be said for this title over the UNRATED EDITION, and from WTFFILM's viewpoint that's a very good thing indeed. In addition to the comments below from that review, the X-rated footage (of which there is fairly little) shows a bit more wear than the remainder of the film, though even the damage on display during those sequences is relatively minimal and unobtrusive.

Severin Films presents THE BEAST IN SPACE in a pretty spiffy (comparatively) 1.83:1 progressive scan and anamorphically enhanced transfer. Alfonso Brescia's space epics have fared remarkably poorly on home video in the United States, with all of them that WTFFILM has seen being pan-and-scanned transfers of the lowest possible quality. Such is the fate of public domain features in the US, I suppose. The print here is a revelation, by comparison, and shows that the special effects footage utilized here (and for all of Brescia's five space pictures) is actually pretty decent and certainly comparable to much of what was going on elsewhere at the time (STAR WARS not withstanding).

Colors are very well reproduced (see the snapshot of the green and red lit sex scene below) throughout the feature and contrast levels seem quite right to these eyes. There's quite a lot of detail, though the image is quite soft and grainy throughout. These issues are, no doubt, more the fault of the source materials (this wasn't filmed on the highest quality of stock to begin with) than of Severin's transfer. Damage is evident, particularly during special effects sequences, but is not overly abundant and not unexpected for a film of this age. WTFFILM will go out on a limb in saying that he doubts this film could ever look much better than this on digital, even with the HD revolution underway.

Audio, as with other Severin releases, is presented in dolby digital monophonic Italian. The audio track here is quite crisp and clean, showing off all the wonders of low budget Italian audio mixing at the time. Augmenting the audio are well translated optional English subtitles presented in a highly readable font. This is an excellent feature presentation and WTFFILM is very happy to see that Severin's latest titles have all been flagged for progressive scan playback.

The following two screen captures contain samples of the sexually explicit footage present in this version of the film. Place your mouse over the image to view.

THE EXTRAS:

As with the UNRATED EDITION, extras are relatively sparse (but still more than anticipated, especially given that this X-rated cut is considerably more obscure than the original version of the film).

First up is a motley collection of out-take footage, much of it featuring sexually explicit hardcore footage not present in the film. The highlight has to be a test run of the 'beast' of the title ejaculating onto an unidentified actress. Second up is the trailer for the X-rated version of the film, which is pretty much exactly the same as that for the original version, save for a few brief seconds of sexually explicit footage.

THE OVERALL PRESENTATION:

As with all the other Severin Films releases, THE BEAST IN SPACE comes housed in a standard Amaray style display case. The insert artwork for this edition vs. the unrated disc is quite different - the focus for this release is clearly on the sexual content of the film (the UNRATED EDITION's artwork plays up the sci-fi angle much more prominantly) . Menus are, as with the other disc, a bit more lively this go around and feature, as a backdrop, some sort of exploding nebula thing. Cool stuff and no complaints from me.

THE VERDICT:

As a minor caveat, WTFFILM sees no reason that this disc and the UNRATED EDITION could not have been combined on a single dual-layered disc instead of spreading the release (and sparse extras) over two discs. I suspect distribution issues may have played a part, but (as stated) this is a minor issue from my perspective. Were I to be forced to endorse one version of the film over the other, I would probably go the route of the X-rated cut - the comically tremendous rubber penis of the 'beast' adds a whole new level of low-budget hokum to the proceedings.

Once again, Severin's devotion to presenting obscure cult (in this case perhaps even sub-cult) offerings with the same class that other production houses release mainstream efforts is enviable. Kudos to them for that - I can only hope that Severin will see fit to release the other four Brescia space epics as well (what a boxed set that would make!).

Highly recommended for fans but, again, a rental should be in order for those who aren't sure of what they're getting themselves into. This is a fine disc of an ultra-obscure title and WTFFILM fully supports it.