Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		0.5
Audio		0.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		0.5

Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie Review

The only thing that's scary about this release is, well, this release.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 13, 2010

Mill Creek Entertainment's "Total Terror" double feature is home to a pair of unrelated "Horror" pictures that are in almost every way imaginable subpar releases, whether in terms of story, structure, or visual and aural source. These films -- and Demonic in particular -- will put even the most ardent genre ironman to the ultimate test, for anyone who can survive this double bill deserves at the very least a gold star and a pat on the back. Aside from serving as a test of Horror endurance, Mill Creek's double feature also makes for a good experiment in Blu-ray economics. At $3 per movie, will buyers care what they're getting, or is the allure of a ridiculously low price and the chance to add another shiny blue case to the bookshelf simply too much to resist? Considering that there are no extras and that the films look and sound like they've been sourced straight off of a camcorder pointed at a CRT television set playing back a VHS tape, it won't be an easy choice for even fans of one or both of these movies to part with a few dollars for a release that's in the running for the worst ever to hit Blu-ray, and that's only considering its technical merits. If picture and sound quality matter in the least, skip this review and pretend like it never happened; "Total Terror" indeed.

True torture: watching this Mill Creek double feature on Blu-ray!

Demonic
Rating: 0.5/5

You're all going to die!

The English woodlands are home to several nubile and naked young girls who are said to be angels discharged from Heaven for their uninhibited sexuality. Now bloodthirsty demons, they roam the area in search of prey, with an eye for men who can't help but fall under their charms and sexual allure, only to die a painfully grotesque death in exchange for but mere moments of pleasure. One young couple, using the woods as cover to make love, is ambushed by the naked demons; the man is killed and the woman is left to fend for herself. Soon thereafter, she's struck by a van carrying five teenagers who have become lost en route to their destination. As their group splits up in search of help, the demons lure them into their traps with unspoken promises of sexual deviance and untold fantasies. As if that weren't enough, some of the group are confronted by a mysterious local named Stephen (Tom Savini, Dawn of the Dead) who's every bit as dangerous as the demon women who lurk in the woods.

Demonic is about as low-grade as movies come. It's clear even from the opening seconds that this is going to be nothing but an on-the-cheap movie that decided to forego even basic production values in hopes of saving a few bucks. Give the filmmakers credit for effort, but Demonic never finds its footing and only manages to look and play as one of the cheapest and most disjointed pictures the Horror genre has ever seen. The film starts incredibly slow with a several-minutes-long overhead shot of the woods that serves as the backdrop for the opening credits. Considering the fuzziness and lack of definition, the cheap 1980s video appearance sets a miserable tone for what's to be a miserable movie with no true value. The film's premise is its greatest asset; naked girls in search of prey seems like a decent enough idea for a midlevel Horror flick, but even the best ideas are for naught if there's more rhythm, production values, quality acting, and smart writing on display at a third grade Christmas play. Demonic is almost worth watching if only to bear witness to what the absolute bottom of the barrel looks like; there's no better example of a film that's not just short, but completely absent, every necessary ingredient to make even an average movie.

As noted, one nevertheless can't help but admire the effort. Maybe Demonic was going for some avant-garde approach to Horror filmmaking, or maybe there really was no money and no talent at work here, but either way, the end result is nothing short of putrid. Micro-budget is one thing; plenty of films have managed to find quality acting, good writing, and a coherent story while stymied by modest finances, but everything about Demonic just says that the script would have been better left on the hard drive rather than actually turned into a finished film. Whether the absurdly basic and cliché-ridden dialogue, the completely undeveloped characters, the total absence of tention, or the nonsensical plot developments (two characters are going to try and escape on an old farm tractor that probably has a top speed of five miles per hour; seriously?!), it's clear that Demonic's plot specifics were probably fleshed out in about an hour, and the film was shot almost as fast. The atrocious acting, major continuity errors (watch for two characters who are drenched in blood in one scene and in the next both their skin and clothes are clean, or another instance where there's nobody in the back of a car and in the next shot, yes, someone's back there), and camerawork that sometimes badly misframes characters all scream "amateur." Tom Savini does lend the picture some credibility; his performance isn't at all strong, but any movie that can put his name in the credits has something to brag about. Otherwise, there's nothing to see here. Sure, it's got a few nifty gore effects and plenty of nudity, but that can all be found elsewhere and in vastly superior movies.

