Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Neanderthal Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 4, 2014

Note: This film is currently available only in the double feature The Beast of Hollow Mountain / The Neanderthal Man.

Let’s face it: cineastes haven’t had much to complain about as the Blu-ray format has blossomed into its maturity. Many (if not quite all) of the “all time classics” in the annals of film have already been released in high definition (some more than once), titles as iconic as Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, and Citizen Kane. Foreign classics like La Grande Illusion and 8½ are well represented, as are silent legends like Intolerance and Nosferatu . Even more greats in virtually all genres are on tap for this year, which brings us to the not exactly stellar pairing of The Beast of Hollow Mountain and The Neanderthal Man. It’s either a good sign or a bad one that movies (it hardly seems fair to call them films) like this are being released on Blu-ray. The positive response is engendered by a feeling that the market can support frankly Grade Z material like this. The negative response is perhaps a result of film lovers asking why product like this is coming out when there are still at least a few (and maybe more than a few) more deserving titles that have yet to see the Blu-ray light of day.

Scores of Baby Boomers who fell in love with the George Reeves Superman series will remember Robert Shayne as the intrepid Inspector Henderson, who was usually about two or three leaps behind Clark Kent’s alter ego when it came to apprehending criminals. Shayne portrays the very model of a modern mad scientist in The Neanderthal Man, a curmudgeon named Professor Groves whose “devolution” serum has resulted in the terrifying appearance of a saber- toothed tiger around the neighborhood, something that understandably alarms the otherwise peaceful community. It turns out the tiger isn’t the only “handiwork” the good Professor has been engaging in, and ultimately The Neanderthal Man turns into a kind of campy cross between The Wolf Man and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Much like its “double feature” counterpart The Beast of Hollow Mountain, The Neanderthal Man is often unintentionally funny, as when the somewhat disheveled Professor Groves (in his devolved state) interrupts the romantic meanderings of some teens out on a sylvan picnic. That said, unlike The Beast of Hollow Mountain, The Neanderthal Man is actually fairly well paced and divvies up its “terrors” (laughable though they may be at times) in a much more straightforward and enjoyable fashion. Rather interestingly, Shout! Factory’s other imprint Timeless Media only recently released The Neanderthal Man on a so-called “four-fer”, teamed with three other low budget science fiction films, but it slightly cropped the original aspect ratio to 1.66:1. Though there’s truly not that much difference between 1.66:1 and 1.37:1 (despite what seems to be a large discrepancy in the numbers), fans of the film will no doubt be pleased to see it’s been offered up here in 1.35:1, much closer to its intended look.

The Neanderthal Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Neanderthal Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.35:1 (see the main body of the review, above, for some brief comments on the aspect ratio). Perhaps surprisingly for such a low budget and little remembered affair, the elements here are in remarkably good shape, with only occasional specks and the like offering minor distractions from an otherwise nice looking image. Contrast is quite strong here, though occasionally a bit variable, especially when the film ventures out of doors. Gray scale is nicely rendered, with good modulations between tones. The image is decently if not overwhelmingly sharp. As should be expected, some of the process photography has additional softness and dirt, but nothing exceptionally bad or troublesome.

The Neanderthal Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Neanderthal Man's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track (presented via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0) sounds fine, given reasonable expectations. Dialogue is presented very cleanly and Albert Glasser's typically hyperbolic score sounds fine, if a bit shallow in the midrange. There are some kind of goofy foley effects in this film which sound fine, but which actually may provoke a giggle or two. Fidelity is fine, if unremarkable, and there's no real damage to report here.

The Neanderthal Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

The Neanderthal Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Neanderthal Man is often very funny, as Shayne chews the scenery rather admirably and marauds through the movie as a Nietzschean übermensch who nonetheless is a hulking Troglodyte (the irony is no doubt unintentional, but hilarious all the same). Baby Boomers will also get a kick out of seeing Beverly Garland in one of her first featured roles. This is a fairly derivative and lame-brained enterprise, but it's goofily enjoyable all the same. The technical merits of this presentation are rather surprisingly good and fans of this title should be well pleased with this Blu-ray despite the absence of any supplements.