Quick update

As you can see, I finally posted the blu-ray review of Prom Night. I know it was almost two months since I said I would have it up. Unfortunately I got drowned in homework and other personal matters since the post before Prom Night's; and only just recently I have begun to resurface. I am not sure how school and work will treat me for the rest of the semester. Thankfully it is Thanksgiving week and after that I will have about two weeks of classes and then just finals. If I hardly post anything during that time, I am sure during Christmas break I will be able to write a good amount of reviews and other random stuff. Next up will either be a theatrical review of Interstellar or a blu-ray review of Housebound; I have not decided which first yet. I might make one random post before either of those though.

Prom Night Blu-ray Review (finally)

Prom Night Blu-ray Review

Released on September 9, 2014 by Synapse Films

Movie: 4/5

The original Prom Night arrives in a Special Edition thanks to Synapse Films with a completely new transfer. After waiting over a year since Synapse’s announcement, patience paid off. This transfer is from a new scan done in 2K resolution from the original film elements. The original mono audio is included (in lossless 2.0 and 96kHz), as well as with a brand new remix done in 5.1 discrete surround (in lossless and 96kHz as well).

Prom Night is a weird slasher. Yeah, it came together mostly because of the many slasher films before it that had been successful (and not necessarily in the quality department), and it is not very original either. However, it is also very different in other aspects, including the non-horror elements. Because of this it stands out amongst the others, and it is also why opinions on the quality and amount of enjoyment of this movie are all over the place. For me, it probably falls in second or third place in my list of favorite slashers from that period of time.

On a sunny day inside an abandoned building, a group of four kids are playing a creepy version of hide-and-seek called “kill”. While they are hiding, three siblings happen to pass by. The oldest, Kim, notices she left her book at school and returns for it. The other two stay near the abandoned building to wait for her. A little while later Kim’s sister, Robin, tells her brother, Alex, she is going to play with the other kids. He decides he does not want to play with them and so he leaves. Robin being younger than the other four kids is probably what makes it easier for them to bully her while playing, yelling “kill! kill!” at her. Naturally she gets scared and begins to back away; but an accident occurs and it ends in tragedy, with Robin falling down from a window to her demise. The four kids promise to never tell anyone what happened, and thus the police assume she was murdered by a local maniac. But somebody was watching, and that person will make sure these four kids pay for their actions.

Six years later Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis), Alex, and the other four teenagers, are getting ready for school. The mysterious person who knows their secret calls each of the four teenagers to threaten them. One of them, Nick, is Kim’s boyfriend and date for the prom. Wendy, another of the secret-keepers, was previously going out with Nick, but he has broken up with her because he prefers Kim. One of the other secret-keepers, Jude, is desperate to find a date. Now that the big day is here her hopes are low. Kelly already has a boyfriend. Wendy decides to take Lou as her date and cause mayhem at the prom: she is mad at Kim and Nick, especially since they have been voted king and queen; but this is just perfect for Lou’s and Wendy’s mischief. Jude meets “Slick” while walking to school, and she decides to take him as her date. 

Prom Night takes its characters’ high school drama seriously. While it might seem silly, it actually helps the film by allowing the audience to get to know each of them while they are dealing with their own problems. This also creates a story beyond the hacking-and-slashing (which actually does not start until late in the film). We also see how Kim’s parents are dealing with her sister’s passing-away anniversary: Kim’s mother is especially distraught this day. Kim’s father (Mr. Hammond, played by Leslie Nielsen), is the principal of the school and he seems to be doing better. 

Once these teenagers are at school the mystery of who the killer is begins. The makers tried hard to point fingers at almost every possible person who could pass for the killer, and although this is fairly obvious, it might actually work in people who are watching it for the first time. However, chances are most seasoned horror fans will guess who it is in the first half. 

The second third of the film is the party at the school, and it is disco-heavy. It is actually pretty fun. Boy, does Jamie Lee Curtis know how to dance. Since she is the prom queen, and her boyfriend the king, they get a dancing segment just for them, to officially open the dance floor. This and the climax are easily the best sequences in the film. The third part of the film is when most of the slashing happens. I will venture to say that the scene when Wendy gets chased by the killer was probably one of few scenes from which many slashers that followed got their inspiration for their chase sequences. Prom Night features one of the few genuinely sad endings in scary movies. Not like the grand majority of scary movies which go for either a shocking ending (with a twist or some jump scene), or with the heroine simply surviving. After so many years, Prom Night still manages to be enjoyable in its own way. 

