Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Shadow: Dead Riot Blu-ray Movie Review

"You're going to be a handful... Maybe two handfuls..."

Reviewed by Dustin Somner October 19, 2009

Exploitation cinema encompasses such a wide genre that it almost feels lazy to classify a film in that manner. Popularized by the grind house theaters of the 60’s and 70’s, audiences were introduced to a more extreme form of filmmaking, unencumbered by the conservative limits of most Hollywood studios. Unfortunately, as the number of small, locally-owned theaters began to dwindle, exploitation filmmakers lost the ability to bring their cinematic creations to a marketable audience. In the present day, most film-goers lack the exposure to exploitation films of prior decades, but might unknowingly stumble onto the occasional modern day creation that fits the mold. Chances are you’ve seen an exploitation film courtesy of Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino, but true fans of the genre have to work a little harder to find fresh blood in the underappreciated genre. If you count yourself among the small segment of individuals that dig the extreme nature of these films, you’ve likely heard a thing or two about a recent entry titled Shadow: Dead Riot.

"Candyman...Candyman...Candyman"

While carrying out a death sentence on a serial killer named Shadow (Tony Todd), something supernatural takes place resulting in a deadly prison massacre involving guards and inmates. When the dust settles, the dead bodies are buried in the prison courtyard, with Shadow’s severed skull resting proudly atop the gruesome scene. Fast-forward twenty years and the long-time prison now operates as a detention facility for female inmates. Late one night, a newly transferred prisoner named Solitaire (Carla Greene) arrives at the facility. She immediately finds herself in several altercations that land her in solitary confinement, caged within the cell that once held Shadow. Plagued by nightmares involving her mother and a monster of a man, Solitaire discovers she’s been the unknown recipient of a series of injections from the perverted doctor of the institution, which awakens memories from long ago. Meanwhile, a pregnant inmate gives birth in the grass of the outer courtyard (don’t ask how that happens), infusing the underground piles of human remains with fresh blood. Soon the bodies of countless decaying guards and inmates rise from the mass grave with a goal of harvesting body parts from the female prisoners, and bringing Shadow back to life. Can Solitaire and her fellow inmates counter the waves of zombies to prevent the resurrection of Shadow, or will they suffer the same fate as the prior inhabitants of the prison?

Shadow: Dead Riot gives new meaning to the term “throw in everything but the kitchen sink”. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a new genre-blurring scene shows up to further obscure the intentions of the filmmakers. For the first half of the runtime, this is a hardcore “women in prison” film, complete with lesbian guards, a doctor that trades drugs for sexual favors, and locker room brawls over the rights to weaker women. The action scenes are staged to look and sound like old-school kung-fu films, permitting the choreography to look a bit cheesy without generating grimaces from most members of the audience. Unfortunately, the second half of Shadow: Dead Riot descends into a routine gore fest with cheesy effects and horrible make-up. We already know there will be a supernatural element to the story at some point (given Shadow’s demise in the early stages), but the whole zombie uprising feels far too forced. Before you turn on me for not enjoying the over-the-top conclusion to the film, I should make it clear that I enjoyed the first forty-five minutes of the film, which held my attention using every male cliché trick in the book. After all, what’s not to like about multiple catfights between marginally attractive inmates?

Despite the occasional eye-candy during the first half of the film, the quality of the acting from the largely female cast is one step above awful. Carla Greene turns in the best performance as Solitaire, but that’s not saying much when your co-stars sound like their reciting lines in a high-school play. Most horror fans should immediately recognize Tony Todd as the villain from Candyman (and countless other horror roles since then), but he appears a bit off his game here. Most of the blame for the shortcomings in his character should fall on the weakness of the script, but Todd still lacks a necessary level of intensity to effectively creep out the audience. Aside from Todd and Greene, I’d give the rest of the cast a collective thumbs-down.

In case I haven’t made it clear by now, the production values on the film are fairly lousy. The gore effects are noticeably fake, special effects are cheesy, and the cinematography never demonstrates a proficiency in delivering an appealing grind house experience. Some viewers might appreciate the low-budget elements of the production more than I did, but I couldn’t get past the multiple missteps on the part of the film crew. Proceed at your own risk.

