Dead North Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Dead North Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 3, 2022

Specialists in fetish videos for a secretive mail-order audience, W.A.V.E. Productions doesn’t necessarily want to be known as cheaply made entertainment for viewers with specific arousal needs. They hope to achieve some level of storytelling competency with their efforts, and director Gary Whitson (who founded the company) attempts to offer something approaching a chiller with 1991’s “Dead North.” There’s a killer on the loose and a collection of couples and friends trying to enjoy themselves in the woods, but the slasher-y set-up doesn’t actually represent the viewing experience. Whitson is more interested in constructing a soap opera featuring the ways of cheaters and seducers, doing so in the most painfully drawn-out manner possible with limiting shot-on-video production achievements. It’s sold as something menacing, but “Dead North” quickly becomes a grand test of patience.

While it seems like an average week in suburban New Jersey, one community is struggling with marital issues. Jake is a Vietnam vet who’s certain his wife, Cynthia, is cheating on him. He’s a violent man with mental health issues, but agrees to join a group camping trip with couples Jeff and Linda, and Laura and Jake. The gang ends up in the deep woods where they sort through infidelity issues, also encountering hikers Peggy, Shelia, and Denise. The groups soon has a bigger issue to deal with when a mysterious killer arrives to pick off the campers.

W.A.V.E. is known for emphasizing particular acts of female suffering for viewer pleasure, but “Dead North” doesn’t get around to such distractions for quite some time. Whitson believes he’s making some type of dramatic epic with the feature, digging into the lives of untrustworthy and mentally ill characters, following their daily interactions and occasional seductions. And he does so in the most protracted way possible, investing is lengthy and clumsy dialogue exchanges performed by amateur actors. And if you love real-time events in your cinema, “Dead North” is bursting with the stuff, watching the characters pitch a tent, load a jeep, and even nap(!) for large amounts of screen time.

Dead North Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Dead North" is a shot-on-video production, and the AVC encoded image (1.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers a soft, somewhat blurry viewing experience. Fine detail isn't available, but a sense of facial features and body types is offered, along with forest engagement and interiors. Color isn't vivid, with more of a washed-out appearance, finding bolder costuming delivering slightly brighter hues, and greenery is acceptable. Delineation is passable.

Dead North Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix delivers reasonably clear dialogue exchanges, hitting some points of damage along the way, including a few brief audio dropouts. Music delivers in a basic sense, supporting suspense and romantic moments. Hiss is pronounced.

Dead North Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (26 pages) contains a forward by director Gary Whitson, an interview with Whitson, essays by Whitson and Ross Snyder, and newspaper clippings.

• Commentary #1 features director Gary Whitson.

• Commentary #2 features author Richard Moog.

• "The Pineland Murders" (98:39, SD) is a 2012 remake of "Dead North" from director Gary Whitson.

• "The Hanging Judge" (46:09, SD) is a selection from the W.A.V.E. catalog.

• "Crushed" (18:42, SD) is a selection from the W.A.V.E. catalog.

• And a Trailer (:29, SD) is included.

Dead North Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The W.A.V.E.-iness of it all eventually arrives in "Dead North," getting around to scenes of strangulation, electrocution, struggling in restraints, and there's a cat fight as well, keeping female characters occupied with eveningwear and physical violence, which, to be fair, is always better than watching the actors trying to interpret dramatic moments. "Dead North" also finds its way to a horror-esque final act, but Whitson is no master of suspense, keeping things incredibly slow as the basic shape of a whodunit starts to form, though the payoff is anything but satisfying. Those coming to "Dead North" for kicks and kinks are probably going to be greatly disappointed by the effort, as Whitson spends most of the run time trying to be a filmmaker, though that desire is severely impacted by his general refusal to understand how editing works.