Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Movie Review

The real mystery is the sticker price.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 6, 2022

Much like the branching animated film Batman: Death in the Family, Warner Bros.' DC Showcase Shorts collection Constantine: The House of Mystery looks good at first glance but will disappoint those who don't read the fine print. Essentially, it's a group of four separate animated shorts: the 27-minute titular film, of course, and three throwback adventures first offered as extras on earlier DCAU Blu-rays mentioned below. (Please note the 76-minute running time shrewdly implied on its packaging, which is only true if you select "Play All".) I'm a huge fan of animated shorts, but I can imagine this release annoying a lot of completists who already own 75% of the content here.

Constantine: The House of Mystery (26:42) - The anchor of this collection (and the only new short, because I can't stress that enough), The House of Mystery serves as an epilogue of sorts to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, where John Constantine is sent to the titular house as punishment for altering the universe by way of a Darkseid-destroying flashpoint created by Barry Allen AKA The Flash. Not surprisingly, this is anything but a pleasure trip: John endures all sorts of torture by way of several over-the-top deaths, reunions with old "friends" and enemies, and maze-like exits that keep him locked inside for what could be centuries as Spectre watches in amusement. The House of Mystery offers a nice balance of mystery, black comedy, and visceral horror... and though it may not be meaty enough to recommend as the sole reason to buy this collection, die-hard Constantine fans should enjoy this loopy little detour.

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! (18:03) - This enjoyable throwback adventure, based on the 1970s comic series created by (and strongly mimicking the visual aesthetic of) Jack Kirby, features the title character in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Along with a few non-humans such as mutant Ben Boxer, tiger prince Tuftan, and hulking gorilla-man Zuma, Kamandi competes in a physical contest to crown "The Chosen One", heir to the throne of a supreme being who saved Earth ages ago. Featuring colorful characters and great visuals, it's a fun little Silver Age adventure that old-school fans will enjoy. (This short was originally included as a bonus feature on Justice Society: World War II.)

The Losers (16:04) - Based on the comic series created by Robert Kanigher in 1969, later re-launched as a Vertigo title in 2004, this Ditko-esque short follows a diverse group of WWII outcasts (Captain Storm, Henry "Mile-a-Minute" Jones, Gunner, Sarge, Pooch, Johnny Cloud, and Chinese Special Agent Fan Long) as they explore an uncharted South Pacific island inhabited by prehistoric beasts in search of a few missing scientists... and maaaybe something else. This one's decent on its own terms, but the animation is very stiff and jerky -- it looks like 8 frames per second at the very most. (This short was originally included as a bonus feature on Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One.)

Blue Beetle (15:30) - This ultra-light and goofy throwback short -- complete with theme song! -- is clearly the most tongue-in-cheek of the bunch, going all-in on the low-budget Saturday-morning aesthetic; from stiff compositions to the simple character designs and even a few seam lines in the background artwork, it's another solid marriage of style and just enough substance to make things work. No seriousness here, folks: just a welcome dose of comedy as Blue Beetle teams up with Captain Atom, The Question, and Nightshade as they fight the villainous Doctor Spectro. (This short was originally included as a bonus feature on Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two.)

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No big surprises here: Constantine: The House of Mystery, both the title film and this collection as a whole, looks reasonably good on Blu-ray and seems to be on par with most other DCAU releases on the silver-medal format. While I'd have rather seen a true 4K option -- which not only would have tightened up a few mild compression issues, but offered owners of the previous shorts a chance to upgrade -- what's here is a mostly pleasing set of 1080p transfers that boast respectable clarity, background depth, and good color saturation that's not prone to bleeding. Of course, those usual format-related suspects are here such as mild banding and artifacts, as well as trace amounts of black crush on the darkest of scenes, but the DCAU "house style" (which actually varies quite a bit on the three throwback shorts) has learned to disguise some of the more troublesome gradients and shadows with added textures and other visual touches to give each short a simple but mostly pleasing appearance. Overall, no major complaints.

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mixes are more roundly enjoyable than expected, if only because the three throwback shorts (Kamandi, The Losers, and Blue Beetle) were saddled with lossy Dolby Digital audio in their original "bonus feature" form. Of course the sonic differences aren't night and day, but despite their vintage visual aesthetics they do aim for a more modern surround-sound atmosphere via action scenes and atmospheric flair. The lone new feature The House of Mystery follows suit with a spacey, ethereal sound field that routinely attempts to disorient viewers with subtle (ambient tones) and not-so-subtle (jump scares) sonic touches that suit the subject matter perfectly. Dialogue is clear and crisp, although the optional English (SDH) subtitles will help decipher a few Constantine comments.

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with a matching slipcover and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features are disappointingly slim, especially considering the lack of new content overall.

• DC Showcase: One Story at a Time (16:02) - This short but nicely-produced featurette includes comments from directors Matt Peters (The House of Mystery) and Milo Neuman (Blue Beetle), along with producer Rick Morales, who speak about working in a shorter format, adapting the visual style of comic book legends, lesser-known DC titles, re-teaming with long-time Constantine voice actor Matt Ryan, and more.

Constantine: The House of Mystery Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With only 27 minutes of new content (not counting the bonus features), DC's Showcase Shorts collection Constantine: The House of Mystery will prove to be a let-down for those who already own the other three short films first included with Justice Society: World War II and Batman: The Long Halloween - Part One and Part Two. I'd have rather seen new shorts entirely, a 4K upgrade, or at least more extras for everything (audio commentaries, additional featurettes, etc.), because as-is this is a tough sell even at its current $20 price point. The 1080p transfers are on par with previous titles and lossless audio for the recycled shorts is nice, but this one's for die-hard completists only.