7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A basque priest finds by means of a cabalistic study of the bible that the anti-Christ is going to be born on Christmas day in Madrid. Helped by a heavy-metal fan and by the showman of a TV esoteric program, he will try to invoke the devil to find out the place of birth and kill the baby.
Starring: Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza, Santiago Segura (I), Terele Pávez, Nathalie SeseñaHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 76% |
Dark humor | 7% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Severin Films has long been the purveyor of some interesting cult releases, including everything from the Russian film Viy to the decidedly more American (for better or worse) Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection, and they're now beginning to enter the 4K UHD market with this release and the simultaneous 4K and 1080 release of Perdita Durango 4K. Both of these films are rather fascinating efforts from co- writer and director Álex de la Iglesia, though of the two, Day of the Beast may be at least a little more accessible, since it offers its black (mass?) comedy a bit more overtly than Perdita Durango. Day of the Beast revolves around a priest and theology professor rather ironically named Ángel Berriartúa (Álex Angulo), who reveals in the film's opening scene that he has "cracked the code" of the apocalyptic elements of the Bible (one assumes he's talking about the book of Revelation, though it's not explicitly detailed) and that he has a plan to prevent the Antichrist from appearing. Kind of weirdly, that plan involves Ángel proceeding to sin inordinately, and after a sight gag involving another priest listening to Ángel's intense announcement about his "mission", the film then documents several vignettes of a supposed "holy Father" engaging in a variety of less than honorable activities. Already The Day of the Beast is off on a rather provocative, and what some "true believers" may find a potentially objectionable, course, and it only gets more bizarre from there.
The Day of the Beast is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While the film's general appearance probably won't "wow" anyone due to a certain "lo fi" ambience that permeates things, this presentation is rather winning within that context. Brightly lit scenes pop with some immediacy, and detail levels are typically precise looking. The film does have a lot of dimly lit or downright dark scenes, and there are some deficits in shadow detail at times, with a bit of crush intruding with regard to things like the Father's black outfit and some equally black backgrounds. The film does not offer really deeply saturated tones, but everything looks accurate for the most part, with the understanding that there are some scenes that have been lit and/or graded, as in the blue tinged credits sequence. What looks like green screen or other matte work in the climax frankly looks a little rough, as do some of the supposed "television" moments with Cavan. Grain is fairly heavy throughout the presentation, but resolves naturally for the most part (a few "clumpy" seconds can be spotted at times, typically against brighter backgrounds).
Both the 4K UHD disc and the 1080 disc offer the same audio options, the original Spanish track in either DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 or DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, or an English dub in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I spent most of time toggling between the two Spanish language tracks. The surround track definitely opens up the head banging elements featured as both supposed source cues and underscore, while also providing a more spacious accounting of some of the outdoor material, notably the climax in (on?) the skyscraper. The surround track does tend to ebb and flow a bit in terms of immersion, but both it and the 2.0 track render dialogue and effects without any problems whatsoever. The discs come with "English subtitles" listed on the menu and automatically offered for the Spanish audio tracks, but you can remove the subtitles if you wish by using the toggle button on your remote.
I've had an interest in Jewish mysticism since I was quite young for some reason, and so it was kind of funny for me personally to hear subjects like Gematria (alphabets that also serve as number systems, allowing for "cross referencing" as Ángel actually overt refers to in the film) doled out in various dialogue scenes. There's a curious sweetness to this film despite it being about the Antichrist and selling one's soul to the devil. Severin has provided a release with secure technical merits and some outstanding supplements. Recommended.
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