Picture Quality: 4.5/5

Synapse’s transfer from the original elements proves to be a major winner. The quality of the picture is extremely accurate in its representation of how the film should look. Colors are realistic, and some “pop” as they should. The cinematography in the film has many bold colors in the latter two thirds (colors on clothing like dresses, the lights at the party), so this attribute is a great thing. In the early scenes colors are more natural, with many sequences taking place outdoors or in domestic settings. In these scenes colors are less vivid but still realistic, and they do not miss a beat. Lighting is weird, but this is how it should look. It is obvious that filters were used during filming. This is why the light looks “heavy” sometimes, making some scenes look almost foggy, or with some haze spread over them. This is how it should look though, along with the heavy grain and an overall soft look. Again, all of these because of the filters used intentionally during the production. There is still great detail in it though, but it is not like how most modern films look. That is alright though, the transfer is extremely satisfying, especially after knowing these facts. The only reason I deducted the 0.5 is because there are two instances where heavy print damage appears. Although they are pretty heavy, they are extremely brief. One of them is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it instance (a medium-sized, and very dark, spot in the lower right corner of the frame). The other one lasts a few seconds (a brief shot of the killer walking in which noise and grain are extremely and unnaturally high; I suspect it might have been a recycled shot, so it might explain the over-processed quality of the shot). There is also very, very, light print damage (white specks) a few times, but I think I would not have noticed them if I had seen it in a screen 60 inches in size or smaller (I did not deduct anything for this). Overall it was very close to being perfect. 

Audio Quality: 5/5

Now this one is perfect. Music envelops the viewer through the sound stage thanks to the 5.1 remix. I prefer this one (rather than the mono) also because of the subtle directionality attributes and light surround effects. These enhance the audio and do not introduce anything that might make it sound overdone or unnatural. The track is still front heavy though, and this is a good thing since, again, the original track is a mono one. Voices are clear and there are no artifacts or distortions to be found. That “boxy” effect is retained a little, but this is perfectly acceptable because of the age of the film.

Special Features: 4/5

There is an audio commentary with the director and writer of the movie. A lengthy featurette is included also, with the director and other members of the cast and crew. It is interesting and fun at the same time, with sections in which the participants recall good times during the production. Sadly, Jamie Lee Curtis does not appear, but it is a good featurette nonetheless. There are also some deleted scenes (some add light humor, others try to add more story to the film), as well as some outtakes. The deleted scenes were used in the TV-cut of the film to make up for the footage censored. The outtakes have music-only for the audio as the company could not locate the sound elements (they were probably destroyed). Promotional material is included in the form of trailers, radio and TV spots, as well as a motion-still gallery.

Overall: 4.5/5

Prom Night is a fun slasher that requires an open mind… and a certain appeal to disco. As mentioned above, the drama of the teenagers drives the story for about half the film. One might think this is overdone, and that the movie takes this way too seriously, but, who at that age though their high-school problems were unimportant? I actually find it interesting as we get to meet these characters in this stage of their lives. As opposed to recent slashers, most of the teenage characters in this one are actually likable. Even if we assume most will die due to the genre of the film, we get to know them well enough that we hope most will survive. And yes, the disco element: the movie features disco music (think something like Saturday Night Fever, but less intense) for most of its second half, so if you dislike it I would not recommend it. Otherwise, this one comes as a must-own for anyone who likes horror, slashers, disco, 80s films, just Jamie Lee Curtis, or a combination of any of the above. 

Note: For some reason my computer was acting a little crazy when I took the screenshots, however, there are no black bars on the sides like shown in the pictures. The picture actually does fill the entire 16:9 frame. The screen captures of the blu-ray above should not be taken to be good representatives of the quality of the transfer as they have a lower resolution than the blu-ray, they are compressed, and in motion it may look different. 

Random #2

Random #2

I promise, promise I will have Prom Night’s blu-ray review done and posted this week. I really wanted it posted last week but I was very busy, even during the weekend. Then on Monday I got sick and I spent the whole day on bed. I think I slept like 20 hours that day and still managed to go to my classes with fever running. So yesterday I played catch-up, and today I am still doing that. Midterms are coming fast so I have to lookout for that. 

In other things, I got another big batch of blu-rays this week, most of them being, you guessed it, scary movies:

I am excited to watch all of them. I have only seen Neighbors and The Exorcist but I already know both are pretty good. The only one I will probably never watch is The Exorcist II: The Heretic since I have mostly read that it is terrible. I actually ordered the UK version of Stagefright (1987) also (when I read it might be more accurate of the original presentation than this version), so I might sell this version (in the picture) and keep the UK one.

I also got this bad boy:

Halloween: The Complete Collection; Deluxe Edition

Unfortunately it seems that most of the discs feature mediocre transfers. Not bad, but not as good as they could have been. That is fine though since it is an awesome collection and the quality is still passable. 

Last night I finished the second season of Hannibal. I got it on Tuesday of last week (when it came out on blu-ray) but I began watching it until Sunday night (right before my 20 hour sleep) and I was completely hooked. I had to finish it soon. It is an awesome show. I do not know how to place this show when there is also Game of Thrones and True Detective. For now I think I would put True Detective in first place and then the other two in a tie. It was hard not to move Hannibal up to first place, especially because it became even better in its second season. Also, the first part of True Detective had its immensely satisfying resolution already, so I can treat it as a standalone (or a miniseries); and I have no idea how the other two shows will turn out in the future. Although, I did read that Gillian Anderson was casted again for season three of Hannibal, but this time as a series regular. That is awesome news and it can only be a good thing for the story. Seriously, every second that woman appears she completely electrifies the screen. Her performance as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier is pitch perfect. Thus, it is a test to wait until next year for season three, not to mention that immense cliffhanger at the end. It tests my patience. 

