Red Christmas Blu-ray

directed by Craig Anderson
Australia 2016

American expat Diane (Dee Wallace, THE HOWLING) is determined to make this Christmas the best ever for her brother Joe (Geoff Morrell, ROGUE), son Jerry (Gerard Odwyer) with Down Syndrome, and three daughters - pregnant Ginny (Janis McGavin) and her boyfriend Scott (Bjorn Stewart), religious Suzy (Sarah Bishop) and her vicar husband Peter (David Collins), and art school-bound Hope (Deelia Meriel) - since she is selling the family home, putting Jerry in an assisted living facility, and taking a trip to Europe. An unexpected and uninvited guest comes in the form of Cletus (Sam Campbell) whose Grim Reaper-esque cloak "keeps his skin on" in search of the mother who aborted him twenty years ago and determined to wreak righteous and gory vengeance upon her and her family. While it is always a pleasure to see Wallace in a lead role in a genre film, and there are some fine practical and CGI-augmented gore effects, RED CHRISTMAS feels more like a crowd-funded horror festival crowd-pleaser than an honest "stab" at the holiday horror genre (especially since the director cites Nora Ephron's holiday comedies as more of an influence), and no amount of attempted social commentary will make it memorable long after viewing. Hopefully comedian/director Craig Anderson's next effort will either be a more personal genre work that better balances the laughs and grue or a more straightforward comedy.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: 25 August 2017 (USA)

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Comparison:

Artsploitation Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Artsploitation Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the DVD Review!

1) Artsploitation - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Artsploitation - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Cover
Distribution	Artsploitation Films Region 1 - NTSC	Artsploitation Films Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:24	1:21:34.139
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.55 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size:23,601,289,232 bytes Feature: 19,263,651,840 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.15 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Bitrate Blu-ray
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo	Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles	English SDH, none	English SDH, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artsploitation Films Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by writer/director Craig Anderson and actor Gerard Odwyer • 'Dee Wallace Speaks!' (16:9; 19:42) • Interview with actor Gerald O'Dwyer (16:9; 9:57) • Blooper Reel (16:9; 3:25) • Deleted Scene (16:9; 0:45) • Craig Anderson Mini-Interview (16:9; 1:40) • Easter Egg: Trailer (16:9; 2:13) DVD Release Date: October 17th, 2017 Amaray Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Artsploitation Films 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size:23,601,289,232 bytes Feature: 19,263,651,840 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.15 Mbps Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by writer/director Craig Anderson and actor Gerard Odwyer • 'Dee Wallace Speaks!' (16:9; 19:42) • Interview with actor Gerald O'Dwyer (16:9; 9:57) • Blooper Reel (16:9; 3:25) • Deleted Scene (16:9; 0:45) • Craig Anderson Mini-Interview (16:9; 1:40) • Easter Egg: Trailer (16:9; 2:13) Blu-ray Release Date: October 17th, 2017 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 12

Comments

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

ADDITION: Artsploitation - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - October 17': The 1080P is a notable uptick in the video quality - and, presently, it's $6 cheaper than the DVD! All the same extras (see Eric's description below) - and, unfortunately, still lossy audio (also 5.1 surround of 2.0 channel stereo options.) Obviously, the less expensive, and superior, Blu-ray is the way to go for this creepy, Aussie, X-mas genre horror.

NOTE: Unlike some, reported, Artsploitation Blu-rays - this is NOT a BD-R. It is a pressed disc.

***

ON THE DVD: Artsploitation gives a high bitrate treatment to this digitally-shot production that does its best with some scenes shot in highly saturated red and green gel lighting and is a generally satisfying SD presentation. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is only intermittently more active than the 2.0 downmix with the surrounds reserved for music and some jumps. English SDH subtitles are also provided. Writer/director Craig Anderson and actor Gerard Odwyer are on hand for a commentary track in which the director discusses the inspiration for the project, his initial concepts, whether or not the film is a pro-life statement, and his plotting method described as "characters you like making decisions you hate." Wallace appears in an interview in which she discusses her input into the film, including nixing a child killing in the script, her process as an actor, and her experiences on CUJO while actor O'Dwyer is interviewed by actor Sam Campbell (with questions submitted by fans), and O'Dwyer interviews Anderson in an impromptu session. A blooper reel and deleted scenes are also included, and a trailer for the film is included as an Easter Egg.

- Eric Cotenas

DVD Menus

Artsploitation - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Subtitle Sample Artsploitation - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Artsploitation - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP