Deathdream 4K Review (Blue Underground)

Deathdream (aKa Dead of Night) is a 1974 horror film produced and directed by Bob Clark (Black Christmas, Porky’s franchise, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, Loose Cannons, My Summer Story, and A Christmas Story). It was written by Alan Ormsby (Deranged, Cat People, Popcorn, My Bodyguard, The Substitute, and Porky’s II). Soldier Andy Brooks (played by: Richard Backus from Ryan’s Hope, As the World Turns, Camelot, and Remington Steele) is killed in Vietnam. Andy’s family receives notice of his death a few days later. His father Charles (played by: John Marley from The Godfather, Love Story, It Lives Again, and The Car), sister Cathy (played by: Anya Ormsby from Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things, Thunder County, and Alien Nation), and mother Christine (played by: Lynn Carlin from Battle Beyond the Stars, Taking Off, Faces, and Superstition) all deal with the nightmare situation in different ways. A trucker (played by: David Gawlikowski from Throw Out the Anchor) picks up a mysterious hitchhiker but ends up dead. Hours later, Andy arrives at his family’s home in full uniform. Andy starts acting strange during his return. Doc Allman (played by: Henderson Forsythe from Species II, Chances Are, and Silkwood) is suspicious of Andy and he starts his own investigation. He tells Charles about his son. Andy is clearly not himself anymore, he starts to change into someone else. Everyone tries to make him feel normal again. Cathy with Bob (played by: Michael Mazes from The Beach Girls and Operation Petticoat) convinces her brother to go on a double date with his high school sweetheart Joanne (played by: Jane Daly from Mission Impossible III and Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things). Locals start dying in gruesome results and it’s becoming obvious on who’s doing this unspeakable violence in their community. Can his family and friends stop him before it’s too late???? Deathdream is one of the most original and unique entries in the zombie sub-genre. Director Bob Clark might mainly be known for A Christmas Story but he’s no stranger to horror. Besides Deathdream (aKa Dead of Night) he did the classic Black Christmas and the underrated Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. It has a great script from horror veteran writer Alan Ormsby. Lots of suspense and there’s a great build up to the crazy finale. Plus it’s an interesting approach on people coming back from war. Soap opera actor Richard Backus in one of his rare full length feature appearances is great as Andy Brooks. There’s so much character development for the lead here and it’s honestly not boring at all. His relationships with his friends and family are all unique. He goes from being in isolation to getting out there into the world again. I love the transformation here. John Marley is top notch as Andy’s father Charles. He knows something isn’t right when his kid shows up after they were already told that he was dead during the war. He does what he can for his son but it’s just a really messed up situation. Bob Clark uses a small and more unknown cast for this one. All of the chemistry feels natural between them. It has some impressive special fx for being the 70’s from the legendary Tom Savini. After all these years, Deathdream still really stands out compared to all of the other zombie movies in cinema. It’s one of the main reasons why I’ve always loved this horror feature. I personally think it’s beyond underrated, hopefully this brand new home video release gives it some more attention. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Blue Underground! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from an exclusive brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Deathdream looks amazing here, it’s the best it’s ever looked anywhere. There’s no comparison, it blows away all the past remasters. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. All of the dialogue is crisp, the killing is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. The brand new “Audio Commentary” # 3 is with film critics Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. The archival “Audio Commentary” # 1 with director Bob Clark and it’s moderated by David Gregory. The archival “Audio Commentary” # 2 with writer Alan Ormsby and it’s moderated by David Gregory. Each commentary track is very different from each other. There’s lots of information and stories between all of them. If you ever wanted to know anything about Deathdream, you will most likely hear it on one of these. It has a “Trailer” that’s in 4K. These are the only extras on the UHD. The rest of them are located on the blu ray disc. The brand new and exclusive 13 minute “The First Andy” is an interview with actor Gary Swanson. He chats about his experience with director Bob Clark. He goes over his audition and original shooting moments. There’s some older Screen Tests included in this. It has the 20 minute “Notes For A Homecoming”, it’s an interview with composer Carl Zitter. He chats about how his career got started. He talks about meeting Bob Clark. He goes into great detail about his work on the film. It has the 20 minute “A Recollection”. It’s an interview with actress Anya Liffey and writer Alan Orsmby. They chat about their collaboration on this. They talk about their relationship with Bob Clark. They go over their work and experiences on the production. They bring up previous projects. The 20 minute “Flying Down To Brooksville” is an interview with production manager John Cardos. He chats about the locations and the overall experience of the shoot. He chats about working with Bob Clark and the cast for this. The 10 minute “Tom Savini: The Early Years” is an interview with the iconic fx artist. He chats about his influences and his origins in the business. He shares his real life experiences in Vietnam. He goes over his work for the movie. The 13 minute “Deathdreaming” with lead actor Richard Backus. He chats about getting cast in this horror feature. He goes over the script and special fx. He talks about working with Bob Clark and filming this. It has the 13 minute “Screen Test” featuring Gary Swanson who was the original lead actor in this film. It has the 10 minute “Alan Ormsby Student Film” from the writer and fx artist from Deathdream. It has a “Still Gallery”. It has an “Alternative Opening” that’s around 4 minutes. It also has reversible artwork, a slipcover, and a blu ray copy. This brand new 4K release is loaded with all kinds of special features. This will keep you busy for awhile, Blue Underground continues to kill it. This needs to be in your collection. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!