I would have posted other gifs showing the rest of this sequence (which is way better than this specific part) but they are major spoilers. This gif is dark enough so that it is not clear who it is, that is why I chose it (it is better to look at if you click on it). If you have seen Hannibal though, you will know who it is that is falling through the window. If you do not recognize it then you have not gotten that far into season two. Believe me, it is not something one easily forgets. It is a little weird because it is very shocking but also beautiful, almost like a bewitching, lento-moving picture. The cinematography in the shot is exceptional and the score that accompanies it is very beautiful also. I really, really, hope this character survives. 

In other updates, I watched The Maze Runner on Friday and I was pleasantly surprised. Even with the now-cliché premise it managed to be interesting the whole time. I kind of want to read the books now. I might review the movie soon. I can not wait to go to the theater again though, but to see other movies like Annabelle and Gone Girl, and most of all Interstellar, probably my most anticipated film of the year. 

Again, I promise to post Prom Night’s blu-ray review this week.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Blu-ray 3D Review

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Blu-ray 3D Review

Released on September 9, 2014 by Disney/Buena Vista

Movie: 4.5/5

It has been two years since the battle in New York where The Avengers faced their biggest threat yet. The memory of it, however, has not faded much, leaving a sense of fear and insecurity in the leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thus it has not sat idly by. We see that in that time a section of S.H.I.E.L.D. has instead been working quietly, but steadily, on the biggest weapon the world has ever seen. 

The movie wastes no time at all, and in the opening moments Captain Steve Rogers (a.k.a Captain America) and Natasha Romanoff (a.k.a Black Widow), along with S.T.R.I.K.E., are seen being dropped off on a ship to save the original passengers who are being held hostage by terrorists. S.T.R.I.K.E. is a subsection of S.H.I.E.L.D. focused on preventing and dealing with terrorism. The ship belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D. While they are taking down the terrorists one-by-one, Captain Rogers stumbles upon agent Romanoff downloading information off the ship’s system. Seconds later they are attacked, but Captain Rogers does not forget the incident. 

Once they have successfully recovered the ship and gone back home Captain Rogers goes straight to Nick Fury, wanting to know why he was not fully briefed on all of the team’s missions, after all he was supposed to be in charge of the operation. Nick informs him that it is important to compartmentalize information. No one person should know everything about S.H.I.E.L.D., except for him. This way if anything goes terribly wrong in S.H.I.E.L.D., at least some information will be contained. Nick takes him somewhere into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters and reveals to him what they have been working on: three Helicarriers have been created and are just being finished. A Helicarrier is a massive vehicle carrying the best and most efficient weapons. All three are controlled via spy satellites and are to target and eliminate threats before they even attack. Also, all three are to be deployed in a few days. 

Captain Rogers is stunned at the sudden position of offense S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken upon the world, saying the people are not supposed to live under fear, but live in freedom. That is why he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and that is why he decided to become Captain America. Suffice it to say Nick is not persuaded in the least, and Captain Rogers leaves wondering what he should do, or if to do anything at all, about his current responsibilities as a S.H.I.E.L.D. member. Then we see Nick Fury trying to access the data agent Romanoff acquired from their mission, but all of his access privileges have seemingly been revoked. Suspicious, he delays the launch of the Helicarriers. Then he calls agent Maria Hill and asks her to rendezvous with him. While driving he is suddenly attacked by assailants which appear to be various members of law enforcement. As he seems to be escaping a mysterious man with a mask and a metallic arm appears in front of him and explodes Nick’s vehicle: The Winter Soldier.

From then on Captain Rogers and agent Romanoff are thrown into a series of twists and turns where they have no idea who to trust and who is behind Nick’s attack. While investigating these events they stumble upon a conspiracy that has been brewing for decades, and they realize the mortal danger the whole world will be in if those Helicarriers are launched. They enlist the help of newcomer Sam Wilson (a.k.a. Falcon), and together they risk everything to try and stop their deployment. 

From the very start all the way to end, Captain America: The Winter Soldier features incredible action, including many different kinds of action pieces: from gun fights, to explosions, to car chases, to hand-to-hand combat, to battles in the air. Captain America: TWS seems to have included every kind of stand-off between good and evil, with most, if not all, making for top-tier suspenseful and exhilarating sequences to watch and experience. 

However, that is not all. It is also good at keeping the story moving and making it interesting. We also get to see more into the personal lives of Captain America and Black Widow. Both make a good team, and it is only improved when Falcon comes into action as well. The performances are all good, and it is nice to see Chris Evans improve his acting with each movie. Scarlet is great as Black Widow, I can not see anyone else playing this character. Anthonie Mackie (Falcon) is a welcome addition as he provides for some comic relief and entertaining dialogue which only enhances the fun of the film. Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Redford are also good, but that is just expected knowing their history as actors. Cobie Smulders (agent Maria Hill) and Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow) both have shorter screen time, but the time they do get is not wasted, and I feel (mild spoilers:) Rumlow might come back later on even if he has just appeared in this film (end of mild spoilers). The only weak spot I encountered in the film was in the conspiracy theory. While it makes complete sense, I felt the story was hitting our suspension-of-disbelief a bit more than it should have. However, this is the only complaint, and even while knowing the story the movie has plenty of replay value. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier only builds upon the already great Marvel Cinematic Universe. While not perfect, it is definitely pretty high up there, and I do think it is better than The Avengers, if only a little at least. After watching Guardians of the Galaxy (three times so far btw, and best Marvel film so far), I can not wait to see how The Avengers: Age of Ultron will turn out. With the addition of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch it can only become better; and although Disney is really making it harder upon themselves to top each previous Marvel film with the new one, they have been doing it successfully so far. Let us hope they can keep doing this and stop at the right time before it starts to become bad. 

