Groupie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Groupie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 30, 2023

Mark Lester's "Groupie" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include cast and crew interviews; behind the scene footage; rehearsal footage; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The new girl

Mark Lester should have shot Groupie during the 1980s on 35mm stock. Also, Lester should have hooked up with Sebastian Bach and his pals before they released their first studio album, Skid Row, used them in Groupie, and asked for permission to use a couple of their future hits. “Sweet Little Sister” should have been the first song on Lester’s list. “Piece of Me” should have been right behind it. And of course, “Youth Gone Wild” should have been used during the concert footage and at the very end of Groupie. As the conflicted frontman, Bach would have supercharged Groupie and enjoyed doing his character so much that the wild parties might have materialized without Lester having to stage them. All Lester would have had to do is pick the right angles to get the best footage – and trust me, with Bach having a good time, there would have been a lot of outstanding footage. This 1980s version of Groupie would have become a cult classic and made a ton of money for Lester and the producers that funded it.

The version of Groupie that Lester shot in 2010 is a decent film, but does not have the right energy and attitude to resemble a cult classic. Correct, not become one, but resemble one. Why? I am going to mention a couple of reasons below.

The current version of Groupie is shot on a budget, and while it looks quite good, it has that unmistakable modern digital appearance. A lot of modern home movies have this appearance, and I am not a fan of it because it lacks the organic quality of a proper 35mm film. But this is how virtually all modern films are shot these days, so why am I singling out Groupie? I am not. I just think that a small budget and a digital appearance are not right for the type of film Lester had in mind.

The Dark Knights are supposed to be a big rock band making a comeback. Their music and antics on the stage are supposed to be so exciting that the crowds would go crazy and cause serious problems for the people in charge of security. Okay, sounds good, but their music and their shows cannot do the trick. This is why Bach and his pals would have been perfect in Groupie. These guys were on fire in the 1980s and they routinely created exactly the type of troubles that the Dark Knights are credited for. By the way, there were many other bands like Skid Row. I just think that right before they released their first album Skid Row would not have asked Lester for a lot of money to commit to Groupie. Vince Neil and his pals would have done an even better job, but Lester would not have been able to afford them.

The final and perhaps most important reason is the screenplay. It is not bad, but it is not great either. It wants Groupie to be a much softer film than it should have been, at times oddly sentimental, too. I think that this is why the frontman (Hal Ozsan) of the Dark Knights often looks like a heartbroken poet who knows how to play the guitar, and not like a rock star leading a band that is living on the edge. By the way, it is irrelevant whether the frontman of the Dark Knights is a legit rock star so long as he thinks he is and exudes the cockiness that tells his mind that he is. In the 1980s, Bach was that kind of frontman.

In the bonus features that are included on this release, it is made painfully obvious that absolutely everyone knew that Groupie was supposed to be a B-film. This is fine. A lot of memorable B-films were made with this type of group awareness. But I think that a few cast members could have been a little less casual to help the suspense develop better and make it more effective. After the new groupie (Taryn Manning) joins the Dark Knights, these cast members should have done more to help her produce better tricks. It is not at all difficult to guess where Groupie is heading and how it will get there, so the girl’s tricks and the behavior of her targets should have generated the genre thrills to make it appear more complex.

But I still enjoyed Groupie because its modesty is attractive. It was nice to see Eric Roberts playing a band manager with the personality of the real Eric Roberts, too.

Groupie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Groupie arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment.

Groupie looked very good on my system. However, I must mention that in a couple of areas it does have an unmistakable low-budget appearance. For example, in 2023, a modern ARRI camera would have handled the darker footage from the club a lot better, eliminating virtually all of the surface unevenness that looks like digital noise. Some fine darker nuances would have been superior as well. But these are source limitations, so they are inherited, not a byproduct of encoding anomalies. Delineation, clarity, and depth are usually very good or excellent, in a few areas even outstanding. Colors are very natural and clean. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, I did not encounter any serious technical anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Groupie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

All exchanges are exceptionally clean and easy to follow. However, the sound design is a bit underwhelming. Why? Because during the concert footage it feels like the audio should be very powerful, even bombastic. Instead, it remains only decent, which is undoubtedly how it was mixed. (A reminder: the entire film was shot with a small budget). I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review.

Groupie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes - presented here is raw footage from the shooting of Groupie, with Mark Lester seen and heard giving instructions and directing. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Cast and Crew Interviews - Mark Lester, Hal Ozsan, and Taryn Manning discuss their work on Groupie. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Groupie Party with the Band - presented here is some pretty funny raw footage from the shooting of the big party sequence. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Dark Knights Rehearsal - in English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Reversible Cover - reversible cover with alternate poster art.

Groupie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you approach Groupie expecting that it will match the quality of some of Mark Lester's big cult films, your experience with it will be underwhelming. I knew that Groupie was going to be a small B-film and ended up enjoying it. Had Lester made it during the 1980s, I think that it might have turned out one of his best cult films because that would have been the right decade for it. Dark Force Entertainment's technical presentation of Groupie is very solid. RECOMMENDED.