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

Arrow Video have transferred the 1987 horror Scared Stiff to Blu-ray. It's on a dual-layered Blu-ray in 1080P with a max'ed out bitrate. It looks quite 80s-ish video-quality via 'a brand new 2K restoration from original film elements'. The image exports some consistent textures and solid colors. There is minor depth and no damage or marks. it looks surprisingly strong in-motion.  

The audio is transferred in a linear PCM  mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Effects generally center around shocking humanoid-creature growls out of unexpected nightmares etc.. The film features a reasonable score credited to 'The Barber Brothers' (their only film credit) although in the extras it seems Billy Barber was in charge. The audio quality is consistent and authentically flat. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles on this Region FREE Blu-ray.

Arrow include a brand new audio commentary with director Richard Friedman, producer Dan Bacaner and film historian Robert Ehlinger. I found it amusing how little they seemed to recall about the production and how little of a chain-of-command there was to the filmmaking process, plenty of "I don't know" and speculation on the quires. Mansion of the Doomed: The Making of Scared Stiff is a brand new 34-minute documentary featuring interviews with Richard Friedman, Dan Bacaner, Robert Ehlinger, actors Andrew Stevens and Joshua Segal, special effects supervisor Tyler Smith and special effects assistants Jerry Macaluso and Barry Anderson. There are some amusing anecdotes. Filmed by himself is a new 7-minute interview with composer Billy Barber who talks glowingly about the singing of Mary Page Keller and composing the score. There is an image gallery and original theatrical trailer plus the package has a reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options and for the first pressing purchasers a fully illustrated collector's booklet with new writing on the film by James Oliver.

Scared Stiff is sloppy, overly effects-driven horror that still has some merit in my opinion.... beyond 80's nostalgia. I didn't think it was any where near as bad as the poor critical response. I enjoyed parts of it including the historical referencing and the frequently-shocked character played by Mary Page Keller - she is one of the few positives although 'Kate Christopher' is far better as a hallucinating damsel in distress than performing in music videos, imo. The Arrow Blu-ray transfer is solid, the commentary blasé and unintentionally funny but still as a marginal 'B' popcorn'er you may wish to give it a spin.

Gary Tooze