Picture Quality: 5/5

3D Quality: 4/5

The film is presented in the film’s wide, and original, format (2.40:1) and it features a mostly bleak atmosphere with a lot of “steely” colors. Shades of grey and blue are the most common. However, it also contains some reds and other vivid colors which are presented accurately. I am 99% percent sure the movie went through some color grading to keep the intended bleak look, so to see that these vivid colors (as well as skin tones) are presented with accuracy is appreciable. Detail ranges from excellent to great and I did not spot any digital artifacts. Even with so many scenes featuring a mix of CGI and camera-captured footage the video quality is outstanding. 

This blu-ray version has the additional disc that contains the 3D version of the movie. The film was converted to 3D in post-production, but thankfully it is a good conversion overall. Even in the big action sequences the 3D is good, if not better. Missiles and debris pop-out of the frame without being distracting, while depth (things that seem to be “inside” the frame) are the focus, and rightly so since a film with too much pop-out would only become gimmicky and distracting. Although the added dimension is not as awesome as say Titanic (which in my opinion seems like it was natively shot in 3D, and which even looks better than some natively-shot 3D movies), it is still good and provides more immersion into the movie. The only weakness in the 3D were some scenes with wide and large backgrounds where the depth was not entirely convincing and seemed a little forced. 

Sound Quality: 5/5

Captain America: TWS’ 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is pure demo material. From beginning to end the film features an extensive array of sounds with different dynamic ranges. Explosions and gun shots are clear and have great fidelity. Hits, crashes, punches, all sound realistic and not overdone. Voices are never drowned in all the action and stay clear always. Sequences of subtler moments are not overlooked either: in the offices and halls the speakers keep busy with atmospherics and other effects to accurately represent these settings. Really, I do not see what else I could say,  it is excellent in every aspect. It gave quite a workout to my system, in a good way. Perfect sound all around. 

Special Features: 3/5

Special features come in short, but with one that is pretty substantial. This is an audio commentary by the directors and screenwriters. It is actually very interesting and is kept relevant throughout. The other ones are a couple of behind-the-scenes that are both short, along with a few deleted scenes (only about 4 minutes in total), “Steve Rogers Notebook” , and a gag reel. 

Overall: 5/5

This is a must own for just about anybody. Unless you despise action movies and/or comic book adaptations, I do not see how anyone could not enjoy this movie at least somewhat. The action is off the charts without becoming repetitive or exhausting. The story is interesting and moves at a fast pace. The acting is good all around and it is nice to get more character development from these heroes, especially Black Widow. Another great addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that is sure to please fans and just about anybody that enjoys movies. Technical merits come in the form of a perfect transfer (both audio and picture quality) with the 3D conversion ranging from good to great. The only drawback overall would be a lack of more special features, but since all the other attributes are great, they more than make up for it. Again, a must own.  

Note: the screen captures of the blu-ray above should not be taken to be good representatives of the quality of the transfer as they have a lower resolution than the blu-ray, they are compressed, and in motion it may look different. 

The East Blu-ray Review

The East Blu-ray Review

Released on September 17, 2013 by 20th Century Fox 

Movie: 4.5/5

The East is a slow burning drama/thriller featuring the talented Brit Marlin, along with Alexander Skarsgärd and Ellen Page. The film has been praised by critics, and it is one which very accurately represents current world problems from the point of view of a undercover company agent posing as an extreme activist. 

Sarah is an ex-FBI agent who has quit to apply to a secretive and highly competitive job position in one of the most powerful, and rich, security companies. The company's job is to search, target, and eradicate threats to other powerful companies. Sarah gets the job, and she begins by trying to infiltrate a group that calls itself "The East". After posing as a homeless person for some days and getting into some trouble she is finally taken where "The East" resides. The members are a small group of adults that have taken it upon themselves to seek those responsible for lucrative companies’ selfish actions, like CEO’s. The actions of these companies negatively affect the environment and especially other people. They highlight the fact that these negative effects do not come near the people responsible for these effects, and thus it is easy for them to keep doing it while harming others. But they must be held accountable. This is the core belief of “The East”.

