Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Lurking Fear Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 21, 2017

Full Moon's Lurking Fear may be based on an H.P. Lovecraft story of mostly the same name (Lovecraft's original began with the definitive article "The"), but the film feels more like Stephen King (the town name of "Lefferts Corners" sounds right out of some small middle of nowhere plot of Maine land that King enjoys using as his settings) meets From Dusk Till Dawn meets The Evil Dead. The film, directed by Trancers III's C. Courtney Joyner, follows a gaggle of disparate folks who converge on an old church, for one reason or another, only to find themselves at one another's throats and, eventually, in the long-nailed grasps of subterranean creatures. It's fairly standard stuff, but a lean runtime, a solid cast, and moody atmosphere elevate the film just enough above the crud to make for a passable, if not often enjoyable, little Horror/Chiller film.

The small town of Lefferts Corners has all but been abandoned. It's cursed, an evil presence looms, and only the criminal element remains. When John (Blake Adams) is released from four long years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, his first turn is to an old acquaintance that used to run the criminal scene with his father, a local mortician named Specs (Vincent Schiavelli). Their plan is to dig up a corpse that's been buried with a nice little sum of cash on its person, put away for a rainy day by Specs and John's father. But others want in on the action, too, including John's father's old partner Bennett (Jon Finch). They, along with a woman (Ashley Laurence) looking to avenge her sister's death at the hands of a nasty creature, converge at a church where the only thing more dangerous than the nasties lurking below is one another.

There's not much meat on the plot's bones and the low-hanging monster fruit is scattered and rare. The film is largely reliant on its characters, the assemblage of humans who have gathered at the church for one reason or another -- money, generally -- and end up at one another's throats. The film's core essentially asks whether man is his own worst enemy, if a foe with a gun and nothing to lose is more frightening than the creatures beneath their feet. It's not anything new, and the movie doesn't do anything particularly novel with it. The characters are the usual group with enough diversity in their desires (and a nice mix of men and women, for that matter) to keep things modestly interesting as they maneuver about, usually by sticking a gun in someone's face. More often than not, the movie proves sufficiently moody, edgy, and a bit mysterious. It doesn't telegraph too many of its moves. It's hardly compelling, but that added "lurking fear" adds a wild card uncertainty to the proceedings that drive it in a few modestly interesting directions.

The movie supports the characters with a quality atmosphere, at least insofar as it's capable with the budget on hand. The old church and some (usually wet) exterior cemetery shots are about all she wrote in terms of truly interesting set pieces, but they offer up a sufficiently creepy, dank backdrop for the action that, more subconsciously than anything else, lend the movie a more sinister, perilous vibe. Creature effects are gorgeously practical: no phony digital here, and no surprise for the era and budget. But it's a welcome reprieve from today's low-end digital; once again, Full Moon's classic B-movies win the day for style, and it would be nice if today's low-budget films would return to follow suit. It would also be nice if they could put together the sort of cast Lurking Fear enjoys. The seemingly ever-present Jeffrey Combs makes an appearance and, unsurprisingly, delivers the best performance in the film. Ashley Laurence of Hellraiser fame also makes for a familiar face. The cast does what it can with the material; the characters are adequately fleshed out but few of them prove even remotely memorable. Collective enthusiasm elevates the characters a notch above where they would otherwise be.

Lurking Fear Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ah, the good old days when low-budget films were actually shot in film, not cheap-looking digital. Lurking Fear's 1080p transfer is hardly perfect, but for a low-budget Horror flick that obviously didn't undergo a full-on big-money restoration, it looks pretty darn good. Detail is strong and largely consistent. The image is crisp, close-ups are sharp and well defined, and environments -- even in the film's predominantly dark locations -- always impress. Grain fluctuates a bit, firm and fine in places but clumping and increasing in volume, and sometimes accompanied by messy noise, in others. Colors are fine (though watch for a shot of strange blue filtering at the 22:28 mark, screenshot above), particularly in some of the brighter and more vibrant scenes near the beginning where elements like green leaves and a red sports car impress with plenty of pop and vibrance. Flesh tones push mildly warm. Black levels tend to fluctuate a little, pushing towards crush in places, finding balance in others, and appearing a bit too washed out in others still. Minor print wear -- a few pops and speckles here and there -- dots the 77-minute landscape, but overall deterioration is minimal.

Lurking Fear Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lurking Fear's Dolby Digital 5.1 track runs through some trouble spots but, for the most part, presents an adequate listen. The film opens with bits of dialogue sounding hopelessly tinny, shallow, almost like it was recorded underwater. That clears up, for the most part, afterwards, but lip sync goes way off at the 54 minute mark. Both issues replicate when switching to the included Dolby Digital 2.0 track. As for the rest of the 5.1 track, it doesn't offer much intensity. Opening title music stays grounded in the front-center offering no sense of space, no real effort to capture any clarity or depth. Music does open up a little, both in terms of width, clarity, and low end support, as the movie progresses. Driving rain and thunder, the former of which in particular is a fairly regular component in the track, doesn't offer much of a widely soaking, full stage-dispersed sensation. The track certainly has its warts, but it's good enough to get listeners through the film.

Lurking Fear Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Lurking Fear contains a commentary, deleted scenes, and a vintage "Videozone" feature.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Courtney Joyner offers a quality track that looks at Lovecraft and the film's source, his career, the film's structural details, shooting locations, cast and performances, anecdotes from the set, and more. This is a well-spoken track that offers plenty of terrific insight into the film and the world around it. A very enjoyable and informative track: the best combination.
• Videozone (480i, 6:40): A classic behind-the-scenes piece that includes interviews and on-set footage that cover the movie's structure and style, the Lovecraft influence, cast, visual effects, actor preparations for their parts, and more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:10): Several scenes found in the Full Moon vault, sans production audio and dialogue. The scenes are set to music.
• Trailers: Lurking Fear (480i, 2:30), Lurking Fear Teaser (480i, 1:00), Specters (1080p, 1:30), Vampire Journals (1080p, 2:00), Puppet Master 2 (1080p, 2:07), Puppet Master 3 (1080p, 2:16), Subspecies 2 (1080p, 1:33), and Trancers 2 (1080p, 2:41).

Lurking Fear Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's easy to see that Lurking Fear isn't much of a movie when analyzing it bit-by-bit, but in the aggregate it holds together well enough. With a super-lean runtime (that's still home to several overextended character/dialogue scenes), a solid cast, some good practical creature effects, and an honest bit of tension and atmosphere, the film works well enough as a decent enough Horror/Chiller time killer, certainly not the finest movie in the Full Moon library but a decent enough watch. The studio's Blu-ray is capable, offering occasionally troubled and generally bland audio, solid video, and a nice little assortment of extra content. Recommended.