6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
At a secluded mental institution, Dr. Bain maintains order while electricity fuels the asylum's hi-tech security system that keeps the nearby neighborhoods safe from menaces like Frank Hawkes and "Preacher". Meanwhile, a new doctor, Dan Potter, arrives in town with his family, but the inmates don't take kindly to his presence and believe he has killed off their former therapist. Suddenly a power outage leaves the town in chaos... and now the maniacs are free to roam the streets and hunt down the man they believe has invaded their lives.
Starring: Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau, Dwight Schultz, Erland van LidthHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo verified
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Dr. Dan Potter (Dwight Schultz) is a psychologist recently appointed to work with a small group of patients at a New Jersey mental ward called The Haven. Dr. Leo Bain (Donald Pleasence), Potter's boss and the eccentric director of the institute, doesn't consider the criminally insane inmates to be psychopaths, but rather "voyagers" taking a vacation into the human psyche. In fact, Bain doesn't truly regard them as any less "sane" than normal patients. He enforces looser rules and restrictions in and around the facility. Bain charges Potter with supervising and working with four most challenging patients: Frank Hawkes (Jack Palance), a Vietnam veteran with a clear case of PTSD and a paranoid schizophrenic; Byron "The Preacher" Sutcliff (Martin Landau), an arsonist of churches; Ronald "Fatty" Elster (Erland van Lidth), a pudgy child molestor; and Tom "The Bleeder" Smith (Phillip Clark), a recluse with a penchant for bleeding after he commits a homicide. Hawkes and the three others don't take a particular liking to Potter. They believe he killed Dr. Harry Murton, Potter's predecessor whom Hawkes has a high regard for. A blackout that ironically occurs during an anti-nuclear power plant demonstration helps spring the inmates out of The Haven. Hawkes and his followers loot a sporting goods store where they take various weapons they intend to use against Potter and anyone else that gets in their way.
All of the performances in Alone in the Dark are convincing. I thought Jack Palance was acting too much in a Methody sort of way in his first couple of scenes but later, he completely settles into Hawkes, making him his own. Martin Landau grins like Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs (1928). He has a devilish smile that's genuinely creepy.
Dr. Potter meets his new patients.
Scream Factory's release of Alone in the Dark comes with a slipcover on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. Scream advertises this as a new 2K scan of the interpositive and the results are stunning. Presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the image has a nice layer of grain that's most visible in establishing shots. Skin tones and color temperature are calibrated according to the filmmakers' intentions. I watched the 2005 DVD transfer from Image Entertainment, which was pretty good for its time, but this is in another league. The picture looks filmy without any egregious digital manipulations.
Scream has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 35000 kbps.
Scream has delivered twelve chapters for the 93-minute movie.
Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1681 kbps, 24-bit). Alone in the Dark was one of the first horror features to be mixed in Dolby Stereo and this restored mix sounds very clean and authentic. There is no audible hiss, pops, crackles, or dropouts. Dialogue is delivered with clarity. The four ballads performed in the film by The Sic F*cks sound pretty robust in spite of any age-related limitations with the recording. Italian composer Renato Serio wrote a mostly electronic score that suits the film quite well. While the music manipulates the audience at the most opportune and suspenseful moments, it's in service of the story. The Image disc had both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks but Scream opted not to include either of those remixes.
Optional English SDH can be selected through the main menu or by remote.
Scream has retained four extras from Image's 2005 Special Edition DVD. They've recorded four new bonus materials and also included some vintage radio/TV spots previously unreleased on physical media.
Alone in the Dark is a mishmash of various slasher and horror films from the late '70s and early '80s but Jack Sholder's witty screenplay and efficient direction (his feature debut) make it a distinguished entry in a prolific era for the genre. I love the way cinematographer Joseph Mangine places the camera at the top of the staircase while a character enters the doorway down below. This is a title which I've been hoping that Shout!/Scream Factory would release on Blu-ray for many years and now it has! I don't have any complaints about the label's carefully prepared HD presentation. Bonus materials pick up those that were on the Image Entertainment DVD. Scream has added an outstanding commentary track with two cinema experts as well as a wide-ranging interview with Sholder. VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
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