The Scream Factory Crypt

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 6: Bad Moon

Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 6 is, Bad Moon!

Bad Moon is one of my favorite werewolf movies. It’s lean, mean and gory. Plus the werewolf effects are awesome (except for the last transformation that reveals the movies late 90’s vibe). That Scream Factory has released this on blu-ray has truly been a surprise of the best possible kind. Based on the novel, Thor, Bad Moon takes place in the rural mountains of Washington, where a photojournalist Ted returns from a trip in Nepal to see his sister, Janet. What his sister doesn’t know is that Ted and his girlfriend were attacked by a werewolf, his girlfriend was killed and Ted received the curse of lycanthropy. Janet lives alone with her son, Brett, and his loyal German Shepard Thor. Thor senses there is something wrong with Ted, but do Janet and her son realize too late?

Bad Moon is such a fun ride. The opening is super sexy, and super violent. Blood flows, the werewolf chomps. I like my werewolf movies with a sense of the werewolf being almost super human. I also like how lean the movie is. It howls by in 79 minutes. The disc has two cuts of the film, and they both run about the same. The director’s cut is the way to go, it features a smidge more gore, nudity and it ditches some of the silly CGI werewolf transformation. Michael Pare plays Ted with a great amount of sympathy and menace, he was a great casting choice.

Bad Moon arrives on blu-ray looking amazing. I have seen this movie many times on DVD and watching it in high definition is like watching a new movie. The lush forest sprayed with gooey red looks amazing. No crushed blacks and the grain is kept at a minimum. This transfer looks stunning.

The howls on Bad Moon sound great as well. Dialogue is crisp and clear. The sound effects are bone crunching, teeth gnawingly awesome. No issues here.

The disc is not a Collector’s Edition but it packs some pretty great extras. The commentary by director Eric Red is informative and very well thought out, however you can tell he is reading from notes which makes listening to it somewhat of a chore as Red does not sound organic in his observations. Informative but a little dull. The best feature is Nature of the Beast: Making Bad Moon that features interviews with the cast and crew. I always admire Scream Factory’s ability to get some of these actors and crew to talk about a lost horror gem. Also included are a theatrical trailer and some really cool animated storyboards.

Another Scream Factory release that has me drooling, if you are a fan of werewolf movies you owe it to yourself to pick up, Bad Moon!

Movie: A-

Video: A

Audio: A

Extras: B+

Overall: A

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 5: Bad Dreams/Visiting Hours

Scream Factory does a great job on these double feature film sets. The films will have similar tones, and while they may not meet the criteria for their collector’s editions, if they can, they will still put some nice features on the disc adding to the value.

Bad Dreams is a neat little horror film. After a child survives a fire at a suicide cult she awakes from a thirteen year coma, only to find that the deranged cult leader might be alive as well. Bad Dreams on the surface seems to be sort of A Nightmare on Elm Street rip off, and that is a little true. But it does benefit from above average special effects, and some pretty good talent in front of and behind the camera. Bruce Abbott and Richard Lynch lead a more then capable cast. Bad Dreams was directed by Andrew Fleming who would go on and direct the cult favorite, The Craft as well as some great TV shows like Arrested Development. The pedigree is in Bad Dreams and for gore fans it has some pretty great deaths. Overall a pretty solid horror film.

Visiting Hours isn’t quite as good as Bad Dreams, but serves as a capable slasher film. An anchorwoman, Deborah Ballin survives an attack from a deranged killer. When the killer finds out she is still alive he pays her a visit! Also taking place in a hospital, Visiting Hours was released at the height of slasher mania. It doesn’t slash with the best of them, but it is a fun movie. It also sports a great cast, Lee Grant and William Shatner appear in Visiting Hours adding to its credibility. Like most slasher films that try to take themselves too seriously, Visiting Hours suffers from some pacing issues. Overall not as good as Bad Dreams, but still lots of fun.

You will find Bad Dreams/Visiting Hours packaged on the same disc but each film doesn’t suffer too much in video clarity and detail. Both movies look better than they have before with only a little noise and grain peeking in. Having seem Visiting Hours before on DVD I can say that the picture is noticeably better.

The audio won’t blow you away but it gets the job done. Both are presented in Master Audio Mono so not too much in the way of pushing your sound system to the max.

