The mark of a special filmmaker is the ability to float between genres and still create something compelling and entertaining. A rare talent, one who checks off each box, is Spain’s Jess Franco, the director of well over 175 feature films in a broad range of genres over 50 years of activity. Working in everything from Horror (1970′ Count Dracula, and 1973’s A Virgin Among the Living Dead) to Erotica (1969’s Marquis de Sade: Justine and 1970’s Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion) to Comedy (1973’s The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein and 1987’s Thong Girls), he also work in Crime Thrillers, which include 1972’s Death Packs a Suitcase.
A production of the West German company CCC Film, Death Packs a Suitcase was one of the final entries in the popular German Krimi series based on novels penned by Edgar Wallace and his son Bryan Edgar Wallace. Taking place in London (like most of Byan Edgar Wallace’s stories), the film is set in contemporary times (at the time, the early 1970s). Something for fans of Whodunit Thrillers: Death Packs a Suitcase has a surreal, dreamlike feel, a signature attribute of Franco’s style.
Considering this, Franco was brought in to help revitalize the Krimi sub-genre’s popularity, hoping his avant-garde style would attract more eyes, similar to Italian Giallos released in 1972, such as Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Duckling and Dario Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet. A successful tactic, in terms of the artistic quality, Franco’s vision for Death Packs a Suitcase certainly made for an interesting watch, but sadly, the Krimi genre’s time had come and gone, regardless of his work.
With all of this in mind, Death Packs a Suitcase was widely released in West German theaters in early November 1972. Featuring a strong cast, including Charles Barton (a famous German actor known for the TV Crime series Derrick), Barbara Rütting (a well-known German actress), and Fred Williams (a regular actor in Jess Franco films), each delivers a solid performance. A story that follows a mysterious killer, on their tail is Inspector Ruppert Redford (played by Fred Williams), who is determined to solve the case while becoming interested in a key suspect, Helen Bennett (played by Elisa Montés). A building story that drives curiosity, you are left wondering who is responsible until the final frame.
Unfortunately, garnering little box-office revenue by no one’s fault other than a genre’s decline, for those who enjoy Franco’s work and would like to see him put his spin on the once-popular West German film genre, it is well worth watching. That is why it is exciting to learn that a restored Blu-ray edition of Death Packs a Suitcase arrives in 2025 from Kino Lorber. Never receiving an official VHS or DVD release in the US market before, the Kino Lorber Blu-ray is an exciting announcement for Jess Franco fans.
Released on Blu-ray on October 14, 2025, as part of their Kino Cult series (as number 38), it offers a high-quality restoration from the original archival 35mm elements. Looking very clean, with plenty of contrast and color, it certainly tops any bootleg you might have found at Horror Conventions in the years prior. Put together with a slipcase featuring original theatrical art, the bonus feature is audio commentary from film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, worth listening to if you appreciate Jess Franco.
Altogether a different kind of film than others Jess Franco had done to that point, and thereafter, Cryptic Rock gives Blu-ray release of Death Packs a Suitcase from Kino Lorber 4 out of 5 stars.
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