Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 2, 2025

Considering vampires play a major part in Enemy Territory, this little remembered effort from 1987 might make suitable Halloween season viewing, except for the fact that in this case Vampires needs to be capitalized, since it's the name of a gang rather than a bunch of bloodsuckers. That may not actually disqualify Enemy Territory from being spooky viewing, albeit for potentially different reasons than a traditional "monster movie". In this case, the monsters as they say are the humans themselves, that aforementioned feral gang which is run by the cheekily named Count (Tony Todd). When a group of innocent bystanders get more or less trapped in a public housing "project" controlled by the Vampires, they of course must learn to band together to try to forge their survival, if not their escape. Enemy Territory has an unabashed straight to video feel, but it's gritty in its own way and it has a rather interestingly eclectic cast that may help to boost its appeal.

Barry (Gary Frank) is a hapless insurance agent who has to make a "house call" in an undesirable part of town, where a completely unintentional "slight" then pretty quickly cascades into an increasing maelstrom of violence. He ends up partnering after some interstitial drama with another guy in the projects for professional (and maybe personal) reasons, telephone repairman Will (Ray Parker, Jr., bringing a whole new meaning to "who you gonna call?"). A number of other characters, notably elderly resident Elva (Frances Foster) and her granddaughter Toni (Stacey Dash), enter the fray, with Jan-Michael Vincent on hand to vigorously chew the scenery as an apparently gonzo vet with a not so secret arsenal which of course comes into play.

Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Enemy Territory is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the presentation:

Enemy Territory is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Fotokem. The film was graded and restored in 2K resolution at Dragon Post Production.

The original stereo magnetic reels were transferred at Deluxe and remastered by Porsteinn Gislason.

While this was lensed by the legendary Ernest Dickerson (on hand in a really interesting interview included as a supplement), this was a low budget effort from Charles Band's Empire Pictures, and needs to be appreciated within that context. There's a gritty quality to the visuals that the transfer preserves, and that can include sometimes rather heavy grain that's especially noticeable against some of the brighter backgrounds, like the incessantly florescent lighting in the project's hallways. The palette generally pops extremely well, with good accountings of blues and reds in particular. Clarity and fine detail levels are a bit more variable and dependent both upon framings and lighting conditions. Some minor signs of age related wear and tear have made it through the restoration gauntlet.

Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Enemy Territory features LPCM 2.0 audio. Perhaps surprisingly there's not a glut of source cues (and nothing from Parker), but the ones that are there and the underscore provide some sonic energy, along with a number of claustrophobic sound effects in the cloistered confines of the project. I actually found the mix to be a little uneven with score and effects at times tending to dominate over dialogue, but there are no major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries

Director Peter Manoogian with critics Matty Budrewicz & Dave Wain




Film Scholar Josh Nelson

• Den of Vampires (HD; 14:16) is a new interview with director of photography Ernest Dickerson.


• Giving Up the Ghost (HD; 13:52) is a new interview with actor Gary Frank.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:35)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Arrow provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with two interesting essays by Martyn Conterio and Paul Le. The typical production and cast and crew credits are also included along with stills. The keepcase has a reversible sleeve and also encloses a folded mini poster. Packaging features a slipcover.

Enemy Territory Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Given the rampant crime coursing through these projects, some may wonder where is RoboCop when you really need him, but, really, the entire film is kind of predicated on the fact that there are no cops of any type in this kind of project when you really need them. There's a probably slightly smarmy subtext to the proceedings here, but that may only accentuate the grittiness of the story. Technical merits are generally solid (video more than audio), and as usual Arrow has aggregated some appealing supplements, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.