6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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 Mono
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Boogens is one of those cult horror films that some people love even as they’re laughing at it. Filmed in and around Park City, Utah in the early eighties, the film has some very effective sequences which are undercut by some (hopefully) unintentionally hilarious moments, none more so than when we finally get a peek or two at the titular monster, a sort of half turtle – half crocodile looking beastie that has been awakened from its primordial sleep by the meddlesome efforts of some nearby miners (in an added unintended hilarity, the liner notes on the keepcase insert refer to these workers as “minors”, but the film actually deals with adults in peril, not amorous teens, a more typical horror trope). The film is notable for building a fair amount of suspense throughout about two thirds of its running time, as two couples who are staying at a mountainside cabin keep hearing strange noises emanating from the basement but never quite figure out what’s going on. The viewer has already seen another hapless soul, who ended up in the cabin after her car crashed in a snow drift, being dragged into the basement by some unseen force, so we know whatever is down there is up to no good. Co-scenarists David O’Malley and a pseudonymous Bob Hunt along with director James L. Conway do a rather admirable job in creating an unsettling ambience without ever really showing any outright violence or mayhem, but ultimately with a film like this that is built around a scary monster, the viewer needs to see something, and that’s when The Boogens takes a decided step into self-parody. The Boogens features perhaps the all time funniest monster in movie monster history, and that’s quite an achievement. The good news here is Conway, O’Malley and star Rebecca Balding, who contribute a very enjoyable commentary commissioned especially for this Blu-ray release, are only too aware of this shortcoming of their little film. The commentary is almost as funny as seeing the monster, as Conway and Balding (who are married) discuss just how many nanoseconds the beast should have remained in view so as not to have revealed too much.
The Boogens is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Despite this being a relatively low budget feature, things look really surprisingly spry throughout this high definition presentation, if you can get past a few recurrent issues with the elements. Color is very well saturated, fine object detail is very good to excellent, and contrast is strong and well defined. Where this transfer occasionally fails to miss the mark is simply due to the age of the elements and the damage they've weathered through the years. This is one of the more consistently speckled source elements we've seen from Olive, with recurrent white flecks and specks occurring throughout the presentation. That one qualm aside, though, this is a remarkably sharp and nice looking transfer that should certainly please The Boogens' coterie of fans.
The Boogens features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix that like the video quality has stood up to the ravages of time really rather well. All frequency ranges sound full and boisterous, and the nice sliding massed glissandi of strings, a recurrent score cue throughout the film, add a decidedly creepy element to the film. Dialogue is clean and clearly presented. There are a number of nice low frequency moments that sound surprisingly bombastic within the confines of a mono mix. This isn't a showy track, obviously, and is somewhat restrained even for a low budget horror film, but it gets the job done and has no real damage to report.
The Boogens achieved at least part of its cult status due to a glowing revew Stephen King gave the film in Twilight Zone Magazine, and the fact is, the film really is surprisingly effective, at least up until the final few minutes. If you can get past the outright hilarity provoked by one of the silliest looking monsters ever captured on celluloid, there's actually quite a bit to like here. This Blu-ray sports nice looking video and great sounding audio, and the commentary is a lot of fun to listen to. Recommended.
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