Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Unmasked Part 25 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 5, 2019

1989’s “Unmasked: Part 25” carries a title that appears to lampoon the state of horror franchises in the 1980s, where everything was sequelized to a point of audience exhaustion. One might expect a ZAZ-like take on the genre, but writer Mark Cutforth and director Anders Palm pull their punch when it comes to a full pantsing of the film business. Instead of raising hell with a sharp, silly comedy, the men go straight with a semi-dramatic take on boogeyman blues, weirdly trying to be sincere when asking the question, “What if Jason Voorhees was lonely?”

“Unmasked: Part 25” tells the story of Jackson (Gregory Fox), a hockey-mask wearing maniac who’s grown tired of his murderous ways, finding the routine of tearing bodies apart becoming stale for the deformed maniac. Into his life comes Shelly (Fiona Davis), a young blind woman hungry for love, but finding it difficult to find someone trustworthy. In Jackson, she encounters a listener and a playmate, with the pair trying to figure out the ways of romance as they deal with personal limitations and emotional issues.

Palm and Cutforth have a premise with potential, setting out to create a movie maniac with a conflicted heart, taking away the mindless killing machine aspect of Jackson to explore the wounded man under the hockey mask. He finds a partner in Shelly, whose blindness allows her to cozy up to the stranger, with the pair getting to know each other through conversations and confessions. They embark on a relationship, and one with a few enjoyable challenges, including a scene where Jackson and Shelly work out the particulars of kink play, with the murderer having trouble playing the part of a submissive male. There’s promise in the details of “Unmasked: Part 25,” but Palm’s execution is sluggish, whiffing with humor and elongating scenes of conversational bonding, finding excessive length a major issue with the endeavor, especially when it doesn’t want to become the farce it initially promises to be.

Unmasked Part 25 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.67:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Unmasked: Part 25" is sourced from a 35mm internegative, offering a slight softness to the viewing experience. Detail remains effective, protecting the production's intense scenes of gore, and makeup limitations are easily spotted, with Jackson's facial application poorly blended with the actor's real skin. Nightlife tours are open for inspection, with reasonable distances. Costuming is acceptably textured. Colors are appealing, emphasizing period hues on costuming and decoration, and bloody reds are pronounced throughout, giving the kills some visual oomph. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is thick but film-like. Some debris is encountered, along with mild judder and speckling.

Unmasked Part 25 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't built for power, but the essentials of the track are present. While the listening event fights production and age- related limitations, dialogue exchanges are acceptable, defining accents and makeup-challenged performances. Soundtrack cuts and scoring cues are adequate, registering with passable clarity and support. Sound effects are broad, offering all sorts of squishiness and spurting.

Unmasked Part 25 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features director Anders Palm.

• Commentary #2 features writer/producer Mark Cutforth.

• Still Gallery (2:44) collects film stills, BTS snaps, journalist correspondence, a feature in Mad Movies magazine, and a VHS release ad.

• And a Trailer (3:24, HD) is included.

Unmasked Part 25 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Unmasked: Part 25" is tonally confused, going cheeky one moment and deadly serious the next. It takes on issues of abuse, but doesn't expand on them in a particularly brave fashion. And there's plenty of gore for genre admirers, as Palm doesn't skimp when it comes time to unleash Jackson's fury, with the killer accomplishing all manner of bodily harm, including the removal of one victim's heart from their chest, giving the effort a bloody close-up to play into genre expectations. For something that appears to be so light, "Unmasked: Part 25" (which is branded "The Hand of Death" on the disc -- an even more misleading title) is better at testing patience than triggering laughs or frights, ending up a frustrating viewing experience.