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Howling (The): Reborn (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Anchor Bay Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (2nd February 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Full moon. New blood. In this chilling reboot of the '80s horror classic, Landon Liboiron of Terra Nova stars as high school senior Will Kidman, whose infatuation with a beautiful classmate begins to trigger certain teenage animal instincts. But when a mysterious woman (Ivana Milicevic of Casino Royale) with a shocking secret re-enters his life, Will learns that he is heir to a powerful line of werewolves. Now he finds he has a choice to make: succumbing to his primal nature or turning against his own. In order to fight the destiny of his legacy and save the girl of his dreams, he must battle not only his growing blood lust but an army of fearsome beasts hell-bent on killing us all. Tonight, the full moon rises. The horror begins anew. This is THE HOWLING REBORN.
Video
Anchor Bay Entertainment have released the 8th (yes, 8th!) movie in the "Howling" franchise in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is 1080p, and the feature uses an AVC MPEG-4 encode. Shot in 4k using a RED One camera, it's rather disappointing. The most annoying aspect for me, was that transfer looks overly glossy and overblown. This is more acceptable in outdoor scenes, but it makes inside the school corridors look unnatural. Details are generally sharp, and the facial close-ups at times look absolutely stunning, but unfortunately the level of detail is inconsistent from scene-to-scene. Shadow detail is okay, but black levels are not deep enough at times, and there's also some banding issues on some of the lighter colours. There's some noticeable digital noise for the majority, but it's far more prevalent in some of the darker close-up scenes. Despite the many problems with the transfer, there was no noticeable signs of aliasing or edge enhancement, and I didn't spot any major scratches or other unsightly blemishes. This looks like your average low budget horror - probably because it is your average low budget horror. The feature runs 92:05.
Audio
Despite the case stating the inclusion of 2.0 Stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, the only audio option to be found on the disc, is actually English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The quality of the audio is far superior to that of the video, with a surprisingly engrossing experience, even if it isn't reference grade. Although the LFE isn't quite as robust as one would hope, there is good use of the surrounds, mainly for the score. The best use of the surrounds though is kept for when you are in the point of view of Will when he gets angry, and you hear the heavy breathing and noises in a first person style. Volume levels are consistent between the score and the dialogue, and directionality is solid. Better use of environmental sounds would've been welcome, but I was happy with this track. There's no drop outs, scratches, or background hiss to speak of. Optional subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing.
Extras
We start the extras with an audio commentary with writer/director Joe Nimziki and actress Lindsey Shaw. This was obviously filmed very early on as they don't even know what the final subtitle to the movie will be. The commentary moves at a reasonable pace with only very short instances of silence (under 30 seconds). Nimziki takes the lead, and gives us more in-depth views than Shaw, who only acts as someone to pass off stories from the set such as weather during filming - though this does push Nimziki into going into details on how problems were overcome. The next extra is "The Making of The Howling Reborn" documentary (29:57, 1080p). This is a surprisingly good documentary in comparison to making of segments found on similar movies. It features plenty of behind the scenes footage, and interviews with cast and crew members. A pre-production reading with cast members is included and I always like seeing this type of clip as you can see how each cast member learns about their character, and how they interact with the director (though this section is too short). There are a few back-slapping moments in the interviews as to be expected, but overall, this is an informative piece. The extras finish with your typical storyboard gallery (1080p).
Overall
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