6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
In a small town near Denver, two young men begin to explore a long-abandoned old mine recently reopened by a group of miners. When one of the men is discovered missing, his friends begin a search that leads them to horrifying consequences. They’re all unaware of the evil that’s been unleashed and soon, one by one, an unseen monster snatches up the townspeople. Suddenly, the grisly truth is revealed and a young couple is forced to confront the unknown to save their lives… and the entire town.
Starring: Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, Jeff Harlan, John CrawfordHorror | 100% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
James Conway's "The Boogens" (1981) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with SPFX artist William Munns; exclusive new audio commentary by actor Jeff Harlan and critic Howard S. Berger; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional Enlgish SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Kino Lorber's release of The Boogens is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".
Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
Screencaptures #1-30 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #33-39 are from the 4K Blu-ray.
The release introduces what is supposed to be a new 4K makeover of the film, which can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed the entire film in native 4K with HDR. I also spent quite a bit of time with the 1080p presentation.
The 4K makeover is extremely problematic. In fact, there are such big and consequential anomalies on it that many areas of the film look like poor upscaled material. I am almost tempted to speculate that there was a major mix-up somewhere in the production pipeline and somehow someone did not notice.
The overwhelming majority of the visuals look very soft and smeary, a lot like the ones you will encounter on the 4K makeover of Staying Alive. However, this time, on some visuals, delineation and depth begin to collapse. Darker visuals are usually the most problematic ones because many lack proper shadow definition. Oddly, density levels are quite strong. There are obvious traces of digital filtering that destroys the native dynamic range of the visuals as well. This is the biggest reason a lot of the problematic visuals essentially look like upscale material. Color balance is a mixed bag, too. Some of the darker primaries and supporting nuances are good, but blue and blue nuances are pushed into digital turquoise, plus many ranges of nuances are almost completely destabilized by the filtering anomalies. Blacks, browns, and grays, for instance, often look like digital mush. Image stability is good. The entire film looks clean, too. I tested many areas of the 1080p presentation as well. While still looking quite poor, these areas, and the darker ones in particular, tend to look a bit better. On the native 4K presentation, the HDR further exacerbates many issues in the already very problematic darker areas.
There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I viewed the entire film with the 2.0 track and did not test the 5.1 track. All exchanges are easy to follow. However, I have to immediately mention that the original soundtrack conveys plenty of minor unevenness and noticeable dynamic fluctuations. I expected this to be the case, but I wanted to mention it because sometimes even clarity can be affected. The very important music score and effects create many interesting but also dated contrasts as well.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
If what is on this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack truly is a recent 4K makeover of The Boogens, then something must have gone terribly wrong because it does not look like one. There are all sorts of different issues on it that essentially prevent The Boogens to look like film, even an aged one. This is most unfortunate because while it is a small genre project made with a very modest budget, The Boogens works quite well. The combo pack also features a wonderful new program with SPFX artist William Munns.
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