Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie Review

Desolation Angels is a horror-thriller with drama undertones as it explores a weekend getaway turned nightmare scenario. Executive produced by David Barclay and Terry Gore, Desolation Angels is well worthwhile for genre fans. Produced by Chris Oliver (Tender Hooks, Blood Money), Desolation Angels is an under-the-radar and compelling work of Australian exploitation cinema. Genre fans who appreciate good Australian genre filmmaking will appreciate Desolation Angels.

Everyone loves a vacation. Three teenage girls decide to take a break from everything. The spunky girls want a weekend of escape. The girls leave behind their private school and parents for a weekend of entertainment and fun. The girls go on a getaway in Portsea. While traveling for the weekend fun, vacation awaiting them, the girls find themselves surprised by dangerous pursuit – following them to their beach house resort. Along the way, the teenage girls are joined by Pamela – a blonde who has an issue with a debt of over 20,000 owed to one of her own employees. Can the teenage girls survive the weekend vacation?

The cast of teenage girls have a lot of fun with their respective roles. Jilly (Kim Trengove), Joanne (Kerry Mack), Liz (Marie O'Loughlin), and Pamela Wilkinson (Karen West). The actresses do well delving into their roles and exploring these characters. As the characters set forth on a journey of adventure and exploration, the actresses dive into the same world of expedition and discovery. The results are compelling with the cast showcasing good on screen chemistry.

Featuring a score composed by Mark McSherry (Blood Money, Eating Your Heart Out), the music for the film adds to the ambiance and genre elements. The score certainly plays an essential role in the film and the storytelling. McSherry did a good job with the genre aspect and the score plays well as a Australian genre work.

The cinematography by Ellery Ryan (Remembering the Man, Is This the Real World) is impressive and adds plenty of visual wonder to the production. The visual wonder by Ryan is something special to behind. The visual sensibility adds so much charm to the filmmaking. There is a lot to appreciate. Wonderful aesthetic qualities throughout. The grittiness of the genre sensibility is well reflected throughout the film.

Edited by Tony Stevens (Remembering the Man, Ablaze), Desolation Angels is well paced thrills and the slow-burn action is handled effectively throughout the exploitation feature. The editing style gives the filmmakers adequate time to explore the characters and their journey while heightening tensions for the finale. The editing oversight helps the genre roots to unfold and the end result is a film that is undeniably entertaining for an Australian genre gem overlooked by the masses.

Featuring production designs by Josephine Ford (Animal Kingdom, The Rover), Desolation Angels is a well-done production with good design aspects throughout the feature. The designs add a lot to the production. There are a lot of beautiful aspects to the film. The wonderful designs make the film an imaginative one that is wider in scope than the more modest budget might suggest.

The stunts coordinated by Chris Anderson (Mad Max, Sky Pirates) are impressive and certainly an essential element of the production. The stunts feature stunt driving by Phil Brock (Dead End Drive-In, Mad Max), Arch Roberts (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, The Quest), and Glenn Ruehland (Red Planet, Superman Returns). The stunt driving is especially impressive and noteworthy. The sequences with stunt driving are often intense and invigorating. There is plenty to appreciate about these elements and the high-octane action delivered as a result.

Written by Christopher Fitchett (Cassandra, Blood Money) and Ellery Ryan (The Efficiency Expert, Dead Letter Office), Desolation Angels is an intriguing script with a good slow build quality that establishes characters and builds to a more high-energy conclusion. The script delivers a solid story for a genre outing and the characters are given enough time to shine in the spotlight. The writing is effective, engaging, and fun.

Directed by Christopher Fitchett (The Fear of Darkness, Blood Money), Desolation Angels is an under- the-radar Ozploitation gem – a good Australian genre film and one that deserves a wider audience. Audiences who appreciate cult and genre movies will find there is plenty to enjoy about Desolation Angels. The filmmaking is tense and the low-budget grittiness of the film helps the narrative unfold.

Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Umbrella Entertainment, Desolation Angels is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The cinematography was completed using Super16 mm cameras. The film print comes from a 16mm negative with the printed format a 35mm blow up print (expanding the 16mm original). Filmed using the Arriflex 16 SR camera, Desolation Angels is a beautiful looking old-school genre gem. The grittiness of the genre production is showcased well with the aesthetic quality achieved through this film. The transfer is naturally filmic and looks true to the authentic aesthetic roots of the production.

Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Desolation Angels is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0. Unfortunately, the release does not include lossless audio. The lack of lossless audio is felt on the release. The audio track is average at best and is not as good as the video presentation. The audio track lacks the kind of clarity and crispness that one usually associates with a nice restoration. Unfortunately, the audio track is a bit muddied sounding throughout and is thin and less crisp than desired. One has to turn the volume up considerably and even then it is an underwhelming audio presentation comparatively. Perhaps the original elements were not easy to obtain for the release? I would imagine a better sounding version theoretically possible if this wasn't derived from master audio tapes – should those ever materialize for a future release from another boutique label. Optional English subtitles are also provided.

Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Director Chris Fitchett and Cinematographer Ellery Ryan

The Car As Villain in Australian Cinema – A Visual Essay from Screenwriter and Author Stephen Vagg (HD, 9:55)

Aussie Car Movie Trailer Reel (HD, 31:30)

1983 AFI Trailer (HD, 3:21)

Desolation Angels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Desolation Angels is an entertaining old-school Ozploitation gem. Fans of Australian exploitation and genre filmmaking will appreciate its creativity and sense of adventure. The old-school thrills make it entertaining. The actresses have a lot of fun with their respective roles. The production impresses in spades.

The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition transfer and a nice selection of extras. The only real downside is the lack of a better audio presentation – the one provided clearly doesn't come from the original master audio tapes and it is lossy (lacking the clear fidelity and finesse of lossless audio encoding). Desolation Angels remains a fun genre gem and one that is perfect for late night fun. Recommended.