The extras on the disc are surprisingly packed, especially for Bad Dreams. On Bad Dreams there is an informative commentary by the director, plus interviews with the cast and crew. A feature on the cool special effects, a behind the scenes feature. Plus the original ending and theatrical trailer, not bad for a semi-successful horror film. Visiting Hours is light but still has a welcome interview with the screenwriter and some radio and TV spots.

Bad Dreams/Visiting Hours is a pretty solid horror double feature, above average films, average video and audio, plus some pretty solid extras make this a bargain double feature. If hospital killing shenangins are to your liking this disc is definitely worth your time.

Films, Bad Dreams: B+/Visiting Hours: B-

Video: B-

Audio: B-

Overall: B

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 4: Backcountry

Backcountry tells the somewhat true story about a couple of young Canadians who go back packing in the Canadian wilderness and are hunted by a man eating bear, or that’s what the cover of the film would have you believe. Jenn and Alex are the couple we follow and are likable. Alex is confident that he can lead Jenn on an adventure she will never forget. For the first hour of Backcountry it plays more as a drama then a horror film. Jenn and Alex have troubles that are exacerbated not only by Alex’s overconfidence but also by Brad a hunky tour guide who shows up out of the blue on the first night the couple go camping. Slowly we learn of Alex’s intentions for bringing Jenn out to the wilderness but that’s only after the couple get lost and have a falling out. The bear does show up and wreaks havoc and turns a drama into a full fledge survival horror film.

Backcountry is better than I thought it would be. The leads are strong and do a great job carrying the film when it’s just the two of them. Eric Balfour plays Brad, but for some reason he’s Irish in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Balfour is the right amount of threat, but being Irish is a weird choice and Balfour’s accent is not bad, not great. It could be that I am so familiar with Balfour that makes it a tough sale on his accent. The bear attack is well shot and scary. Overall for a movie that started out as a joke on the podcast as “Ghost Bear”, turned out to be a pretty solid flick.

The video for the release of Backcountry is pretty good. Nothing looks unnatural, credit must be given to the filmmakers on making a great looking film on only 16 days of shooting.

Audio is an important part of a survival movie, Backcountry sounds great. The Canadian ambience and the bear roars are on point. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand.

As far as the extras go, Backcountry is surprisingly loaded. A nearly 20 minute making of, a silly short feature called “Bear Shots” (it’s pretty funny). My favorite is the commentary by the Director Adam Macdonald, actors Jeff Roop and Missy Peregrym, I love when small budget films have commentary, passion is always heard by the participants.

Overall, Backcountry is a solid little film. I would definitely recommend this movie for fans of animal attack movies and survival films as well.

Film: B

Video: B+

Audio: A-

Extras: B

Overall: B

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 3: The Babadook

An Australian film that is expertly crafted and told, The Babadook is one hell of a scary movie. After the violent death of her husband, Amelia is left to raise her emotionally disturbed son, Samuel alone. Sam has trouble sleeping and trouble at school, which in turn makes Amelia’s life difficult. One day a book appears on her doorstep, Mister Babadook. The book scares both mother and son with its creepy rhymes and even more creepy pictures. After reading the book strange things start happening to both Amelia and Samuel. Samuel is talking to what appears to be no one or nothing. Amelia starts not being able to sleep and is seeing things that aren’t there. Or are they?

The Babadook does a great job of blurring the lines of reality, never letting the viewer settle into a comfort zone. The Babadook works so well because I truly believe two people who have seen the film can have two totally different experiences to what they just saw. Is The Babadook real? Is Amelia imagining everything? Those are questions viewers will be asking themselves watching this film.

The video on this release is first class. Anytime a movie relies heavily on blacks it can look really crushed and pixelated but The Babadook looks silky smooth. It’s a good thing too, because Mister Babadook is an almost all black entity so it’s important to not lose the effectiveness of the creature. The palate of the film is also muted but it looks fantastic.

The audio stands out as well. In any supernatural horror film, the ambiance is super important. The Babadook is aggressive when it needs to be and subtle at the right times. All dialogue comes through with as much clarity as the things that go bump in the night.

The extras on the disc are pretty stacked. There’s Jennifer Kent’s Short Film, Monster, as well as deleted scenes, plus a few featurettes on the technical side of the film. Also included is an over hour feature with cast and crew interviews. The features are informative and cool, they really give you an idea of the film making process.

