6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Janice and Bill Templeton, a happily married couple, the parents of well-adjusted preteen Ivy. Their family security is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Elliot Hoover. At first mistaken for a potential child molester, Hoover explains that his obsessive interest in young Ivy is actually paternal. It is Hoover's contention that their daughter is the reincarnation of his own child, who died in a horrible accident. This information is dismissed out of hand-and then strange things begin happening. Edit by PP
Starring: Marsha Mason (I), Anthony Hopkins, John Beck (II), Susan Swift, Norman LloydHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 17% |
Psychological thriller | 14% |
Supernatural | 13% |
Coming of age | 6% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
(Secondary audio is an isolated score track)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Robert Wise's supernatural thriller Audrey Rose, critically maligned in its day for similarities to 1973's The Exorcist, has been reincarnated on Blu-ray as a region-free disc from Imprint that aims to replace an out-of-print 2014 Blu-ray from the defunct (but sorely missed) boutique label Twilight Time. Featuring an ever-so-slightly upgraded transfer and a host of mostly new bonus features, it's a pricey but reasonably solid upgrade for unapologetic fans of the film.
Entertaining for at least a once-over and admittedly chilling at times, Audrey Rose is nonetheless a lackluster film that, like reincarnation
itself, wants to be validated but there's just not enough evidence for it. Yet considering I'm not even a big fan of The Exorcist (partially for the
same reasons), you can take that opinion with a shaker full of salt.
Given that the boutique label Imprint does not perform in-house restoration and this Blu-ray's picture is advertised as a "1080p transfer from MGM", it unsurprisingly shares near-identical traits with Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray. The root of both somewhat antiquated transfers is, yes, an identical master supplied to these boutique labels by MGM, which was dated by 2014 standards (as evidenced by Jeffrey Kauffman's unenthusiastic review) and has not been fundamentally improved with a fresh new scan. The only tangible improvement here is that Imprint's transfer does not appear to have been artificially brightened like Twilight Time's disc, which remedies some of that release's excessive noise and dodgy black levels. Even so, this obviously doesn't fix other flaws such as its lack of fine detail, overall mushy appearance, and a somewhat pallid degree of color saturation. So while this version does come out slightly ahead, there's still lots of room for improvement here and, despite my reservations about the main feature, it deserved better.
Imprint's LPCM 2.0 audio is a port of the DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix found on Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray and sounds identical to my ears in both volume level and overall fidelity. It also includes that disc's alternate Isolated Score track (likewise repurposed to LPCM 2.0) that highlights the musical contributions of composer Michael Small.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the film and applicable bonus features.
Imprint's Blu-ray features the studio's trademark deluxe packaging, as this one-disc release ships in a clear keepcase with attractive cover artwork, an inner print, and a glossy slipsleeve with alternate poster-themed artwork. On-disc extras are plentiful and will attract owners of Twilight Time's basically barebones out-of-print Blu-ray.
Robert Wise's fitfully sharp but woefully uneven Audrey Rose is a TV Movie of the Week in big-studio clothing, partially saved by its occasionally effective atmosphere and an early standout performance by Anthony Hopkins. It's amassed something of a cult following and they'll at least appreciate Imprint's new Blu-ray edition: it bumps up the visuals over Twilight Time's 2014 Blu-ray with a slightly improved (but still weak) 1080p transfer, with the main draws being a nice pile of film-specific bonus features, sleek packaging... and of course, the fact that it's actually still in print.
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Cinema Cult
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Classics Remastered
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Imprint #207
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Imprint #318
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Imprint #39 | Standard Edition
2002