5.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
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: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Bloody Terror: The Shocking Cinema of Norman J Warren, 1976-1987.
It might be an interesting bi-continental quiz to ask film fans in the United Kingdom if they recognize the name Herschell Gordon Lewis, while at the
same time asking film fans in the United States if they recognize the name Norman John Warren. My hunch (and it’s only a hunch) is that Lewis
might
fare a bit better than Warren (meaning at least in part that British cineastes might be more globally aware than Americans), but that said, the two
men are at least passingly comparable in that each offered exploitation outings that tended to
feature both scantily clad (and sometimes naked) women and horror elements in about equal measure. Arrow released the massive The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast* a
few
years ago which aggregated a bunch of Lewis’ films (there are other compilations available, including The Lost Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis* and Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon
Lewis*), and now Powerhouse Films’ Indicator imprint has aggregated a quintet of Warren films to whet fans’ appetites. As with some of
Lewis’ efforts, the Warren films are often low budget affairs, but they arguably tend to be a cut above (no gore pun intended) some of Lewis’ films
in
terms of general production values and even performance acumen. All five films in this set have either already received Blu-ray releases in the
United States, or are about to as this review goes live (in the case of Inseminoid), but Powerhouse's website lists this set as offering
debuts of the films on Blu-ray for the United Kingdom market.
* Note: The links points to United States releases since there are reviews for some of those which some readers might be interested in
perusing, though there are UK releases of both
The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast and Shock and Gore: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Bloody New Year is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse Films' Indicator imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Powerhouse Films provided only check discs for the purposes of this review, with no supporting documentation, so I'm not privy to any verbiage that might be included in an insert booklet, but their website has the same generic "2K restoration, newly supervised and approved by director Norman J Warren" listed under its breakdown for every film in this set. This release comes with a prefatory "warning" text card that I've uploaded as screenshot 19 so that those interested can read about the provenance of the element utilized for this transfer. I'm assuming this is the same element utilized for the United States release, since Brian also mentions damage and "the only surviving film element" in his review, but I'm considerably less generous in my score than Brian was. When this transfer looks good, it looks quite good, with a nicely suffused palette and generally very agreeable detail levels. However, as is overtly mentioned in the warning text card, this is a very badly damaged element at times, as can be seen in screenshots 17 and 18, which are actually not the worst moments in the film. Some of this transfer has the same kind of weird peach-gray look that often attends CRI transfers, though this was evidently done from a print. Both color temperature and densities vary pretty widely throughout the presentation, as does grain resolution (contrast the look of the grain in screenshot 15 with any number of other screenshots accompanying this review to get some idea of the differences). The opening black and white sequence looks fairly gritty and features somewhat anemic contrast. My "official" score is 3.0, but I'd bump this up to a 3.25 if I were able to.
Bloody New Year features an LPCM Mono track which makes it through the vagaries of age related wear and tear (and improper curation) probably better than the video element. There are still occasional cutoffs, notably right as the film begins, where it sounds like we join the track just slightly already in progress, and then later during an early attack scene. That said, some of the worst looking material in terms of the video side of things sounds at least reasonably good, with no really apparent damage. The entire track does sound a bit boxy, but dialogue, effects and the enjoyable score (which has some fun old style rock 'n' roll tunes courtesy of its callback to 1959) escape without any major damage.
Bloody New Year may satisfy those who like a certain kind of horror "comfort food", but this is another kind of odd combo platter from Mr. Warren and his creative team. Video has some pretty significant issues, as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review as well as the "warning" text card I've uploaded as screenshot 19, but audio is generally okay, and the supplements very interesting, for those who are considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
2015
Indicator Series
1978
Evil Heritage / Indicator Series
1976
2018
2019
2012
The Grim Reaper
1980
1981
Special Edition
1982
1982
Quella villa accanto al cimitero | Limited Edition
1981
2015
2016
2014
Limited Edition | 4K Theatrical | Unrated BD
2009
Indicator Series
1981
2012
1990
2014
2019