The Babadook is a great film. The blu-ray is equally as great. Pick it up you won’t regret it. (Well maybe just a little. I got the first pressing which comes with a slipcover that resembles the book in the film. Including a pop-out Mister Babadook when you open it. Sorry it was limited edition, but the blu-ray still comes with all the great features.)

Film: A

Video: A-

Audio: A

Extras: A

Overall: A

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 2: The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Autopsy of Jane Doe came seemingly out of nowhere and captured the attention of horror fans. The film starts Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox as a son and father coroners who one night are brought the body of a beautiful young woman who was found at a horrific crime scene. The sheriff asks the men to find out who she is and how she died.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is expertly shot and staged. The film plays as both a great horror film and psychological thriller. It slowly builds tension as it peels back the layers of the mystery. Hirsch and Cox are fantastic, having wonderful chemistry together. As the mystery unfolds the film does fall into some familiar horror tropes which keep it from being an all-time great. It is however one solid horror film.

The picture is solid throughout the film with little in the way of blemishes or compression issues. The scenes are appropriately lit with some nice lighting that sneaks in at the right time.

The sound is solid but nothing special. The sound effects are great and come through with precise clarity. The dialogue sometimes is drowned out however and that keeps the disc for being truly special audibly.

The most disappointing aspect of this release is the special features are not special. All we get are trailers for the film with about a total of 6 minutes of Jane Doe trailers. I would have loved to hear what the film makers said about this film.

I do recommend The Autopsy of Jane Doe on the strength of film and the standout picture quality. The audio is good not great, but the special features leave a lot to be desired.

Film: B+

Video: A-

Sound: B

Extras: D

Overall: B

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 1: Army of Darkness

Army of Darkness has had many releases on home video, and finally Scream Factory puts all of the meaningful cuts of the film on a stupendous 3-Disc Collector’s Edition. I am biased as I stated above this is my favorite movie and I have bought every version of this on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. I am happy to say that this is about as definitive as you can get.

Army of Darkness follows Ash Williams as he is sucked into a worm hole at the end of Evil Dead 2 and winds up in 13^th century England. After literally falling from the sky, the King of the land, Arthur believes he is part of Henry the Red’s army, his sworn enemy. Soon Arthur learns that Ash is not part of Henry’s army but indeed from the future. Ash soon sets out to retrieve the Necronomicon, an unholy book that can send him back to his time and save Arthur and his people.

Army of Darkness is probably the zaniest movie ever. From horror, to comedy, to adventure, to romance this movie is all over the place. It’s held together by Bruce Campbell, who plays Ash. He spews one-liners, is a coward and a hero sometimes in the matter of seconds. If this wasn’t directed by Sam Raimi it might not work, but it does and it is one hell of a ride.

The set has four cuts of the film, the Theatrical, Director’s, International, and in standard definition the television cut. Each has its strengths. The theatrical cut is the leanest and probably the one I would show to new comers. The Director’s Cut, is 15 minutes longer and the ending is edited very differently. It is cool to see the full windmill scene, and the ending is more fitting, but the extra 15 minutes are not totally necessary. Sam Raimi points this out in the commentary track. The International cut is 88 minutes so about 7 minutes longer then the theatrical. It’s solid as well. The television cut is a rough watch due to the source but awesome that it’s included.

The video looks great. Each version looks really organic with only minimal grain. The international cut sports a new 4k scan from the inter-positive which in turn makes it look the strongest, but only slightly.

The sound is a standout as well, all cuts (except TV) feature DTS-HD Master audio 5.1. The sound design really flourishes and you can hear all the wacky sound effects and voices that Sam Raimi (usually he is the one making the voices as well) put in.

Army of Darkness really earns its Collector’s Edition title. It is absolutely stuffed with extras. A highlight is the new feature length documentary, Medieval Times: The Making of Army of Darkness. It has some great new interviews, however Sam Raimi is missing as seems to be the case with all his movies now which is a bummer. He is funny and smart, but at least you can listen to him on the previously released commentary on the Director’s Cut. Scream Factory also brought over several vintage featurettes. My favorite is Behind the Scenes with KNB Effects. INC.

Army of Darkness earns my highest recommendation, Hail To The King, Baby!

Movie Ratings:

Film: A+

Video: A

Sound: A

Extras: A+

Overall: A+

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The Scream Factory Crypt Part 6: Bad Moon

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 5: Bad Dreams/Visiting Hours

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 4: Backcountry

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 3: The Babadook

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 2: The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Scream Factory Crypt Part 1: Army of Darkness