H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Miss Zombie [Blu-ray]

(SABU, 2013)

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: Amuse Soft Entertainment

Video: Kino Lorber / Redemption

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:25:39.008

Disc Size: 20,513,982,055 bytes

Feature Size: 19,709,335,104 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.04 Mbps

Chapters: 9

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: October, 2017

Video:

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2043 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2043 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

Subtitles:

English (non-removable)

Extras:

• Japanese (1:28) and English (0:49) theatrical trailers

Bitrate:

Description: When the Teramoto family received their new domestic servant, Sara (Ayaka Komatsu), they were provided specific instructions: do not feed her meat ( It may turn feral ) and use the enclosed pistol to dispatch it, if there is a threat of bodily harm. So begins the ultra-dark comedy by Japanese cult director SABU (Mr. Long, Happiness). The fearful neighbors treat the disfigured servant as a monster, even as the family comes to trust and accept her. Like all good zombie movies, Miss ZOMBIE blends humor with moments of frightening violence, and holds up a mirror to society, forcing us to question who among us are the actual monsters.

The Film:

Miss Zombie centers around a family that gets a zombie as a pet, like you do. She gets shipped to their home in a cage, helpfully bundled with an instruction booklet and a pistol to be used in case of emergency. Zombies don’t go feral unless they eat meat, so they’re told to set her up with a nice vegetarian diet. They do and she’s pretty complacent, doing whatever job they ask of her just like the good little slave she’s supposed to be.

The town isn’t happy that they own one but the father of the family, a doctor who seems to spend all his time at home, has promised to take care of things. They don’t keep her in the house, instead setting her up in their nearby storage unit and instructing her on her new commute. During the day they tell her to scrub away at a stone floor outside the house, a floor that never seems to get any cleaner no matter how much she ceaselessly scrubs away.

Excerpt fromBirth.Movies>Death HERE

In “Miss Zombie,” a human-like zombie is delivered in a cage to an expectant, uneasy family of three. From here, things can only expect to head south. They do, but in the signature unpredictable, meandering style of the film’s director, Sabu.

The intentions for the zombie shipment aren’t entirely clear in Sabu’s latest feature, but whether she is meant to be a science experiment, a slave or a pet belies the cruel reality that no one wants to deal with her. As a result, despite the fact that she should be closely monitored, she is left to discover her small world on her own, with occasional interruptions by a key cast of characters: the father, the mother, the young son and two shady handymen. Those interruptions grow increasingly abusive and violent, and through them the zombie’s own back story is gradually revealed.

Excerpt from Meniscus located HERE

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

The single-layered Kino Lorber Blu-ray of Miss Zombie looks very good in 1080P. Shot in HD with the Red Epic, and a lot of hand-held modulations there isn't much to go wrong in transferring it to BD. It has a solid bitrate and is as clean as you would imagine such a new film to be. Contrast is excellent with some dampening for flashback scenes. This Blu-ray provides a crisp, appealing video image.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

Kino Lorber use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 2043 kbps (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. There is surprisingly very little in the way of effects and almost no music at all in Miss Zombie. The film is most impacting by its long silent pauses and it's impressive black and white visuals. There are burned-in English subtitles offered and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Extras :

Only Japanese (1:28) and English (0:49) theatrical trailers.

BOTTOM LINE:
Miss Zombie is a fascinating, unique and daring take on the genre. It's kind of the 'Eric Rohmer' of zombie films with emotional interaction, including infidelity, expressed by action, few words and only natural sounds - no artificially induced noises or music as enhancement. Miss Zombie is thought-provoking, funny in it's odd premise, touching, includes social commentary and is even satirical. Certainly not your typical zombie film although it has many of the genre's desirable conventions. The bare-bones Kino Lorber Blu-ray is a great way to see the film although the burned-in subtitles are an unfortunate black-mark. I was very engaged in the film and felt the experimental/low-budget expression was a success. Recommended! NOTE: At the writing of this review it is 33% OFF at Amazon.

Gary Tooze

December 23rd, 2017

Hit Counter

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!