MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: BLOODMOON (1989) (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

BLOODMOON (1989)

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: A

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 101 Minutes 14 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: Alec Mills

Cast: Leon Lissek, Christine Amor, Helen Thomson, Ian Williams

From first-time director Alec Mills (cinematographer on Return of the Jedi) the late-80's Australian school-slasher Bloodmoon (1989) arrived towards the end of the 80's slasher cycle, in it someone is butchering students at St. Elizabeth’s Girls School and from the nearby Winchester school for boys in seaside town of Cooper's Bay, Australia. The film early-on sets up a rivalry between the local kids and the snobs at the Winchester school, there's a budding romance between one of the local boys and the daughter of rich American actress, and then of course there's a maniac tearing the throat out of kids who make-out on a well-known lover's lane, with a barbed-wire garrotte, collecting snipped-fingers and eyeballs as morbid souvenirs. The killer buries the victims in the woods and the teens are reported missing, but the girl's school headmistress Mrs. Sheffield (Christine Amor, Snapshot) seems to think that they've just run off and eloped with their Winchester boyfriends. Sheffield is a bit to preoccupied banging a Winchester boy herself to give it much thought to it, while her creepy, cuckolded husband Myles (Leon Lissek, Countess Dracula) grows increasingly frustrated about his wife's extracurricular sex habits. More concerned about the missing students are Winchester's Headmaster Mr. Gordian (Brian Moll, TV's The Young Doctors) who alerts Sgt. Matt Desmond (Craig Cronin, Contagion) who starts looking into the mater, who begins noting some peculiarities about the Sheffields, hmm.

This is a pretty slickly put together slasher, chock full of gratuitous girlschool nudity, there's some decent gore, and an array of one-dimensional stock 80's teen characters, and there's even an ‘80s Aussie glam-metal band by way of Vice at a school dance, and let's not forget an acid-flinging nun (Hazel Howman). There's a final girl by way of the pretty Mary (Helen Thomas, Elvis), the aforementioned daughter of a Hollywood movie star who falls for local surfer-boy Kevin (Ian Williams), a couple who unfortunately catch the attention of the maniac killer, but her role is pretty by the numbers. The flick is actually more of character study of the killer than a traditional slasher in that we spend more time with the killer than the actual final girl. Also, while there are some decent stalk and slash set-ups, this one cuts away from the kills far too often for my tastes, and it takes too many detours into the rivalry between the snobby elite kids versus the locals to keep a proper momentum going, the structure is quite oddball in that it doesn't seem to know what story it wants to focus on until the final 30-minutes. That said, I do like the deranged killer here, which is really no mystery at all, but I like the performance. Also working against it are that the night time kill scenes are way overlit, it's a bit too slick for it's own good, and there's very little tension of suspense in the direction. At the end of the day it's a bit of a pedestrian slasher but I think there's enough here for slasher fans to chew on to keep 'em entertained, it just won't be high up on anyone list of favorite slashers; still it's still cool to see this formerly rare Australian slasher variant get a solid physical media release from Severin.

Notably, this release offers the option to view the film with or without the William Castle-esque 'Fright Break' gimmick.

"Take the Bloodmoon challenge. Thirty minutes before the shocking ending, there will be a break in the movie. If you're too chicken to stay and face the suspense and terror ahead, simply follow the yellow streak to "Chicken's Corner", where the price of your admission will be refunded in full. But if you're not a cluck, you'll take the challenge and live to tell of the horrifying conclusion to Bloodmoon!

Audio/Video: Bloodmoon (1989) arrives on Blu-ray from Severin Films in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, fully uncut and sourced from a 4K scan from the negative, complete with ‘The Bloodmoon Fright Break Challenge’ for the first time ever in America. This looks to be licensed from Studio Canal and the restoration is fantastic. Colors are bright and vivid, black levels are pleasing and there;s some nice depth and clarity, plus the source is in terrific shape with a it;s filmic grain structure nicely intact. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with Optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue is delivered without issue, and the score from Brian May (Road Games) sounds excellent, as does the live performances from glam-band Vice during the school dance sequences.

Extras include a Film Buffs Forecast Audio Interview With Actor Leon Lissek Conducted In 2000 By Paul Harris And Mark Hartley, a career spanning conversation, plus 5-min Interview With Actress Christine Amor From NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD who talks about the audition process which involved nudity, the 1-min Trailer; and the 34-sec Fright Break Trailer. We also have the option to view the film with or without the aforementioned William Castle-esque 'Fright Break' sequence. The single disc release arrives in black keepcase with a 2-sided sleeve of artwork, the b-side being a Fright Break variant.

Special Features:
- Film Buffs Forecast Audio Interview With Actor Leon Lissek Conducted In 2000 By Paul Harris And Mark Hartley
- Interview With Actress Christine Amor From NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (4:44)
- Trailer (1:19)
- Fright Break Trailer (0:34)

Screenshots from the Severin Films Blu-ray (Spoilers!):