6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A serial killer is loose at an all-girl school, where he strangles girls with a piece of barbed wire.
Starring: Leon Lissek, Christine Amor, Helen ThomsonHorror | 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 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Had William Castle been alive and working in Australia in the 1990s, he might very well have released something like Bloodmoon, or at least the version included on this disc with a so-called "Fright Break", which supposedly gave theater attendees a 30 second or so window to exit to the lobby and get a refund before the final mayhem unspooled on the screen. It's a kind of silly artifice that mimics any number of other gimmicks that producers like Castle and any number of others would offer audiences in order to have some kind of build in promotional appeal (the Harry Alan Towers co-produced 1965 version of Ten Little Indians had more or less the same "break" gimmick as this film, though considerably later in the story, and ostensibly to give the audience a chance to figure out who was killing whom, rather than to demand a refund). Unfortunately, though, when even the gimmick seems to be as cliché ridden as this one, it probably doesn't portend a riveting viewing experience to begin with, and when co-star Christine Amor mentions in a contemporary interview included on this disc that she finds the film "appalling", expectation levels should probably be set accordingly.
Bloodmoon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover kind of buries a bit of technical information in its verbiage, offering a "scanned in 4K from the negative at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and complete with 'the Bloodmoon Fright Break Challenge' for the first time ever in America. Once some opening roughness involving some of the optically printed credits is gotten through, this is often a surprisingly supple and pleasing looking transfer. The palette is nicely suffused and detail levels are typically quite good, at least when lighting conditions allow (per slasher tradition, some of the forest scenes take place in darkness, of course). There's a very slight yellow undertone to a lot of the color timing that can give a just slightly jaundiced appearance to flesh tones in particular, but it's not overly distracting, and some of the bright primaries, like all important reds, are still vivid and life (and/or death) like. Grain resolves without any issues.
Bloodmoon features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono audio. Composer Brian May, probably best remembered for Mad Max, offers a synth laden score that has moments of energy, and there's also the seemingly required "dance" scene where a glam rock band plays, and all of the music sounds nicely full bodied and problem free. Ambient environmental effects are occasionally noticeable in some of the outdoor material, including the climax where some torrential rain adds to the anxiety factor. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Producer Stanley O'Toole had some undeniable A list material in his quiver (including such gems as The Last of Sheila and The Boys from Brazil), and according to the interview with Christine Amor on this disc, Bloodmoon was apparently O'Toole's effort to jumpstart the Queensland film industry, but O'Toole might have been more successful with a more innovative project. This is a kind of interesting curio, though it's decidedly on the smarmy side. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements kind of snarkily enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
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