5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Ten years after he was pushed down a well, a young man kills off the neighborhood bullies who tormented him and leaves their body parts as presents for the one girl who was kind to him.
Starring: Tobe Sexton, Richard A. Buswell, Jay Michael Ferguson, Loretta Leigh Bowman, Elizabeth Greene (I)Horror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Slasher cinema comes to a screeching halt with 1989’s “Offerings,” which has all the ingredients to bake a perfectly acceptable nightmare, but writer/director Christopher Reynolds becomes a little too caught up in his desire to remake “Halloween” to notice that general momentum is lacking. It’s a no-budget affair, putting a shadowy madman on a quest to murder those who made his already problematic childhood hell, and Reynolds has trouble coming up with reasons to remain with it to the very end, which, at times, feels like it may never arrive. While trying to keep in step with genre trends of the day, Reynolds doesn’t summon enough originality to inspire thrills, sticking to a basic stalk-and-kill formula that’s not boosted by bright characters or any discernable suspense. “Offerings” is assembly line moviemaking, and while it might provide a nostalgic kick for a simpler time in horror entertainment, the picture just doesn’t get the job done, watching Reynolds spin his wheels with dull scenes, bland personalities, and distracting technical limitations, ultimately hoping enough John Carpenter references might be enough to cover for a distinct lack of his own ideas.
Listed as sourced from a "Brand new 16x9 scene colored corrected HD master," "Offerings" arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The claim of extensive color work appears to be true, as a general refreshing of hues is apparent, with brighter greenery to set the suburban mood. Period costuming is also accentuated, finding pinks and blues boosted. Inconsistency is an issue, with hues sometimes overshooting naturalistic appeal, and skintones are a bit too pinkish at times. Softness is common, with sharpness generally avoided due to the quality of the materials and the original cinematography, which wrestles with focal problems from time to time. A few stretches take a dip in resolution, showcasing mild ghosting and zombified grain carries throughout. Mild banding and pixelation is present as well. Delineation is never remarkable. Speckling is spotted throughout the viewing experience.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is difficult to enjoy due to the production's low-budget craftsmanship, often recording sound in echoed interiors with terrible equipment. Hiss also carries throughout the listening event. Dialogue exchanges are occasionally difficult to understand, making exposition difficult to track at times. Scoring is dulled but understood, with the obvious "Halloween" influence coming through as intended. Sound effects aren't precise, but slaughter sequences retain some volume to sell macabre moments.
There are many oddities scattered around "Offerings," including the mystery of its actual production year. It was released in 1989, but it looks like it was made in 1982, built piece-by-piece over years of long weekends by Reynolds, who isn't one to keep up on the details of John's revenge plot. It plays older but not better, with the helmer stuffing a lot of filler in here to beef up the run time, and his command over technical achievements leave much to be desired. "Offerings" has wonderfully gruesome poster art, but there's not a movie to back up such a marketing promise, with the finished film too lethargic, too financially and artistically hampered to raise a satisfying amount of hell.
1985
2019
2019
2013
Collector's Edition
1988
1972
Standard Edition
1981
2018
2022
2017
2013
1986
Unrated
2010
Welcome to Spring Break / Kino Cult #9
1989
The Boogey Man
1980
Limited Edition of 1,700
1983
Collector's Edition
1981
1987
with exclusive Hard Case w/Slipcover only on VS retailer site
1986
2012