Surprisingly, that old tattered trailer that has been included on every preview compilation videocassette and DVD is nowhere to be seen here. In a way, it’s a bit of a pity, as it is interesting to see how the American distributor marketed it as a straight and serious horror flick. The trailer, however, is not missed as soon as you access the DVD’s main special feature: an audio commentary with stars Barbara Steele, Ian Ogilvy, and produced Paul Maslansky. Moderated by David Gregory and recorded in 2007, this highly entertaining track provides a lot of insight on this cult gem, with actress Steele showing up after about fourteen minutes in. While Steele herself remembers practically nothing about her “22-hour day of filming,” she never fails to bring the track down — and whether she’s stating how awful her make-up in the film is (and it is) or just commenting on her work in general, it sounds as if Barbara was having a great time with her former co-star and producer (the latter of whom she didn’t speak to for a decade or better because of her “22-hour day of filming”). The only other special feature is a gallery highlighting several stills, posters and press book artwork from both the US and the UK (where the title of the movie is Revenge Of The Blood Beast).
Even if, for some ungodly reason, you’re perfectly content with your murky, washed-out, and severely cropped pan-and-scan edition of The She-Beast on DVD (and you should seek help if you are — pan-and-scan sucks, people), you owe it to yourself to upgrade to this superior-in-every-way version just for the audio commentary alone.
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