I usually avoid looking at the stats and metrics of my site. Because once I see that one post has more hits than another, it's an easy slope to slip down, constantly chasing the hints of popularity, forgoing what I want to write about or what I think would be best, caught up in an internet-driven numbers game. But I looked, and here's what I now believe think people would like to see most from me: a limited edition Code Red blu-ray sleazy Italian horror movie compared to a more broadly released American DVD version. Happily, that's exactly what I was going to write about today anyway, so here's
House On the Edge Of the Park!
😀
Update 11/6/16 - 12/22/21: I've stuck to my policy of not looking at the numbers, so hopefully what you'd most like to see today is an updated comparison with Severin's brand new special edition, because here it is!
Update 3/8/22:
The replacement discs are here! Yes, after the issues with the black
levels and crush as reported in the last update, Severin announced
they'd be sending replacements to everyone who ordered one directly from
their site. So far, the film's only been available directly from their
site, so that means everyone's getting it. And all retail copies in
future will include the replacement disc, so there shouldn't be any risk
of winding up with the old disc in future. Though, just in case you're
worried, the photo above shows the difference (it has "V3" at the end of its code, and a purpler background color), so you can contact
Severin in the unlikely event an old disc somehow find its way to you.
Anyway, mine just arrived today. Is everything all better now?
House On the Edge is Italy's answer to
Wes Craven's
The Last House On the Left, even borrowing its notorious leading villain,
David Hess.
I've been reading some debate recently, over which is the sleazier,
least comfortable watch, and Craven's seemed to win out, but I
definitely feel that dubious honor goes to
Ruggero Deodato's flick. I can see making a case for
Last House.
For one, it came first, and it's the more famous, American film, so
most horror fans probably saw it first. And the first time you see
something is always the most shocking. Also, while
Last has some
unnatural elements, like the comic relief cops, the graphic scenes are
very realistic. Contrast that with the Italian glamour models sitting
around in color-coordinated outfits, and it gives you a bit of an "out"
in feeling staged and unrealistic.
 |
Casey Scott's liner notes for Shriek Show's insert say this film
has "no flair present in cinematography," but I beg to differ. |
But on the other hand, the root sadistically sexual violence feels just as genuine in both films, and in
Last, those scenes really just happen in the second act, after which the film switches mode to a karmic revenge thriller, like its
Virgin Spring inspiration. But pretty much the entirety of
Park just
wallows in it. It takes the typical Italian exploitation habit of
finding the saleable element the original film had - in this case Hess
abusing and terrorizing his victims with a knife - and making that the
whole movie. Also, everybody's despicable in this one; there are no
decent characters to latch onto. And its damned effective, if a bit
ethereal and stagey at the same time. Plus, it's got a great disco
theme song and finishes up with a nice twist ending that I certainly
didn't see coming, and won't spoil here.
We originally only had
House On the Edge of the Park on
non-anamorphic DVD courtesy of those trashy budget packs from companies
like Brentwood and Diamond, but in 2002, Shriek Show rescued it from
obscurity with a widescreen special edition. There have been UK
editions, too, from Vipco and the more respectable Shameless Screen
Entertainment, but outside of Shriek Show, almost all of those were
edited versions. The uncut DVD went out of print and started getting
scarce. But in 2016, Code Red came to the rescue with an uncut, limited
edition (1500 copies) special edition blu-ray. But now in 2021,
Severin reckons they can top it, with a new 4k restoration, dual
language options and all new special features. Let's see how they did.
 |
| 1) 2002 Shriek Show DVD; 2) 2016 Code Red BD; 3) 2021 Severin BD. |
Where
to begin? The Code Red blu is pretty grainy and seems to have some of
that infamous Italian scanner noise to boot. But it's still a far
superior image to the old Shriek Show DVD. The 1.85:1 framing is only
marginally different, with slim slivers of differences all around the
edges. But the DVD is flatter, with more limited and less natural
colors, some ugly interlacing (a regular issue with Shriek Show
releases), and heavy edge enhancement (look at the cards on the table;
it's like somebody traced them on the table with a thick sharpie). Code
Red seems to've at least done the best they could with the Italian
scan, and it certainly has a very noticeable jump up in quality from the
DVD, which itself was a strong improvement over the old grey market
junk. But fans have always been in the market for something better.
