The Ugly Blu Ray Review (Unearthed Films)

The Ugly is a 1997 horror thriller written and directed by Scott Reynolds (Heaven, When Strangers Appear, Shooting Gallery, and The Cult). It was produced by Jonathan Dowling (Jack Be Nimble, Popstars, When Love Comes Along, and The M1nute). Confined to a mental institution, disturbed young serial killer Simon Cartwright (played by: Paolo Rotondo from The Rule of Jenny Pen, Serial Killers, Xena: Warrior Princess, Stickmen, Riverworld, and the Power Rangers franchise) is tormented by cruel orderlies and his own personal demons that he calls “The Ugly” which compels him to kill. Dr. Karen Schumaker (played by: Rebecca Hobbs from Lost Souls, Shortland Street, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Water Rats, and Burying Brian) arrives to discover whether Simon is fit to be released back into society again after his heinous crimes. As the terrifying secrets within Simon’s mind are finally revealed, no one will be left unscathed by the horrors about to be unleashed!!!! The Ugly kinda flew under the radar when it was originally released in the late 90’s. It got featured in 2001’s “Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation” which included horror icons Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Michael Myers (Halloween), Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), Pinhead (Hellraiser), Chucky (Child’s Play), Norman Bates (Psycho), The Tall Man (Phantasm), Candyman (Candyman), The Leprechaun (Leprechaun), GhostFace (Scream), The Djinn (Wishmaster), Dr. Alan Feinstone (The Dentist), and many others. Simon Cartwright might have been the most unknown featured in that release but he definitely stood out during it. That’s what really put The Ugly on map when it comes to horror. It was directed by Scott Reynolds who didn’t do much behind the camera over the years but this is his shining moment on the rare occasions when he did. It’s one of the most underrated serial killer movies ever made and it still doesn’t really get brought up these days so hopefully this brand new home video release keeps with that lack of attention. Lead actor Paolo Rotondo shines as the quiet psychopath Simon Cartwright. He usually doesn’t say much and he tries to just stay to himself. He let the unprofessional staff bully him and show him off like some trophy until he finally gets his own chance for revenge. Rebecca Hobbs is great as psychologist Dr. Karen Schumaker. She wants to study the mind of this more unknown serial killer that still remains very mysterious to everyone else. She knows there’s much more behind this situation and dark story when it comes to Simon Cartwright. She is the only one that actually treats him like a human being regardless of what he’s done. They have amazing chemistry together and this is basically a 2 person film for the most part so it really drives this unpredictable horror thriller. The rest of the supporting cast includes Roy Ward (Shortland Street), Paul Glover (Spartacus), Chris Graham (Power Rangers Mystic Force), Darien Takle (Heavenly Creatures), Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Full Frontal), Tim Barlow (Hot Fuzz), Sam Wallace (Murder in Greenwich), Beth Allen (The Tribe), Katrina Browne (Serial Killers), Scott Wills (Perfect Creature), Frances Chan (Shortland Street), Mike Dwyer (Michael Collins), David Baxter (Young Hercules), and Jon Brazier (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). Director Scott Reynolds was creative for all of the violence, kills, and gore in The Ugly. He made the blood black instead of red so he could use as much as he wanted without being censored for it. There’s a decent body count here, the special fx were handled by the talented artists Andrew Beattie (The Lord of the Rings franchise, The Frighteners, and Deathgasm), Jason Docherty (Evil Dead Rise, Pearl, X, Krampus, King Kong, and Black Sheep), Marjory Hamlin (Braindead, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and The Tommyknockers), Vance Hartwell (Seed of Chucky, Army of Darkness, Dolly Dearest, Feast franchise, and Freaked), and Richard Taylor (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Meg, Blade Runner 2049, The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, and 30 Days of Night). It has plenty of suspense, tension, and thrills as it all builds up to it’s brutal finale. It has sharp editing that keeps it’s smooth flow going and the quality production design for it’s limited locations that add to this wild environment. I love how they executed Simon’s murder spree and the origins that created this monster in The Ugly during flashbacks. It explores schizophrenia and the tragic results from an unstable mind behind it. It’s a rare effort