Xtro 3 Blu Ray Review (Vinegar Syndrome)
Xtro 3 (aKa Xtro: Watch the Skies) is a 1995 horror film produced & directed by Harry Bromley Davenport (Xro franchise, Whispers of Fear, Life Among the Cannibals, & Erasable You). It follows 1982’s Xtro & 1990’s Xtro 2: The Second Encounter. It was written & produced by Daryl Haney (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Masque of the Red Death, One Man Army, & Crackdown). It was produced by Jamie Beardsley (Death Spa, Munchies, Secretary, & Smile).
A group of military personnel which includes Captain Fetterman (played by: Andrew Divoff from the Wishmaster franchise, Lost, Another 48 Hours, Air Force One, Neon Maniacs, The Hunt for Red October, Graveyard Shift, Toy Soldiers, Blast, & Oblivion 1/2) & Lt. Martin Kirn (played by: Sal Landi from Savage Streets, Sweet Revenge, South Central, Bulletproof, & Cops and Robbersons) have been assembled by Major Guardino (played by: Robert Culp from Everybody Loves Raymond, I Spy, The Greatest American Hero, The Pelican Brief, & Big Bad Mama II) to where they believe to locate & disarm old active explosives which have been left unattended at a former army testing site on a remote island. When they arrive at the deserted island, they soon discover that something doesn’t seem quite right about their mission. Soon enough, they uncover a strange concrete block which after accidentally blowing up unleashes an indestructible bloodthirsty alien being which will stop at nothing to kill them. As the survivors band together in order to stay alive & try and find a way to outwit the diabolical creature, they realize that their entire mission might have been a trap and that the military is using them as pawns in their own vicious plan. Now they have to survive their own company & the alien killing machine that’s taking them out one by one, can they get through this living hell????
Xtro 3 is very cheaply made, it’s real low budget horror. The script & plot were a little better than the previous film but it took too long to get anywhere. Xtro 3 is a little slow at first so you have to be patient with it but it does pay off with the other half. Watch the Skies has a Predator vibe to it & it does borrow some elements from those films. The visual & special fx were hit or miss with this production. The kills & gore were actually pretty good especially for what they had to work with. The cast that was mainly filled with unknowns & they were okay in this. Most of them played that same cliche character that you have seen many times before. I will say that it did have a few real solid character actors like Sal Landi, Robert Culp, Virgil Frye (Graduation Day, Revenge of the Ninja, Up from the Depths, Nightmare in Wax, & Running Hot), Nigel Gibbs (The Shield, Matchstick Men, Eagle Eye, & Pump Up the Volume), Lisa London (The Naked Cage, Savage Beach, Guns, & Black Moon Rising), & Al Ruscio (The Godfather: Part III, Showgirls, Deadly Force, & The Phantom) that boosted the quality of the feature. Andrew Divoff is always a top notch villain & he was great in this. He’s definitely the best thing about Xtro 3, this is worth checking out if you are a big fan of his work. It had some gruesome moments towards the end plus it had a decent amount of action. Xtro 3 needed some better editing so the flow felt more natural because it did drag on for the first half of the movie before the shit hits the fan. I still thought this was really & entertaining once the chaos started, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from Vinegar Syndrome! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is newly scanned & restored in 2K from it’s 35mm original camera negative. This has been released on DVD a few times here in the past & this blu ray blows away all those older home video releases. I am surprised how good this looks now compared to them especially since it’s a really low budget. It has a few audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 & English: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks on this release. It’s very solid especially for being a cheap 90’s feature. All of the dialogue is clean, the madness has a nice boost to it, & the music is elevated here. It has English SDH subtitles. “Winning and Losing” is a little over 20 minute interview with producer & director Harry Bromley Davenport. He admits that he didn’t make that many good films in his career. He chats about going to California for the first time for this. He talks about how he met writer Daryl Haney & his experience working with him. He goes over the production of Xtro 3. It was a dangerous shoot & the explosives weren’t exactly safe for it. “Acting Like a Writer” is a little over 18 minute interview with writer, producer, & actor Daryl Haney. He chats about his early career & what inspired him back then. He talks about Roger Corman giving him his first big opportunity. He brings up writing Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. He goes over his experience & working on the Xtro 3 sequel. It has the “Trailer” for Xtro 3. It also has reversible artwork & a DVD copy of the release. A limited edition exclusive slipcover version is available at the official Vinegar Syndrome site. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
