Home Video
[BD Review] ‘Dead Before Dawn’ Is More Concept Than Substance
Dead Before Dawn is a Canadian horror comedy starring Devon Bostick (from the Wimpy Kid movies) as Casper Galloway, an average, insecure college student. After taking care of his grandfather’s occult book shop, Casper and his friends make the mistake of touching and breaking a “cursed” urn. However, they make up their own curse – one which causes a plague of “zemons” -zombie demons that are possessed by the cursed urn that don’t eat brains but give hickies and cause mass suicide and more zemons. With this originality, the movie should have a cute, silly plot, but in reality, it doesn’t hold much weight.
Bostick is a natural comedian in this capacity. His exaggeration and zaniness works well in regard to the script. The script itself is supposed to be over the top, and it has some moments of hilarity. While Bostick’s acting abilities mesh with the story, actor Tim Doiron comes across like a photocopy of a young Jim Carrey impression. His fedora wearing character ends up seeming unoriginal and distracting. Watching without knowing that both Doiron and female lead April Mullen are actually the creators of the film, was actually beneficial. To go back and rewatch the movie knowing this would have had made it less enjoyable due to the fact that their characters already feel like they are trying to steal the story away from Casper. Even with veteran Christopher Lloyd as Casper’s grandfather, this goofy movie falls a bit short in its slapstick routine. Perhaps it is supposed to be just that, but it has a presence that tries to suggest otherwise.
The bluray disc has a trailer, character profiles, bloopers, behind the scenes, music videos and a 45 minute making of feature. The cast and crew are very enthusiastic about how incredible director April Mullen and everyone else involved is. The feature runs a bit long in repeating itself, plus the constant boasting about how Mullen is the ‘first female and youngest director to direct a live action Stereoscopic 3D feature film’ is off-putting. Repeating this almost seems like a tactic to bandage the fact that the film itself isn’t groundbreaking – even with ‘half zombie, half demon, all zemon’ being a chant some fans could get behind. It is unfortunate that I was not sent the 3D Blu-ray for review, as it could have possibly added to the entertainment value.
I first heard about Dead Before Dawn when it was being promoted at the 2012 FanExpo in Toronto. With the story being more concept than substance, there is a reason it took over a year for the film to have wide release. For as nice as the production value of Dead Before Dawn is, it is a shame the film isn’t more entertaining.
Home Video
Vinegar Syndrome Announces New 4K Releases, Including ‘Night School’, ‘Body Snatchers’, and ‘Lady in White’ [Trailer]
Vinegar Syndrome is kicking off July with a trio of newly-announced horror releases. Fans longing for more fleshed-out releases of Ken Hughes‘ 1981 slasher Night School and Abel Ferrara‘s 1993 adaptation of Jack Finney’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers in Body Snatchers are in luck. As are those who have been waiting for Frank LaLoggia‘s 1988 gorgeous Lady in White, which is getting a hefty set of its own. All three releases are up for pre-orders now on the Vinegar Syndrome website.
Previously released on Blu-Ray from the Warner Archive Collection, Night School will receive a 4K UHD upgrade for the first time. Retailing for $42.99, the two-disc set will include a new 4K scan from the original camera negative, and features a special limited edition spot gloss slipcover designed by Ben Marra.
- 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- New commentary track with associate producer Leon Williams, stuntman Jeffrey Leavitt, and film historian Bryan Thomas Norton
- New commentary track with director of photography Mark Irwin and film historian Bryan Thomas Norton
- “Head Hunter” (22 min) – an interview with actor Leonard Mann
- “Street Born” (28 min) – an interview with actor Joseph R. Sicari
- “Stunt Killer” (9 min) – an interview with stuntman Jeffrey Leavitt
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve artwork
Meanwhile, also previously released on Blu-Ray from the Warner Archive Collection, Body Snatchers is also getting a 4K upgrade. Retailing for $46.99, this two-disc set will also sport a new 4K scan, and comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Adam Maida), as well as including a 40-page perfect bound book.
- 2-disc Set: 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- New commentary track with author & critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- “Who Are the Good Guys?” (13 min) – an interview with director Abel Ferrara
- “The First Cut is Mine” (17 min) – an interview with editor Anthony Redman
- “Adults in the Room” (13 min) – an interview with second unit director Phil Neilson
- “The Brass Ring” (25 min) – an interview with composer Joe Delia
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Elena Lazic, Willow Catelyn MaClay, and Glenn Kenny (limited edition only)
- Theatrical trailer
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork
Lastly, Lady in White, which Scream Factory first released on Blu-Ray back in 2016, will receive a whopping 4-disc set. Retailing for $46.99, the set features a new 4K scan from the original negative, and will come with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), and includes a 40-page perfect bound book. In addition, Vinegar Syndrome is including three versions of the film, with the Director’s Cut on 4K UHD.
- 4-disc Set: 1x 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate BD100) / 3x Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Presented in three versions: 126-min Pre-Release Director’s Cut (UHD+BD), the 118-min Extended Home Video Cut (BD), and the 113-min Theatrical Cut (BD)
- New group commentary track with writer/director Frank LaLoggia, alongside actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut
- New commentary track with Frank LaLoggia, moderated by Scott Neumyer for the Extended Home Video Cut
- New commentary track with authors Emma Westwood and Stephen A. Russell for the Extended Home Video Cut
- Archival commentary track with Frank LaLoggia for the Extended Home Video Cut
- “Learning How to Fly” (10 min) – an interview with actress Karen Powell
- “A Snapshot in Time” (9 min) – an interview with actress Lisa Taylor
- “Human Touches” (6 min) – an interview with actress Lucy Lee Flippin
- “Still Relevant” (16 min) – an interview with actress Rose Weaver
- “75% Listening, 25% Editing” (9 min) – an interview with editor Steve Mann
- “Welcome to Willowpoint Falls” (6 min) – a location featurette hosted by Benjamin Scrivens, founder of Fright-Rags
- “Dream Talking: Looking Back” – a visual group commentary for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut with Frank LaLoggia, and actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou (103 min)
- Deleted Scenes with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (36 min)
- Behind-the-scenes footage with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (16 min)
- Extended behind-the-scenes footage (73 min)
- Introduction from the 20th anniversary dvd release
- Promotional ‘industry sales’ trailer (7 min)
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Molly Henery, Mark H. Harris, and Heidi Honeycutt (limited edition only)
- Multiple radio spots
- Theatrical trailer
- Multiple TV spots
- Workprint trailers (7 min)
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork