With Halloween around the corner CityNews.ca film opinionist Brian
McKechnie has hunkered down with a slew of horror movies on Blu-ray to
see what titles are worthy of upgrading to high-definition. In the final part
of his 5 part series he looks at newer films on Blu-ray that have made their way into his collection.
Horror
is a genre that is cheap to produce and usually turns a profit. Over
the last few years we've seen a lot of remakes and rip-offs with not
much originality. When someone gets it right though it stands out
amongst the duds and will probably one day be remade itself. Those
titles I tend to want to watch over and over and will add them to my
collection. Here are a few recent titles on Blu-ray I found enjoyable.
Trick 'r Treat (2008) IMDb / Amazon
Trick 'r Treat has quickly become my new
favourite movie for the Halloween season. It's a fun horror anthology
that tells four stories based around Halloween lore (stuff like: don't
let your Jack O'Lantern go dark, check your candy before eating it,
plus a good old fashioned urban legend and a werewolf tale). All the
stories are tied together by a little demonic boy in a creepy costume
named Sam (I feel we'll see him in more films of this nature). Starring
Anna Paquin, Brian Cox and Dylan Baker in perfect roles, produced by
Bryan Singer and directed by Michael Dougherty (who co-wrote X2 and
Superman Returns) this is not some cheap B-movie. It is quite stylized
and really gets the vibe of Halloween across on-screen. If you're a fan
of movies like Creepshow or Tales from the Darkside you will love this.
The Blu-ray release is definitely worth picking up not only for the
amazing picture and sound, but for the special features which include the short
animated film Season's Greetings that Dougherty made with the character
of Sam, the featurette The Lore and Legends of Halloween (narrated by
Brian Cox), behind-the-scenes footage, additional scenes and a digital
copy of the movie.
Final verdict: I
give the film and the Blu-ray release four stars. It is absolutely
gorgeous! Run out and buy it in time to watch for Halloween.
Dead Snow (2009) IMDb / Amazon
Third
time in a month I'm writing about Dead Snow. It just hit DVD and
Blu-ray two weeks ago and only played at the AMC Yonge-Dundas in Toronto last month. But it's oh-so-good zombie madness and I had to include
it in my series. Nazi-zombies
attack a group of cottaging medical students. Gory fun ensues. For a
lower budget Norwegian horror the Blu-ray release is excellent and
includes the special features Ein! Zwei! Die! The Making of
Dead Snow, featurettes on the make-up and special effects, trailers and
more. Norwegian with English subtitles.
Final verdict: Get this and show it to all your friends before it's remade by Michael Bay.
The Children (2008) IMDb / Amazon
One of the most disturbing horror films to deal with evil children
since The Bad Seed.
During a family Christmas vacation the children
become ill with what seems to be a flu. Soon they are turning violent
and attacking the adults. Thanks to a great cast, I've been haunted
since watching it and it made me do a double-take at my two-year-old
son. The high-def picture is clean on Blu-ray but it's the sound that won me over and creeped me out. Special features
include a making-of, deleted scenes, the featurette
Working With the Children and more.
Final verdict: A real surprise of a movie and one that I will watch every October now.
Drag Me To Hell (2009) IMDb / Amazon
What can I say? I'm
a sucker for a good Sam Raimi schlock-fest. The Spiderman director
returns to his roots with this wild comedy-horror about a woman (Alison
Lohman) who is cursed after she denies an elderly lady (Lorna Raver) an
extension on her mortgage payment. The film mixes horror, gore and
slapstick almost as brilliantly as Raimi's now-beloved Evil Dead 1
& 2.
Justin
Long co-stars as the boyfriend who doesn't believe what is happening
but supports her anyway (and yes, he uses a Mac). It's fun, scary and
perfect for a dark, cold fall night. Compared to the regular DVD I
reviewed recently the Blu-ray is much crisper and the contrast is
glorious. As with the regular DVD the theatrical and unrated version
of the film are included and the special features only include
Video Production Diaries (hosted by Long).
Final verdict: If you're a Raimi fan you will want to own this on Blu-ray.
Wrong Turn (2003) IMDb / Amazon & Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) IMDb / Amazon
Redneck
mutants killing and eating people is nothing new. But these two films get that genre and work well in it. Wrong Turn 2:
Dead End is especially surprising as it's a straight-to-video release
that plays up on reality television like Survivor. Thanks to a crazed
Henry Rollins though the film is quite decent and a worthwhile watch.
Do you need them on Blu-ray? No. Don't get me wrong, they look great
but they aren't groundbreaking. Special features on Wrong Turn include
commentary with director Rob Schmidt and stars Desmond Harrington and
Eliza Dushku, deleted scenes and four featurettes. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End includes audio commentaries and the featurettes More Blood, More Guts: The Making of Wrong Turn 2, Making Gore Look Good and On Location With P-Nut.
Final verdict: If you get the chance to see them on Blu-ray, great. I wouldn't rush out to buy them though.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) IMDb / Amazon
Debatable
whether this is horror or not but it's such a good title I wanted to
include it in my series. The gist of the film is that Hellboy and his
crew have to battle an evil force known as "The Golden Army" before they
kill all humanity. It's big, loud, dark and fun. Directed by Guillermo
del Toro (who did the first Hellboy as well) the film is visually
stunning and the picture and sound is flawless in high-def. This is a
disc you will use to convince your friends why Blu-ray is the future of
home entertainment. Special features include the documentary Hellboy: In Service Of The Demon
(which is over two-hours long), commentary by del Toro, deleted scenes
and more. The disc is also U-CONTROL enabled so you can access special
interactive behind-the-scenes clips and notes while you watch the film.
Final verdict: I'm going to boldly state that this disc alone is worth upgrading to Blu-ray for. What are you waiting for?
Shaun of the Dead (2004) IMDb / Amazon
Edgar
Wright has made one of the funniest horror-comedies ever with Shaun of
the Dead. The British humour and casting of Simon Pegg (who also wrote
the script with Wright) and Nick Frost is brilliant. And as we've seen
with films like Dead Snow, Shaun of the Dead is already inspiring young
filmmakers. If you're a fan of the film then you're going to love
seeing and hearing it in high-def. The transfer to Blu-ray is beautiful
and this is a worthy addition to your collection. Special features
include outtakes and deleted scenes, casting tapes and uncensored
commentary.
Final verdict: Definitely worth owning on Blu-ray if you're a fan.
The Reaping (2007) IMDb / Amazon
Not
the greatest movie ever made but I found it interesting and it did have
some genuinely creepy moments. Hillary Swank plays Katerine - a woman
who debunks religious phenomenons by proving science is behind it. When
she is called to Havan, a small town in the deep South that has had a
river turn to blood, she starts to question if this is actually one of
the ten biblical plagues. Unfortunately Warner Home Video dropped the
ball with this transfer and the picture is sloppy and not what you
would expect on Blu-ray. Special features include the featurettes
Science of the 10 Plagues, A Place Called Havan, AnnaSophia Robb's
Scary Story and more.
Final verdict: If you are one of the few people who like the movie wait for a better release before dropping the cash on this disc.
Other
new favourites available that I didn't get a chance to look at: Saw,
Audition, 28 Days Later, House of 1000 Corpses, Let the Right One In,
The Orphanage, The Midnight Meat Train
Let
me know what new horror movies you're enjoying on Blu-ray. Comment
below or email brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com with your
suggestions.
Top image: Scene from Trick 'r Treat. Courtesy Warner Home Video.