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

Vinegar Syndrome have presented the Blu-ray premiere of "The Killing Kind". This transfer is newly restored in 2k from its 35mm original camera negative. The film is housed on a dual-layered Blu-ray with an impressively maxed out bitrate. There is certainly a heavy amount of grain here, but close-up shots still show a nice level of detail. Colors seem authentic in their representation and there is a reasonable contrast. Darker scenes tend to have an overwhelmingly singular black, though this only makes the shadows that much creepier, and this is clearly a choice of the filmmakers. This is an impressive transfer nonetheless.

The Blu-ray has a fairly robust audio track thanks to its' 24-bit 1.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. Dialogue is audible and clearly separated. The sound effects are equally impressive, from the crickets as Terry sneaks around in the dark peeping into windows to the sounds of splashing in the pool. The score is thanks to composer Andrew Belling (Fairy Tales, Zoltan... Hound of Dracula) and thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, there is the option to listen to this score as an isolated track. There are optional English SDH subtitles on this Region Free Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

There is a fascinating commentary track with film historian David Del Valle of SinisterImage and director David Decoteau of RapidHeart.tv . Del Valle knew the director of "The Killing Kind", Curtis Harrington and many personal recollections are shared on this track. Del Valle even saw different cuts of this film. Interesting that Harrington was embarrassed by eventually being trapped directing television episodes, though as Del Valle states, Curtis was a perfectionist and even his episodic work for Aaron Spelling maintained a certain integrity. Decoteau also shares some stories about how working on adult movie sets (where he met Haxel Wexler) led him to meet director Harrington. Even more interesting his his stories about his friend, Ann Sothern. There is also a 23-minute interview with the director, discussing how he came to be in the business. Eventually he speaks about the production and casting of "The Killing Kind". The stories of the financiers and distribution rights is quite frightening and could have been the reason the film was never widely released or even publicized. "Harrington on Harrington" is a 25-minute interview with the director discussing why he gravitates toward the genre pictures. He is a believer in "you never choose your medium, your medium chooses you", and he absolutely loved his work in film. This is a rather in-depth interview, with Harrington talking about the meanings behind his work. There is also the aforementioned isolated music track as an option from the extras menu.

"The Killing Kind" is a fascinating and unique take on the usually rote, by-the-numbers psychological horror genre. It fit into the 'Grande Dame Guignol' genre. You can see the care and thought that went into this picture, elevating it above the ranks of movie-of-the-week genre fare. Vinegar Syndrome's transfer is pretty strong, with certainly some heavy grain and dark scenes, though this really just amplifies the creepiness factor. I strongly recommend checking out this Blu-ray.

Colin Zavitz