Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2018

Those of you who may have seen either The Devil's Carnival (the link is to the Entertainment One release that I reviewed, but Cleopatra re- released it earlier this year) or its kinda sorta follow up Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival (also put out by Cleopatra) may feel like the nascent Blu-ray label has a corner on a rather peculiar market niche, one that specializes in visually interesting mythologically themed stories that feature at least some connection to a rock 'n' roll ethos. If both of The Devil's Carnival outings had the participation of an actor of Paul Sorvino's caliber and reputation, they didn't offer whatever blandishments porn icon Ron Jeremy and heavy metal legend Lemmy Kilmister (of Motörhead fame) provide to this odd but occasionally amusing film.

Lemmy passed away in 2015, and the fact that there are animated segments that only include his voice may lead some to wonder if perhaps he expired before his parts could be filmed (though the fact that there is audio may suggest that the animation was part of the production plan from the get go). The film does open with a rather cool looking set of semi-animated scenes, before segueing into live action territory with the introduction of Charlie (Ben Stobber), who is evidently finishing up a night of partying hearty by bringing two young women clad in Catholic school outfits home for a bit of frolicking.

Unfortunately for Charlie, his gothic mansion has already been infiltrated by Mr. Cross (Robert Donavan), who, along with his enforcer Burton (Josh Fallon), is on the hunt for a missing video that documents vampiristic activities at a supposedly secret Hollywood hangout known as Sunset Society. Charlie is adamant he doesn’t have the video, and points the finger at Frankie (Ron Jeremy). A flashback of sorts shows how Cross and Burton dealt with Frankie earlier (and I have to admit Jeremy comes off as a rather genial comedy performer). In the meantime, the two Catholic school clad women have been entranced by a long haired vampire who coaxes them upstairs for what turns out to be (in the vampire’s own words) some “deep loving”.

Playing out interstitially between the shenanigans taking place in Charlie’s abode are scenes from the notorious video Cross is on the hunt for, and in fact a lot of the film is comprised of rather talky and uninvolving moments from the video. Music fans will no doubt be delighted by the presence of not just Lemmy, but also Dizzy Reed and Tracii Guns, but more curmudgeonly types (ahem) might be suggesting that none of these rock stars give up their day jobs (at least the ones who are still among the living). There’s a lot of curious half baked plot elements being juggled in Sunset Society, enough that some may wonder if more than just Lemmy’s expiration may have put the kibosh on some aspects of the film either during production or in post.

A vampiress named Sophia (Phoebe Dollar, who also co-directed) turns out to have a central part in some dysfunctions afflicting the not so secret society, but there’s a twist of sorts at the end where one of the Catholic school girls turns out to be a bit smarter than her previous behavior may have indicated. It’s all weird, quasi-hallucinatory stuff that plays to some head banging music, but it never really comes off as either scary or funny.

Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sunset Society is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual and Cleopatra with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. It's a little challenging to assess the video quality of this release since so much of it is so intentionally ragged looking, though in the (relatively) ungraded and contemporary material in Charlie's house as well as the animated interstitials, things look appealingly sharp and well detailed. Unfortunately, a lot of the film is comprised of the video that Cross is on the hunt for, and here a surplus of weird lighting choices, uncertain focus pulling and what appears to be intentionally added combing effects (see screenshot 17) repeatedly keep even general detail levels at a minimum. Sunset Society obviously is going for a certain style, but that style tends to be an obstacle rather than a support for a pleasant viewing experience at times. I've tried to include a variety of screenshots indicating what various scenes of the film look like on Blu-ray, and I highly encourage interested fans to look them all over to get some idea of the rather wide variances in sharpness, clarity and detail levels that are on display throughout this presentation.

Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

You would think that a label with Cleopatra's music cred and a film that has so many rock stars in it might indicate lossless audio, but once again Cleopatra has made the head scratching decision to only include a Dolby Digital 5.1 track on this release. Now to be fair, there's consistent immersion here and even some relatively forceful LFE at certain moments, but some audiophiles are certainly going to wonder how everything might have sounded with lossless audio. This can be a pretty noisy film, and there's generally decent clarity and prioritization on hand, though Lemmy has a tendency to mumble quite a bit and unfortunately the release does not include subtitles.

Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sunset Society is a rather interesting release in terms of packaging, and those interested should click on the Packaging tab on the main review page to take a look at how this set looks and what all is included in it. Also to be clear my score above takes into account the sum total of supplements (including what some may consider needless swag), not just the on disc extras (which are rather sparse).

The four fold case is approximately 8" wide by 7 7/16" high by ¾" deep, which of course makes it completely incongruent with most people's Blu-ray collections. Inside are several illustrations of Lemmy behind the clear plastic that holds the Blu-ray, a DVD and the soundtrack CD. Also included in an insert pocket is 7" vinyl (pressed on a kind of cool looking yellowish marbleized surface) with Lemmy singing "Bad Boys for Life". Also in the package is a certificate of authenticity and (in the one packaging snafu in terms of where to put oversized items which won't fit anywhere conveniently) three collectible cards printed on heavy glossy stock. The on disc supplements are as follows:

• Lemmy Statue Unveiled at the Rainbow Bar and Grill (1080p; 1:25) is not only pretty brief but is also a bit of a challenge to see, since it's shot through a swarm of fans.


• Slideshow (1080i; 2:48)


• Trailers includes Sunset Society (1080p; 1:42) as well as other Cleopatra releases.

Sunset Society Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sunset Society is one of those totally bizarre one-offs that may well appeal to fans of (at least some members) of its shall we say eclectic cast, even if the story is haphazard at best and some of the performances may not even rate "not ready for prime time" status. There's some interesting content here to be sure, but it's often buried underneath needless stylistic conceits and some crazy quilt structuring artifices. Why Cleopatra would release such a music dependent film with lossy audio may be a deal killer for some, but the label has provided a handsome package that includes some interesting non-disc swag, for those who are considering a purchase.