DEATHDREAM (1974)
aka DEAD OF NIGHT
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: Blue Underground
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 88 Minutes
Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Bob Clark
Cast: Richard Backus, Anya Ormsby, Henderson Forsythe, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus
Deathdream (1974) (aka Dead of Night) is directed by the late Bob Clark (A Christmas Story), written Alan Ormsby (Deranged), and was part of a trio of horror films Clark directed, this coming right in between Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) and the seminal holiday -slasher Black Christmas (1974). In this a chilling anti-war fable we have suburban family the Brooks fathered around the dinner table, we have father Charles (John Marley, The Car), mother Christine (Lynn Carlin, Superstition), and teen daughter Cathy (Anya Ormsby, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things), when there's an ominous knock at the door, which turns out to be an Army recruiter delivering the worse news imaginable, that their son Andy (Richard Backus, TV's Ryan's Hope) has died serving his country in Vietnam.
Everyone is devastated but the mother Lynn refuses to accept this horrible truth, sitting alone in a room with a candle in the dark whispering that her son simply cannot be dead, that this is some sort of mistake. Later that night a noise in the house awakens the family, and they are surprised to find Andy has come home, his mother's wishes seem to have come true. It seems that the military had been mistaken, but the Andy before them turns out not to be the same young man they remember, in what turns out to be a waking nightmare for everyone.
The film is an obvious allegory for PTSD and the war being fought at home during the Vietnam era, Clark and Ormsby crafted a haunting examination of how war changes a person and how sometimes families struggle with the return of loved one, who are changed in sometimes traumatic and dramatic ways. Andy is very subdued and spends hours alone in his room in a rocking chair, his emotions are erratic, scaring the neighborhood kids when he strangles the family dog, and the family physician Doctor Allman (Henderson Forsythe, Species II) begins to suspect Andy in the murder of a truck driver who was found dead, his throat ripped open and his body drained of blood. There's a scene of Andy visiting the doctor, allowing him to examine him before he kills him, using a syringe to drain the doc's blood, afterward he ties off his arm and injects the blood into his veins like an addict shooting heroin, which was another affliction facing returning vet's in the 70's looking to numb themselves to the horrors they had experienced.
The returning vet experience is exaggerated here to a degree as Andy turns out to be a ghoul of sorts, requiring human blood to live and apparently stave off the rot of being dead, he seems sort of like a zombie with a blood lust, and when he doesn't get his transfusion blood terrible things happen, like when he goes on a double-date to the local drive-in, a strange brown liquid begins to leak from his head, his eyes and skin begin to deteriorate, his appetite for blood no longer deniable he kills his ex-girlfriend in the backseat of the car and then goes after his own sister, killing her boyfriend before driving off, running down another victim with the car in the process. As his father and sister fully come to realize Andy is a killer his mom clings to her son with motherly desperation, leading up to a chilly and poignant final scene
Deathdream has a creepy vibe that permeates from the opening scene to the final, it's not the most lively horror film, but it's one that gets under the skin, and was one of the first to address the issue of Vietnam, though it's doesn't ever mention the war by name, it is absolutely steeped in it nonetheless. The special effects in the film were done by script-writer by Alan Ormsby who was assisted by a very fresh Tom Savini (The Burning), this being Savini's first job on a film. As the film wears on Andy becomes a bit more undead-looking, his skin becoming flaky and mottled, his eyes strangely discolored, and towards the end you can see bit of his skull exposed through his thinning skin. It's low-budget but very well-done for a low-budget 70's drive-in flick, it definitely look more like Ormsby's work on Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) than it does any of Savini's later work.
The movie has an eerie score from Carl Zittrer (Murder By Decree) that enhances the atmosphere, a piano/string score used sparsely and effectively, some of the odd strained-piano strings sounds got under my skin, deepening the dread, a ploy he uses on Black Christmas as well.
