The Pact Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Pact Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 21, 2023

Writer/director Brad Sykes goes the shot-on-video route with “The Pact,” which was created in 1995 and released in 2013. It’s a ghost story in a way, with the tale examining a young woman’s experience with an inherited house, trying to learn more about its previous inhabitant and her own family history with the property. Sykes isn’t too ambitious with the endeavor, aiming to keep things modest in terms of story and scares. There are technical limitations as well, with the push to be spooky greatly diminished by the severely limited look of the movie, which resembles a student project. “The Pact” isn’t frightening, but worse, it’s not interesting, as Sykes is simply trying to put the effort together, not refine it in any way, leading to a glacial viewing experience.

Andrea (Dawn Soleri) has returned to the site of her great-grandmother Bianca’s beachside home, learning she’s inherited the unfinished dwelling. Joined by Joe (Joe Marino), a real estate agent, Andrea checks out the property, learning more about its reputation as a haunted house, claiming a few victims over the decades. Inside the building, Andrea discovers an antique mirror, with the object triggering immense curiosity while infiltrating her dreams, exposing her to a ghost-like figure known as Delphine (DeAnna Day). Offering Andrea a place to stay is Vic (Brett Edenton), her friend and support, but also a man who secretly loves her, trying to help his object of desire by researching the history of the mirror, going to antique dealer Sam (Tamara Johnson) for assistance. Andrea can’t shake the power of the mirror and her visions of the house, with her dreams becoming nightmares as she gets closer to the mystery of Delphine and the violence she brings to her victims.

“The Pact” commences with an understanding of the dangers surrounding the beach house. We meet a young runaway who can’t successfully find a ride out of town, settling into the dwelling for a sit, contemplating her life choices and ferocious hatred of her mother, stating she would rather die than become her parent. Apparently, wishes come true in the movie, as the teen is soon killed by an unseen force, and the story moves over to the saga of Andrea, who’s arriving to deal with her inheritance. The house is meant to be creepy, know to all as a place of potential evil, with Joe even trying to dissuade Andrea from taking possession of the property. And then we see the haunted abode, which looks like an abandoned construction project Sykes found while on a walk to the beach. Even better, the place has neighbors with cars parked nearby, but the material just ignores such a reality, with detective efforts avoiding contact with the people next door, who may have something illuminating to add about what appears to be a perfectly peaceful house of death.

Perhaps nitpicking “The Pact” isn’t fair, as Sykes has no money or time to deliver anything but the basics in SOV moviemaking. However, a more interesting film would help to distract from severe production limitations, but viewers are left with an underwhelming tale of possession instead. The story of Bianca and her experiences in the house largely drive the tale, with Andrea encountering her relative in her sleep, giving Sykes opportunities to stage dreamscape tours around the empty dwelling. There’s a cursed object in the mirror, which is meant to be a dangerous antique, but doesn’t really look like one, but it causes trouble for anyone taking possession of it. And there’s Vic, a mid-90s skate punk with a sometimes missing (and possibly infected) lip piercing who’s all gaga for Andrea, working up the courage to let her know. Vic’s a good guy, going out of his way to understand what’s happening with the mirror, taking the item to Sam for study, and she has her own harrowing experience with the object. We also follow Vic to a local library, watching him research the history of the property, leading to awareness of Delphine’s story. Vic’s subplot would be a lot more compelling if Edenton had some training as an actor, but he’s lost here, clearly terrified of being in front of a camera, delivering what’s best described as “anti-charisma,” struggling with his part in the production while his co-stars, most notably Soleri, are working hard to make the feature passably human in feeling and fear.

Additional terror is provided by Alvin (Jack Wareing), a local creep who’s eager to let Andrea know that she’s in trouble. He often pops out of nowhere, becoming the “Crazy Ralph” character of “The Pact,” graduating to more physical violence as the story unfolds. He’s meant to be another layer of tension for the picture, but there’s distinct goofiness to the performance, and Alvin’s presence in the tale plays like a quickie addition to help beef up the already short run time (75 minutes).

The Pact Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.55:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Pact" comes with a note that visual quality isn't going to be strong. While SOV titles rarely look decent on Blu-ray, "The Pact" is also dealing with the age of the tapes and wear and tear. It's a blockier viewing experience, and compression issues are present. Fine detail isn't available, with only a general sense of frame information, and even that's lost at times. Color is washed out, with only the most vivid of hues making an impression.

The Pact Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix offers a basic sense of dialogue exchanges, managing limited technological reach and amateur actors, who aren't always the best at projection. Scoring fares a bit better, with a more defined synth sound, though a handful of scenes lose balance, drowning out thespian efforts.

The Pact Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/director Brad Sykes.

• "The Pact" Image Gallery (5:42) collects BTS snaps and VHS cover art.

• "Tears" (21:52, SD) is a 1997 short film by writer/director Brad Sykes, who also provides optional commentary for the picture.

• "Tears" Image Gallery (3:13) collects BTS snaps and VHS cover art.

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

The Pact Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Pact" wanders around for the most part, unable to build suspense with the rise of Delphine and the development of her closure issues. Instead of nail-biting material, there's an awkward pass at a love scene between Vic and Andrea, and events concerning the mirror are meant to carry some eeriness and danger, only to slow the picture down to a crawl. And chases are limited to few scenes, with Sykes investing in the ways of tripping to bring threat to physical encounters. "The Pact" is such a forgettable endeavor, representing the helmer's debut for a career that would go on to repeatedly deal with low-budget genre offerings (with titles such as "Bloody Tease," "Witchcraft VII: In the Lair of the Serpent," and "Death Factory"), presumably with a lot less tripping. He's not confident with this one, visibly struggling to make sense of the few locations he has and the ghostly happenings that fail to ignite, emerging with a limp, patience-testing viewing experience.