Uninvited
Rating: 1/5

You'll have to sleep with one eye open.

The mysterious Grady (Jack Elam) has sold a potentially profitable mine to several individuals of varied backgrounds, all hoping to strike it rich. They squabble and bicker but get along well enough, even after stumbling across a gruesome murder site, but there's a catch: none of the victims appear to have been robbed, their belongings and gold still clutched in their hands. Their search of the mine yields rapid results; old Grady wasn't kidding after all when he promised untold riches lining its walls, waiting to be turned into cold, hard cash. As it's apt to do, though, the instant wealth puts a strain on each person. Making matters worse, the miners are quick to realize that they're treading on sacred ground; the mine doubles as an Indian burial site, though the varied corpses are seen as but obstacles to the prize. When the group murders an Indian, it falls into turmoil as each member becomes increasingly paranoid, confrontational, and unsure of themselves, ultimately forced to come face-to-face with their greatest fears and personal demons, haunted by the past and their own damnable actions in the present.

It's always nice to see the Horror genre step out of its comfort zone and, rather than taunt and terrorize modern-day teenagers, venture on out to another world and focus on a different breed of characters who could maybe allow for some old tricks to work like new. Unfortunately, Uninvited fails to capture not only a sense of dread and terror, but any sort of feeling at all. Writer/Director Michael Derek Bohus' picture has the right idea -- set a Horror movie in the old American West and populate it with some stereotypical Western characters such as the down-on-his-luck preacher, a newlywed couple, a prostitute, and a colorfully off-center survivor of the ill-fated Donner Party -- but the small budget and dismal acting make Uninvited a zero-sum venture. Combined with a shortage of emotion, a patchwork script, unimaginative direction, and a lethargic pace, Uninvited plays as a dull picture with a decent idea but terrible execution.

Of all its faults, the terribly sluggish pace may be Uninvited's most damaging. Even at what should be a brisk 90 minutes, the picture moves along like a sloth, no doubt thanks in large part to the confused structure, unreliable acting, and sheer lack of anything resembling excitement or scares. Worse yet, Uninvited's sloppy editing, cramped style, and dismal photography all contribute to a movie that never finds a stride, in spite of its decent premise. Still, Uninvited seems like a victim of time and money more so than the alarmingly tiny amount of talent that seems like the film's own worst enemy. Uninvited shows a hint of promise here and a glimpse of potential goodness there; the film's scope and ambitions are simply too much for its microscopic budget to absorb, and no doubt the story would fare better were it to be remade with some clout behind it and a rework of the script. The best thing about Uninvited? The wardrobe and set dressings aren't half bad, but then again, it's kind of hard to mess up the dusty look of the Old West.

Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Demonic
Rating: 0.5/5

Who plugged in the old VCR? Forget a Blu-ray that's "DVD" quality; Demonic looks more like a worn VHS tape than anything else, and it's easily in the running for the honor of worst looking Blu-ray release yet. It's important to note that this is probably the best the film will look as it appears to have been shot on the cheapest equipement the filmmakers could find, but nevertheless, the Blu-ray looks about as bad anything else out there on any format, and it's hard to find any positives when the results are just this godawful, whether innate to the source or not. The film's opening and extended aerial shot of a wooded area features a complete absence of definition. Trees look clumped and indistinct, and the image is fuzzy and soft. The accompanying credits show banding, which is also visible through the remainder of the film. Black levels are atrocious and details are practically non-existant. Even medium-distance shots of characters are completely absent basic definition, sharpness, and clarity. Horizontal lines are visible throughout, covering the image in a series of unsightly bars. Aliasing, jagged edges, and blocking run rampant throughout. Whites tend blow out, with a character's cap looking like it glows in several scenes. Speaking of, haloing is visible throughout, with a character even surrounded by a red force field in one scene. Colors are sloppy and dull. Parts of the transfer are so bad that it looks like it was sourced from the tape of a 1988 vintage camcorder that was pointed at an old CRT television that was playing the movie. Even Blu-ray can't save a miserable source and a lousy transfer; this thing is a mess from beginning to end.

Uninvited
Rating: 0.5/5

Uninvited fares no better. This Blu-ray image is flat, tired, fuzzy, and dull, with no definition and zero detailing. Even medium-distance shots are absent any sort of definition, and characters only a few yards from the camera simply appear to have no faces whatsoever; a peach-colored blob instead replaces all facial details. There might not be a softer or smudgier image on Blu-ray, and nothing -- not clothes, not faces, not trees, not the rocky mineshaft interior -- features any sort of texturing befitting a DVD, let alone a Blu-ray release. Likewise, colors are dull and uninteresting, though in the transfer's defense, Uninvited seems to be aiming for more of an older, messier, sepia-toned sort of appearance, anyway. The opening credits wobble and suffer from cross-coloration and jagged edges. Blocking and banding run rampant throughout. The edges around the frame are often fuzzy and severely jagged, and a strange and slightly curvy white and blue mass often appears alongside the left side of the screen. Flesh tones capture a decidedly red tint, while black crush is readily evident throughout. Noise, aliasing, and jagged edges are seen in abundance, while pops and scratches often accompany the image. There's nothing about this transfer that warrants anything above a failing grade; this is about as bad as it gets.

Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Demonic
Rating: 0.5/5

There is indeed sound; that has to count for something, right?. Demonic squeezes out a low-grade Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that, like the video transfer, scrapes by with the absolute bare minimum and nothing else. Mill Creek's soundtrack never strays from the center channel. The audio sounds consistently cramped with no range and no energy. Dialogue is its strongest asset; never is there a problem with discernment or basic clarity. Both atmospheric sound effects and more potent front-and-center elements lack anything resembling a crisp and natural presentation. Whether chirping birds, a rushing waterfall, or a rickety muffler, this track never goes beyond reproducing the basics. There are even a few random split-second dropouts. This track fares ever-so-slightly better than the video, but that's not saying all that much.

Uninvited
Rating: 0.5/5

One could easily copy and paste the Demonic audio review for Uninvited. No surprise, this Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is nothing to brag about. It's limited to the center with virtually no range and nothing going on in the front right or left speakers. Dialogue is generally discernible but absent any sort of lifelike clarity. Atmospherics are handled by the center channel, and while a few sound effects seem almost passable, they're canceled out when thunder sounds pitifully weak and gunshots lack any sort of punch or authority. The track feels cramped and lifeless; despite a few glimmers of hope, it nevertheless ranks as one of Blu-ray's worst.

Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are included.

Demonic / Uninvited Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What an epic disaster of a release. Not only are the movies subjectively terrible, but the video and audio presentations are objectively abysmal, perhaps the absolute worst ever on the Blu-ray format. Still, one must remember that neither Demonic nor Uninvited are major studio films and shot with much attention to quality in mind; these are no-budget clunkers made on the cheap and with equipment that barely seems to work. Even Blu-ray can't salvage a poor source, but when the majority of two movies literally look and sound like a 25-year-old VHS tape, one has to wonder just how much of the problem lies in the source and how much lies in the transfer to Blu-ray. For $6, fans of either movie will probably want to pick these up if they don't already own them on another format, but even a random VHS presentation from back in the day won't look much worse than this, and who knows, it might even look and sound better.