NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (November 2024): Imprint have transferred James W. Roberson's Superstition to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a very high bitrate. The 80s had plenty of examples of using less-resilient film stock so the 1080P image quality can look modest but probably accurate. The overall HD presentation is dark (which may or may not be accurate) and there are heavy, soft textures. For the most part it is clean and quite watchable if not exercising the format's lofty capabilities.

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. Superstition has quite a number of aggressive sequences with various weapons that would impale or slash plus screaming gals, and horror related effects. They come through with modest depth in the uncompressed transfer. The score was by David Gibney (Malibu Hot Summer, China Lake), adding drama and intensity. Imprint offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Justin Kerswell author of “The Teenage Slasher Movie Book”. He's a big fan of the film having watched it on video cassette at 13-years old. He makes comparisons to Dario Argento's Suspiria and other slasher flics. He talks about films that came out at about the same time that may have been an inspiration for Superstition, the actors and much more. Also new is a 1/4 hour video essay by author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine, Kat Ellinger (All The Colours Of Sergio Martino) entitled Season of the Witch: Supernatural Slashers. She talks about the film in the sub-genre of slasher efforts and tangential Giallo films. The 1/2 hour Lake of Fire is an interview with actor James Houghton (Sweet Sugar, One on One, More American Graffiti) and was on the, now out-of-print, Shout! Factory Blu-ray - as was That Crazy Witchcraft interview with director James Roberson (The Giant of Thunder Mountain, The Legend of Alfred Packer) running 24-minutes. He talks about his career and partnerships etc. There is also a TV Spot and theatrical trailer.

James W. Roberson's Superstition is known for its excessive gore but it's all so quickly edited that you don't need to dwell on the carnage much. While it has Lynn Carlin, who debuted in John Cassavetes 1968 film Faces, and and hag-make-up'ed Jacquelyn Hyde (Take the Money and Run, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) it doesn't reach the Grand Guignol moniker. There are certainly atmospheric positives and desirable horror tropes but I wouldn't pigeon-hole it firmly in the 'slasher' genre. The idea of a murdered witch seeking vengeance (which goes all the way back to The Wizard of Oz) after 300-years echoes 1960's The City of the Dead, Bava's Black Sunday and, yes, stylistically mimicking Argento's Suspiria. The body count piles up without necessity. With brief theatrical stints - Superstition was (probably unjustly) released, more or less, directly to home video video in 1985. The Imprint Blu-ray offers a lot with the new commentary and video essay plus other supplements. There are things I liked about the film and others that made it forgettable. To each their own.

Gary Tooze