The Spine Of Night

Even from the earliest screenings, after it appeared in the South by Southwest 2021 line-up, The Spine Of Night attracted a cult following. Some people will struggle to see what the fuss is about, but it has a very specific target market who, like its creator Morgan Galen King, likely read Conan books and played Dungeons & Dragons from an early age, and for them it is a rare treasure, so this Blu-ray is bound to create excitement. it comes with a package of extras which is simple but well chosen.

Although rotoscoping has now been responsible for a few big screen hits, across different genres, most people have only the most basic idea of how it works, so the Making-of featurette here is quite informative. It also gives us the chance to watch actors stumbling about in a warehouse in flimsy costumes talking about hoe much fun they're having because so much is left to the imagination, which leaves one wishing that adults had more opportunity for play. We get background information on King and his co-director, Philip Gelatt, a brief interlude with composer Peter Scartabello and, curiously, a set of book and film recommendations from members of the team, which are eclectic, to say the least, taking in the works of Harry Harrison and China Mieville, , Lucio Fulci and Ingmar Bergman alongside, um, Beastmaster.

Alongside this are two of King's early short works, which should actually be watched first, because the Making-of draws on them so much. Mongrel is not much more than a proof of concept but may be of interest because of its relationship to an as-yet-unpublished graphic novel of King's creation. The other, Exordium, has more substance and relates closely to the Spine Of Night universe - it might even be considered as a prequel to the main action there. Given the huge amount of work which has evidently gone into it, and its distinctive look, one can see why it stood out upon release, so it is also of historical interest, having made the development of the feature possible. Both shorts will be a treat for those who love The Spine Of Night, and they suggest that King still has a lot more stories where these came from.