5.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After capsizing their sailboat, five teenagers take refuge in an empty island hotel that is strangely decorated for New Years even though it is only July. Strange occurrences begin to happen to them one-by-one until they finally realize literally anything could happen...
Starring: Suzy Aitchison, Nikki Brooks, Daniel James (V), Mark Powley, Catherine RomanHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Norman J. Warren is a maker of B-movies, working with minimal budgets and locations to crank out horror and sci-fi endeavors, sometimes mixing the genres, as found in 1977’s “Prey.” For 1987’s “Bloody New Year,” Warren returns to the confines of a small setting to arrange a tradition haunting, staging the action inside a hotel on a remote island. The outside world remains at bay in the tale, giving the helmer an opportunity to arrange a steady stream of stalking and attack sequences, presenting the English production a chance to play in the “Evil Dead” sandbox for 90 minutes. Screenwriter Frazer Pearce sets up a spooky situation featuring persistent ghosts, bringing in a small band of youngsters to experience the fight of their lives, and Warren supports with a spare, somewhat slow, but engaging screen nightmare, clearly enjoying himself as he organizes various survival challenges while maintaining an eerie sense of ghoulish discovery.
It seems someone, somewhere destroyed the original camera negative for "Bloody New Year," forcing Vinegar Syndrome to look elsewhere for HD material, ending up with the "only surviving film element," which was an improperly stored print. The disc carries a warning about consistent damage, and the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation certainly showcases a lot of wear and tear, finding the viewing experience encountering speckling and scratches, judder, discoloration and flashing, warping, damaged frames, and a chemical staining. While it sounds like trouble, detail is actually superb, delivering fresh facial surfaces, a sharp look at hotel and fun fair decoration, and island distances retain dimension. Colors are vivid, offering bold reds and blues, doing well with costuming and greenery, capturing the isolation of the island. Delineation is quite capable. Of course, it's not a pristine view of "Bloody New Year," but element issues aren't distracting, and perhaps add to the enjoyment of the feature for some B-movie lovers.
The 1.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix presents a fresh frontal push of dialogue exchanges, with accents and attitudes easy to follow, while panicky escalations don't inch the track into distortion. Scoring is capable, adding to pressure points in the feature, but the movie largely goes without musical accompaniment, and this forbidding silence is preserved. Sound effects are direct, without issue, maintaining ghoulish developments, shock value, and, for one scene, canned laughter.
"Bloody New Year" eventually makes its way to explanations, hoping to give the audience some type of payoff for all the weirdness it summons. Such exposure doesn't satisfy as much as hotel mayhem, which supports the viewing experience, giving the routine of young people in peril, picked off one- by-one, a different sort of intensity. The ghostly encounters are where it's at in "Bloody New Year," and they come with some level of regularity, giving the faithful a few jolts of gore and ghosts, with the island setting supporting a feeling of hopelessness that carries through to the end. Warren isn't too concerned with precision, but he can launch a few attack sequences with verve.
2015
1978
Evil Heritage
1976
2019
Movie Only Edition
2012
1980
1981
2016
1982
1982
Quella villa accanto al cimitero
1981
2015
2016
2015
2016
2014
2013
2009
Horror Planet
1981
2012