Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 3.0 |
| Extras |  | 1.0 |
| Overall |  | 2.5 |
The Gorgon Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 22, 2020
Note: Mill Creek has released 'The Gorgon' as part of a twenty film Hammer Horror collection and shares a disc with both The Old Dark House and Cash on Demand. The film was previously released in a two pack with The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (also included in this collection). This disc features slightly modified video and
a new lossless soundtrack.
A young woman announces that she's pregnant. She's not married to the father, but he claims he's only holding off on proposing until he gets his
finances in order. Against her wishes, he whisks away to discuss matters with the girl's father. That night, the girl is turned to
stone. The town convicts the young boy in her death, but his father Paul Heitz (Richard Pasco) sets out to prove his son's innocence. It turns out the
dastardly murders -- now up to seven -- are being carried out by a gorgon that lurks behind the walls of a local castle.
The Gorgon is hardly award-worthy entertainment, but it delivers an honest, serviceable bit of movie fun. It's appropriately styled, a bit stiff
but effective in conveying a crude cinematic terror that meshes well with its noir-ish mystery elements. Performances can be, and frequently, are,
hammy and overplayed. Nevertheless, the film finds a certain charm in its conveyance of terror, taking its time for the characters and audience alike
to soak in the plot and details and work towards solving the mystery. In a way, it's much more effective than today's jump scare, repetitive, and
by-the-slice Horror. This is certainly a Hammer film cut from much the same cloth as many of its contemporaries, but the film demonstrates a
superior grasp of the genre's basic tenants that results in a movie that's not as bone-chilling or terrifying as advertised, but that delivers enough
crude entertainment value to hold up even today.
The Gorgon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
There appears to be little change between this version and that which Mill Creek put to market in 2016. Direct comparisons reveal a slightly altered
color temperature on this new release, looking like tones are deeper and contrast adjusted upward, if only ever so little. The master appears to be
the
same. Please click here for a full review, but do keep in mind the
slightly different color timing. This one does look better and this is one of the finest looking films in the set.
The Gorgon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Mill Creek has upgraded the audio for The Gorgon from the previous issue's Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack to, here, a lossless DTS-HD Master
Audio 2.0 encode. The tracks share in common a severe front-center imaged cramping, both failing to break free of a small stage area and refusing to
allow even music to spread to the stage's further reaches. Still, this track sounds a little fuller, better defined, though certainly still somewhat sloppy at
the core, lagging far behind tracks of superior engineering and more modern sound design. While the center-imaged limits hold back major effects like
music and support elements, such as driving rain and booming thunder in chapter five, dialogue is at least clear and lifelike in that same center
position. This is an upgrade, albeit a modest one.
The Gorgon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
The previous Mill Creek issue of The Gorgon was featureless, but this new release includes an audio commentary track with Writer/Director
Joshua Kennedy (House of the Gorgon).
The Gorgon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
The Gorgon is what Hammer is all about, or at least the type of film for which the studio is best known. The 1080p picture quality is a step
above the previous release thanks to slightly improved contrast. Audio is a bit better, too, in the lossless encode. A commentary track is also included
which was not on the previous release. Recommended.