Shadow: Dead Riot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 18Mbps), Shadow: Dead Riot is a feast for the eyes (no pun intended) despite some occasional problems. Taking into account every aspect of the transfer, I'd say the greatest strength is the level of detail on display. We're never really sure what to expect from a low-budget productions, but the source material is far better than I expected. Individual strands of hair rarely exhibit a tendency to blend together, and most facial textures are far more revealing than some of the actresses would likely prefer. Unfortunately, the increased level of detail also has a downside, since the cheesy gore effects are even less realistic in 1080p. From a color standpoint, the film appears a bit washed out, with a suspected use of brightness boosting. It's not bad enough to detract from the viewing experience, but results in less than stellar contrast and black level depth (the screenshot of the two women by the bunk beds should serve as a good example). Those of you with an appreciation for the grainy quality of grind house cinema will appreciate the gritty cinematography of the "zombie uprising" portion of the film, but it also ushers in a noticeable dip in the quality of the presentation (which lasts through the final thirty minutes of the film).

In the end, the Blu-ray version of Shadow: Dead Riot offers a substantial upgrade over the DVD release, but won't come close to stacking up with a glossy Hollywood horror film.

Shadow: Dead Riot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English audio track is fairly good despite the noticeably low-budget nature of the sound design. Matching the over-the-top elements of the actual film, the audio presentation is riddled with jump-inducing audio cues, generic heavy-metal musical numbers, and hilarious martial arts effects. To fully appreciate the audio on the film, you should already exhibit a gravitation toward cheesy horror effects (flesh ripping, bones breaking, etc) and kung-fu cinema. If you don't enjoy those elements, part of the nostalgic feel will be lost and you'll walk away feeling somewhat disappointed. Moving on to the actual proficiency of the track (no longer considering the questionable quality of the original sound design), I was relatively pleased with Tokyo Shock's effort in delivering a satisfactory audio experience. First and foremost, the level of clarity in the various elements that comprise the overall track is above average. I never detected any distortion or hiss throughout the length of the film, and the dialogue rarely appeared flat or muffled (despite the unimpressive delivery methods of the sub-par acting). The volume balance between the dialogue, music and effects demonstrated appropriate weight depending on the requirements of each scene, allowing you to kick back and soak up every blood-drenched minute, without worrying about missing aspects of the dialogue.

In summary, the audio experience is good for what it is, but you'll need to temper your expectations to match the film's low-budget roots.

Shadow: Dead Riot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Standing in the Shadow of "Shadow" (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 57:25 min): This surprisingly in-depth supplement contains interviews with the cast and crew, along with footage from the set. There are a wide range of topics addressed throughout the featurette (special effects, casting, stunts, sound, etc), but the primary focus centers on the themes at the core of the film. Considering the low-budget nature of the film itself, this extra is an impressive addition from Tokyo Shock.

Deleted Scenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 7:44 min): Just in case you didn't see enough nudity in the film itself, this collection contains two extended shower sequences, along with several other extensions/deletions that don't really add to the film.

A Tale of Two Zombies (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 3:47 min): This brief segment contains interviews with two zombie actors that originally appeared in Zombie 2 and Night of the Living Dead (and naturally ended up with roles in this film). They both tell stories about their involvement in the iconic horror classics, and describe what it was like to work with Lucio Fulci and George Romero.

Audition Reel (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 8:04 min): As the title implies, this extra contains clips from the auditions with the female cast members (including several hilarious martial arts segments).

Rounding out the extras, we have a music video for "Style Wars" from Jean Grae (480p), a standard definition grindhouse trailer for Shadow: Dead Riot, and standard definition trailers for three other films (The Oracle, Flesheater: Revenge of the Living Dead, and Flesh for the Beast).

Shadow: Dead Riot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sitting through Shadow: Dead Riot requires a specific taste that I apparently don't possess. I've always enjoyed the horror genre, and typically find enough positives in exploitation cinema to warrant a recommendation. However, everything in the film became far too ridiculous by the hour mark, and I eventually lost interest in the plight of the female characters. Blame the lack of focus, the ridiculous pacing changes, or the amateur production values, but I lacked the patience to maintain a positive assessment of the film. If you feel any shred of temptation to give this disc a spin, I'd recommend a rental prior to a purchase.