I’m part of the mob that’s not happy that The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs is being cancelled by Shudder. It’s even more frustrating that they yanked off the “normal season” and gave him only 4 double feature specials for 2026. He has been the face of Shudder for almost a decade. He lured me into subscribing. Who knows what the bean counters at Shudder are thinking. Perhaps they are imagining that they can just put up the movies without dealing with a host. Joe Bob Briggs does two things. First he gives us the reasons to watch the films he’s selected for the show. As I was told years ago at Cinema Overdrive “trust the curator!” I trust Joe Bob’s selections. Second and more importantly is he has built a viewership that want to experience these films as a group. If you went on Twitter (before the former Trillionaire bought and ruined it) and even now on Blue Sky, you’ll see and respond to posts about The Last Drive In films. It’s a social sensation on those Saturday nights. While he’s run a lot of popular horror films, he also brought attention to quite a few obscure gems that now dazzle with an audience. Joe Bob’s depart will mean I must dig around to find horror films that aren’t always on a Spooky Season video display in Walmart during October. In a case of good timing, the Spirit Halloween store just opened near me as the German horror film Laurin arrived on Blu-ray.
Laurin (Lovemakers‘ Dóra Szinetár) is a young girl growing up in Germany in the early 1900s. Her father is a sailor who often leaves her and her mother alone at her grandmother’s house for long stretches. After taking her husband to the dock for him to ship out, mom dies on the way home. After the funeral, the father returns to the sea leaving Laurin with her grandmother. The little girl likes to spy on thing with her telescope. Laurin has nasty nightmares that reveal how unsafe things are in the village. She senses that her mother’s death wasn’t an accident. Turns out a gypsy boy had also been killed in the area. But of course, the locals don’t care about the death of a gypsy. Laurin fears there is a killer lurking around town and he’ll eventually come for her.
Laurin isn’t the overpowering horror film that was popular at the end of the ’80s. This was a time when people could see Freddy, Jason and Michael chasing screaming teenagers on the big screen. Distributors didn’t want an atmospheric horror film from West Germany. This probably explains why the movie doesn’t appear to have played in America or even legally released on VHS. Which is a shame since it would have been a good art house scare film. They could have marketed it as the dark side of Heidi and Pippi Longstocking. Dóra Szinetár fills her character with sweetness and a bit of suspicion.
There are plenty of scares as the film evolves. You can a taste of the chaos and violence during a classroom scene. The children are nightmare to each other. They all seem capable of growing up to become a serial killer. When the teacher isn’t around, the kids go full crazy. They even hang one student upside down in the closet. They are a “cheeky lot” as the principal tells the new teacher. Laurin seems one of the few kids who doesn’t want to be a monster. Maybe she is the real monster at the end of the film.
Laurin feels like the kind of film that would be playing on an upcoming episode of The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Brigg. I wonder what of Laurin’s wardrobe would Darcy the Mailgirl wear outside the trailer home? Maybe Joe Bob will get to air it when he gets a new home for his hosting. What matter right now is that Video Vengeance has done a marvelous job introducing North America to the movie as part of Laurin: 35th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. The copious bonus features and extra treats make it a celebration of a horror movie that still packs a poignant fright.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfers is a 2K restoration from the original 35mm film negative. The imagery looks properly Gothic on the screen. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo in both German and English versions. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary with author Troy Howarth covers cast and crew details. He gets into the changes between the English and German soundtracks. He spoke with Sigl so he relates that back to the various scenes.
Director Robert Sigl Interview (59:14) has him joke that film making is a kind of revenge. He remembers being fascinated by the movie posters and lobby cards at the movie theaters in his village. He went a lot of movie theaters and eventually he snuck into adult films including Rosemary’s Baby. He painted a mustache on his face to look older for the ticket taker. Things get wilder when he talks about the morgue house and seeing a relative on display. He explains what started him to create Laurin.
Cinema Nyika Jancso Interview (15:42) explains how Robert and him figured out how to light all the scenes in pre-production after getting the locations. He talks about the coloring for the film so that things look good in a variety of formats. He doesn’t view the movie as a horror film, but more of a psychological spiral. There’s behind the scenes footage of him shooting the film.
Actress Dora Szinetar Interview (18:17) is a bit of a shock since Laurin has grown up. Her father was a director and her mother is an actress who appeared in the film. She was eager to act. Robert Sigl discovered her in a stage version of Les Misérables. Sigl conducts the interview so it’s a great recollection of her time as a kid in the film.
Actor Barnabas Toth Interview (10:02) has him talking about playing a student in the film. He was able to play younger. He was 11 in this film although he swears he looked 8. He was always cast as a victim. He discusses what he liked about the film.
Film Historian Jonathan Rigby Interview (32:49) gets into how the film is voyeuristic as Laurin is spying with a telescope. Later Laurin spies on her parents getting frisky in the bedroom. He gets into the more horror-oriented part of the film.
Play Laurin with Original German Language Track (83:38) is the film with the German track.
Play VHS Rough Cut Alternate Version of Laurin (101:08) is a longer cut. You also get all the fun of starting up at VHS tape. This is in 1.33:1 and letterboxed. Guessing it’s a transfer of the film after being cut on the flatbed. Sigl and his editors did a lot more work in repositioning scenes. If you’re thinking of making your own horror movie, this is a great thing to study and compare with the final film. See how narrative can be improved through careful splicing.
The Making of Laurin Documentary (10:03) is an archival piece focused on how the film was made with a low budget in Hungary with mostly Hungarian actors. The film would have cost three times to make in West Germany at the time. They are also shooting in English to get better chances at international distribution.
Robert Sigl Bavarian Film Awards Presentation (2:48) is from 1988. The ceremony was held in Munich and features a statuette. Sigl wins Best Newcomer. The person giving him the award reads a description that gives away the movie. He also wins a second award.
Short Films include The Christmas Tree (19:26) from 1983 and Coronoila 21 (9:54) from 2021. The second is about Sigl breaking down on a snowy night during the Pandemic Lockdown. There is a Christmas tree in the second film too.
Image Galleries includes press photos, lobby cards, pressbook, postcards, screenplay, and the Award show along with images from the short films.
Original Trailer (2:15) has the father going off to see and Laurin troubled. This uses the German dialogue.
Visual Vengeance Trailer (1:21) amps up the creepy nature of the film and Laurin.
Mini Poster suitable for framing.
Mini Postcards that are great to give friends who need to see Laurin.
Stickers so you can make your Blu-ray case look like it was stolen from Dave’s Videodrome in Carrboro, NC.
Visual Vengeance presents Laurin: 35th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. Directed by Robert Sigl. Screenplay by Adam Rozgonyi and Robert Sigl. Starring Dóra Szinetár, Brigitte Karner, Károly Eperjes, Hédi Temessy, Barnabás Tóth, Endre Kátay, János Derzsi & Zoltán Gera. Running Time: 84 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 28, 2026.