And,
we kinda got it with their new scan, which is 4k from the original OCN
according to the back cover. No more scanner noise for a start. I've seen some people suggest Code Red's disc is sharper, but that's all artificial noise not actual detail. And
the framing's still 1.85:1, but it's pulled out a bit to reveal more
picture along the edges. The color timing is also warmer, more in line
with Shriek Show's. But the grain's pretty light for a 4k scan, and the
black levels are rather milky. Not quite to
Wax Mask
degrees, but less than ideal. The blacks are actually rather crushed. Just compare it to the Code Red - for example,
look at Hess's left arm in the second set of shots. We see a lot more
of it on the CR disc that gets lost into a sea of blackness on the Severin. It's a bummer, resulting in a
draw PQ-wise, or at best a very slim victory, which should've been an
easy win for a fresh 4k scan of a troubled older edition. Or, at least, that
was the case...
 |
| 2022 Severin replacement BD. |
Now, when
Severin announced their replacement,
I was a little worried that they described "an export error which
affected the color density of the feature." Did this mean they would
fix the milky black levels, but leave crush inherent in the scan? That
would still be an improvement, so I'd've been happy to get the
replacement regardless; but it's the first thing I checked when my disc
arrived. And I'm relieved to report it fixes both. The lost detail is
restored (Hess's left arm is back!) and the blacks are genuinely black.
This is exactly what we hoped for from the replacement program.
They've
also taken advantage of the opportunity to upgrade the disc and added
the theatrical trailer as a bonus feature. So that's fun.
But then Severin pulls ahead. Neither previous disc has the Italian
audio, just the English audio. This is a case where the English is
distinctly preferable, with Hess's real voice on the English track, as
opposed to the poor dub on the Italian, but still, it's always nice to
have both. And now we do. All three discs preserve the original
English mono audio in clear 2.0 (in lossless DTS-HD on the blus), but
only Severin also includes the original Italian mono (also in DTS-HD).
And it's the only one to provide English subtitles.
Shriek Show did cobble together a pretty nice selection of extras. They
got lengthy interviews with the two most important people, Hess and
Deodato, who answer just about all the questions you'd have after seeing
this crazy picture. Plus there's another good interview with
Giovanni Lombardo Radice
and a feature with Hess's family (watch his son play guitar and his
wife refuse to talk about her role in the film). On top of that, they
included the original trailer, a stills gallery, some bonus trailers and
an insert. Code Red doesn't add anything new, but ports all of the
Shriek Show stuff over, except for the bonus trailers and the insert, so
we can let go of our old DVDs.
But Severin came hard on this
one. They carry over the Hess interview (and include the bit with his
wife as
an easter egg), which they've given a more professional edit and the
gallery - and now the trailer, too - but replaced the Deodato and Radice interviews with
newer, HD ones. Better still, they also conduct new interviews with the
cinematographer and set designer. And they provide an enthusiastic
audio
commentary by
Bruce Holecheck &
Art Ettinger. They've
met several of the key players in the making of this film, so they have
some nice insight, in addition to some well researched backstory. I've
been listening to a couple Italian horror commentaries recently, where
the "experts" are clearly just winging it, and go way off on long,
self-indulgent tangents without telling us much of anything that fans
wouldn't already know. So this is a satisfying reminder of how
much better these tracks can be.
...And that's just disc 1. Disc two includes the surprisingly engaging 2019 feature length documentary
Deodato Holocaust, which plays a lot like
Baumbach's
DePalma,
except of course it's Deodato, and I'd say it's actually more fun.
Disc 2 also includes the trailer and almost 20 minutes of deleted
scenes, some of which are as entertaining and worth watching as the
material they left in. And as Severin has been doing with a lot of
their Italian titles, they've included the soundtrack CD. At first I
was thinking I don't know if I care too much about the soundtrack to
this one; it's not like a beloved
Goblin score or anything. But
when it arrived I realized, of course, this means we finally get the
complete "Do It To Me" disco theme - we absolutely need this! Severin's
release also comes in an embossed slipcover with reversible cover art
and an insert featuring the CD track-listing.
So
Severin's new blu is undeniably the way to go with this film,
but
problems with the transfer hold it back it from being the distinct
triumph it should've been. Let's face it,
we'll all be replacing this edition again a few more years down the
line. Not anymore! Well, barring a UHD release some day in the
future... But now that Severin's disc has been corrected, it's the
definitive blu-ray version we were all expecting. Best picture, best audio and subtitle options, best extras, including a whole second feature. I already recommended this, but I'm now very glad to retract any reservations. Well, barring the sleazy, degenerate nature of the film itself... But I assume if you've read this far, you know what you're in for.
