The Visitor - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Visitor



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Man, I love a train wreck as much as the next person, but sometimes the wreck becomes a little much and even I have to tap out. Such is the case for 1979’s Italian/American horror/sci-fi/religious The Visitor. Much like the “World Premiere” movies of the 1960s and early 70s (where studios would send made for TV movies over to other countries and market them as theatrical release films), The Visitor is a crack fueled nightmare of a film, combining elements of religion (mainly Judaeo-Christian), evil child horror, and sci-fi crammed together into a near incomprehensible mess of a movie. The original release of the film was slashed to ribbons by the distributor (and was even worse than this cut), but luckily Drafthouse Films was able to get ahold of the original and release it on Blu-ray back in 2014. Now it’s Arrow’s turn, giving it an upgrade to 4K UHD, with a nice set of extras and some cool physical swag.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there is a long haired “Jesus” looking fella (played by Franco Nero himself) telling a group full of bald monk like children a tale of good vs. evil. You see, there was this evil space wizard named Sateen (real subtle there guys) who was so evil that the commander Yahweh (they didn’t even TRY to hid this one) hunted him down with a pack of killer birds (please don’t ask, it makes the head hurt) who eventually find and kill him where he had been hiding on Earth. BUT, he had managed to mate with multiple earth women before Yahweh had found him, and his evil “spirit” was passed down through his genetic offspring. Now another one has been found, and the good aliens send out one of the descendants of Yahweh named Jerzy (John Huston) to track down the girl and….well….finish off the evil.

BUT, while Jerzy’s job may seem easy at first, there are some complications. The same evil aliens who sided with Sateen back in the day are here on Earth, and manipulating the young girl and her mother, Barbara (Joanne Nail) into having ANOTHER child, so that they can use their combined powers to do something evil (who knows, the film never really goes into it). They have recruited a human by the name of Raymond (Lance Henriksen) to try and seduce her and get her to mate with him for another descendant of Sateen, but between Barbara’s reluctance to get pregnant again, Jerzy’s influence, and her daughter Katy being a demonic space wizard spawn, they have their work cut out for them.

After reading my own synopsis of the story I can’t help but laugh, and for good reason. It doesn’t just SOUND insane, the film IS insane. This is basically a “Satanic Panic” horror movie from the 1970s, repackaged into a sci-fi setting, and then used Italian writers and directors to make a spaghetti horror/sci-fi film. Just with almost zero budget (I think the entire budget was $800,000, and most of the budget went to Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen and John Huston. The special effects, or lack thereof, pretty much were non existent, or just a bunch of lights flashing), and the HILARIOUS ending where a flock of pigeons kill the evil Extra Terrestrials. I don’t know whether drugs were involved, or this was something out of a fever dream while someone had the flu, but either way, The Visitor is a horrible movie that may be good as a drinking game. But that’s about it.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

According to my information from Arrow, The Visitor was remastered by Arrow Video in it’s original 1.85:1 HEVC aspect ratio, using the original 35mm camera negative. This was scanned at 4K at Silver Salt, then restored and regraded at Dragon DI.

I’ve never seen the Drafthouse films Blu-ray, so I can’t compare against it, but this new remaster looks spectacular for a no budget 1970s film. The grain is thick and heavy, but always organic and natural looking. No clumping, frozen grain, or black crush to mar the image. Instead it’s a very warm and brown looking film that looks very normal for a late 70s production. Fine details are exemplary all the way around (sometimes a little TOO much, as you can see the skull cap on Katy’s head at the end, or the skate board under Barbara as she’s dragged across the floor). And the Dolby Vision and HDR application is superb. It adds some pop to the primary colors and makes those blacks all the better. My only complaint is that the grain has a COUPLE of moments where it gets super thick, and with the bright lights in a dark arena it can look yellow and swarmy. Luckily those moments are fleeting and not exactly any major portion of the movie.









Audio:

Utilizing the original Mono track in LPCM lossless, it’s pretty obvious that the film was dubbed for some people (Franco Nero especially) and then post looped later on, which can create a few weird sync moments. Past that, it’s a solid mix. There’s some hiss in the higher end of the spectrum, and the screeching of Katy’s pet falcon is definitely distorted. Otherwise it’s got decent fidelity throughout for a mono track. Vocals are generally clear, ambient activity (such as Katy’s school, or the ball game) are nice, the issues mentioned before aren’t super annoying.












Extras:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION of the 109 min European version of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
• Brand new audio commentary by film critics BJ & Harmony Colangelo
• A Biblical Battle for the Cosmos, a brand new visual essay by film critic Meagan Navarro
• A Cosmic Right to Choose, a brand new visual essay by film critic Willow Catelyn Maclay
• Archive interview with actor Lance Henriksen
• Archive interview with screenwriter Lou Comici
• Archive interview with cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Erik Buckham
• Collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Marc Edward Heuck, Richard Kadrey, Craig Martin and Mike White

Final Score: ​

The Visitor is kind of a niche cult film for a reason. It has heavy Italian influences, a bizarre premise that is more recycled horror tropes from the 70s, a “star studded” cast of actors who were on the decline (well, Lance was the only one who was on the way up) and is so insane that you almost HAVE to see it just to say you’ve experienced it. Arrow’s 4K UHD disc looks and sounds solid, with a hefty array of extras, but still, if you’re not a fan of this movie already. Or you aren’t interested in cult films, this may not be the best blind buy.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mel Ferrer, Lance Henriksen, John Huston, JOanne Nail, Shelley Winters, Paige Conner
Directed By: Giulio Paradisi
Written By: Luciano Comici, Robert Mundi, Giulio Paradisi
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: LPCM Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: R
Runtime: 109 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 17th, 2026

Recommendation: For the Fans Only