Once Sarah successfully infiltrates the group she notices how good they are at being subtle while preparing and acting upon their goals, right until their goals provide their desired effects. Then their actions come to light for the whole world to see, but by then they have hidden again without leaving any trace behind. However, their kind of extreme activism has some serious consequences, creating tensions within the group. Sarah also notices the wrongdoings of the people in charge of the companies “The East” is trying to hold accountable, and she finds herself feeling unsure about how to act when faced with difficult decisions. “The East’s” actions are very extreme, putting lives in danger, but so are the companies’ wrongdoings, which also put lives in serious risk. What is she supposed to do in these kinds of situations? Her job is to eradicate these threats for multi-million dollar companies, but doing so means defending them and letting these companies get away with their transgressions, while helping “The East” would badly affect the people in charge of the companies, including innocent bystanders; and she could also lose her job. 

There is also her personal life. Sarah finds herself getting attached to the members of “The East”, especially to one of them. Taking on these undercover assignments also means leaving home and her boyfriend alone for several days at a time. This takes a toll on him as well as her, and she begins to feel self-conscious as to why she likes that job. Even though Sarah has a positively strong personality (which is probably what helps her the most at doing her job) she still feels and suffers the emotional impact of the assignments. 

Even with the PG-13 rating (and nothing visually too graphic), the film manages to instill slight, but real, fear and paranoia in the viewer, provided of course he or she allows good thinking as part of the viewing. An example is one of the “jams” (what they call accomplishing making rich people accountable for their bad actions). The group discovered a while ago a drug that is being massed produced to help cure a common disease in many countries. It has recently been approved by the FDA as being safe to prescribe in the U.S. “The East” has decided that they will give the producers, and owners of the drug, a taste of their own medicine, literally. They infiltrate a party where these people are celebrating the approval of the drug. While acting as normal guests they place a liquid dosage of the drug into many of the drinks of the guests. Sarah realizes what they are doing moments before the guests drink it, and not knowing much about it (since “The East” has left her in the dark about their operation due to being new) she calls her supervisor. But she tells her nothing will happen; the drug would not have been approved if it was actually dangerous. 

Mild spoilers ahead:

Most of them drink the dosage. After a few days the trespass reaches national news, and one of the spokespersons of the company (a woman who was at the party and ingested a dosage of the drug) says she feels fine with only mild side effects. Days later a youtube video is discovered that shows the woman is dying slowly with scary and painful effects.The listed side effects on the container actually imply that it can lead to a slow and terrible death. Thus, the company is technically not doing anything illegal; the person taking it is solely responsible for reading said side effects and deciding whether or not to take the drug. The thing is, if it was not actually safe the FDA would not approve it, or at least most people would think so. After all, that is the main purpose of the the FDA’s existence. Knowing that the selling of drugs with terrible, and life-threatening, side effects happens in many countries where the governments do not regulate the drug market well (and the companies hold a lot of power), it was disturbing to see and hear the woman in the video. This makes the situation very real and near to the viewer, and knowing the preceding facts one has to wonder if such a thing will happen to us or someone close to us (remember the commercial of an anti-depressant which lists the drug’s side effects might actually worsen the depression? Could this not lead to suicide? Granted, it is not as bad as what happens to the woman in the movie, but it does hint the film’s scenario as being a very real possibility). 

End of mild spoilers.

There is another jam planned to seek justice for something more disturbing. Perhaps because in such a situation the people being directly affected by it are helpless, and most of them will either develop terrible diseases and/or die (think something like the story in Erin Brockovich, which actually happened). 

The film stays within the realms of the real and possible from the start. This greatly helps keep its relevance and attention from the viewer. The ending is very suspenseful and is also kept realistic; something that in my opinion is hard to pull off and which I have only seen very few times (however, nothing will top the highly edge-of-your-seat, but still very realistic, climax of series two of Forbrydelsen, but more on that later). The East succeeds in being interesting, thrilling, relevant, and also realistic, and this combination rarely happens. Overall it is a great accomplishment. 

Picture Quality: 4.5/5

This is the kind of picture quality in a blu-ray that is boring to review. Not because it has anything that is actually bad: it contains the good aspects of what you would expect from a recently-filmed movie, but it does not achieve anything new or great that makes it stand out from the rest. It is just ordinary. The movie has plenty of bleak colors (many shades of grey, dark brown, blue, etc.) and are all produced with much fidelity. Black levels are very good also but they do waver a bit a few times towards dark grey (this might be from the source and not the transfer since it was filmed with digital cameras). Contrast is kept very well balanced and there is plenty of shadow detail. This is good since there a lot of scenes that take place in low-light settings or at night. Skin colors are constantly kept realistic, and even if some post-processing was done to the picture to achieve its drab look, it did not affect skin tones. Detail and delineation are very good also, but nothing great. Overall a very proficient visual transfer.

Audio Quality: 4/5

The blu-ray’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track accurately represents the movie’s sound mix, and that is both good and slightly bad. This is where the transfer shows the production’s budget a little. There is nothing technically wrong with it, but there are parts in the movie where it clearly could have sounded better. For the most part it is great though. Voices are very clear, as well as the score. Atmospheric effects are good also but nothing outstanding. In the more dramatic sequences (where there is some action and loud effects) is where it comes off as a little dull. It does not become distorted or unbalanced, it is just a bit too reserved, and not in a good way. When it comes down to it though, this can easily be overlooked as the movie has very few of these moments, after all it is a slow-burning drama/thriller. 

