7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Episodes: 1. "Jenifer" (Dario Argento) 2. "Sick Girl" (Lucky McKee) 3. "Deer Woman" (John Landis)
Starring: Angus Scrimm, John DeSantis, Ethan Embry, Ezra Godden, Jay BrazeauHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Volume II of the Showtime series Masters of Horror features one of the all-time greats--a true master of horror in Dario Argento. His Jenifer is the standout episode on this disc, which also includes Lucky McKee's Sick Girl and John Landis' Deer Woman. I didn't really enjoy Volume I, but I am very happy that two of the three episodes on Volume II caught my attention, drew me in, and left me with a favorable impression. Like Volume I, these episodes are not compiled by original air date; they are episodes 4, 10, and 7, respectively. Below is my synopsis of each episode.
Detective Faraday and Officer Reed attempt to solve the mystery of the Deer Woman.
Overall, video quality surpassed what we saw in the first volume of Masters of Horror. Again presented in 1080i, Volume II still comes nowhere close to being rated among the best of Blu-ray, but two of the three episodes in this set look pretty good overall. Sadly, the one that is lacking is the best episode, Jenifer. This episode has the same problems that plagued the episodes in Volume I, namely a soft, at times slightly blurred image with loads of speckles visible onscreen, especially in outdoor scenes. The image appears somewhat uneven. Flesh tones look very natural one minute, and display much less color or too much the next. They never get overly orange as what was seen in Cigarette Burns from Volume I, however, (which remains the worst looking episode of the six) but this isn't a marked improvement either. Sick Girl and Deer Woman fared the best on this disc and are certainly better than all three episodes from Volume I. I didn't notice any of the speckles from Jenifer in either episode. Everything, including black levels, was solid but not extraordinary. I didn't note any blemishes or anything to detract from the overall rating in these two episodes. It is still 1080i, but it doesn't look bad. If you like the show, you should be pleased enough with this transfer.
As with Volume I, Volume II of Masters of Horror features both a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and a PCM Uncompressed 5.1 track. And, as with Volume I, this is a less than stellar soundtrack. Again, surrounds were rarely used. Scenes where you would expect to be enveloped by multi-directional sound, like a scene featuring fast and heavy traffic in Jenifer, feature virtually nothing coming from the rear. We do get some great use of distinct multi-channel sound across the front soundstage, especially in Deer Woman and some decent low frequency effects. As I said in my previous review, the music overlapping the main menu and the show's title sequence sounds wonderful. It's a great theme that I have enjoyed every time I hear it. Overall, this track is adequate. Nothing more, nothing less.
Starz offers viewers three commentary tracks as the only bonus features on Volume II. They have again chosen to eschew all of the other supplements found on the standard DVD release. The track for Jenifer features Steven Weber and DVD producer Perry Martin. I really enjoyed this track, the highlight being a discussion about Carrie Anne Fleming's enthusiasm to play the role of Jenifer. Particularly of note was her initial reaction of doubt over the way she ended up looking and finally embracing the look and working in her raw emotions regarding the transformation into the role. The track for Sick Girl includes Lucky McKee, composer Jaye Barnes Luckett, and actors Angela Bettis and Jesse Hlubik. Discussions include themes and metaphors in the episode. It's a fun track and much better than the episode itself. Finally, Brian Benben and Anthony Griffith discuss life, Canada, corn bread, and some amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes in the commentary track for Deer Woman. This was my favorite track of the three.
Volume II of the Masters of Horror series has given me renewed hope for future volumes. Although the worst episode of the series so far is included here, the two remaining more than make up for it. Technically, not much has changed from volume to volume, but that's to be expected. Image quality did appear to be slightly improved here, however. Unfortunately Starz has left out supplements that should be on the disc, but the commentary tracks are certainly great additions to each episode. I was going to recommend the disc on the strength of Jenifer alone, but Deer Woman is also a very worthy entry into the series.
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Dèmoni 2... l'incubo ritorna | Standard Edition
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Unrated Director's Cut
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1965
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Collector's Edition
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2012