Cult Epics continues its run of amazing 4K premieres with Umberto Lenzi’s cult-comic thriller Kriminal (1966). A Pop-infused crime drama, Kriminal looks amazing on this new 4K collection, armed with hours of fascinating extras. A great release, Cult Epics currently has deluxe website editions for sale here.
Umberto Lenzi’s career as one of Italy’s most notorious filmmakers was less than a decade in when he filmed the pulpy Kriminal in 1966. The future Cannibal Ferox (1981) creator began making films as a student in the fifties. Starting in the early sixties, Lenzi began making a string of action films and historical epics. As the James Bond craze began to overtake the world, Lenzi’s attention quickly switched to Italian spy films aping 007, mostly not very memorably. Still, by the mid-sixties, Lenzi had already built a resume including nearly twenty films. He was well on his way to a respectable career.
While Lenzi’s career was growing in the early sixties, the Italian Fumetti neri began to appear in the hands of young readers all over Italy. These cheap Black and White comics quickly became a popular obsession, inspiring and producing many great artists. The title that kickstarted this sub-genre remains its most famous creation. Created by the Giussani sisters, the name of this ‘Black Comic’ was the unforgettable Diabolik.
Initially a comic and then a legendary Mario Bava film, Diabolik continues to cast a very long shadow. So much so that its success often overshadows the many other titles that followed. One that escaped its shadow somewhat was Kriminal. Created in 1964 by Magnus and Max Bunker, Kriminal had much in common with Diabolik, but its place as a continuing series separated it.
Kriminal isn’t as good Diabolik. I guess let’s just get that out the way. That goes for the comic series and film versions. It has been a problem, especially for Lenzi’s film throughout the years. After all, who can compare to the great Mario Bava and one of his most magnificent creations?
Lenzi’s Kriminal is a good film. At times, it is even great, but the shadow of Bava’s masterpiece smothers it. It has been an unfair spot for the film to reside in all of these decades. Cult Epics extraordinary new 4K restoration allows viewers a rare opportunity to experience Kriminal without the baggage of Diabolik.
Handsome Glenn Saxson plays Kriminal, a masked antihero pursued by an especially tenacious police inspector. Saxson is good, as is the film’s other most recognizable star, Helga Liné. Lenzi’s film is well-cast in general, although Lenzi’s screenplay, co-written with David Moreno Mingote, is too talky at times.
Kriminal’s biggest strength is its look. Photographed well by cinematographer Angelo Lotti, Kriminal is a rich-looking film, and it captures mid-sixties cinema very well. And Cult Epics new 4K is a real knockout, a true treat of both sound and vision.
Lenzi delivers solid work behind the camera on Kriminal. Compared to some of his later more exploitative films, Kriminal feels downright innocent, ironic considering the source material faced a lot of censorship issues. Lenzi’s direction is confident if not overly inventive, and he has none of the notoriety yet of his later years. If anything, Kriminal is perhaps too polite, and who’d ever think that about an Umberto Lenzi film?
A mostly solid production and entertaining watch, Kriminal’s biggest issue is the editing credited to Jolanda Benvenuti and Antonio Gimeno. They fail to give the film the type of edge it needs. There’s no real propulsive momentum or sense of urgency, leaving ultimately a very good film in place of what might have been a great one.
Regardless of the film’s faults, this new Cult Epics collection is perfect and contains a bonus feature better than the film! Like I said, this thing looks spectacular, making it easy to imagine you are sitting in a mid-sixties Italian theater watching a new print. It is on the supplement side that this new limited slipcovered edition really shines.
Extra-wise, we get new interviews with Glenn Saxson
and Italian soundtrack expert Pierpaolo De Sanctis (this guy is awesome) plus a great new commentary track with Eugenio Ercolani & Troy Howarth. On top of the usual promotional material, the big treat here is the incredible new Cult Epics produced Armed to the Teeth: The Cinema of Umberto Lenzi. This full feature-length documentary traces Lenzi’s entire career, and it is a rewarding and super fascinating watch. This documentary alone makes the entire collection worth owning.
A recommendation for Kriminal.
A huge recommendation for Cult Epics’ Kriminal on 4K.
-Jeremy Richey, October 2026-
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