Special Features: 3/5

Extras are pretty standard. It has some short behind-the-scenes videos with one focusing on the movie’s theme of morality. It is titled Examining the Moral Grey and I found it to be the most interesting. There are also some deleted scenes, as well as the theatrical trailer and a sneak peek. 

Overall: 4.5/5

The East is a smart drama and thriller that keeps itself true to real life while also injecting a very good dose of suspense to the story. Brit Marling gives an impressive performance and the rest of the cast are great also. The story is very relevant right now and this only makes it more interesting and captivating. Video is very good with nothing bad worth mentioning, and the audio is satisfactory overall, although it could have been a little better. The East is highly recommended. 

Note: the screen captures of the blu-ray above should not be taken to be good representatives of the quality of the transfer as they have a lower resolution than the blu-ray, they are compressed, and in motion it may look different. 

The People Under the Stairs Blu-ray Review

The People Under the Stairs Blu-ray Review

Released on September 2, 2014 by Universal Studios

Movie : 4/5

The People Under the Stairs has been finally released by Universal Studios here in the United States. Previously, this film had been released in the United Kingdom by Arrow. In their release they specifically say that the master used for their release had been provided by Universal. 

Out of all the horror films directed by Wes Craven, this is the first one I saw. They were playing it on TV and it must have made a vivid impression on me as I bought it later on DVD when I was still in middle school. I can not remember too well the first time I watched it, but I do remember seeing it countless more times once I owned it. Before watching it again, this most recent time, I adjusted my expectations. I remembered the movie was sort of campy, and given it was one of the earlier attempts by the director before Scream was released, I lowered said expectations… and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie can still hold its ground. It is still creepy, fun, suspenseful, and yes, it is still as campy as I remembered it, but now I see it is just part of what makes it a fun and scary little thriller. 

Fool (our antihero) is a child and the oldest sibling in an African-American family in which the mother is very sick. They do not have money for rent, and they only have a few days before they are evicted by the owners (a white couple). We then learn that the mother’s sickness can be easily cured, but since they do not even have enough money for her treatment, she just lays on bed, waiting to die. One of the neighbors in the apartment complex mentions to Fool that the owners of the building they live in (and of many other similar properties) have gold hidden somewhere in their house. He persuades Fool to agree to help him steal it, telling him the owners are filthy rich and thus do not need the money they are planning to get. If they are successful, he tells him, they will split the money and he will have enough for his mother’s treatment as well as for paying the rent for many years to come.

The neighbor brings along another burglar to help them. After a failed attempt by Fool to get into the owners’ house, the other burglar is successful, pretending to be a worker of the electric company. But then there is a problem: he is taking too long inside and he is neither coming out nor letting them inside. They force their way in, looking for their partner and the gold. Fool goes inside the basement and finds their partner dead with a golden coin in his hand. But there are scary-looking people in the basement’s walls. They seem deformed, with white skin and ghostly facial expressions. They begin the pull the body inside the walls, and Fool tries to pull him away, but he is only able to get the golden coin. The body disappears, being dragged into the walls by many pale hands. 

Then Fool runs up to the main floor, and him and his neighbor try to escape, but are then locked inside the house by the owners. From there on it is a non-top thrill ride as Fool tries to escape, going through trap doors, secret passageways, and different rooms which only make the house seem like a maze. He stumbles upon the owners’ daughter, Alice, a timid girl who seems scared of her own shadow. And as he keeps going deeper and deeper inside the house he uncovers other secrets the owners are keeping from their tenants, and the world in general. 

One of the things I noticed this time, after not watching it for many years until now, was the racial undertones in the story and the characters. The white couple are portrayed as evil rich people, almost representing the concept of “white supremacy”, especially when one thinks about how they are the owners of the places where Fool, his neighbor, and many other African-Americans live, thus holding a sort of power over them. They have allowed these properties to turn old and ugly, letting their tenants stay in these poor living conditions. Then they evict them to empty and destroy the buildings to sell the terrain for even more money. Another neighbor of Fool (also an African-American) organizes a group of tenants in a strike to get better treatment from the landlords. And Fool is our antihero, representing justice and a sense of good morality, because, even if he is trying to steal (albeit in a Robin Hood kind of way: getting money from people who do not need it, to help his mother instead of getting rich), he is ultimately trying to help Alice escape from the domestic abuse of her parents, prioritizing this above finding the money and above trying to escape alone to make the attempt easier on him. 

The racial bias is not as straight forward as it seems. Fool’s neighbor is an African-American as well and he is a thief. He steals not to help a sick family member, but simply to get money the easy way. Alice is white, and she is innocent with a pure heart that is full of compassion and is not in any way selfish. As you can see the racial undertones are not all biased to one side or the other. It is enough to portray the injustices of the white landlords over the African-American tenants, but still include different people in both groups to keep it more real and not all biased to one of the sides or the other; almost like a balance that I think actually helps to enforce the story and also layers it to make it more than just a scary movie. 

