SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998) Terror Time Collector's Edition Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998) 

Terror Time Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Warner Bros. 

Region Code: Region-Free.

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 77 Minutes 

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 

Director: Jim Stenstrum

Cast: Scott Innes, Billy West, Mary Kay Bergman, BG Ward, Frank Welker

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) is a direct-to-video  feature-length animated movie with some fun horror-chops  that turned out a bit spookier than I would have imagined. The original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! show was sort of a catalyst for this horror-loving kid from a young age, and this new adventure featuring Shaggy (Billy West, Futurama), Velma (B.J. Ward, G.I. Joe: The Movie), Daphne (Mary J Bergman, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders) and Fred (Frank Welker, the only returning original voice cast from the original series,) who reunite after a year apart to celebrate Daphne's birthday by taking part in her and Fred latest endeavor, a ghost hunting TV show looking for some real ghosties. Initially they only find the usual ghouls in rubber masks, before arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana where they are invited by Lena Dupree (Tara Charendoff, Ben 10) to visit Moonscar Island, which is allegedly haunted by the ghost of the pirate Morgan Moonscar, and to stay at the pepper plantation mansion where she works, which is owned by her employer Simone Lenoir (Adrienne Barbeau, The Fog). There they encounter zombies, ghost pirates and a secret cabal of cat-statue worshipping voodoo were-cats! This flick is a truly frightfully fun spooktacular with some actual supernatural elements as opposed the the gang's usual unmasking a rubber-faced villains that are very human in nature, though it's not the first time, but it was pretty rare for the franchise. Also onboard for this adventure are a curmudgeonly gardener named Beau Neville (Cam Clarke, The Tick) who has a secret of his own, and a weirdo local fisherman Snakebite Scruggs (Mark Hamill, Batman: The Animated Series) who is always chasing after a legendary local catfish "Big Mona". This has everything a monster kid could want from a Scooby-Doo toon, Shaggy and Scooby scared witless and perpetually ravenous with hunger, secret passageways, a creepy bayou plantation, ghouls galore, and life-force draining were-cats - it's a real banger of a Scoob flick. It also benefits from animation that closely approximates the style and look of vintage series, with animation done by the Japanese studio Mook Animation (Æon Flux) that I found quite attractive. The character designs are terrific with cool-looking zombies, ghosts and were-cats, the backgrounds are classic spooky Scooby-Doo and add loads of atmosphere, and I loved all the wonks and nods to the original series.

Audio/Video: Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island arrives on 1080p HD region-free Blu-ray from Warner Bros, this being the same transfer as the Warner Archive Blu-ray with this film and it's sequel review HERE. The film is presented in the original 1.33:1 fullscreen presentation. The colors on both look wonderful, deep saturated colors that are bold and vibrant, the moody backgrounds looks terrific, black levels are deep, the characters are well-defined and animation lines are clean. 

Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The trac is clean and well-balanced, the spookier elements are effective, and the music sound great, including a version of the "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" theme by 90's alt rockers Third Eye Blind, as well as a pair of song "It's Terror Time and "The Ghosts are Here" by Skycycle, which I quite enjoyed, and a score by Steven Bramson (Tiny Toon Adventures). 

The single disc release arrives with a single-sided sleeve of artwork in a standard keepcase with a Audio Commentary by Matt Dugan, plus the 3-min Trailer. Packaging extras include a Limited Edition Collectible O-card slipcover, a Wrap with interior artwork and chapter list, plus a 12 page Collectible Booklet with Writing by Matt Dugan.  

Special Features: 

- Audio Commentary by Scooby-Doo historian Matt Dugan 

- VHS-era Trailer (3:26) 

- Collectible O-card slipcover

- Wrap with interior artwork and chapter list

- 12 page Collectible Booklet with Writing by Matt Dugan  

Screenshots from the Warner Bros. Blu-ray: 

SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998)

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SCHOOL IN THE CROSSHAIRS (1981) Cult Epics Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

SCHOOL IN THE CROSSHAIRS (1981)

Label: Cult Epics 

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 89 Minutes 22 Seconds 

Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 Sterep, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi

