Blood Diner (Blu-ray)
Steve Barton
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Starring Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer, LaNette La France
Directed by Jackie Kong
Distributed by Vestron Video / Lionsgate
If you would have told me during the introduction of Blu-ray to the home media market that one day I would be writing a Blu-ray review for Blood Diner, I probably would have called you a crazy person. In fact, here I sit writing one for the newly launched Vestron Video label, and I still can’t believe I’m actually doing it. Thank the video gods.
Blood Diner is an obscure little film from 1987 which plays like a love letter to Herschell Gordon Lewis’ classic gore flick Blood Feast. It tells the tale of brothers Mike and George Tutman. Our duo run a vegetarian/health food store in Los Angeles, but kale and tofu are hardly the key ingredient on their menu. Why the sudden change of heart? It’s all thanks to their Uncle Anwar, who encourages the boys that by using their culinary skills as a means to resurrect a five-thousand-year-old goddess named Sheetar, prosperity will be ensured for many lifetimes to come! Take notes from Frankenstein (or Frankenhooker for that matter), queue the gore, and sacrifice a virgin.
The choice to release Blood Diner as the second in the line of new Vestron Video releases (alongside Chopping Mall (review)) is a ballsy, yet questionable one. The film, as strange as it is, has proved to be pretty polarizing within the horror community with a strictly love it or hate it stigma. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be able to tell whether or not this flick is for you within the first 20 minutes or so.
That being said… if you are a Blood Diner fan, prepare to experience the video equivalent of complete nirvana as it has been lovingly restored. Presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the flick is looking better here than it ever has. In fact, it’s way better than all previous releases, sporting some truly impressive solid colors, rich contrast, and deep, wonderful black levels. It’s not perfect, but damn it, who would have thought anyone would have put in the time to even make it look as good as it does! The music and dialogue are also well balanced in the included DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track, so overall you should be incredibly pleased.
Speaking of pleased… The powers-that-be were wise to get Red Shirt Pictures on board to work on the special features, as they’ve proven through their stellar work with Scream Factory that nobody does it better. Their gold standard continues here as we have a veritable treasure trove of goodies to delve into. A great commentary with a truly excited Jackie Kong is only complemented by the 65-minute, 5-part mini-documentary entitled Killer Cuisine: The Making of Blood Diner. There’s nothing half-baked about this meal as it comes with all the trimmings, covering everything from updated interviews to intimate anecdotes from the cast and crew. Add on trailers, radio spots, and a 6-minute photo gallery; and we have a real winner here, kids.
Welcome back, Vestron! It’s great to have all your wacky sensibilities back in place while taking advantage of all of today’s bells and whistles. Bravo!
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Jackie Kong
- Archival Interview with Project Consultant Eric Caidin
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
FEATURETTES:
- “Queen Kong”
- “The Cook, The Uncle, and The Detective”
- “Open for Business”
- “Scoring for Sheetar!”
- “You Are What They Eat”
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Film
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
