Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS***

MICHAEL LIVES. AND THIS TIME THEY’RE READY! Now remastered in HD and featuring an all-new audio commentary! Because Hell would not have him, Michael Myers survived the mine explosion thought to have killed him. One year later, his traumatized young niece Jamie (Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN 4) is horrified to discover she has a telepathic bond with her evil Uncle…and that Uncle Michael is on his way back to Haddonfield. But Dr. Loomis (the late, great Donald Pleasence) has a new plan to destroy The Boogey Man in his childhood home using Jamie as bait. Tonight, the carnage begins again: Michael Myers is back witha vengeance! Ellie Cornell and Beau Starr return for this hit sequel that features grisly gore by K.N.B. EFX Group (ARMY OF DARKNESS, SCREAM, HOSTEL), and is now fully remastered in DiviMax™ for the ultimate Michael Myers mayhem!






***VIDEO QUALITY***

Halloween 5 arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the original aspect ratio 1.85:1 - Now this is a really nice presentation. Shame that this sequel is the one that shines on it's Blu-ray debut over the superior movie that precede it, Halloween 4. Colors were lush with no smearing or bleeding. Fine detail took a nice step up, could see individual stitches in clothing and the makeup effects on Loomis don't hold up as well cause you can see the prosthetic clearly now. Shadow detail was great and added to the tension when you see glimpses of Michael Myers from a distance.

Black levels were consistently deep. Contrast was just right on this one. There was some noticeable grain sometimes which adds to the viewing in my opinion. No compression artifacts that I could see and a lot less print damage than Halloween 4. This was a pleasant surprise. 8.5/10



***AUDIO QUALITY***


Audio is provided by a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. - This track was a solid performer with deep bass and scary surround usage that made me feel like I was in the town of Haddonfield. Dialogue was crisp and clean throughout. Teh more scary and tense moments benefit from well placed sound effects in the rear speakers. Knife slashes, doors closing, a light breeze whispers past your ear naturally until the attack comes and your jolted out of your chair from the hefty bass that compliments the moody score. This is a strong presentation that draws the listener into the on screen action. 8.5/10



***SPECIAL FEATURES***
* Audio Commentary with Director (Dominique Othenin-Girard) and (Author Justin Beahm)

* Audio Commentary with Actors (Don Shanks),(Danielle Harris), and (Jeffrey Landman)

* Halloween 5: On The Set

* Halloween 5: Original Promo

* Theatrical Trailer

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS***
TEN YEARS AGO HE CHANGED THE FACE OF HALLOWEEN. TONIGHT HE’S BACK. A decade ago, he butchered 16 people trying to get to his sister. He was shot and incinerated, but still the entity that Dr. Sam Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) calls “Evil on two legs” would not die. Tonight, Michael Myers has come home again…to kill! This time, Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN 5 and THE LAST BOYSCOUT) – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel (Ellie Cornell of HALLOWEEN 5 and HOUSE OF THE DEAD). Can Loomis stop Michael before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?Michael Pataki, Sasha Jenson and Kathleen Kinmont co-star in this smash sequel that marked the long-awaited return to the original storyline and remains infamous for its startling twist ending and graphic violence.





***VIDEO QUALITY***

Halloween 4 arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the original aspect ratio 1.85:1 - I will start by stating that this looks in a lot ways like an upconvert of the Divimax DVD release. There are noticeable white specks that pop up once in awhile if you're looking for them, a line all the way through the left side of the picture during the opening sequence for a few seconds. There are moments of softness that hampers fine detail. There were some scenes where trees in the background looked mushed together instead of standing out from each other subtly.

All this being said if you can pick up this title on the cheap you will pleased by the stronger color reproduction, nice detail on closeups despite the inherent softness that rears it's head from time to time. Grain lovers will be happy , there are no signs of DNR as far as I can tell. Black levels wavered a few moments but on the whole were quite deep and exhibited good shadow detail. Contrast was a solid performer. Overall this isn't a shiny new transfer like some may have been hoping for but when in motion the image is a decent upgrade. 7/10



***AUDIO QUALITY***

Audio is provided by a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. While not an overly aggressive track the musical score gets some nice heft from the LFE. Dialogue was crisp and clean except for the moments where it was clearly ADR and then sounded a little canned. Surrounds let the score breathe a little and some more tense scenes are subtly enhanced by the rear effects. Overall this lossless track is a good upgrade from the Divimax DVD


***SPECIAL FEATURES***
These are the same special features that were on the Divimax DVD version and while the commentaries are solid listens it would have been nice to have the over 30 minutes of extended and deleted scenes that were originally promised for this Blu-ray debut of the film.

* Audio Commentary with Writer Alan B. McElory

* Audo Commentary with Actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris

* HALLOWEEN 4 & 5 Discussion Panel

* Theatrical Trailer