The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie Review

The Wrong Door is a late 1980s horror-thriller. The horror film was produced as a regional title of the video store era and released in 1990. The Wrong Door was made by a small group of film students who wanted to tackle the horror-thriller genre with a low-budget and with the enthusiasm of friends getting together to make a feature-film for the first time.

The feature-film has long been unavailable on home video. The Wrong Door has now returned from total obscurity, provided with a new chance for an audience on home media. Produced by John Schonebaum, The Wrong Door stars Matt Felmlee, Loreal Steiner, and Jeff Tatum.

Ted (Matt Felmlee) wants nothing more than to live a life of adventure. Ted certainly had had a lot of strange things happen to him throughout the course of his life. Now that Ted is a college student, he dreams of succeeding in all of his goals – including his work as a developing sound designer. Ted is interested in making recordings of audio-based thrillers. Yet sometimes thrillers come to life.

An ambitious goal of bringing chills with sound, Ted soon finds more than he bargained for as he encounters the beautiful Jennifer Ryan (Loreal Steiner). Yet soon there is a murder and the body invertedly ends up inside his car and with no real explanation behind the circumstances or how it happened. Yikes!

Now Ted finds himself being pursued by Jennifer’s ex-boyfriend, Jeff Ranslic (Jeff Tatum). Things really become complicated because of entering a wrong door – a door that takes them down a path of no return. Now with an apparent killer on the map, who can survive? Could it be a serial killer looking to hunt others down? Ted doesn’t want to be another victim but the night is far from over – even a jester-suit won’t stop the mayhem from arriving.

The performances aren’t much to write-home about. The acting is clearly average-at-best and the result of amateurs who don’t have a lot of experience. Matt Felmlee does a decent job in the lead role but he shows his inexperience often. The performance feels uneven and frequently stilted. Even for a lower budget horror film, the acting seems average at best.

The art direction by Margot Czulewicz (Aswang) is average-at-best, too. The production mostly uses local areas to film and it doesn’t seem as though much attention was paid to production values. The Wrong Door could have used better production values – even for something made on a shoestring budget. Unfortunately, “the door” is one of those production values – and it is what it is – a door.

The Wrong Door also showcases some other beginning filmmaker contributions – such as the costumes by Robin Keller. The costumes are – interesting – to say the least. The Wrong Door has a jester outfit throughout the film and it looks a bit satirical and not like something for a film made to scare any audiences out of their seats. These elements seem remarkably low- budget and like the result of something done in a jiffy overnight.

The score composed by Shawn Korby is decent for the low-budget film but it also fails to make much of an impression, either. The music serves as a backdrop to an average film and it doesn’t muster up that much enthusiasm. An average quality score.  

The cinematography by Bill Weiss is surprisingly decent for such a low-budget endeavor. The visuals are better than one might expect for amateur filmmakers working on their first big project. The visuals add some nostalgic flair inherent with 8mm cinematography. The cinematography is sometimes a bit too dark but it does attempt something interesting, which is something to appreciate regardless.

Edited by James Groetsch, The Wrong Door often doesn’t feel as though it actually had an editor. The editing is one of the most inconsistent parts. Some scenes feel rather over-long and untidy. The film manages to breeze by only because of its incredibly short length at 73 minutes. Some scenes feel significantly longer than they should.

Directed by James Groetsch, Shawn Korby, and Bill Weiss, The Wrong Door is no mystical door to an unexpected horror masterpiece. Nonetheless, The Wrong Door offers some adequate fun at times. Sporadic? Yes. However, The Wrong Door is a decent effort for film students beginning their own adventure into making movies. There’s a home-made quality to the film that is admirable and adds some charm despite some of the other underwhelming aspects of the film.

The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Visual Vengeance, The Wrong Door is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. Visual Vengeance specializes in horror, thriller, and genre titles produced and shot on video (SOV). The Wrong Door is the first-feature from Visual Vengeance to be sourced from film elements.

The Wrong Door was shot on Super 8mm film, providing a low-budget but cinematic aesthetic to the production. The 8mm film elements have been restored and are presented on the release with this director-approved special edition.  The restoration is solid for the low-fi nature of the source. The presentation still does showcase some disappointing elements – the transfer is sometimes quite dark and this makes things a bit inconsistent looking. The colors look a bit faded though some of this is just inherent to the 8mm film stock.

The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio on the release is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448 kbps). The compressed audio track is decent sounding overall. The track isn't as crisp or engaging as lossless audio but it's an OK presentation for such a low budget endeavor. Could it be better? Sure. However, no one should be expecting a miracle out of the audio elements for this shoestring budget endeavor. Visual Vengeance provides an okay-at-best lossy audio track – though there wasn't much to work with to begin with. The dynamics aren't that impressive.

The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of the release comes with an o-card slipcover. The slipcover artwork is well-done and is better than the artwork presented underneath the slipcover. The inner sleeve artwork is decent but not as good compared to the slipcover art. The sleeve does include a reversible cover-art with the film's original poster art.

The original art is superior and one can easily flip it around to include as the main art underneath the slipcover if one prefers. The release also includes some pack-in bonus goodies: a souvenir door hanger for The Wrong Door with a "do not disturb" warning, a set of stickers, an insert with Blu-ray release acknowledgements for The Wrong Door, and a fold-out poster with the commissioned artwork displayed on the poster.  

On disc supplements include:

Audio Commentary with Directors Bill Weiss and Shawn Korby

Audio Commentary with Director James Groetsch and Producer John Schonebaum

Men Make Movie, If Not Million$: The Making of The Wrong Door (HD, 43:29)

James Groetsch Interview (HD, 29:43)

Shawn Korby Interview (HD, 20:48)

Bill Weiss Interview (HD, 36:42)

Actor Matt Felmlee Interview (HD, 20:41)

Distributing The Wrong Door: Chris Gore Interview (HD, 13:33)

Play the Alternate Director's Cut of The Wrong Door (2019) (SD, 1:06:33)

Super 8 Short: Raiders of the Lost Bark (1983) (HD, 1:41)

Super 8 Short: The Pizza Man (1988) (SD, 8:19)

TV Episode: The Gale Whitman Show (SD, 21:55)

Original MUTHER Video VHS Intro (SD, 16:31)

Image Gallery (SD, 1:41)

Original Storyboards Gallery (HD, 3:17)

Film Threat Review includes 3 click-through slides.

Now Hiring Trailer (SD, 1:06)

The Wrong Door Trailer (SD, 00:45)

The Wrong Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Wrong Door is a somewhat underwhelming attempt at a horror-thriller and it could certainly have been a bit better. The end result is watchable but it is also all over the place at times. The plot isn't as well done as it could have been. The acting is average-at-best. Nonetheless, Visual Vengeance has provided an impressive Blu-ray release with a new restoration of the original camera negative.

The 8mm cinematography has a nice resolution boost and looks solid in high-definition despite some of the inherent source limitations. The audio quality is lossy and not as good as one might hope to find. Supplements are expansive and there are a ton of bonus features on the release.

The Blu-ray also provides bonus physical goodies – a poster, stickers, door-hanger, and insert – all alongside reversible sleeve artwork and a limited-edition o-card slipcover. Fans of The Wrong Door will want to strongly consider a purchase. Others may wish to check it out first.