Hi-Def Horrors for Halloween

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Staff Writer

Halloween is coming quick, and it’s time to plan the home horror film fest, spookier and creepier than ever with the high-definition picture of a Blu-ray projected on a large white wall. As was the case last year at this time, the Blu-ray format is still so new that not a single one of the classic Universal horror films from the golden era of Hollywood horror has made it to BluRay as of yet. However, Mel Brooks’ hilarious parody of them, “Young Frankenstein,” has been available in a beautiful BluRay from Fox Home Video the past couple of years).

New to Blu-ray this fall are the original 1933 “King Kong,” although it’s really a borderline horror film, more adventure-fantasy leaning toward the monster-movie horror genre, and the 1956 classic, “Forbidden Planet, with its ingenious monster from the id, but that’s really a science-fiction film rather than strictly horror. Both are now available in impressive Blu-ray transfers from Warner Brothers Home Video, each with a generous supply of bonus features. “The Exorcist” has also recently come to BluRay in both its original cut and the expanded director’s cut. For a whole weekend of sci-fi horror from 1979-1997, the “Alien Anthology” box set of all four “Alien” films plus two jam-packed bonus discs just hit Blu-ray this week from Fox.

Psycho

Celebrating its 50th anniversary with a newly remastered edition on Blu-ray last week is Alfred Hitchcock’s ground-breaking “Psycho,” the 1960 thriller that changed the face of horror films forever. Instead of some intimidating mutated creature or alien being, the monster was the mild-mannered guy next door, and the name “Norman Bates” became embedded in our cultural consciousness. And a completely unexpected shift in the plot emphasis kept audiences guessing what could possibly happen next.

A brilliant performance by Anthony Perkins with strong support from Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, and the rest of the cast, aided by Hitchcock’s subversively clever approach, turned what might have been a forgettable low-budget murder thriller into gripping suspense that had audiences wrapped up in the lives of its two main characters.

Paramount’s inspired marketing plan, which refused to let anyone enter the auditorium after the film had started and pleaded with all patrons not to reveal the ending, resulted in long lines and a box office smash.

The Blu-ray edition has a magnificently crisp transfer of the film’s stark, Oscar-nominated black-and-white cinematography. Although the original sound recordings are lost, thanks to new digital technology, a French company was able to separate the music, sound effects, and dialogue into individual tracks that could be remixed into a very effective 5.1 stereo surround soundtrack. The original mono track is also included on the Blu-ray for purists.

Bonus features are also impressive, with a very good audio commentary, an informative 10-minute documentary on the soundtrack’s renovation, a revealing hour-and-a-half making-of documentary and another good documentary on Hitchcock’s influence on modern directors.

There’s also an audio interview between Hitchcock and François Truffaut, a promo film for exhibitors, a breakdown of the famous shower scene, stills, advertising, and more. Unfortunately all extras are standard-definition except the soundtrack documentary.

“Psycho” belongs in the Blu-ray collection of every film buff and can be found for about $20 or less. “PSYCHO” on Blu-ray:Movie: A / Video: A+ / Audio: A / Extras: A-

The Evil Dead

Sam Raimi’s low-budget classic “The Evil Dead” (1983) just came out on a nice Blu-ray from Anchor Bay on August 31, and its “limited edition” 2-disc set is already scarce, leaving the single-disc edition at the same bargain $10 price.

Shot on 16mm film, “The Evil Dead” helped revolutionize low-budget horror filmmaking and distribution almost as much as “Psycho” had done a generation earlier.

Bruce Campbell stars as one of a group of five friends who take a fateful vacation in a remote cabin where they discover an ancient “book of the dead,” which they unwisely read. Soon, of course, they are attacked and/or possessed by demons, with lots of blood and elaborate makeup effects that set the pattern for numerous imitators, few of which captured the sense of darkly comic absurdity that pervades “The Evil Dead.”

The Blu-ray was lovingly transferred from the original 16mm negative, making it look for the first time as good as it would have when it first came out. There are actually two separate HD transfers, one in the film’s original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and one in the cropped 1.85:1 widescreen version that was seen in most theatres. Because it was so low-budget, many shots are out-of-focus and the film is much grainier than a 35mm production would have been, but the color has survived well and the transfer is faithful to the film’s look. The soundtrack has been beautifully remixed for 5.1 stereo surround.

The only extra on the Blu-ray is an extremely interesting commentary with Raimi, Campbell, and their co-producer Robert Tappert, giving detailed background on how they made the film and got it distributed, although rarely referring to anything we’re seeing on screen as it’s happening. The Limited Edition, if you can still find it, includes a separate standard DVD full of documentaries, outtakes, tests, featurettes, stills, and more.

“THE EVIL DEAD” on Blu-ray Movie: B /Video: A- / Audio: A /Extras: C- (or A- for 2-disc “Limited Edition”)

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