Morbo (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Gonzalo SuárezRelease Date(s)
1972 (October 13, 2026)Studio(s)
Bocaccio Films (Mondo Macabro)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A
Review
Spanish writer/director Gonzalo Suárez should be more well-known by American film fans than he already is. His take on the “Haunted Summer” in the Year Without a Summer (1816) where Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, John Polidori and Claire Clairmont gathered together and modern horror was created on a lark—Rowing with the Wind (Remando al Viento)—may be the definitive take of that seminal moment. Sadly, Suárez passed away this past September 2026, but if you’re unfamiliar with his work, there’s no better film to start an education with than his 1972 film, Morbo. After an expectation defying opening sequence with a POV shot of a rat-infested farmhouse strewn with destroyed art, narrated by the whispers of strange, disembodied voices; you’ll have absolutely no idea where this film is going—because it can go anywhere. And that’s exactly where Suárez wants us as an audience and going into this film somewhat blind is the way to go, so let’s keep the summary simple.
Newlyweds Alicia (Ana Belén) and Diego (Víctor Manuel) exit church, hop into a car with camper attached and head straight into the dense countryside for their honeymoon. Diego is a young conservative, Alicia is a force of nature—which we see when, at their first stop for gas, she jumps out of the car and removes her designer wedding dress revealing a crocheted white bikini. This moment is story bait as much as it’s a gimmie for the audience who get to see the stunning Ana Belén in all her glory. There’s a lot going on with this scene, so pay attention—there will be a test later. Our young couple eventually find their way into a clearing just outside of an abandoned farmhouse, past no entry signs, where they may have well entered into a separate universe. The two explore each other, mind, body and soul as they seemingly fast forward through their entire relationship.
Morbo is an incredibly watchable film. The cast is great (which includes a cameo by American weirdo Michael J. Pollard), the cinematography by Juan Amorós sucks you in right away, joined with a wonderful score by composer Jacques Denjean. It’s a deep existential horror tale without a lot of scares, that you can’t help to be drawn in by. It’s highly recommended.
The fine folks at Mondo Macabro give us Morbo in a beautiful new 4K scan of the film’s original 35mm negative encoded at 1080p at 1.37:1 aspect ratio. It’s a stunning image with spot-on skin tones, solid blacks and nice detail. It has a nice filmic look with visible grain and not a drop of compression artifacting. Audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono in Spanish with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is nice, score is presented well and there is no background noise.
Extras include a commentary track by Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn of the Naschycast where they do a very nice deep dive into Suárez’s life and career, insight into the social temperature being that this film was made at the tail-end of the Franco dictatorship as well a lot of solid information into the making of, meaning of and versions of the film. Next up is The Telluric Cinema of Gonzalo Suárez, an interview with Sitges Film Festival director Angel Sala who does an even deeper dive into the filmography and life of Gonzalo Suárez littered with a lot of fun trivia long the way (Suárez and Sam Peckinpah were besties, at least as much as one could be a bestie with Sam). Finally, there is A Committed Woman, where historian and apparent fellow physical media addict Xavi Sanchez Pons tells us just about everything there is to know about Ana Belén in a forty-five minute profile. All three extras make for well-complimentary information about some great artists who joined together to make a great film.
Morbo is sparkling gem of a film that gets some nice light shined upon it by our friends at Mondo Macabro. Along with being a great little-seen film, it’s a packed guided tour through the film and the filmmakers behind it making for a great blind buy for those with an interest to explore.
- Todd Doogan