Spanish horror goes batshit crazy with the late ROSEMARY'S BABY pastiche SECTA SINIESTRA, on Blu-ray/DVD combo from Vinegar Syndrome.

Ex-mercenary Frederic (Carlos Martos, STREET WARRIORS) wants to put down roots with his mistress Helen (Emma Quer) in a country house where he hopes to start a family and write his memoirs. Little does Helen known that Frederic and his faithful housekeeper Ana (Montserrat Miralles) are keeping Frederic's wife Elizabeth (Diana Conca, SEXO SANGRIENTO), deranged since a car accident which scarred her body, hidden away in a locked room in the attic. One night, Elizabeth escapes and discovers Frederic in bed with Helen. She blinds him with a fireplace poker and runs into the night soon to be captured and institutionalized. Frederic and Helen try to move on only to discover that Frederic is sterile. Fertility specialist Dr. Gerard (Juan Zanni) artificially inseminates Helen but even he is unaware that one of his interns (Henry Ragoud) has substituted the donor sperm with that of the Devil himself! As Helen starts developing strange appetites and blind Frederic experiences with his other senses odd happenings, the sinister Sister Margaret (Concha Valero, SEXUAL DESIRES) moves in to look after Helen while the other members of her strange religious order silence those involved in the previous failed pregnancies and anyone who tries to warn Frederic and Helen. The cult, however, is not prepared for escaped Elizabeth's return and the machinations of Frederic's foul-mouthed nephew Peter (Óscar Daniel).

One of the more bizarre Spanish Satanic horror films by way of ROSEMARY'S BABY, SECTA SINIESTRA is light on nudity for post-General Franco exploitation films; indeed, in some ways it is quite old fashioned. The film's lack of predictability comes less from suspense than the way in which it throws everything at the wall to see what sticks: from a JANE EYRE-esque madwoman in the attic, Satanic cultists always lit with red gels no matter where they are, some telekinetic deaths and more conventional throat-slashings and stabbings, some laughably fake effects props that leave the viewer especially unprepared for the cruel stabbing of a real toad in close-up, and an ending hilarious enough that one almost suspects that try-any-genre producer/director Ignacio F. Iquino (FIVE DOLLARS FOR RINGO) looked at the shoot as it progressed and thought the entire enterprise was ridiculous. Much of the goings-on are rendered through dialogue with Helen commenting on the strangeness of her pregnancy early on, with much of the happenings viewed as clinically as the Satanic insemination. Frederic and Helen, and even the scowling leader of the cult, are the least interesting characters, easily overshadowed by Margaret, Elizabeth, and even Peter who the audience will alternate root for and hope will be horribly murdered by Margaret.

Unreleased in the United States and only accessible on bootlegs of a Spanish home video release, SECTA SINIESTRA comes to Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray in a 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen transfer of a 2K scan of the original 35mm camera negatives that makes one wish all Spanish horror Blu-rays could look so good. The element is spotless, colors are bold and red gels undistorted, and fine detail is good to excellent when diffusion is not employed. The Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono track is in fine condition with clear dialogue and the jangling electronic score getting under the skin and on the nerves. Optional English subtitles are provided that sometimes seem a bit stiff but get the story across.