Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 13, 2025

Come with me, if you will, all the way back to the days of the video store. Smell the dust? The plastic clamshell cases? Hear the drone of the cheap fluorescent lights? See the candy at the register? The NES games in the corner? And all... those... gorgeous VHS covers lining the aisles. Walk to the horror section, it's own museum of unforgettable hand-painted art pieces and terrors most foul. Monsters and demons and beasties, oh my. The snout of a wolf erupting from a woman's mouth on the cover of The Company of Wolves. A severed, rotting corpse hand ringing a doorbell to announce House. A warped skull reflecting in a pair of sunglasses on the box for They Live. Freddy's claws reaching down to grab Nancy. Pumpkinhead rising from a brambled patch of roots. Pinhead sneering, a golden, glowing box in his hands. A bloody knife punching through the eyehole of a hockey mask. You know most horror films won't live up to their box covers, but you hope, and search, and find those glorious diamonds in the horror rough. Mmmm. Those were the days. One you might have picked up? Direct-to-video's Empire of the Dark, a 1991 post-Satanic panic slice of sincere cheese with everything you could want crammed into one f-d up flick. Is it any good? Not really, but it's a literal hell of a lot of fun, despite groan-inducing dialogue, wince-inspiring flights of horror fancy, and a one man army in writer, director, editor, leading man Steve Barkett (of Aftermath fame).

Police officer Richard Flynn (Steve Barkett) hears from his ex-girlfriend Angela Nash (Tera Hendrickson), begging him for help. She tells him that she and her newborn baby have been kidnapped and taken to a strange warehouse by her new boyfriend, Brian (Dan Speaker), a man she discovered is a Satanist who plans to use the two innocents in a ritualistic sacrifice. That's right... Brian the Satanic Cultist. There, Richard finds a hell portal -- I can't make this up -- that leads to another dimension. Despite his best efforts, Angela is killed, although he's able to save the baby, kill several cultists, Brian, and the cult's bug-eyed leader Arkham (Richard Harrison). Fast forward twenty years later. A retired Richard lives a comparatively normal life until he encounters a young twentysomething named Terry (Chris Barkett), and wouldn't you know it, it's the same kid he saved all those years ago. With the help of detective Eddie Green (Jay Richardson), a personal friend, and a reporter (Patricia Schiotis) hot on the trail of a serial killer dubbed The Demon Slasher, Richard sets out to help Terry, who claims he's still being hunted by the Hell cult from decades prior. What follows is a string of sword fights, a gun battle in a supermarket, a clash with a now demonic-faced gang of Satanists (apparently who've studied ninjitsu), a return to the original Hell portal, and an encounter with... something big, nasty and hungry. There's more movie for your buck packed in there, but that's enough for one synopsis, don't ya think? It gets crowded.

Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Restored using a 4K scan of the original camera negative, Empire of the Dark looks much better than its thirty-four years might suggest. VCI's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer has some real standout moments too, where color, contrast, detail and clarity work hand in hand to deliver a film that looks as if it were shot yesterday. Contrast at times, though, is a tad dusty, with washed out hues, charcoal blacks and a chilly appearance that doesn't quite pop. It's not a deal breaker, nor does it spoil the best stretches of the film, where bright, pulpy reds practically leap off the screen, skintones are lifelike and natural, shadows are rich and inky, and the overall palette sings. Detail hardly ever dips either, delivering cleanly defined edges, notably crisp and refined textures, and showing off every inch of the low-rent production design, costumes and weaponry. Creature effect sequences are a bit less polished, but that's no doubt a product of the source rather than the encode. Still, the beast of beasts looks pretty good in close-up. Only wider shots struggle with crush and other inherent issues. Grain also has a presence and appears fairly filmic on the whole, although there are smoother shots that struck me as having been subjected to mostly unobtrusive noise reduction.

Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Also restored is Empire of the Dark's audio, presented via a 48kHz/16-bit LPCM 2.0 stereo track with optional English subtitles. (The back of the box lists the mix as a PCM Ultra 5.0 stereo track but I couldn't get my system to recognize a five-channel source. A mystery for another time I suppose.) Dialogue is clear and intelligible, minus a few outdoor scenes where the source audio struggles, and prioritization keeps any single element from dominating. Creature roars, music and cultist cries all come together nicely, without overwhelming or underwhelming conversations. There's no rear speaker activity or low-end oomph to evaluate, of course, and the result is a track that lacks depth, dimension and weight. Still, for a product of its time the audio mix holds its own and doesn't often disappoint.

Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary (Disc 1 + 2) - with Steve Barkett and Chris Barkett. The duo discuss everything from the genesis of the story to the production to where oh where the film has been hiding. Along the way anecdotes come fast and involve quite a few laughs. It's a perfect track for anyone who delights in the cheese of Empire of the Dark. Just don't expect anyone to apologize for the lesser bits. This is a commentary full of love for days and films gone by.

• Chattanooga Film Festival Interview (Disc 1 + 2, HD, 48 minutes) - A lengthy Zoom-style Virtual CFF interview with Steve and Chris Barkett, hosted by Dustin Kramer. There's some significant overlap with bits from the commentary, but it's all in good spirits and in the interest of being comprehensive, so it hardly matters. Kramer is an upbeat, engaging lead so things keep moving and rarely drag.

• Black Tea (Disc 1 + 2, HD, 8 minutes) - A 2022 short film by Laura McQuay, Steve Barkett's daughter. Worth a watch, if witches and witchcraft are some of your favorite horror tropes.

• Night Caller (Disc 1 + 2, HD, 22 minutes) - This student short film, by Steve Barkett, is based on a Ray Bradbury story and was directed by Dan Gilbert. It has a surprise ending that makes a watch worthwhile.

• The Aftermath Trailer (Disc 1 + 2, HD, 3 minutes) - A trailer for Steve Barkett's most well known film.

• Splat from the Past Retro Podcast Interview (Disc 3, SD, 79 minutes) - Another lengthy interview with Steve Barkett, this one also prone to repetition and overlap but still packed with nuggets all its own. The Splat from the Past Retro podcast is a solid trip through time if ever you want to search up a pod that makes subscribing worth your time!

• Empire of the Dark Trailer (Disc 3, SD, 2 minutes)

• Steve Barkett Interview with Buster Crabbe (Disc 3, SD, 11 minutes) - A vintage interview Barkett hosts with Buster Crabbe from Flash Gordon.

• Fan-Made Poster Art by Benjamin Marra - on reverse side of the Blu-ray cover

Empire of the Dark Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hoo boy. Empire of the Dark is a throwback to '70s grindhouse cinema by way of 1991, quite the time-hopping combo that produces an admittedly fun, forever cheesy, yet wholly earnest horror thriller that cult cinema fans will lap up and love. I tend to be far more jaded with these affairs, so you'll have to forgive me. Still, this is an easy one to recommend if any of the above descriptors raise your eyebrow and pique your interest. As a Blu-ray release, Empire of the Dark boasts strong restored video (from a 4K scan of the original camera negative), a solid PCM uncompressed 2.0 audio mix, and a huge collection of special features, including an audio commentary, two lengthy interviews, two short films and more. Enjoy!