Audio/Video: Deathdream (1974) arrives on region-free 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray from Blue Underground just in time to celebrate the eerie flick's 50th Anniversary, upgrading their previous 2017 Blu-ray/DVD release with a brand-new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from the 35mm negative with Dolby Vision HDR. Presented here in 2160p UHD the creepy classic looks terrific, originally shot on 16mm and blown-up to 35mm for theatrical the source is inherently grainy, but the 4K resolution allows for the grain to be better resolved than even the previous Blu-ray, which also looked terrific by the way. The source is in immaculate restored shape, anry a blemish to be seen here folks, it's gorgeous. The early 70's colors look terrific, primaries really shine with the Dolby Vision HDR color-grade, flesh tones look accurate and warm (except for Andy's rotting skin!), and the black levels are deeper and more consistent with the HDR, offering superior shadow detail and filmic contrast and wonderful depth and clarity. Audio on the main feature comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track, the same as the 2017 Blu-ray release, which sounds great, the production was quite low-budget and that is reflected here in the dynamics, but dialogue and effects are well-balanced, the finale with squealing tires, police sirens, and crashing metal all sound terrific with no issues with hiss or age-related anomalies, and minimal score from Carl Zittrer (Black Christmas) comes through quite nicely, optional English subtitles are provided.
Onto the extras Blue Underground all the extras from their 2004 DVD, this includes the two Audio Commentaries, one with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark and a second with Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby, both moderated by David Gregory. We also get the 10-min Tom Savini: The Early Years, the 12w-min Deathdreaming – Interview with Star Richard Backus, the 3-min Alternate Opening Title Sequence with the "Deathdream" title, and the Theatrical Trailer. Also carried over are the extras from the 2017 Blu-ray. These come by way of the 29-min A Recollection With Star Anya Liffey and Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby, who speak about Ormsby's early student films, meeting Bob Clark and teaming-up with him on Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, including shooting it in sweltering Miami, and recruiting drunk/stoner-hippies from the park to be zombies. Ormsby also goes into writing Deathdream, wanting to make a anti-war horror film, his various inspirations, and casting the film - with the nugget that Christopher Walken auditioned for the role of Andy - but he was too weird! They also discuss working with the cast of the film, remembering John Marley as a consummate professional, a few quirks actress about Lynn Carlin, and working with Tom Savini. There's also discussion of how the movie was received, and next going on to co-direct Deranged (1974). It ends with Ormsby going into creating the Hugo - The Man with the Thousand Faces doll which he pitched to Kenner toys and was produced for a short time, and his Movie Monsters book published by Scholastic.
The 19-min Notes For A Homecoming – Interview with Composer Carl Zittrer who interestingly discusses how the film failed to find an audience because of the various title changes, he of course also discusses his score, the placement of music in the film and even playing some selections from the score on piano during the interview. The 5-min Flying Down To Brooksville – Interview with Production Manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos, a fine b-movie director in his own right, having directed Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) and The Dark (1979), discusses his time on the film, interacting with Bob Clark and John Marley, and creating some of the special effects work during the early 'Nam scene and the car chase at the end. We also get 12-minutes of Screen Test with Original Andy, Gary Swanson showing actor Gary Swanson (Vice Squad) in the role of Andy, which would have been a very different film, and a ten-min black and white student film of Ormsby, the tale of a black man accused of rape, which was very affecting. We also get an Expanded Image Gallery with posters from various territories under numerous titles, publicity stills, make-up effects, video releases and behind-the-scenes images, the US press book and Alan Ormsby movie monsters and creations. Blue Underground have also happily carried over a trio of Easter Eggs fromt he Blu-ray, we get Alan Ormsby showing some prosthetic appliances used in the films, an Orgy of the Living Dead TV Spot, and a TV spot for the Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces doll.
