6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Max only has eyes for Cammy, the smart, popular redhead at school. When Max finally scores a date with Cammy on Halloween, Phears, an evil ghost with plans on taking over the world, unleashes his ghouls and things go haywire.
Starring: Bella Thorne, Ryan Ochoa, Madison Pettis, Roshon Fegan, Calum WorthyFamily | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Chills...thrills...and a bunch of teenager hormones and Halloween and high school antics that don't rhyme with "chills" and "thrills" (and aren't really "scary" anyway) give shape to the mouthful title that is R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?, a film adaptation of the R.L. Stine fright yarn of the same name. As with the book series, the film is aimed at a younger crowd, probably a few grade levels below the high school protagonists who spend the film seeking answers, battling bad guys, or desperately trying to impress the prettiest girl in school. It's an imperfect film but a suitably entertaining little scare-fest for the target audience. It's cheap and it shows with middling special effects, lower end production values, and a dull picture quality, but as far as serviceable entertainment goes younger moviegoers looking for something safely scary for the Halloween season could do much worse.
The lord of the bling.
R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?'s transfer is a little scary. It's flat and lifeless, generally, with only sporadic occurrences of a healthier, more vibrant, more finely detailed appearance, which is typically reserved for the brightest outdoor sports scenes. Otherwise, the image is ghastly pale and devoid of fine detail, never mind the sort of extra-fine textures that give shape to the best Blu-ray presentations. Everything from skin and hair to clothes and concrete are disappointingly drab and lifeless. Max's gym teacher's camo hat is probably the single-best textured object in the film, completely obliterating everything else, including Cammy's hair, Phears' makeup, or Max's clothing lines. Environments are single dimension flat and bland. Colors are of no help. The palette is unhealthy, appearing devoid of vibrance and favoring a dullness and haziness that wipes away any trace of brilliance. Even Cammy's purple top, seen near film's start, is terribly lifeless. Worse, black levels are pale and flesh tones waver from lightly warm to sickly dull. The image does not, however, suffer from excess noise or extreme blockiness, but this is certainly a ghoulish transfer from Universal.
R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? starts well and generally maintains a high level of performance. Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack produces a healthy and aggressive musical open, featuring strong instrument clarity and separation by way of a wide stage and surround presence that's impressive considering the blend of sounds, including sharp highs, deep lows, and the multiple layers that give it a welcomingly horrific flavor. Some of the heavier action effects sound a touch muddled, an example being when Max's ring is put into action, but generally the more aggressive effects are healthily potent and full. Light ambience nicely defines a few scenes with positive, immersive elements. Dialogue delivery is accurate and center-focused with quality light reverberation in a gym class rope climbing sequence.
R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? contains no supplementary content. Previews do play before the film, but nothing's accessible from the main menu. In the case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.
R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? isn't destined for the cinema history books, but it's a solid enough live action "Horror"/Comedy that's relatively safe for the whole family. It neither breaks new ground nor even explores or acknowledges its potential existence, but it never feels like a total retread, either, offering some truly funny moments in the midst of an otherwise unimaginative storyline. No doubt the original Stine written work enjoys a broader scope and more intimate character details, but for a lower end straight-to-video film adaptation this works as well as can be expected. Universal's Blu-ray release of R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? features bland video, adequate audio, and no extras. Rent it.
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