6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A movie director and his troupe of actor friends vacation on a remote island where they dig up a corpse (named Orville) and jokingly perform a ceremony to resurrect it. It works! Interesting, garishly-colored zombie makeups and an offbeat counter-cultural feel make this an interesting curiosity...
Starring: Alan Ormsby, Valerie Mamches, Jeff Gillen, Anya Ormsby, Paul CroninHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 5% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bob Clark had one of the more interesting filmographies of directors from his generation, with pretty sizable hits in vastly different genres, including everything from A Christmas Story to Porky's to (probably most saliently in terms of the particular feature currently under discussion) Black Christmas. As with many nascent filmmakers, Clark got his start with horror, and if Black Christmas shows the director with at least a relatively larger budget, some bona fide marquee stars, and a grasp of technique, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things , while only two years older than Black Christmas, finds a young "wannabe" working with next to no money, sometimes faltering filmmaking strategies, and a cast comprised at least in part of Clark's college friends.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc.
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of VCI Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. The biggest
disappointment some fans may have with this 4K UHD presentation is that it's in SDR, and I'm sure there are some videophiles who would
understandably assume that some form of HDR could have at least marginally improved the nuance of the many dark scenes, notably some of the
outdoor material. As such, this 4K presentation is probably as littered with crush as the 1080 version, and arguably maybe even more noticeably. The
good news here is there is a noticeable grain field, at least intermittently, though it's often pretty noisy looking and
probably even closer to pixellating than in the 1080 presentation. The palette is rather nicely suffused throughout, but I think the omnipresent
darkness of the film probably keeps any huge upticks in detail levels tamped down. My 4K score is 2.75.
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that can't quite overcome some of the inherent liabilities of the low budget shoot, with amplitudes therefore being somewhat variable, and outdoor material in particular being occasionally hard to fathom. The "cabin in the woods" sequences fare better in terms of audibility. Optional English subtitles are available.
VCI Sent the 4K UHD release of this film, which also looks like it's getting a standalone 1080 release. I'm frankly uncertain as to whether the
standalone 1080 release has two 1080 discs. It appears it doesn't according to both Amazon and MVD's sites, though both places list the
supplements that are included on the second disc, hence my confusion. Making this all the odder is that the first VCI release stuffed not just the
following supplements but a whole second version of the film on one BD-50 in its original release. One way or the other, this package does include
two 1080 discs, in addition
to the 4K UHD disc.
4K UHD Disc
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is just flat out goofy fun, and if it's accepted as basically a lark that a bunch of college friends did together, it provides a few spooky moments and a kind of blatantly theatrical flair, especially with Alan Ormsby's over the top performance. I'm frankly not sure this 4K UHD version ups the ante in any considerable way, and if it turns out the 1080 release of the 50th Anniversary Edition has all of the supplements listed above, my recommendation would be for fans to pick up that version.
50th Anniversary Edition
1973
1973
50th Anniversary Edition
1968
Buio Omega
1979
Limited Edition of 3000 | Zombi 4 | Oltre la morte
1989
Also Includes = I Eat Your Skin and Blue Sextet
1970
Zombi 2 / Zombie Flesh Eaters
1979
2019
1984
La noche de los brujos
1974
2016
1987
2013
2002
Dčmoni 3
1991
1932
La rebelión de las muertas
1973
1996
1966
Collector's Edition
1982
L'altro inferno / Guardian of Hell
1981
Collector's Edition
1988