Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Renfield 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 11, 2024

A year and a half ago, my colleague Marty Liebman covered Universal Studios' US Blu-ray of Chris McKay's Renfield (2023). For Marty's thoughts on the film and his evaluation of Universal's a/v presentations, please click here.

Renfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: the screen captures are taken directly from the UHD disc and have been downsampled to 1080p.

This UK edition of Turbine's 4K Ultra HD of Renfield has arrived courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution. The UHD was released almost a year ago in Germany by Turbine Medien. I have no reason to doubt that the UHD discs differ in any way. The front and back covers as well as the spine on Altitude's cover art bear Turbine's logo. The pressed disc carries both German and UK rating certificate logos. When the disc is inserted in the player, the user can choose between German and English menus.

Renfield appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this HEVC-encoded BD-66. It has Dolby Vision and HDR10. As David Cole, supervising and lead digital intermediate colorist, notes in the disc commentary, the picture was shot digitally with anamorphic lenses. Justin DeLong worked on the color dailies while Cole did the final color grade for Fotokem. Marty observed in his review that the transfer on the BD-50 reveals some source noise in spots. While Turbine's transfer is not encoded on a triple-layered disc, I didn't notice any DV noise. The 2160p image is free of any source imperfections. I echo Marty's point that black level depth is outstanding. Blacks are very crisp throughout.

In an interview with Nick L'Barrow of NovaStream, director Chris McKay said that he aimed for "a very cartoonish share of red" for blood shots. McKay has an extensive background in animation so he had a clear idea of what type of red he wanted from the color spectrum. In one of the disc's featurettes, a crew member stated that the human blood is more a traditional red while Dracula's is of a "syrupy" kind. For the movie's palette, McKay disclosed who he drew direct inspiration from in an interview with Collider's Ross Bonaime:

A lot of the look of the film came from Basil Gogos' paintings, the stuff that he did for Famous Monsters—which I think he was doing this work in the '50s and '60s—at the time, these characters were black and white, and they were only seen in black and white, and he was the first person to interpret them into color. To put Boris Karloff as Frankenstein and Bela Lugosi in color, and that sort of thing. And he painted them with very garish colors, really moody lighting, but really saturated greens and purples and oranges, and all that kind of thing.

Authors Kerry Gammill and J. David Spurlock compiled and edited a book titled Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos (Vanguard Productions, 2005), which showcases Gogos's color interpretations of films depicting Dracula, Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Phantom of the Opera, and other monsters. (Many of these illustrations were originally published in the monster magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland.) McKay and his cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen suffuse Renfield with garish and over-saturated images reminiscent of the striking magazine covers that Gogos would paint. You can see this influence often throughout the frame grabs I pulled from the disc. McKay has also acknowledged in interviews that his aesthetics were influenced by the Technicolor productions of Dracula movies at Hammer Film. (Christopher Lee was perhaps the biggest inspiration for Nicolas Cage out of all the Draculas portrayed on the silver screen.) Moreover, according to Universal's production notes, production designer Alec Hammond scrutinized frames from both vintage Universal horror films and contemporary vampire movies to establish appropriate sets and backdrops for Renfield. For the New Orleans scenes, McKay divulged to Jeremy Mathai of /Film that he wanted the architecture to reflect a combination of French and Spanish influences. (E.g., see a recurring exterior in Screenshot #36.)

Cole mentions in the commentary that there are halations in highlights. You can see this in both interiors and exteriors of the nightclub (see frame grab #s 20-21, 28, and 34-35). Another important point Cole makes are distortions, which can make the image appear blurry. Notice the soft focus on Cage's Dracula in #13.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of the film, there is some faux-vintage B&W footage of Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult recreating Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Dwight Frye's Renfield. The images almost resemble Super 8 mm footage. (See Screenshot #s 38-40.)

The feature boasts a mean video bitrate of 68.1 Mbps.

Turbine has divided the 93-minute feature into twenty chapters, whose thumbnail shortcuts are accessible through the menu.

Renfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Turbine has supplied two Dolby Atmos mixes: an original English mix (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) encoded at an average bitrate of 3027 kbps and a maximum bitrate of 5313 kbps; and a German-dubbed track (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) encoded at an average bitrate of 3155 kbps and a maximum bitrate of 5628 kbps. I focused exclusively on the English track. The Universal disc has a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround mix but no Atmos option. I would echo each and every remark that Marty made about the 7.1 track. The only difference is that the Atmos feels even more immersive. For the action sequences and particularly the gun and fisticuffs battles, each quadrant of my home theater felt like it was unleashing a pulsating energy force. I didn't see all American movies mixed and recorded in Atmos last year but I would place a safe bet that Renfield ranks near the top of the list for bass levels. Marco Beltrami's score has a lot of variety to it. On the one hand, it occasionally has a modern rock sound. But on the other hand, it also employs a traditional orchestra (strings, brass, woodwinds, piano, and some percussion). The score's weakness is that it doesn't really have a central theme that it returns to. The Atmos deftly balances the musical score.

Optional German and English subtitles are available.

Renfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Extras duplicate what appeared on the Universal Blu-ray. Turbine has added some trailers and TV spots.

• Audio Commentary with Producer Samantha Nisenboim, Screenwriter Ryan Ridley, and Crew Members - As Marty lists in his review, the full participants in this commentary are: producer Samantha Nisenboim, screenwriter Ryan Ridley, assistant editor Noah Cody, supervising sound editors Nancy Nugent Title and John Marquis, visual effects supervisor James E. Price, makeup effects artist Christien Tinsley and supervising digital colorist Dave Cole. The track is moderated by Nisenboim. The crew cover a wide variety of topics. Given the number of contributors, it's surprising the track isn't that disjointed. It's actually relatively well balanced. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Alternate Takes (3:18, 1080p) - alternate takes from three different scenes in Renfield. It seems that several of the actors may have improvised their lines. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (17:31 total runtime, 1080p) - As Marty notes in his review, there are eight excised scenes with the following titles: Open (1:40), Lobo Compound & Murder Room (3:18), Renfield's Dance! (2:40),Mark Gives Renfield Advice (1:18), Newscaster (1:45), Lobo Gang Meet Dracula (1:56), CoDA Kill (1:05), and Apartment Fight (3:45). All are extensions on what is already in the finished film. Each omitted scene is presented in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Stereo 2.0 In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Dracula UnCaged (4:48, 1080p) - a short featurette about Nicolas Cage playing Dracula. We hear from actors Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Cage as well as producers Samantha Nisenboim and Robert Kirkman. Cage explains his preparatory process for the iconic role and the inspiration he drew from Max Schreck in Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) as well as other screen portrayals of the Count. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Monsters & Men: Behind the Scenes of Renfield (12:35, 1080p) - a promotional featurette with interview extracts from the actors in the above featurette as well as screenwriter Ryan Ridley, producers David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst, Robert Kirkman, and Samantha Nisenboim. Also interviewed are costume designer Lisa Lovaas, production designer Alec Hammond, and special effects prop foreman Matthew Hall. The piece shows BTS footage and brief excerpts from Dracula (1931) and Dracula (1979). The actors discuss their characters and the film's locales. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Stages of Rejuvenation (6:15, 1080p) - a featurette that examines the physical transformation of Dracula. Appearing on camera to offer their thoughts are Alpert, Cage, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst, Kirkman, Nisenboim, and makeup effects artist Christien Tinsley. The program shows the makeup process Cage underwent. Tinsley highlights a 3D printer used to generate props. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Flesh & Blood (5:23, 1080p) - a piece that looks at gore and makeup effects. The interviewees include actors Awkwafina, Cage, Hoult, Marcus Lewis, Adrian Martinez, and Schwartz. Also featured are Kirkman, Lovaas, Ridley, and Tinsley. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• Fighting Dirty (6:12, 1080p) - a featurette that discusses the stunt work in Renfield. We see footage from training sessions, rehearsals, and examples of fight choreography. Interview snippets are presented of Awkwafina, Cage, Hoult, and Schwartz. Crew members interviewed are Hammond and 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Christopher Brewster. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• The Making of Renfield's Dance (3:34, 1080p) - a brief featurette showing a glimpse into the dance choreography and acrobatics from a scene omitted from the final cut. In addition to BTS footage, the talking heads include Hammond, Hoult, Lovaas, and choreographer Kathryn "Kat" Burns. In English, with optional German and English subtitles.

• US Trailer 1 (2:22, 1080p) - Universal's trailer for Renfield displayed in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is more of a teaser trailer.

• German Trailer 1 (2:28, 1080p) - Essentially the same trailer as the first American trailer except dubbed in German.

• US Trailer 2 (2:26, 1080p) - Universal's second theatrical trailer for Renfield that features a lot more of Dracula than the first trailer.

• USA Redband (2:26, 1080p) - a trailer similar to the second one.

• German Trailer 2 (2:26, 1080p) - Basically the same trailer as the second American trailer except dubbed in German.

• German Spots (1:38 total runtime, 1080p) - four TV spots dubbed in German.

Renfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I differ from other critics who feel that Renfield's filmmakers either restrained or held Nicolas Cage back in delivering the type of performance as Count Dracula that he's capable. He does give a performance worthy of the his talents. The important thing to remember is that the filmmakers wanted to concentrate mainly on another character within Dracula's orbit, which really hadn't been done before. The film's weakness is that Cage doesn't get the same amount of screen time that Nicholas Hoult does in the title role. But the picture succeeds in blending the genres of horror, black comedy, and the crime family drama. It should satisfy horror aficionados with the splatterfests it showcases. It sometimes incorporates martial arts that remind me of the John Wick films. Turbine's 4K UHD is an upgrade over Universal's Blu-ray. Even if you own the 1080p disc, I would encourage you to double dip. The 2160p transfer and Dolby Atmos mix are each highly impressive. Supplements duplicate the BD-50 but Turbine has added some trailers and promo spots. It's an added bonus that the extras come with optional English and German subtitles (lacking on the US release for bonus material). A STRONG RECOMMENDATION for Turbine's special edition of Renfield.