CURSED IN BAJA (2024) (Anchor Bay Entertainment Blu-ray Review)

CURSED IN BAJA (2024) 

Label: Anchor Bay Entertainment 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 80 Minutes 20 Seconds 

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Jeff Daniel Phillips

Cast: Finnegan Seeker Bell, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Kent Isaacs, Mark Fite, Robbyn Leigh, Barry Del Sherman, Michael Shamus Wiles, Jim Storm, Constance Forslund, Jacqueline Wright, Jacelyn Fuentes, Benjamin Hughes, Aaron Behr, Robert Santos, Ernesto Olguin, Barbara Crampton

In Jeff Daniel Phillips' directorial debut Cursed in Baja (202) a down-on-his luck ex-cop, former drug addict named Pirelli (Jeff Daniel Phillips, Rob Zombie's The Munsters) is approached by Thomas Durviage (Mark Fite), the family rep of the wealthy L.A. based Kemper family, to track down and bring back missing heir Quinn (Finnegan Seeker Bell) who has disappeared South of the Border. Pirelli has worked for the Kemper family before, with tragic results, and he is only reluctantly working for them again, forcing the cop turned convicted felon/janitor to confront his sordid past. Down in Baja he picks up the trail of h missing heir where the previous gumshoe hired by the Kemper's has trailed off, finding himself entangled with a Russian cult who worships the Chupacabra. It's a very low-budget flick but it uses it's resources well, the real locations around L.A. and Mexico add authenticity to the proceedings, and Phillips is pretty dang terrific in it as the former drug-addled cop felon turned reluctant amateur gumshoe, which that awesome mustache, always popping prescription pills that seem to be some sort of anti-anxiety meds, he's always on edge, hallucinating, experiencing flashbacks to a tragic event involving a blond woman and his drug-addled exploits as a vice cop. 

Where it all ends up is pretty surprising, culminating in the backwoods lair of the Russian Chupacabra-cult, three's even a couple of appearance of said Chupacabra, but not done with shitty CGI but an old fashioned guy in monster-suit, and while his has it's limitation in looks cool and we get an eyeful of it in the final scenes. I appreciate the dedication to practical effects, or maybe just the budget constraints that lead to it, either way, appreciated. For general audiences this might be a bit too low-budget to stick in their craw or even get their notice, but if you're a fan of no-budget, micro-budget indie flicks it's easy to appreciate all the positives of this pulpy, noir-ish missing persons detective story by way of creature feature, and for a directorial debut it's not too shabby either. We also get a very brief cameo from horror icon Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) as Pirelli’s parole officer in the opening scenes, which is always appreciated. This is flick number two that I've seen from the newly relaunched Anchor Bay Entertainment following Crust which was the directorial debut of actor Sean Whalen (People Under the Stairs), and I am digging the flicks they've slotted for their inaugural release. I'll be reviewing the bets of the bunch next, Abruptio (2023), which was a real mind-bender, so stay tuned for that. 

Audio/Video: Cursed in Baja (2024) arrives on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1), shot digitally the low-budget flick looks solid, it shows its no-budget roots for sure but colors look solid, its plenty shape, and black levels are adequate. The newly revived Anchor Bay seems to be following the Full Moon route in that we get an HD release with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. C'mon, it's 2024, where's the uncompressed audio? Anyway, the lossy audio sounds just fine, the track is clean and well balanced. 

Extras include an Audio Commentary with Writer / Director / Lead Jeff Daniel Phillip, plus a 13-min Cursed in Baja: The Making Of featurette wherein Phillips talks about being inspired to make the flick after speaking to a group of filmmakers about independent film production. The single disc arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork. 

Special Features: 
- Audio Commentary with Writer / Director / Lead Jeff Daniel Phillips
- Cursed in Baja: The Making Of (12:42) 

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