May 12th, 2026 by Jordan Grout
Severin Films dives into one of the stranger corners of Jess Franco’s career with From Bangkok with Bullets, a double-feature collection built around his mid-1980s detour into offbeat spy and crime adventures. Shot on a shoestring budget but dressed up with real Thailand location footage captured by cinematographer Juan Soler, the set pairs the eccentric espionage mystery Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included with the colorful comic-book chaos of Bangkok, Date with Death starring Lina Romay.
Films
TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED ★★☆☆☆
BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH ★★☆☆☆
Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included sounds far more exciting than it actually is. Colonel Blimp, a grumpy British intelligence agent played by Howard Vernon, investigates the assassination of an ambassador after discovering the shooter is mysteriously blind. His search leads him to Bangkok, where a bizarre cult led by a prophetic mastermind appears to be turning followers into obedient killers.
Secret agents, brainwashed assassins, shady cults, and exotic locations are all ingredients for a wild Eurospy thriller, but Franco stumbles through long stretches of dialogue and low-budget wandering before occasionally snapping awake with some wonderfully absurd idea.
What keeps the film from completely collapsing is Vernon, whose Blimp seems to be trapped inside a much sillier movie than he expected. His constant irritation is quite funny, especially as the plot grows more ridiculous with talk of visions, world destruction, and armies of blind followers.
Franco directs the whole thing with a loose, carefree energy that sometimes feels entertainingly offbeat and other times simply sloppy, especially when scenes drag or unnecessary characters clutter the story. Still, this bargain-bin espionage is oddly watchable, even if the film never fully delivers on the outrageous promise of its title.
Bangkok, Date with Death has gradually transformed from a nearly forgotten late-period Jess Franco obscurity into a cult oddity. Watching it for the first time, it feels like it was stitched together out of pulp novels, worn postcards, and late-night television delirium. Starring Franco’s longtime muse, Lina Romay, the film centers around a tangled kidnapping scheme, pulling a group of crooks, mercenaries, and opportunists into a chaotic hunt across Thailand’s neon nightlife and back alleys.
None of it quite matters, as the plot is all over the place, but it barrels through kidnappings, gangsters, kung-fu scuffles, and goofy spy-movie twists with reckless enthusiasm that it all makes you forgive its rough edges.
Video ★★★☆☆
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Clarity/Detail: Both of these films have similar looking transfers. This may be the best they’ve ever looked. Some areas do impress and look nice in the detail. Of the two, Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included does bode slightly better.
Depth: Not really much to talk about here; both are kind of flat. Movements are decently cinematic in their nature with little blurring or jitter.
Black Levels: Blacks are deep and rich, although I did notice minor crushing present in some areas.
Color Reproduction: Colors can come across pretty bold and strong with greens, purples and reds looking rather bold.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and do hold a consistent appearance throughout.
Noise/Artifacts: Some noise and compression every now and then, but overall it’s clean.
Audio ★★★☆☆
Audio Format(s): Spanish Mono
Subtitles: English
Dynamics: These mono tracks provide a solid performance here. It’s rather loose and well balanced between the score, sound effects and vocals. Consider it a massive win, given what the films are.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: N/A
Surround Sound Presentation: N/A
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is loud, crisp and clear.
Extras ★★★☆☆
There’s a really great Limited Edition Slipcover, illustrated by Drazen Kozjan.
Disc 1: TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED
Filmmaking On The Run: An interview with film Writer/Bit Player/Assistant Director Carlos Aguilar
Colonel Blimp In Bangkok: An interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco
In The Land Of Franco Part 14
Disc 2: BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH
Carrara In Bangkok: An interview with Stephen Thrower, Author of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco
Bangkok Back To Back: An interview with Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil
In The Land Of Franco Part 15
Summary ★★★☆☆
This Blu-ray from Severin Films has some entertaining supplements (more entertaining than the films). The restoration image quality is pretty good and the audio is okay, too. Jess Franco fans should likely be interested in this one.
