The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie Review

The 13^th Floor is an under-the-radar horror gem with otherworldly elements. Executive produced by Tom Broadbridge (Rafferty's Rules, Silversun), The 13^th Floor is a visually compelling genre film and one that certainly is well worthwhile for enthusiasts seeking some compelling entertainment. Produced by Charles Hannah (The World's Fastest Indian, Farewell to the King) and David Hannay (The Man from Hong Kong, Stone), The 13^th Floor takes inspiration from the likes of Stephen King’s Carrie and is an interesting Ozploitation classic for fans of Australian cinema.

The 13^th floor is home to a dark and menacing secret. The 13^th floor might seem ordinary on the surface but beneath the surface the location has brought a curse onto others that visit it. As a seven-year-old girl, Heather Thompson (Lisa Hensley) was eyewitness to the brutal electrocution of a small young boy by her dad during his time spent as a gangster.

 Now drawn back to the same 13^th floor as an adult, Heather has encountered the same electrical system – now somehow creating a sense of possession and as a life force with the ability to seek revenge. Heather wonders if there is more to the electrical system than first meets the eye. The system becomes overwhelming as new currents of electricity cause more chaos in the modern era. Perhaps the system can jolt electricity through Heather herself and cause powers never before thought to exist. Can Heather survive the 13^th floor?

The score composed by Mick Coleman (Trains), Joseph El Khouri, and Garry Hardman (The Sword of Bushido, Day of the Panther) is energetic fun and adds to the charms of the exploitation horror filmmaking. The score is certainly a nice component of the production. The music adds some eeriness and effective thrills to the filmmaking. A solid score effort and one that highlights Australian genre film.

The cinematography by Stephen Prime (Roadman, Elly & Jools) is beautiful and adds a sense of stunning serenity to the production. Prime did an excellent job as cinematographer and the old-school filmic visuals add undeniable charm to the horror filmmaking. The result is a much more effective horror feature.

Edited by Peter McBain (The Adventures of Lano & Woodley, Postcards), The 13^th Floor is well-paced fun and the editing style makes a solid impression. The editing certainly carries the filmmaking well and it helps the storytelling unfold, too. McBain did a good job as editor and managed to craft a edit that capably showcases the horror genre.

The production designs by Darrell Lass (Cappuccino, The Wild Duck) are wonderful and there is plenty to appreciate about the efforts. Lass is a talented designer and the results certainly work wonders – there are wondrous things on display throughout the feature-film. The 13^th Floor does a good job showing a sense of cohesive detail and style with the production merits. The background design art and style are capable of bringing layers of depth to the aesthetic of the production. These aspects are also well apparent through the art direction by Peter Davies.

The special effects by Allan Manning (Out of the Body) are top-notch. The effects work is something that is one of the most astonishing aspects of the production. Manning is a gifted special effects talent and the film manages to find surprising greatness in the old-school effects. With visual effects by Andrew Mason (The Crow, Dark City), the special effects and visual effects create a sense of magic. There is wondrous effort here in regards to the effects and their low-fi charm in aiding the horror filmmaking.

Written and directed by Chris Roache, The 13^th Floor is a compelling Australian horror film. The old-school horror energy is something that provides the filmmaking with a lot of fun thrills. The vibe and style of the Australian filmmaking is enormously compelling while taking inspiration from the likes of Carrie and other cult horror classics. The filmmaking builds to the conclusion and the end arc of the film is something that is quite invigorating and memorable. Fans of Australian Ozploitation exploitation and genre filmmaking will appreciate the horror gem.

The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Umbrella Entertainment, The 13^th Floor is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The widescreen ratio preserves detail from the 35mm negative. The robust and colorful aesthetic is something that adds a lot to the production. The transfer retains an authentic and filmic looking presentation. There is a lot of fine detail from the 35mm negative that can still be readily seen as apparent in the transfer on the release. A good transfer of the source.

The presentation is certainly memorable and adds charm to the film. The old-school cinematography is a nice highlight of the filmmaker's approach to exploitation cinema. The encoding from Umbrella Entertainment is well-done, too. The encode capably presenting the horror filmmaking well.

The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. The 13^th Floor sound design is well encoded. The soundstage is surprisingly solid considering the lack of a lossless audio option. The audio is clear, engaging, and well reproduced for a lossy (non-lossless) track. The audio track isn't as crisp or as robust sounding as a lossless encode could provide and some scenes could benefit from some more depth and fidelity as afforded to lossless encoding, but the track still sounds reasonably good on the whole.

It is unfortunate to see the lack of lossless audio on some of these ozploitation rarities. Lossless audio encoding is one of the greatest strengths of the Blu-ray disc format in regards to presentation quality. There is something remarkable about lossless audio and the immersive quality it can provide for a feature-film presentation. The audio is significantly better with lossless at times and can make the presentation all the more enjoyable and engaging. Lossless allows for a deeper soundstage with the audio providing clarity and dynamics that is missing from lossy sound presentations. Unfortunately, the presentation here simply remains a standard lossy one and that is underwhelming and unexpected. A bit unfortunate for an otherwise impressive presentation with a good video transfer.

The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Chris Roache

Interview with actress Lisa Hensley (Audio Only) (HD, 9:31)

Women in Peril – A Visual Essay by Author and TV Historian Andrew Mercado (HD, 15:44)

A (Slightly) Alternate Ending (SD, 4:48)

The 13^th Floor – The VHS Experience (SD, 1:29:59) provides an alternative VHS quality version and presentation of the feature-film. This is an additional presentation option for nostalgia and for fans of VHS style transfers.

Original Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:20)

The 13th Floor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 13^th Floor is a compelling classic of Australian Ozploitation cinema. Fans of old-school horror genre filmmaking will find plenty to appreciate about this under-the-radar Australian classic. The filmmaking entertains with compelling visuals and a tense sense of mayhem. The action builds to a compelling conclusion.

The Blu-ray release provides a worthwhile high-definition transfer and a nice selection of bonus features. The set is jam-packed with bonuses covering a wide range of options – from interviews, to visual essays, to a VHS quality presentation of the film as an added feature, to audio commentary with the filmmaker. The only downside is the lack of a lossless audio encode. The 13^th Floor is a lot of fun and is well worth checking out. Recommended.