Spoilers ahead…

I will finish this section by saying that Fool is only a child, but this foolish, innocent heart of a child is what enables him to escape. But instead of staying safe, far away from the house, he goes back for Alice, and while doing so he stumbles upon the money. He manipulates the situation and all his neighbors get a share of it (justice for the bad treatments of the landlords), and he even helps the people under the stairs escape (after finding out the couple had them as prisoners), who in turn help him and Alice escape (Alice knew about them being prisoners, and she also tried to help them). All in all a very satisfying movie. 

Picture Quality: 3.5/5

The People Under the Stairs video quality is a little underwhelming. While there are some fairly good positives to the transfer, there are also some bad ones. Only one of these is the main culprit for the lowered score. Otherwise it would received a very solid 4 or even a 4.5. As it stands it barely manages to grab a 3.5. If it was not for the positives that I was not expecting it would have received a 3. This main culprit is noise created by some kind of digital processing. This noise is present from start to finish, messing with the natural grain of the movie and the detail. The good news is this noise is not enough to make it unwatchable. The upgrade from the DVD is obvious, and some detail is retained even with the weird digital noise present. Shadow detail reveals a good amount of textures. Colors stay real and well saturated. Skin colors look as they should (even the white skin of the people under the stairs) and hardly ever waver. Contrast is decent but it does fluctuate a bit, but never to the point that it messes up the quality. Blacks are good also. All these surprised me given it is an old film, considering that this is probably an old master, and knowing that the film was obviously made on a low budget. The only other problems were traces of slight print damage (light white and black specks peppered throughout the film) but they are not too noticeable. Honestly, given the fact that the movie is not that well known I am surprised Universal even released a blu-ray version of it. I was about to import the Arrow version when I heard about this release. Overall it is a little better than mediocre quality: unexpected positives and a problem of moderate size (the noise). Chances are most people will not mind it though, and even less so when seen on a smaller display where the appearance of this noise will be somewhat reduced because of the smaller display size. 

Sound Quality: 4/5

Universal has included only the original stereo mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Better news here: the mix contains some respectable amplitude in terms of volume range while keeping the sounds clear without becoming distorted. This surprised me as most old films have a more “boxy” quality to their sound and their range is pretty limited. I would have loved a 5.1 lossless re-mix (if done correctly of course, included along with this one), but the original mix is certainly good enough. Using my receiver’s Dolby Pro Logic IIx sound mode, the voices sounded fairly centered with a little bleed to the front left and right speakers, allowing for more separation between the elements. The voices sounded very clean and I do not remember any instances where they sounded bad. The only complain here would be mild sound artifacts (more likely due to the limitations of the production). 

Special Features: N/A

No special features are included.

Overall: 3.5/5

This blu-ray transfer of The People Under the Stairs is a nice upgrade from the DVD. It could have looked better and some special features would have been nice (like a commentary by Wes Craven). But given it is not popular nor recognized I am still glad it got the upgrade. The film holds up well even by today’s standards considering its low budget production. Unless a better version comes along from another country and distributor, this blu-ray comes recommended, given of course this movie is your cup of tea. 

Note: the screen captures of the blu-ray above should not be taken to be good representatives of the quality of the transfer as they have a lower resolution than the blu-ray, they are compressed, and in motion it may look different. 

Kristy Blu-ray Review

Kristy Blu-ray Review

Released on August 7, 2014 by Tiberius Film

Movie: 3/5

Kristy (a.k.a Random, a.k.a. Satanic) gets its first home video release thanks to the German distributor Tiberius Film. The movie was released on blu-ray, blu-ray 3D, and DVD. This blu-ray is region B locked (as confirmed by my playability tests).

The slasher genre has been pretty much dead for the past decade. While there has been some releases of slasher movies in the past few years, decent or even good slashers have made their appearance in very rare occasions, with most of these being of foreign origins. For a person like me who years ago spent so much time enjoying the old ones (and I am including the 90’s slashers in this category also), finding a recent slasher that is actually enjoyable is bizarre. And to find such a film one has to practically hunt them down, traveling great internet distances through many web sites to find one that has potential, with many just ending in disappointment. 

So, how does Kristy hold up? In a phrase, slightly above mediocre. But, please, allow yourself to read an explanation for this, as I did find some pretty decent slasher elements in the movie, and you might find that these elements actually suit you better. 

The film opens with a website which hosts many different videos of a group of four young adults that stalk girls close to their age. In all the videos the group eventually kills each of the girls, calling them Kristy and using a razor to mark their cheek with a “K”. Then we get to meet Justine for the first time (our protagonist) with her boyfriend inside her college dorm. We then learn that it is thanksgiving break and most of the dorms will be unoccupied during it. Justine ends up being the only student left on campus, along with a couple of security guards and a groundskeeper. She decides to treat herself and goes to the nearest gas station to buy junk food and a cheap thanksgiving dinner. In the store she has a menacing and creepy encounter with the girl of the homicidal group. After being harassed in the car she manages to go back to campus, and this is where the stalking and slashing for Justine begins.

