Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 5, 2021

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Silver Screams Cinema Collection.

With Halloween sneaking up on us all in just a few more weeks, some may be looking for some scary movies to fill the interim and properly set the mood. Imprint's Silver Screams Cinema Collection may not in fact offer any undiscovered masterpieces, but it's kind of a goofily fun time capsule which can transport willing viewers back to a simpler era when low budget (some may aver no budget) studios like Monogram and Republic churned out B movies with some kind of horror underpinning which were frequently utilized to fill out double feature bills. The six films aggregated in this set span the production years of 1944 to 1957, and if the films themselves are often unabashedly silly, they can at least intermittently offer some saving graces, and there are a ton of interesting trivia tidbits about some of the films included, some of which I'll mention in the individual reviews linked to below, which, when combined with some really enjoyable commentaries included for each of the films (including some multiple commentaries), may make this set a "must buy" for certain fans.

Return of the Ape Man received a Blu-ray release in Region A several years ago courtesy of Olive Films, and for those interested in a plot recap, I refer you to Svet Atanasov's Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray review of that version.

Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Return of the Ape Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint and Via Vision Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. This is by far the most ragged looking transfer in the Silver Screams Cinema Collection, and perhaps due to that fact, I am not quite as positive about its appearance as Svet was with regard to the Olive release. There is manifest damage throughout the presentation, which is understandable given the film's age, but there are also two pretty distinctively different "looks" at times, which leads me to believe this was perhaps cobbled together from different elements (even though Imprint's press materials suggest all of the transfers in the set came from original negatives). At its best, as documented in screenshots like number 2 in this review, the transfer is decently detailed, with secure contrast and a relatively tightly resolved grain field. However, there are numerous other moments where the image quality seriously degrades, with a fuzzy look that can at times pretty much eliminate fine detail, and which looks considerably more like a dupe element (see screenshots 8 through 10).

Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Return of the Ape Man features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that shows typical signs of boxiness and shallowness that regularly accompany soundtracks of this era, but which provides more than capable support for the film's dialogue and even occasional musical moments, as in a kind of charming scene where John Carradine reportedly (according to a commentary track) played the piano himself. Optional English subtitles are available.

Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Tom Weaver is one of the standouts of this set, and while I don't regularly spend a lot of time detailing what's on commentary tracks, I have to say that after having listened to several Weaver commentaries by this point, he's becoming one of my favorites. While he is always enthusiastic and rather funny, he seems to have pre-timed his commentaries (including this one) to deliver punch lines tied to whatever is actually happening on screen or on the soundtrack. Even for those who may be prone to roll their eyes throughout this often goofy film, Weaver's commentary should provide a lot of entertainment value.

Return of the Ape Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Return of the Ape Man is yet another trip down the well trafficked lane of a mad doctor assuming he has a touch of the Divine in him, leading to disaster. Lugosi and Carradine are well matched here, and the film, while obviously a low budget affair, is goofily enjoyable on its own merits. This has the roughest looking transfer of the films collected in Silver Screams Cinema, but that deficit may be ameliorated if not eliminated by the really fun commentary by Tom Weaver, for those who are considering making a purchase.