Review: 'Perdita Durango' an Irresistibly Good Time in Bad Taste

It's kind of hard not to recommend Álex de la Iglesia's "Perdita Durango," as it's a full-bore assault on good taste with a terrific visual sense and it's anchored by wonderful performances. Despite its shortcomings, many of which can be chalked up to the inadaptability of Barry Gifford's terse, off-kilter prose, it's still very much worth your time to see this oft-censored film in all of its depraved glory. I mean, do you not want to see Javier Bardem in a terrible haircut perform blood rituals, kidnap an unwitting couple, and run from the law?

Severin Films proudly displays the depravity of "Perdita Durango" with a feature-filled 4K UHD Blu-ray release that's really worth picking up. With a sturdy encode and a stunning 4K presentation aided by HDR, this release brings the full-length cut of the film into a new era of home entertainment. If this is a sign of things to come from Severin in 4K, then it's probably time to get excited. Just, you know, don't go on a murderous voodoo-induced rampage because of that excitement.

Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez) is a tough woman who suffers no fools. Then enters Romeo (Javier Bardem), a bank and grave robber with a mastery of the Santero (voodoo). They fall in love, have rough sex, and kidnap a young couple with the intention of sacrificing them to fulfill something foretold by Romeo's religion. Naturally, things don't go as planned. The dogged CIA agent (James Gandolfini) ends up hot on their tail, and that certainly isn't helping the situation. Oh, and there are jars of fetuses that Perdita and Romeo must rob on behalf of a Mexican crime lord.

If you couldn't tell from the above, there's a lot going on in "Perdita Durango." Much of that can be attributed to author and raconteur Barry Gifford's source novel, which was itself an expansion of "Wild at Heart." But with the acting duties going to Rosie Perez here instead of Isabella Rossellini in the David Lynch adaptation of "Wild at Heart," the story is anchored by her ferocity and overall brazenness. You'll see immediately that this role was a huge risk for Perez, and she pulls it off because of her mastery of camp and pulp dramas. Add in a stellar supporting cast consisting of James Gandolfini, Alex Cox, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins to see that the film has more than enough talent to exercise across the 130-minute runtime.

Severin has also packed this release with special features, including a terrific interview with Álex de la Iglesia in which he goes deep on the origins of the film, the production, and the tortured theatrical release. In addition, there's a great appraisal of the film by film scholar Dr. Rebekah McKendry.

No matter if you're a fan of the occult or just movies about the occult, this thorough release by Severin deserves a place in your collection.

Other special features include:

� "Writing 'Perdita Durango'" – Interview with writer Barry Gifford
� "Narcosatanicos: 'Perdita Durango' and the Matamoros Cult" – Interview with Abraham Castillo Flores and 'Cauldron of Blood' author Jim Schutze
� "Canciones de Amor Maldito: The Music of 'Perdita Durango'" – Interview with composer Simon Boswell
� "Shooting 'Perdita Durango'" – Interview with director of photography Flavio Labiano

"Perdita Durango" is available in a 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray combo pack on March 30th from Severin Films.