Blood
Feast 4K (2016/Synapse 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray*)/Born
To Fly (2023/Well Go
Blu-ray)/Dark Water 4K
(2002/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/*both MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B/B-/X Sound: B/B/B-
Extras: C+/C-/C+ Films: C-/C/C+
Now
for two Ultra High Definition upgrades of some recent thrillers and a
new actioner...
A
remake / homage to H.G. Lewis' Blood Feast (1963), the 2016
modernized version hits 4K UHD disc and Blu-ray from Synapse in an
uncut release. The film is unintentionally funny in places and full
of plot holes, but follows the same story as the original. The best
aspect is certainly the special effects, which look realistic and
vicious. This uncut version of the film is available for the first
time in the USA with this release.
Blood
Feast 4K (2016)
stars Robert Rusler (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2), Caroline
Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), and Sophie Monk (The
Hills Run Red.) The film is directed by Marcel Walz. The
addition of Caroline Williams certainly helps the film as she is the
strongest performer of the bunch.
A
family of three have a Americanized diner in France that is
struggling to keep fresh meat in stock. The store's owner, a
bumbling pill popping buffoon, works night shift at a museum where a
seductive Egyptian goddess haunts him and forces him to kill and
create a cannibal blood feast, which will usher in her earthly
resurrection. The man stops taking his pills, abandons all
rationality, and ends up murdering folks around him in creative ways
until the final banquet of human remains is served.
Blood
Feast 4K is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with HDR10, an HEVC
/ H.265 codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and an audio track
in lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
sound. The film looks fine in terms of presentation and a touch more
detail than the also included 1080p Blu-ray disc (with identical
sound mixes and widescreen aspect ratio). But the film is pretty
shadowy and dark overall and show on a low budget, and the
cinematography isn't bad, but not super impressive either.
Special
Features include:
Indiegogo
promotional teaser
Theatrical
trailer
"Making
Of" featurette
Chilli
Con Curtis "Tonite" Music Video
Red
Carpet Premiere 2018
and
Scare Cam.
Blood
Feast looks okay on 4K UHD, but nothing to really write home
about. The film itself doesn't have much to offer except a few
decently pulled off special effects sequences. I'd say stick to the
original if you want to enjoy the now-franchise of Blood Feast.
Liu
Xiaoshi's Born
To Fly
(2023) is trying to be like the Tom Cruise Top
Gun
films, but instead, lands up looking like one of the odd Iron
Eagle
sequels, minus any music by Queen or familiar Hollywood faces. Also
taking cues from Clint Eastwood's odd and oddly aging Firefox,
a new South Korean test pilot (Wang Yibo) is pushed into an
unexpected crisis that forces him to push his experimental,
state-of-the-art aircraft to its limits when a crisis strikes that he
was not expecting.
What
follows (with an unknown cast that is at least trying) has its share
of energy, loudness and some punch, but it only adds up to so much
(unless you are from South Korea, I guess) and is everything you have
seen before (especially in the reactionary fighter plane films of the
1980s) and when all is said and done, barely offers nothing else new
except fresh locations and those new faces. For the curious only, I
was a little, oddly disappointed.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is an HD shot, possibly
Ultra HD save the CGI digital visuals being a mixed bag, has its
share of slight softness and detail limits, plus a little slight
motion blur. Money is on the screen, but it still can look dated and
not as good as it could look. The Mandarin DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is professional and consistent,
but has no major demo moments and at least retains a decent
soundfield. The combination is good, but I wonder if this would work
better in 4K.
A
trailer for this and a few other Well Go USA releases are the only
extras.
Hideo
Nakada's original Dark
Water 4K
(2002) has been issued in a new Ultra HD version and fans will likely
want to get it. You can read more about the original film from
someone who liked it very much at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14546/Dark+Water+(2002/MVD+Visual/Arrow+Blu-ray+w
I
think it is still a good film and agree that it is better than its
Hollywoodized remake which did not know totally what to do with star
Jennifer Connolly, making it an unnecessarily obnoxious disaster, but
this women trapped tale still does not offer too much new from what
we have seen in the genre since silent movies. However, the
location, look, acting and some style choices are nto bad. The
result is either you'll like it, you'll be bored or you'll think it
is only interesting sometimes when watching like I did. Now, you
have the bets way to see it yourself.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image has some faint grain
throughout, but that is part of the look of the film and it just
edges out what I remember from the older Arrow Blu-ray, while the
Japanese
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that is decent, but not
spectacular.
Extras
repeat those of the previous Blu-ray release, including some that
were only part of the original Limited Edition run of that version.
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (Feast 4K)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
