Open 24 Hours Blu Ray Review (4 Digital Media)

Open 24 Hours is a 2018 independent horror film written and directed by Padraig Reynolds (The Devil’s Dolls, Dark Light, and Rites of Spring). Padraig Reynolds first developed this feature in 2009 and  shot a promotional trailer to sell it to potential investors. A young girl named Mary (played by: Vanessa Grasse from Leatherface, It Came from the Desert, Roboshark, and Astral) gets a graveyard shift job at a gas station situated in the middle of nowhere. She tells her boss that she has done time in prison for burning her prolific serial killer boyfriend James “The Rain Ripper” (played by: Cole Vigue from iZombie, Death Note, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Kagagi) who is still locked away in prison.She has mental problems because of her past situation but she doesn’t tell her employer about it. She tells her friend Debbie (played by: Emily Tennant from Scooby Doo 2, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Jennifer’s Body, and Zombie Punch) about her new gig. Bobby (played by: Brendan Fletcher from Freddy vs. Jason, Rampage series, Arrow, and Night Hunter) shows her the ropes before he ends his shift and leaves her all alone. Things start to get weird and dangerous when it gets later in the night. Is her visions happening in reality or are they crazy delusions???Open 24 Hours was a huge surprise to me because I honestly wasn’t expecting much from it. This low budget direct to video slasher delivers when it comes to the kills, gore, and violence. It doesn’t really have sleaze or any nudity which would have been nice but it makes up for that with it’s high quality special fx. The script is very suspenseful and it keeps you on your toes plus it has a nice twist to it. It’s a small character feature but it doesn’t have a single bad performance and every actor is good here. Vanessa Grasse and Brendan Fletcher both stand out in Open 24 Hours. They have the bigger roles in this independent horror flick. It does have some solid support from Cole Vigue, Emily Tennant, Daniel O’Meara (John Carter), Selina Giles (V for Vendetta), and Tomi May (Justice League). This unknown gem is actually one of the better independent slashers made in awhile and I haven’t seen too many people talking about it. I hope more pay attention after this write up on it, RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from 4 Digital Media! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks really good for this horror film’s lower budget. They capitalized the isolation angle here and they focused on the main one location which is the gas station. The production design is impressive and they were smart using what they had here to make it look bigger than what it actually was. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid here. It really has a nice boost during all the suspense and thrills during this. All of the dialogue is very clean and the music is elevated here. It has English subtitles.Let’s discuss the special features from 4 Digital Media! It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Padraig Reynolds and his young daughter. He chats about the story, concept, and characters here. He talks about his experience making it and the actors in it. He brings up doing a promotional teaser to sell it to investors. He goes over some of the more important scenes in this. He tells a few stories and points out changes he had to make while putting it together. His interaction with his kid is hit or miss. It hilarious at times but it does get annoying every once in awhile. She asks him questions about the production during it. She calls him out for almost cussing here which was funny. I did think that her reactions were fun. Overall, it’s a pretty entertaining track for the most part. It has an “The Making of Open 24 Hours” is an almost 16 minute mini documentary. It has interviews with director Padraig Reynolds, actors Vanessa Grasse, Brendan Fletcher, Cole Vigue, and various members of the production. It has some behind the scenes footage. They chat about their experience making Open 24 Hours. They talk about the story, characters, actors, crew, production design, special fx, and other stuff from the production. They go over some of the thrills and suspenseful moments from it. It has an “Alternative Ending”. Definitely a different approach for it but I preferred the original over it. It has a “Trailer” for the film. It comes with a high quality slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!