A long lost French-language thriller is being unearthed after five and a half decades.

The 1968 film A Woman Kills was filmed by director Jean-Denis Bonin and produced by Anatole Dauman. However, due to the director’s previous film, which caused controversy, Bonin couldn’t find distribution for his film and it took Dauman 45 years to finally find distribution in France through Luna Park Films. Ten years later, the film will finally see the light outside of France, as Radiance Films will be releasing the film on limited edition Blu-Ray on February 7, 2023.

A series of prostitute murders disturbs the public with the thought of a serial killer on the loose. Hélène Picard, a prostitute, is sentenced and executed for the murders, but shortly thereafter similar crimes continue. Executioner Louis Guilbeau meanwhile develops a relationship with the investigating officer, Solange, who soon learns Louis may not be who he says he is.

Features on the Blu-Ray will include:

The Blu-ray of A Woman Kills will come with a number of exclusive newly-commissioned and archival bonus features. These include:

  • 2K restoration of the film from the original 16mm elements
  • Original uncompressed mono PCM audio
  • Audio commentary by critics Kat Ellinger and Virginie Sélavy
  • Introduction by Virginie Sélavy
  • On the Margin: The Cursed Films of Jean-Denis Bonan (Francis Lecomte, 2015/2022, 37 mins) – a newly updated documentary programme featuring director Jean-Denis Bonan, cinematographer Gérard de Battista, editor Mireille Abramovici, musician Daniel Laloux, and actress Jackie Rynal
  • Short films by Jean-Denis Bonan: La vie brève de Monsieur Meucieu (1962, 13 mins), Un crime d’amour (1965, 6 mins), rushes of an incomplete film; Tristesses des anthropophages (1966, 23 mins), Mathieu-fou (1967, 18 mins), Une saison chez les hommes (1967, 16 mins)
  • Trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by maarko phntm 
  • Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by author and scholar Catherine Wheatley, writer and broadcaster Richard Thomas on the short films, writing on gender identity tropes in A Woman Kills and the horror film, an interview with Francis Lecomte, the French distributor who rescued the film, newly translated archival reviews and film credits.