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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (November 2019): K1982's 3-D futuristic monster movie gets a brand new Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. As stated in the press release, this Kino Blu-ray features the film "newly restored in HD from a 4K scan of the original camera negative! 3-D restoration by the 3-D Film Archive!". The film is available on a dual-layered Blu-ray offering both 2D or 3D formats, the latter only being available to those with the appropriate 3D setup at home. While I was only briefly able to test the 3-D on my friend's TV, the three dimensional effects are pretty jaw-dropping and effective, especially in the more subdued moments which showcase a great and economical use of foreground spaces (don't get me wrong, shots with a pole through a fellow are pretty nifty too). The folks at the 3-D Film Archive maintain a palpable love for the preservation and restoration of 3-D film materials, and we are certainly grateful for all the work they have done. While this may be one of the trickier instances of comparing to a previously released SD DVD, mostly due to that previous source seemingly coming from a reel for the 'other eye' (I swear that most of these frame grabs are precise, even though they may not look so). Also whereas the DVD was in the 2.00:1 aspect ratio, this new Blu-ray is in the wider 2.39:1 AR. There is a visible increase in detail on this new Blu-ray from Kino, though due to the film and 3-D process, the image can look rather soft, with heavy grain. Overall a fantastic 3-D image, and an acceptable 2-D presentation. The bitrate is split between the left-eye and right-eye, but is still a rather sturdy affair.

This futuristic monster movie is available in either 5.1 or 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio (both in 24-bit). Though I prefer the original 2.0 track, upon testing the 5.1 I heard some surprisingly effective surround effects. The film's score is thanks to Richard Band (brother of Charles and son of Albert) and is very effective in its unique approach to the genre. There is a bonus feature with Band discussing his work on the film which we will discuss below. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

First up is an audio commentary from Alan J. Adler. As one of the writers of the film, Adler prefaces his commentary by stating that he will do the best he can to relay what he can remember, given that the film was written some 40-odd years back over the course of 3 weeks. While there are some quieter moments, I appreciated Adler’s laid-back style. The writer even occasionally seems genuinely surprised by the film all these years later, stating things like “Nice shot! I like the depth of field on that”, or “ my favorite interjection is after some establishing shots of two characters leaving a building then getting into and driving off in a Jeep, Adler states “Just a bit of shoe-leather here of getting around but... <long pause>...every movie has em’, you gotta get from point A to point B.” Fans of the film will surely get a kick out of this commentary, if not just for his recollections and comments watching the film. "From the Inside Out: Writing Parasite" is an 11-minute bonus feature delving into the creative process with with writers Alan J. Adler and Michael Shoob. The two writers discuss how they got into the business, and the lengths they went to make sure they made it (at one point living in a van). They go on to talk about how Parasite came about, especially with money from foreign distributers. Shoob at one point mentions an interesting note he received regarding a line of dialogue, more specifically that the dialogue was "way too intellectual" and that all the character needs to say is "F*ck you, Scarface!". "Three Dimensions of Terror: Filming Parasite" is 15-minute piece featuring all-new interviews with director Charles Band, co-writer Alan J. Adler, production manager Charles J. Newirth, art director Pamela B. Warner, and make-up department head Karen Kubeck. Various topics are covered here by the crew, from the funding of the film to the production itself. Interesting tidbits here, such as the fact that "Parasite" was the first major American 3D production in over 20 years, though with the 3-D Italian Spaghetti Western "Comin' at Ya!" arriving just shortly before Parasite's release (if you have a 3D setup and have not seen "Comin' At Ya!", please track down a copy of the Blu-ray). I was particularly fond of the discussion regarding the 3-D company (Stereovision) and the technology behind the lens technology. Art director Pamela B. Warner has an interesting factoid about filming locations, aside from the often lensed Vasquez Rocks (Star Trek, Blazing Saddles, and a million other films and TV shows) they decided to shoot Demi's Moore's farm on location in Malibu Creek Park, and this was the old Zorro house! "Symphony for Slimy Slugs: Composing for Parasite" is another all-new interview with composer Richard Band, this time running just shy of 9-minutes. The composer talks about his first score (co-scored with his friend Joel Goldsmith, Jerry's son) for the film Laserblast, and how this led to future work in the business, including the ability to work with orchestra. Band eventually goes into some amusing details regarding more technical aspects of the work. "Parasitic: Creating and Designing Parasite" is a 6.5-minute interview with the creature designer and creator, Lance Anderson. I don't want to spoil too much from these well-produced interviews but I suggest diving right in, as these are fun, succinct, and informative extras. Kudos to Kino for including them. The included 8-minute image gallery features a significant amount of alternate poster art, behind-the-scenes photos, stills, promo materials, etc. "Restoring Parasite in 3-D" is a 2.5-minute display of the work put into this restoration work, with before/after scenes playing and the following text running below the screen, Thanks to the efforts of Kino-Lorber, the interpositive for Parasite was found by Studio Canal and delivered to the 3-d Film Archive for restoration. While the feature is not quite 40 years old, the 35mm master film elements are starting to show signs of age and fade. In many single-strip shot 3-d features from the 1980s, stereoscopic issues are considerable. Unlike dual 35mm 3-d, Parasite's single-strip system placed the left/right images over-under onto one 35mm frame. This increased grain structure and lowered resolution are forever baked-in. The process introduced other issues which now can be corrected. 3-D Film Archive addressed multiple issues with Parasite, with each correction done on a shot by shot basis. “ These issues are listed as “ *3-d alignment of various types * left eye / right eye level matching * convergence correction * single strip 3-d shadow reduction along with our standard 2-d and 3-d restoration work: *color correction * film debris and damage repair * image stabilization * flicker reduction” The digital image repair work is thanks to Thad Komorowski. Trailers (Theatrical, TV Spots, and Radio Spots) also appear on this dual-layered Blu-ray. The trailers have some real quotable lines of narration such as, “3-D: The ultimate sensation of visual art”. The phrase “The first futuristic monster movie in 3-D" appears multiple times as well. Lastly, the Blu-ray features some rather nice reversible cover art.

Parasite in 3-D is a leave-your-brain-at-the-door kind of picture that has a lot going for it. There are some really rather awesome special effects here that were achieved on a small budget. Did I mention that the effects were designed and created by Stan Winston (and James Kagel)?! Kino Lorber and The 3-D Film Archive keep releasing fantastic Blu-rays, and this one is no different. Recommended to fans of schlocky and fun cinema, or to anyone with a 3-D setup. 

Colin Zavitz