Addiction
4K (1995/4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray)/Invasion 4K
(2007/4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Last
Video Store
(2023/Blu-ray/all MVD/Arrow)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B/B+ Picture: X/X/B Sound: B/B/B-
Extras: B-/C+/C Films: B-/C-/C
Now
for some odd genre entries that are unusual, even for the horror
genre....
Able
Ferrera's Addiction
4K
(1995) is a solid upgrade to the Lily Taylor vampire film that Arrow
already did a nice Blu-ray edition of, which we reviewed here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15220/Addiction,+The+(1995*)/Case+Of+The+Scorpion's
Annabella
Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon and Fredro Starr are also very
good here in what has become a one-of-a-kind time capsule film in the
genre, all shot on black and white film and looking good. It also
reminds us of how good and rich
independent film used to be, all these actors really good (Falco
before The Sopranos
and Nurse Jackie) and Taylor still a highly underrated
actress who can more than handle the lead here. Extras are the same
(including an Image Gallery) and everyone should see this one at
least once, but expect a dark film.
Speaking
of Ferrera, his 1993 film Body
Snatchers
did not work out for Warner like they had hopped, so they tried
remaking Invasion
Of The Body Snatchers
again with
James McTeigue's
The
Invasion 4K
(2007) pairing Daniel Craig with Nicole Kidman. It bombed, but we
covered it in the defunct HD-DVD format here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6586/The+Invasion+(2007;+HD-DVD/DVD+Combo+Form
That
includes a link to our coverage of Ferrera's Body Snatchers.
The transfer outdoes the good one from that era and the sound is
upgraded, but has aged a bit. Unfortunately, we do not get an
alternate cut or any missing footage, so we get the same bad cut that
sadly doomed this big budget remake and wasted two of my favorite
actors in the process. Still, this 4K edition is now the best way to
see it outside of a very high quality film print.
Extras
include those from the older HD editions and are expanded, including
a brand new audio commentary by film critics Andrea Subisati and
Alexandra West, co-hosts of The
Faculty of Horror
podcast
Cody
Kennedy and Tim Rutherford's The
Last Video Store
(2023) is a horror comedy from Canada with a young woman (Yaayaa
Adams) accidentally landing up with the wrong VHS tape, one that
happens to be haunted and worse, so back to the store it goes and it
brings all kinds of madness with it. Matthew Kennedy plays the store
owner, trying to survive and now, wondering if this will end his
store before he gives it one last shot to keep it profitable.
Not
for everyone, Canadians have this great sense of humor in subtle ways
(think The
Red Green Show,
some of the SCTV
and SNL
gang, Bob Clark's Children
Shouldn't Play With Dead Things)
that makes this different versus any version of such humor you would
get from the U.S., U.K., Australia and the like. I give the makers
credit for thinking the screenplay through and going all out and
leaving no stone unturned here. I wish more such projects, including
big budget ones, were this thorough.
Extras
include a new feature length audio commentary by film critics Matt
Donato & Meagan Navarro
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p
HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, black & white, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra
HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Addiction
4K is just a little
better than the already fine Blu-ray edition Arrow also issued a few
years ago, but I like this one a little more because it has a more
natural look, grain and all, nice depth and field and detail. The
Video Black is rich without being muddy and Video White as clear and
clean as can be expected and this still is a horror movie. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes are the
same as the regular Blu-ray set and hold up just fine.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Invasion 4K
has really nice color and improves on the old HD master in detail,
depth and overall appearance, looking good and holding up well
enough. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is better in some ways than the older sound
on the discs, yet is missing something in clarity or this mix is
revealing some kind of limits. Whether this is the source used for
IMAX presentations is another story, but we do not know as of this
posting. Still, it is richer and warmer than previous sound mixes
for the film on home video.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Last
Video Store is a slid,
colorful HD shoot that works and is not afraid of plenty of analog
video images, per the narrative and point of the film, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes are not
bad, with the 5,.1 having the slightest edge. However, the low
budget shows here and the sound is somewhat limited. Still, this is
the best this film will ver sound.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
