6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A 19th-century village is visited by a traveling carnival whose performers are vampires.
Starring: Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Anthony Higgins, John Moulder-Brown, Laurence PayneHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | 8% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Hammer Horror: Four Gothic Horror Films.
Chances are if you mention the phrase "classic Hammer horror" to the casual film fan, and perhaps especially to the genre aficionado, the
immediate
response might be focused on some of Hammer's now legendary output beginning in 1957 with The Curse of Frankenstein, and continuing at least through both some of the subsequent
Frankenstein
offerings, as well as 1958's Horror of Dracula,
and
its follow-ups, not to mention other properties Hammer either "updated" (The Mummy) or invented (Maniac
). Those follow-ups by themselves of course continued apace for several years, and that fact, when combined with the general perception
among some that Hammer's overall quality not necessarily confined to so-called "franchises" declined as the sixties wore on, is where things may
start to differ among respondents in terms
of when Hammer's "classic" period ended, if in fact it ended at all. In that regard, it can be interesting to watch this collection of productions from
the
seventies when, as one of the supplements included in this set overtly mentions, "Hammer wasn't Hammer anymore", at least in terms of some of
the erstwhile
resident
talent who had moved on to other places. It's also interesting to note that at the same time the back cover of the slip box housing the discs in this
set itself overtly
mentions a perceived "classic early '70s period", which may be a bit of PR hyperbole, but which may also invite approval from those who don't feel
Hammer's output in the seventies is automatically dismissable, even if the studio had become manifestly different from what it had been in prior
decades. Within
that
overall context, then, the four films offered in this collection are often quite interesting in their own regard, and
Imprint has supplied each of them with a really bounteous collection of bonus features.
Vampire Circus is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint and Via Vision Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Judging solely by screenshots, this appears to be one of the more substantially different looking presentations when compared to the previous Synapse Films Blu-ray releases for the Region A market. Compare, for example, the first screenshot in this review with screenshot 3 in Marty's review and it's easy to notice the differences in both general color timing as well as brightness. I personally prefer the look of this Imprint release, which looks a bit less dowdy (for want of a better term), and less suffused with a kind of green-yellow undertone. The palette here pops very well for the most part, though it looked to me like there is some slight fading so that reds can skew slightly toward orange territory. There is some damage to be spotted here, and a few odd moments that may be due to either problematic elements or some glitches in compression, where what almost look like tiny vertical lines can briefly afflict the image, almost like you're looking through a scrim. My score is 3.75.
Marty wasn't especially impressed with the track on the Synapse Films Blu-ray release for the Region A market, and while I have a hunch that this disc's LPCM 2.0 Mono track is at least similar if not outright identical to the track on the previously released Blu-ray, I'm perhaps a bit easier to please, as I found the track to offer more than capable support for the film's dialogue, effects and sometimes rambunctious score by David Whitaker. There is a somewhat flat ambience throughout the presentation that keeps dynamic range kind of muted, but I noticed no real problems with fidelity, and no major damage of any kind. Optional English subtitles are available.
Disc One: Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus is, along with Hands of the Ripper in particular, a fine example of how Hammer may in fact not have been "Hammer anymore", but was still able to craft rather intriguing offerings that touched on some of Hammer's longstanding horror traditions while trying to find some new ways to offer those traditions. Technical merits are generally solid, and both the supplements on the disc containing the feature film as well as the bonus disc are really well done. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1971
1971
Hammer
1970
Cinema Cult
1960
1966
Hammer
1960
1970
Cinema Cult
1963
1971
Hammer | Special Edition
1967
1963
Daughters of Dracula / Cinema Cult
1974
Cinema Cult
1964
Hammer
1974
1966
1964
1968
1968
Hammer
1974
Incident in a Ghostland
2018