6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Taking a wrong turn, travelers find themselves trapped in a mysterious house. One horror after another threatens them as the sorcerer who lives within needs sacrifices to give eternal life to his beautiful bride.
Starring: Felix Ward, Maria Pechukas, Dan Scott (I), Alec Nemser, A.J. LowenthalHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (96kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (448 kbps)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
1986’s “Spookies” has an incredible production history. It began life as “Twisted Souls,” with directors Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran setting out to put their own stamp on horror offerings of the decade, loading the picture up with gruesome monsters and lighter, sexless elements of terror. After the movie’s completion, production moneyman Michael Lee wanted something different, bringing in a different helmer to create his own footage, with plans to mix the work with footage from “Twisted Souls.” The end result is a bewildering endeavor, but cat nip to genre fans, as “Spookies” offers plenty of violent encounters with rubber opponents, showcasing some real low-budget artistry in the midst of a highly confused but awfully determined feature.
After decades of enduring the wilds of iffy distribution, "Spookies" finally finds a home on Blu-ray, and Vinegar Syndrome offers fans of this highly bizarre effort a fresh scan of the 35mm original camera negative. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation handles the limited cinematic presence of the feature with care, securing deep textures with the multitude of rubbery and filthy creature encounters, capturing such B- movie artistry in full. Human elements are just as lively, examining detailed faces and fibrous costumes, and various house explorations retain all intended decorative displays and signs of decay. Colors are inviting throughout, providing bright period hues on clothing and rich horror highlights on special effects, securing earth tones and the more greenish, grayish appearance of the monsters. Delineation is precise, protecting evening encounters and darkly lit battles. Source is in strong condition. Grain is fine and film-like.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix does wrestle some with fuzziness, which carries throughout the listening event. Dialogue exchanges remain appreciable, surveying the emphasis of eager performance choices, also preserving accents and softer, undead interactions. Scoring is louder and distinct, presenting a budget synth push to support the genre ambition of "Spookies." Atmospherics are compelling, surveying the haunted house and some exterior encounters.
DISC 1
"Spookies" is a treasured cult film to some, and such fandom makes sense. Production backstory is intriguing, and the end result is a highly entertaining collection of disparate ideas crudely mashed together. It's definitely not a stunning offering of considered cinema, but if one is in the mood for all kinds of monsters attacking all kinds of idiots, "Spookies" satisfies most B-movie cravings.
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