Director Juraj Jakubisko's Gothic horror comedy about an orphan who hides out in Frankenstein's castle with a lovable rogues' gallery of monsters

FRECKLED MAX AND THE SPOOKS (PEHAVÝ MAX A STRAŠIDLÁ) - 1987, Slovak Film Institute, 97 min. Dir. Juraj Jakubisko. 'It all began under the Frankenstein castle. It was my tenth year with this circus troupe, and we were passing through a bleak territory of vampires, will-o'-the-wisps and water sprites,' observes young orphan Max (Martin Hrebeň), just before he runs away and hides out in the ruins of the nearby castle. There he discovers a rogues' gallery of lonely monsters who've made it their home: gruesome but loveable Alojz (Eddie Constantine, Lemmy Caution from Godard's ALPHAVILLE); the marvelous Ferdinand Mayne (Polanski's THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS) as Count Dracula; a wonderful, whiskey-voiced Viveca Lindfors (THE DAMNED, STARGATE) as the Countess Frankenstein; Gerhardt Karzel as the irresistibly goofy Frankenstein's Monster named Albert; along with the ghostly white lady Elizabeth Bathory (Mercedes Sampietro) and other assorted phantoms. A bittersweet, slapstick cross between MONSTER SQUAD, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and the Island of Misfit Toys, FRECKLED MAX is a nostalgic Gothic fairytale about broken hearts and monsters who long to be loved for who they are - and a truly delightful discovery for genre fans. Beautifully restored by the Slovak Film Institute for its first-ever Blu-ray release in the U.S. through Deaf Crocodile Films and Comeback Company. In Slovak with English subtitles.

Bonus Materials

• “Film about Film” (Film o filme) - 1986, 5 min., dir. Rudolf Ferko. Fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of the miniseries and FRECKLED MAX feature.
• “Portrait of a Film Director” (Portrét režiséra) - 1989, 42 min., dir. Matej Mináč. Beautiful and moving portrait of Juraj Jakubisko, shot during the making of his film SITTING ON A BRANCH I AM FINE.
• 3 new video interviews with Ján Ďuriš, Director of Photography (27 min.), Petra Galková, Assistant Director (18 min.) and Rastislav Steranka, Director of the National Cinematographic Centre of the Slovak Film Institute (17 min.), all directed by Róbert Šu
• New video essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson (28 min.)
• New audio commentary track by film historian Samm Deighan.

Cast & Crew

•       Martin Hrebeň
•       Eddie Constantine
•       Vivieca Lindfors
•       Ferdinand Mayne
•       Mercedes Sampietro
•       Gerhardt Karzel

Director: Juraj Jakubisko

Additional Details

Label: Deaf Crocodile

Genre: Horror

Language: Slovak

Run Time: 97 mins

Region: 1

Release Date: 06/10/25

UPC: 850066568194