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Varsity Blood
R2 - United Kingdom - Image Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (12th August 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** School's out forever. A pack of muscle-headed small town jocks and their bouncy cheerleader girlfriends share a dark secret – and they’re about to share a whole lot more. It’s Halloween, and they've got every reason to go wild. Heading out to a remote farmhouse for a night of booze and bad behaviour, they soon find more than they've bargained for in the shape of their team mascot, an Indian warrior wielding a lethal fighting axe. One by one they will fall victim to a killer who is about to learn: a dead cheerleader can be pretty… bloody. They cheer. They fear. They die.
Video
Image Entertainment have released the 2014 eighties style slasher "Varsity Blood" on to DVD for British audiences at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which is anamorphic. The transfer is pretty average for low budget horror - wholly watchable, but with some obvious issues. The biggest issue in this transfer, is the surprisingly large amount of posterisation which seems to litter the screen on occasion. One of the most obvious moments of this, is at 26:49, on the back of the t-shirt of the male character. This is not something we see to this degree too often, so it's rather annoying when you notice it. The other biggest problem is the poor lighting on set, especially during the last act. This is not a problem with the transfer, and is more of a headache that comes from the low budget production, but it does result in generally low detail, especially in the shadows. The transfer isn't all bad though. The lighter scenes do show the palette popping, specifically the whites and red of the cheerleader uniforms. There seems to be some light artificial grain added in post-production, which isn't overly noisy and suits the tone of the feature well, and there aren't any obvious signs of damage. Those familiar with low budget horror will be happy with the transfer, but there are certainly ways in which the picture quality could be improved upon. The disc is PAL, and the feature is uncut, running 83:12.
Audio
Image Entertainment have provided two audio options here: - English Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo For my viewing, I opted for the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track which was above average for a low budget independent horror. The surrounds are used mainly for the rather formulaic score by Tom Jemmott, though the occasional environmental effect does creep into the rears for cheap jump scares. Dialogue is clear at all times, and volume levels are consistent. The LFE isn't used too much which is disappointing, but when it is, the low rumblings are done well. As to be expected for such a new feature, there are no signs of any sort of problems here. I noticed no drop outs, scratches, or signs of background hiss. No subtitles have been included.
Extras
Start-up Trailers (3:40): - "Hunting the Legend" (1:08) - "Camp Dread" (1:22) - "The Invoking" (1:10)
Overall
Although the movie didn't quite resonate with me, I do think hardcore fans of old-school eighties slashers will want to check it out.
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