6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.
Starring: Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Allan Kolman, Susan PetrieHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
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 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
This may not exactly be a great time to remind people about a film comedy about a quasi-pandemic, but 1968’s What's So Bad About Feeling Good? was exactly that: the tale of a virus caused by a toucan that ended up making everyone nice, frolicsome and totally chill. There’s another kind of viral entity at work infecting people right and left in Shivers, but this being a David Cronenberg film, laughs may understandably be in short supply. While this release’s back cover touts Shivers as being Cronenberg’s first feature length outing, true Cronenberg fans will probably know of Stereo and Crimes of the Future , both of which predate this effort and which at least hint at some of its stylistic flourishes (and maybe even plot elements). But this was the first Cronenberg effort with relatively fulsome budgeting, and it became something of a cause célèbre upon its initial theatrical release since the underlying plot conceit is that the “virus” in this instance is a parasite which, when symbiotically hosted by a human, turns that human into someone who is not just “feeling good”, but who is positively aggressively amorous.
Shivers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films' Vestron Video imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Arrow's UK division released Shivers several years ago, but I never received a screener and so can't authoritatively opine on any differences between the two. That said, the Arrow version evidently began with some credits stating it was restored from elements held by TIFF and other Canadian entities and was approved by David Cronenberg. This version ends with the TIFF data but does not include any reference to Cronenberg (that I saw, anyway). This has a "vintage" look a lot of the time, with a fairly heavy grain field and variable detail levels. Whites are occasionally pretty badly blown out, as in the scene where Tudor is out on his deck and vomits a parasite onto the umbrella of a senior citizen walking below (in a moment that is rather funny). The palette looks a bit drab at times, skewing slightly toward a greenish tone, but on the whole looks relatively natural. Fine detail is at least decent and often more than merely decent quite a bit of the time, as in the resolution of the fabric of the tweedy jacket that St. Luc wears. There are some occasional signs of age related wear and tear, but I noticed no compression anomalies of any major import.
Shivers features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that suffices well enough for the film's relatively unambitious sound design. The bulk of the film's soundtrack is dialogue driven, with only occasional sound effects like the slithering of the parasites and what was evidently stock music (the only thing the budget would allow for). What was reportedly some post-looping can mean "sync is loose" (as they say) at times, but on the whole, fidelity is fine and there is really no damage of any kind, though the high end can sound a bit brash on occasion.
This early effort by David Cronenberg will probably be best appreciated by his fans, though that said the film shows Cronenberg still developing his craft. The appearance by Barbara Steele in a supporting role may add a certain allure for even non-Cronenberg aficionados. Technical merits are okay if not mind blowing, but as with many of the releases in the Vestron Video series, the supplements are quite appealing, for those who are considering a purchase.
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