Cast: Hiroko Yahushimaru, Ryoichi Takayanagi, Toru Minegishi, Makoto Tezuka

School in the Crosshairs (1981) comes to us from director Nobuhiko Obayashi, best known as the director of the bonkers haunted house flick House (1977), which I am a huge fan of, so I was keen to hear that Cult Epics have acquired four of his films for U.S. distribution. In it teenager Yuka Mitamura (Hiroko Yakushimaru, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun) and her guy friend Koji Seki (Ryôichi Takayanagi, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) are walking home from school one day when they witness a toddler on a tricycle about to be plowed into by a commercial truck. Somehow she is able to tap into a latent psychic superpower that allows her to bend time to her will, saving the young boy's life. It's a strange event for sure, and while Koji is amazed by what they've just witnessed he is not aware that it was Yuka that saved the boys life, and she is just as surprised as him to discover her newly acquired abilities. The next day at Koji's Kendo match at school Yuka uses her newfound abilities to sabotage the competition so that Koji can win, boosting his moral when he is feeling down about his poor test scores. After the match she encounters a mysterious man in a cape, Kyogoku (Tôru Minegishi, Godzilla vs. Biollante), an fascist alien demon from the planet Venus, who tries to recruit her to his cause, and then at school encounters a new female student named Michiru Takamizawa (Masami Hasegawa, The Tragedy in the Devil-Mask Village) who declares that she is running for president of the student council on a platform of conformity and discipline, and it turns out that she too is imbued with a similar supernatural ability that allows her to easily sway the minds of most of the students at the school, including the nerdy bookworm Arikawa (Macoto Tezuka) who was  previously been bullied by his classmates, but who is attracted to the fascist movement by the sense of power and authority it afford him. Any teachers who get in the way are met with a series of vehicular "accidents", leaving Yuka and Koji to save their school and the planet from the alien-fascist influence. 

What ensues is a wild, psycho-tronic slice of science-fiction fantasy set at a highschool with cosmic overtones and an explosion of psychedelic imagery achieved through a myriad of blue-screen composite magic and with green-swirling manifestations of Yuka's power with an strobing, eye-searing finale that is total sensory overload.  It totally lives up to how bonkers I thought a Nobuhiko Obayashi flick should be, and did not disappoint in anyway whatsoever, and sadly the story of teens defeating an insidious fascist force is still pretty dang timely. 

Audio/Video: School in the Crosshairs (1981) arrives on Blu-ray from Cult Epics in 1080p HD, representing a 2K restoration and transfer from a 35mm print. The image is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, retaining the source limitations of the film which have not been scrubbed out by DNR. The film looks to be a mix of film and video elements, the bonkers visual aesthetic feels more like a manga than pretty much anything I have ever watched before, a impactful mix of the surreal, the fantastic and the hallucinatory, with some effects that recall they way that electrical bolts and lightening used to be etched into he film stock. Details are generally quite pleasing, there's plenty of texture and grit to it, the colors look accurate to the original intentions, but there is what looks to be some age-related color fade and milky black levels which can effect contrast, leaving some scenes looking dim and murky. I cannot say for certain what was intentional by design and what is age-related, but whatever the case, it's still quite watchable.   

Audio options include original Japanese PCM 2.0 as well as both DTS0HD MA and Dolby Digital 5.1 with new and improved optional English subtitles. I went with 2.0 and only sampled the surround tracks, which to have a larger soundstage, but watching it with the 2.0 felt more accurate to me. The track is clean and robust, levels are well-balanced, and the J-pop score and the sound of synthesized sounds during moments of weirdness sound terrific.  

Cult Epics don't disappoint with the extras either, we get a Audio Commentary by film critic Max Robinson; the 17-min Sailor Suits and Sound - A Visual essay by Phillip Jeffries; 3-min Obayashi Film Poster Gallery and 8-min of Cult Epics Theatrical Trailers for School in the Crosshairs, His Motorbike, Her Island, The Island Closest to Heaven, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring English and Japanese artworks, plus a Slipcase with art design by Sam Smith, and the First Pressing includes Repro 24-page Japanese booklet/pamphlet. 

Special Features: 

- 2K Transfer & Restoration

- Audio Commentary by film critic Max Robinson

- Sailor Suits and Sound - Visual essay by Phillip Jeffries (17:03).

- Obayashi Film Poster Gallery (2:37) 

- Theatrical Trailers: School in the Crosshairs (1:55), His Motorbike, Her Island (1:32), The Island Closest to Heaven (1:41), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2:43)

- New improved English subtitles

- New Slipcase art design by Sam Smith

- Reversible sleeve with original Japanese poster art

- First Pressing includes repro 24-page Japanese booklet (pamphlet)

Screenshots from the Cult Epics Blu-ray: 

Extras: 

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