Home Video
[Review] ‘Area 51’ Tapes Should Have Stayed Hidden
In 2009 Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity became a monster indie success, propelling him to director stardom. Before the film had even left theaters he was abducted by IM Global to get behind the camera for the top secret Area 51, about a group of kids (Sandra Staggs, Roy Abramsohn, David Saucedo, Glenn Campbell, and Jelena Nik) who break into the infamous Nevada Military Base.
After years of “tinkering” (test screenings, reshoots, new edits, etc.), Paramount Insurge has finally uploaded the footage that has become as much a lore in the horror community as the actual Area 51. The footage, while ambitious beyond belief, crashes pretty hard into the desert sand.
I was beyond excited after seeing the trailer as it looked like something right up my alley (I’m not only a found-footage sympathizer, but I love conspiracy theories and aliens). The concept was rock solid, and the set up was believable enough that it looked like it could finally be the first scary alien-horror film since Fire In the Sky.
Unfortunately, Area 51 is nothing more than a clunky mess of shaky-cam footage that looks as if the film’s editor just gave up.
What was so exciting in the trailer, is an elongated snooze-fest of exposition in the film. Peli spends a lot of time explaining how these kids are going to break into Area 51. It sells the premise, surprisingly well, but feels like chunks of wasted exposition. It’s boring.
But I kept telling myself that it’s all to sell the believability of the final act inside the elusive Area 51. But herein lies the problem, what happens inside the base is impossible to relate to (trying to keep this spoiler free), thus rendering the entire third act impotent.
Again, Peli does a remarkable job of selling the locations, especially the inside of the base, but all of the “alien stuff” crashes so hard it makes me wonder if it’s even possible to truly make an alien movie that’s both scary and realistic.
(Obvious spoiler) Area 51 delivers on its premise and promise of aliens, but ultimately the CGI and effects work undo it all. And to make matters worse, the ending is frustratingly obvious, and leaves nothing to the imagination.
I think it’s safe to assume why Paramount never released Area 51, and frankly maybe they should have kept the tapes a secret for the rest of eternity. The idea of Area 51 seems to be what’s truly frightening about it, not what’s actually going on inside.
Scream Factory brought Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 Halloween movie Lady in White to Blu-ray several years back, and now Vinegar Syndrome gives the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Lady in White 4K release is available now and shipping now!
Watch the trailer below and grab your copy from Vinegar Syndrome today.
This limited edition 4-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray x 3 set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on their website and at select indie retailers.
The full Special Features package includes…
- 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
- English SDH subtitles
1962. Nine-year-old Frankie Scarlatti enjoys a homespun childhood in a rustic Western New York town. The entire community gets into the spirit of Halloween, but then two bullies prank Frankie by locking him in his school cloakroom, leaving him trapped for the night. Alone and afraid, his slumber is interrupted when the ghost of a little girl appears, and Frankie witnesses the specter of her murder by an unseen assailant. Later, while recovering at home, the girl’s ghost appears to him again. With help from his older brother, Frankie begins investigating the circumstances of her death. He soon discovers that her murder was one of several unsolved crimes connected to a local child-killer. As the town’s bucolic veneer fades and long-buried secrets and tensions bubble to the surface, all of the clues to the mystery seem to point towards a huge mansion inhabited by a reclusive woman known as “The Lady in White.”
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia’s passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie, The Unseen), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks, Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies, The Lawnmower Man). Vinegar Syndrome is honored to bring this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director’s cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Paul Lê wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2023, “Over the years, fans have described this film as gateway horror, but they liken it more to The Watcher in the Woods than, say, Hocus Pocus or Casper. There are chilling moments that warrant its PG-13 rating.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.