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: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
James Conway's "The Boogens" (1981) arrives on 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-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Boogens arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The The Boogens is supposed to have been fully restored in 4K. This new 4K makeover is also available on 4K Blu-ray here. I viewed the film in native 4K and then spent quite a bit of time examining the 1080p presentation.
If you click on the link above, you will see that the 4K makeover is very problematic. Virtually all of the key areas that we scrutinize in our reviews have serious issues that in most cases create other anomalies. Only image stability is as good as it needs to be. However, as odd as it may seem, the 1080p presentation offers a slightly better technical presentation of the film, which is still very problematic. The difference comes from the absence of the Dolby Vision and HDR grades, which tend to further exacerbate many issues in darker areas on the native 4K presentation. Again, the film still does not have the solid and convincing organic appearance that it needs to have, but at least in 1080p some darker nuances are slightly better reproduced. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
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 in native 4K and then spent a lot of time examining different parts of the 1080p presentation. The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.
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.
The Boogens is supposed to have been fully restored in 4K, which I find very hard to believe, because as it is presented on this Blu-ray release and this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, it just does not look like film. This is most unfortunate because while it is a small genre project made with a very modest budget, The Boogens works quite well. This release also features a wonderful new program with SPFX artist William Munns.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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1981
Special Edition
1982
2013
Collector's Edition
1981
2019
1984
Collector's Edition
1988
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2006
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