One thing the film gets right is with providing us, the audience, with a sense of isolation which Justine is experiencing. Even though the guards and groundskeeper stay, she is practically alone in the hall where her dorm is. The groundskeeper has his own cottage on the edge of the campus, and one of the security guards is always at the gate. The remaining guard is the only company close to Justine. The group manages to get inside the campus, lock the guard out of Justine’s hall, and stalk her in and around her dorm. This is when Justine realizes she is in mortal danger, and it is when the suspense begins. 

Instead of trying to be extreme, the film goes for stealthy thrills, with most of the movie having Justine trying to evade them and trying her hardest to avoid a face-to-face encounter with them. Think of it as a survival-horror video-game in which the main character has very, very few weapons within her reach, and various devices to distract and escape the killers. Of course she eventually does come to face them, but the way these encounters develop are not like the encounters between the protagonist and killer(s) in most slashers where the victim is forced to face the killer(s). Instead, Justine reaches a point where she decides (rather than being forced) to pluck up the courage to survive not by escaping, but my eliminating her stalkers. 

Mild spoilers ahead…

One flaw that might turn-off some people is the way the movie climaxes. In slashers such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Halloween the protagonist has a big showdown with the killer. The killer chases her and holds nothing back to try and kill her. Again, in these films the protagonist is suddenly forced to face the killer. In Kristy Justine becomes the hunter. She consciously decides to go after the killers and take them down one by one. She becomes the stalker. Personally, this takes some of the suspense away because, even though we are still rooting for her to survive, her vulnerability level goes down, shrinking the feeling that she might still die (consciously deciding to face a killer is of course still very life-threatening, but I am referring to the emotional rather than logical impact on the viewer). This instead provides with character development as we see Justine change before our eyes when she encounters an almost survival-is-impossible situation. Since I am a suspense lover, this took some of my personal enjoyment of the movie away, but I know that others might find this evolution of character more interesting and exciting, rather than seeing another slasher take the same sort of direction for the finale. 

Picture Quality: 4.5/5

Kristy appears to have been filmed digitally rather than on film as the transfer is devoid of any natural grain (which film transfers give to movies) but still retains a good amount of detail. The film is presented in its original wide aspect ratio (2.40:1). Colors remain very accurate with the cinematography’s cool tones and flesh tones of the actors. Shadow detail is nicely rendered without having bad or unnatural fluctuations in contrast. Black levels are very deep and inky (as they should be) except that there are a few instances where mild digital noise is present in them. The other only fault I found in the transfer was some slight color banding when, for example, a light’s brightness diminishes with distance on the wall of a hallway, gradually changing the tones of the wall’s color from bright to dark. This kind of banding is sort of common with movies that contain contrasting levels of brightness within the same shot, and it is not too noticeable. So overall a very solid transfer. 

I was not able to see the movie in 3D (or at least sample it) as I was missing my 3D player at the time of the viewing, but once I sample it I will comment about it. The 2D version played fine without requiring a 3D player (so this blu ray carries both the 2D and 3D versions).

Sound Quality: 4.5/5

Kristy  contains two audio options: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio in both English and German, with optional German subtitles (there are a few instances where forced German subtitles appear, for example when a text message from a cellphone is shown, but it does not happen regularly, only on these instances of visual text). I did not bother listening to the German audio option because, why would I? I do not know any German, plus the film was filmed in English, and the grand majority of times dubs are pretty bad. I doubt the film’s native mix was in 7.1, considering it was a low-budget production, and seeing plenty of German blu-ray releases that have audio that has been re-mixed to include the two extra channels of surround effects. The mix seems to have had its range of volume expanded as loud sounds were a bit louder and this made it seem a little unbalanced. However this was the only anomaly, and the rest sounded very good. The mix is aggressive when it calls for it. Surround activity is good also. For a good portion of the film there is rain present, and the front and surrounds give off the effect very realistically; this and other atmospheric effects were included well. There are instances of footsteps from the killers coming off from behind and next to the listener, providing good support to the suspense and creepiness of the film. The low end was a little aggressive (a tiny bit unnatural to my ears; probably due to the amped range of volume) but it did not sound exaggerated or distorted. Voices were clear most of the time, save for a couple of instances where characters were whispering. A good surround mix that nicely compliments the genre of the movie. 

Special Features: 0.5/5

The only special features are the trailer for the film, along with trailers of a few other movies that are being released by Tiberius Film. 

Overall: 3.5/5

Kristy is a good movie to watch on a boring night when there is not much to do. It is a suspenseful movie for most of its running time with a little nice action towards the climax (between our hero and villains) but nothing like the intensity of slasher action from say Scream or The Purge. Like implied above, the violence is not strong (I would say it would receive a hard PG-13 or a soft R rating). Those people who are fine with the movie’s “stealthy” approach to suspense will find more here than just an okay movie. The video and audio transfer is of very good quality so no worries there. For those who still think they might enjoy the movie (with these adjusted expectations) this comes very recommended. For the rest who have doubts about it, this still comes recommended, but in the form of a rental or a buy for a cheap price.  

Note: the screen captures of the blu-ray above should not be taken to be good representatives of the quality of the transfer as they have a lower resolution than the blu-ray, they are compressed, and in motion it may look different.