For it's 50th Anniversary Blue Underground sweeten the deal with not only the 4K UHD with Dolby Vision HDR but a couple of tasty new extras, we get Audio Commentary with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson of www.Mondo-Digital.com which is terrific, a duo who both alone or teamed-up together always deliver the goods. Also new is the 12-min The First Andy – Interview with Actor Gary Swanson, who screen test for the lead and who appears in the death scene of Andy in the beginning of the film, he talks about meeting Bob Clark, interviewing for the role of Any, the audition process, and how weird it is to see the super 8mm footage of his screen test! He also talks about he was lucky he was never drafted into VietNam, and how the war changed his friends who were drafted, and his thoughts on the film made without him.
The only extras on the UHD are the commentaries and the trailer, all other extras, including the commentaries and trailer, are on the Blu-ray disc, which I am pleased to report is also the 2024 remastered version (in 1080p HD minus the Dolby Vision HDR) and not a recycle of 2017 Blu-ray.
This 2-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray arrives in an oversized black dual-hub keepcase, with a Sleeve of Reversible Artwork featuring the Deathdream poster on the a-side and the very striking alternate Dead of Night poster on the b-side, which I have always loved. Of note, the Deathream poster art make the film look like a 70's Italian cop-thriller mashed-up with a black-glove giallo, which speaks to the strange marketing campaign for the film under various titles, none of which seemed to land with theater goers at the time. There's also a Limited Edition Embossed Slipcover (First Pressing Only) using the same key artwork as the wrap.
Not carried over from the previous 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD set is the 20-Page Illustrated Booklet with an essay by critic Travis Crawford, also containing cast ad crew information, and chapter selection, so hang onto that edition if you're keen about such things, I am certainly not letting go of mine!
Special Features:
Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- Audio Commentary #1 with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary #2 with Writer/Make-Up Artist (Uncredited) Alan Ormsby
- NEW! Audio Commentary #3 with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
- Theatrical Trailer (3:49)
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- Audio Commentary #1 with Co-Producer/Director Bob Clark
- Audio Commentary #2 with Writer/Make-Up Artist (Uncredited) Alan Ormsby
- NEW! Audio Commentary #3 with Film Historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
- A Recollection With Star Anya Liffey and Writer/Make-Up Artist Alan Ormsby (29:29)
- Notes For A Homecoming – Interview with Composer Carl Zittrer (19:08)
- Flying Down To Brooksville – Interview with Production Manager John ‘Bud’ Cardos (5:21)
- Tom Savini: The Early Years (10:00)
- Deathdreaming – Interview with Star Richard Backus (11:43)
- NEW! The First Andy – Interview with Actor Gary Swanson (12:23)
- Screen Test with Original Andy, Gary Swanson (12:31)
- Alan Ormsby Student Film (10:12)
- Alternate Opening Titles (3:28)
- Theatrical Trailer (3:49)
- Still Galleries
- Easter Eggs: Orgy of the Living Dead TV Spot (0:53), Alan Ormsby Make-Up Outtake (1:37), Hugo TV Spot (1:57)
Blue Underground have been stewards of Bob Clark's Deathdream (1974) on home video here in the U.S. ever since they released it on DVD in 2016, then upgrading it to Blu-ray, with a proper A/V upgrade and 2K restoration, and sweetening the deal with a new and archival slate of extras that have made each new format upgrade a worthwhile purchase in my opinion. Here we are now in the age of 4K with it's 50th Anniversary UHD release with a new 4K scan and Dolby Vision HDR color-grading, looking better than ever and with copious amounts of extras, including a couple that are brand spanking new for this edition, making this the definitive edition to own. Blue Underground have done fantastic work here, they've honored the legacy of the late-great Bob Clark with yet another gorgeous restoration of this skin-crawling slice of terror, and while it might not be the first of Clark's film to get a 4K UHD, we've seen Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things and A Christmas Story prior, but it is in my opinion the best-looking of his offerings now on 4K, this should be the standard by which we judge future 4K releases of his catalog - speaking of which, where the fuck is Porky's or Murder By Decree on 4K UHD!?!
Screenshots from the Blue Underground 2024 Blu-ray:
Buy it!
