Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie Review

Important note: This Blu-ray review of 'Mr. Sardonicus' is only reflective of the movie's Blu-ray release as it's been included in the William Castle Double Feature, released on July 19, 2016. The film was previously released, again only as part of a double feature with The Brotherhood of Satan, on May 7, 2013. With Mill Creek's track record of just, more or less, plopping movies onto Blu-ray and calling it a day, one wouldn't expect there to be any difference. Yet there is, as negligible as it may be. This release contains a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack rather than the previous release's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (no subtitles are included on this version, either). Video bitrate is, on average, lower as well. As with the other release, however, no supplements are included.

Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This "new" release of Mr. Sardonicus isn't drastically different from Mill Creek's previous Blu-ray. Notable changes include brighter blacks and a lower bitrate, which, here, hovers in the upper 20s, low 30s, whereas the old lingered around 37 or so. Otherwise, details aren't appreciably different. The older version is a slight bit tighter, with mildly more refined textures on clothes, faces, and backgrounds. On this release, faces are noticeably waxy -- fleshy human faces, not just naturally smooth masks -- and lacking precision detail. Clothing definitely fares better, though. Grain is apparent and largely attractive and light. The black levels do disappoint, lacking the more apparent and natural depth of the old release. This transfer could certainly stand to be a bit tighter overall. On its own, it's not bad. Compared to the other, it's a slight step down.

Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release's most immediately noticeable difference is the drop from 2.0 lossless to 2.0 lossy. But it's a drop in name only, really. As with the old release, this presentation is tiny and cramped. Music is hopelessly limited in range, crunched in the middle and lacking more than cursory, raw and unrefined clarity. Music is not aggressive either, timidly creeping into the stage and underneath the crude dialogue. The spoken word lacks lifelike precision. Like the music, it struggles to maintain a crisp, normalized, lifelike volume. Regardless of which Blu-ray one chooses, neither track is anything special.

Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are included.

Mr. Sardonicus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mill Creek's latest release of Mr. Sardonicus inexplicably shakes things up, dropping video down a notch and sacrificing a lossless soundtrack for a lossy option. The differences are, in practice, not much, but it's a head-scratcher, anyway.