Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 21, 2024

Deer Camp '86 is definitely not the end-all, be-all of the Horror genre, but it's a surprising good -- really good, great, even -- genre film that captures the essence of its genre while demonstrating a full command of the cinema medium, all for a budget price. The film is easily better than many of its contemporaries, and not because of its trendy 80s setting but rather because it's made from a place of love for the film medium, and for the genre, rather than exist as a product of a movie factory more concerned with the bottom line rather than building something special for its audience. Director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen has done what was once more common but nowadays very rare, which is take a small amount of money and make a movie that works because it's been made from the ground up with a lot of heart and a lot of know-how.

Six hunters -- Wes (Noah LaLonde), Simon (Arthur Cartwright), Buck (Jay J. Bidwell), Egbert (David Lautman), Karlos (Josh Dominguez), and J.B. (Brian Michael Raetz) -- set out on a trip of a lifetime that is as much bout downing beers as it is downing bucks. En route to their hunting cabin, they stop by a roadside bar where Wes flirts with the beautiful barkeep, Star (Tina Manera). Unfortunately, Star is murdered, setting off a terrible weekend of blood and mayhem (and still plenty of beer) that will test the mettle of the hunters to function under both duress and drunkenness.

This is a film that knows its place and enjoys being firmly settled into its niche. It’s Horror, and it’s tongue-in-cheek Horror, and it’s cheaply made Horror…yet it is somehow, some way, really good! The movie defies all odds as a legitimately excellent film made on a micro budget. By all rights it should go down as one of the great low budget genre films of all time, and there are a number of reasons for that. The budget is spent just right. Nothing is overdone or overblown, and the film leans much more heavily on practical effects rather than digital effects, which certainly makes for a cheaper, yet still highly effective, old school look and feel. The acting has a few moments when it definitely seems subpar, but the cast really gets into it with both charm and, eventually, an all-in sort of desire to amplify the movie for all it’s worth. The script is tight with a solid twist at the end, and the writing really brings the characters, and the setting, to life. It’s shot well, scored well, edited well…it’s just rock solid all around.

The film certainly takes some of its cues from giants in the genre. There a very obvious Predator vibe to it. Look – and listen – around the 38-minute mark. With the eyes closed a longtime Predator fan might be mistaken into believing that it was John McTiernan’s masterpiece playing, and not Deer Camp ‘86, simply based on some of the audio cues. Yet instead of musclemen and machismo, it’s slobs and drunkards facing off against a terrible foe, but the movie still plays it pretty straight. And works really well, too. There is also a modest feel for The Evil Dead at play, and these are clearly (at least in my perception of things) two of the high influences on the film. Though the movie takes more than half its runtime to really reach to high intensity stakes and scares, it does a great job of building character and building tension along the way, leading up to a violent third act and the aforementioned twists that work really well.

Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek brings Deer Camp '86 to Blu-ray with a good, but not great, 1080p transfer. First, a few words on what drags the image down. The presentation is hindered by some obvious macroblocking (look around the 10:40 mark, for example, and later at the 1:12:59 mark) and marred by some black levels that are a little thin (see around the 16:00 mark). Beyond these issues, it's a solid effort, bolstered by some rich and satisfying details, especially in daylight exteriors as seen through the middle of the movie, which really look great, with extra sharp definition to facial clarity and clothes. The cabin interiors are sharp and allow viewers to find some wonderfully defined content throughout, while wooded exteriors capture crisp definition to tree trunks and leaves. Even close-ups of the various guns show fine textures on wooden stocks to really show off the image's crispness and clarity. Colors run well, too, especially the bright orange hunting gear the men wear throughout. Blood red is rich and vibrant, too, while fall leaves add some color splashes to the experience. Skin tones look authentic and white balance is fine. Aside from the sometimes intense compression issues and less than perfect blacks, this image looks very good.

Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 lossless soundtrack is more than capable and easily one of the most superior offerings Mill Creek has issued. Music blares with nice spacing and quality depth, pouring from every channel with authority, vigor, and balance alike, including a healthy but even keeled subwoofer engagement. The track offers a really nice sense of place out in the woods, with light winds and blowing leaves, flowing waters in streams, birds and bugs…it's all well balanced and effortlessly pulls the listener right into the film's primary environment (a rowdy barroom seen early in the film also lives up to standards for location immersion and detail). There are a lot of discrete effects, too, to really amp up the scares and the sense of horror film immersion, with tangible depth and wallop to heavier thumps and good clarity to squishy gore elements. Dialogue is clear and centered with perfect prioritization.

Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Deer Camp '86 contains no supplemental content. The main menu screen is spartan, offering a static image with no music and options only to play the film and toggle subtitles on and off. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Deer Camp '86 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a pleasant surprise! Deer Camp '86 is set in the 80s and it has a certain 80s Horror vibe about it, building a quality film that defies its time not because of its setting but because of its style and filmmaking might. The film is sharply written, narratively engaging, the characters are actually well rounded, and the story plays well. It's excellently directed and well-acted, too: low budget Horror really doesn't get much better. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is very disappointingly featureless, but the video and audio presentations are really good. Recommended!