VERDICT
HOME CINEMA CHOICE SEPTEMBER 2019
92 WEIRD SCIENCE/LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
'If you go down to
the woods today...'Sometimes, dead is better...
...and this Stephen King story should have been left to rest in peace
Published in 1983, Pet Sematary is perhaps the
nastiest and bleakest of Stephen King’s novels,
and the author has gone on record stating that of all
those he's written, this is the one that scared him the
most. Borrowing from W.W. J a co b s ’ i n fl uential 1902
short story The Monkey’s Paw, with a splash of the
old ‘ancient Indian burial ground’ horror trope thrown
in for good measure, it tells the story of a Boston
doctor, Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who moves his
family to rural Maine, only for tragedy to strike when
their child is killed by a speeding truck. Thanks to
a friendly neighbour (John Lithgow), Louis learns
that in the woods behind his new home is a way of
bringing his child back from the dead. But those that
return are never quite the same...
In the documentary that accompanies this
Blu-ray, co-directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin
Kolsch talk a lot about ‘re-adapting’ King’s book
rather than simply remaking the previous 1989 Pet
Sematary movie. That would be fi ne, yet outside of
some small touches (reinstating the swamps and
Wendigo), their fi lm follows many of the same plot
and character alterations as its predecessor – and
goes on to make some even bigger ones that take it
even further away from King’s original story. The end
result is a generic fright fi lm.
Picture: The Pet Sematary Blu-ray sports an
authentically gloomy AVC 2.40:1-framed 1080p
encode that prioritises atmosphere over impressing
you with its visual elan. Light levels are kept fairly
subdued, with daylight exteriors rarely displaying
much in the way of brightness peaks. Thankfully,
strong detailing in such sequences helps keep things
from looking too fl at. Night scenes, especially those
beyond the ‘Deadfall’, don’t fare quite so well,
appearing murky and indistinct at times.
Audio: The Dolby Atmos sound design is the
highlight of this BD. No matter how lifeless the fi lm
may seem at times, the soundtrack bristles with
surround activity – be it subtle ambience or more
dramatic cues. Overhead speakers get their share
of the action too, with Chapter 5’s fl ashback to the
death of Rachel’s sister delivering some extremely
convincing discrete height eff ects.
Extras: Bonuses kick off with an alternate ending
that gets closer to the book’s climax, followed by
seven deleted/extended scenes and some mini
featurettes. Most substantial is the hour-long
documentary Beyond the Deadfall, which does a
solid job of covering the fi lm’s production and speaks
to most of the key players (apart from King). AvB« Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary
« Paramount
« All-region BD « £25
WE SAY: An average remake that
fails to do King’s novel justice. It
sounds great on Blu-ray, though.Movie:
Picture:
Audio:
Extras:
OVERALL:The Hole in the
Ground
Weird Science Lust for a Vampire Happy Death Day 2U
Riffi ng a bit on The
Babadook and The Bad
Seed, this supernatural
psychodrama follows
a single mother fl eeing
a troubled past who
starts to suspect her
son has been replaced by a malevolent
imposter. And what does it have to do
with a large sinkhole in the nearby woods?
This BD’s muted 2.40:1 1080p encode may
occasionally fall prey to black crush, but
there are no issues with the involving and
dynamic DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. The
sole extra is a 14-minute Making of... that
off ers up some interesting details. AvB
The second in
Hammer’s ‘Karnstein
Trilogy’, Lust for a
Vampire (1971) made
full use of relaxing
censorship laws in the
UK to up the sex and
violence, but was content to simply go
through the motions when it came to the
actual story. Not one of Hammer’s best,
yet this gorgeous 1.66:1-framed Blu-ray
encode ensures it looks sensational. The
trio of new featurettes are interesting,
but it’s a shame the old DVD commentary
is absent. And be ready to turn the
volume down when the overpowering
disc menu music pipes up. AvBThe Back to the Future
Part II to its
predecessor’s
Groundhog Day, this
playful sequel adds a
dash of sci-fi to the
time-loop gimmick
with the addition of parallel universes.
Some fans may lament the shift away
from the slasher dynamics of the original,
others will embrace the changes this
sequel rings. Happy Death Day 2U hits
Blu-ray with a pin-sharp 2.40:1 Full HD
encode (hampered only by intermittent
noise spikes during darker scenes) and
thrilling DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. The extras,
however, are completely forgettable. AvBWhether you view it as
a prime piece of 1980s
teen nostalgia or a
misogynist cinematic
relic, John Hughes’s
third fi lm falls some
way short of his best
work. Episodic and only fi tfully funny,
Weird Science’s saving grace is Kelly
LeBrock, who proves surprisingly
charming as the fl irty Mary Poppins
cooked up by the fi lm's nerdy ‘heroes’.
Compared to the sub-par transfer
found on Universal’s earlier BD, Arrow’s
beautifully fi lm-like 4K restoration is a
revelation. Extras includes theatrical and
extended cuts of the fi lm. AvBUniversal Pictures « All-region B BD
£16
Studiocanal « Region B BD & R2 DVD
£23Universal Pictures « All-region B BD
£25Arrow Video « Region B BD
£25