from New Zealand for the sub-genre, this falls in good company with some of the previous ones made by Peter Jackson there. The Ugly is a hidden gem, it truly delivers in every possible way. It’s extremely dark and entertaining, it gets better on each re-watch. Give this a shot as soon as possible, STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Unearthed Films! This 1080p unrated transfer looks better than ever in this 4K restoration from the fully uncensored 35MM interpositive. Last time I seen this was on the 1998 DVD from Lionsgate and this newer upgrade blows that one out of the water. It’s the highest quality that it’s ever been on home video and I honestly don’t see it getting any better than this. It’s a very stylish late 90’s production and it still shines when it comes to it’s sharper visuals. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks on the disc. It some crazy and intense moments that pop out more for the audio plus the score is very impressive. All of the dialogue is crisp, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It also has a brand new exclusive “Isolated Score” track from Victoria Kelley in DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 on here. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with lead actor Paolo Rotondo and lead actress Rebecca Hobbs moderated by Nathaniel Thompson. They chat about this being made so long ago and it’s still underappreciated because of lack of availability all of these years. They mention New Zealand was getting bigger with Peter Jackson and all of the bigger television work that filmed there at the time. They bring some of the connections to all of that. They only made around 3 full length films a year there when this was being put together so all of the locals knew about it. Both actors tell the origin story of how they landed The Ugly back in the day. They go over the cast and how It was like working with Scott Reynolds on this. He would get the best out of them every time with his unique methods. They are very honest and blunt about their existences on it. They share plenty of inside stories and fully detailed information about the 90’s horror production. Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel keeps the track flowing the entire time with so much added to it. It’s worth checking out if you want to learn more about The Ugly. It has some rare short films directed by Scott Reynolds that’s barely been released anywhere that includes 1994’s “A Game with No Rules” that’s almost 17 minutes and 1992’s “The M1nute” that’s almost 9 minutes. The cast for those shorts includes Marton Csokas (The Equalizer, xXx, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Cuckoo, and Evilenko), Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Xena: Warrior Princess, Dead, and Vermilion), Danielle Cormack (Wentworth, The Twelve, Underbelly, and Jack Irish), Susannah Devereux (Creepshow, Bloodbath, and Evil Sister 2), and Alan Brough (Melody Rules and Die on Your Feet). It has the little over 18 minute rare “1997 New Zealand Radio Interview” with director Scott Reynolds. He chats about some of his early memories that got him into cinema. Science Fiction and Horror were his two favorite genres when growing up. He describes his film “The Ugly” to the listeners. He explains why he picked the subject for his own feature. He mentions flashbacks weren’t really used much when he did in his story. He says he wanted to show all of the violence and not cut away from it. He brings up that he didn’t want to copy or do anything similar to other similar projects at the time. It’s an interesting conversation with the director and it’s a great promotional piece for “The Ugly”. It has a brand new exclusive little over 19 minute “The Ugly Video Essay” with Howard S. Berger. He chats about several serial killers films here. It’s a detailed look into the sub-genre. He talks about real life serial killers all over inspired cinema to go away from monsters to actual people. Lots of great recommendations that displays all kinds of movies especially from Richard Fleischer and Alfred Hitchcock are discussed in this. The Ugly gets some focus towards the last 5 minutes. It has a brand new exclusive little over 3 minute “Photo Gallery”. It has a few “Original Theatrical Trailers” for The Ugly. It comes with a slipcover, reversible original artwork, and a high quality 6 page booklet. This has been on my wishlist for an HD upgrade for forever at this point so Unearthed Films really impressed me with this one. They just keep getting bigger and better as the time goes on. Their future is very bright in the boutique label game and this is a step in the right direction. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!