I Scream on the Beach! Blu Ray Review (Darkside Releasing)

I Scream on the Beach! is a 2020 slasher written/produced/directed by Alexander Churchyard and Michael Holiday (Mosaic, Horror-Scopes franchise, Ordinary, Pie-Thon, Leo, and The Allotment). It premiered at the Horror-on-Sea Festival 2020. It had an estimated budget of £10,500. In the small town of Mellow Coast in 1986, Emily (played by: Hannah Paterson from Video Shop Tales of Terror, Mosaic, and Funny Girls) does her own investigation to discover what has happened to her father 10 years ago. When she gets closer to the truth, all of her friends start getting knocked off one by one by a brutal killer!!!!

I Scream on the Beach! Is a fun tribute to late 70’s and 80’s horror films. It’s something different when it comes to slashers, it’s a unique spoof on the sub-genre. The script has all kinds of nods and references to all the classics before it. It has a nice balance of comedy and comedy but it maintains itself a legit slasher despite all it’s dark humor. Hannah Paterson as Emily is solid as the lead. She is just trying to figure out what happened to her dad a long time ago and things get much worse for her. It even has a cameo from cult director Lloyd Kaufman (Terror Firmer). The rest of the supporting cast includes Dani Thompson (Christmas Slay), Reis Daniel (Mosaic), Jamie Evans (Mosaic), Ross Howard (Mosaic), Leigh Ariana Trifari (Delusional), Martin W. Payne (Mask of the Devil), Rachel Page-Molloy (Waste), Swaylee Loughnane (Sumotherhood), Kurt Deed (Bobby Jaws), Mark Keegan (Glamour), Rosie Kingston (The House That Zombies Built), Andrea Sandell (Dead Destination), Benjamin Davenport (Pit Stop), Ethan Morris (Mosaic), and Tess Gustard (Video Shop Tales of Terror). Directors Alexander Churchyard and Michael Holiday took a stylish approach for I Scream on the Beach’s visual look here. It took that Grindhouse vibe with scratches, lines, and faded colors for it’s cinematography. It has some Trailers before it starts to give it that old school feel to it. The body count is actually decent in this, it has some quality kills. The special fx and gore are better than expected for it’s very low budget. I Scream on the Beach is probably about 10 minutes too long but besides that, it’s a blast. It’s an interesting and entertaining throwback with some twists to it. It has the possibility of a sequel which is always cool. It flew under the radar originally but it really deserves more attention because it’s criminally underrated. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Darkside Releasing! This 1080p (1.78:1) unrated director’s cut transfer still looks solid for them making it look low quality on purpose for home video on blu ray. It’s mainly been released on DVD before so it’s a nice little upgrade compared to that. It shot and put together with a Grindhouse style to it so it appears older than what it actually is. It adds to it’s lost VHS atmosphere. It has a English: Dolby Digital 5.1 track. All of the dialogue is very clean, the murders are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has a little over 9 minute “Introduction” with various members of the cast and crew. They chat about their characters and experiences from the independent production. It has an “Audio Commentary” with directors Alexander Churchyard and Michael Holiday. They chat about all their different jobs on this feature. They joke about making this film looking horrible on purpose and they wanted it to feel like a VHS. They break down the process on how they made it look that way. They bring up the original concept and script for the first version that was changed before this final version was made. They go over the cast, special fx, locations, and everything that you would want to know about this horror spoof. They provide lots of information and inside stories from the low budget movie. They joke around and have a great time revisiting this one. It has a few “Short Films” which includes The Decorator and The Hitcher which is almost 6 minutes total. It has the under a minute “Music and Film Festival Promo Spots”. This is a M.O.D (BD-R) home video release. This special edition is available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!