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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "People Toys" or "Peopletoys" or "Tantrums" or "Devil Times Five")

 

Directed by Sean MacGregor
USA 1974

 

Five children crawl from the wreckage of a deadly van accident in a snowy canyon. The juvenile survivors (including teen heartthrob Leif Garrett) seek shelter at a secluded mountaintop winter home occupied by a rich businessman (Gene Evans, The Steel Helmet) and his friends (including Sorrell Booke, Boss Hogg from TV’s Dukes of Hazzard and Shelley Morrison of Will & Grace). Soon, strange mishaps occur and the group is stranded without electricity and telephones. One by one, the adults begin to fall prey to a series of shocking and violent deaths! By the time the few surviving adults suspect the demented delinquents it may be too late!

***

A bus overturns in the snow with the only survivors being the five child passengers (Leif Garret, Tierre Turner, Dawn Lyn, Tia Thompson, and Gail Smale) en route to an asylum. They are unwittingly taken in by a collection of back-stabbing and inebriated wealthy vacationers in an isolated cabin. When the dead bodies start turning up, the remaining adults must face off with the pint-sized maniacs (who come up with some creative ways of killing off the adults like a bath full of piranhas). While it lacks the emotional resonance of Narcisco Ibanez Serrador's WHO CAN KILL A CHILD?, DEVIL TIMES FIVE is a disturbing film for featuring some assured child actors perpetrating R-rated violence against some recognizable TV and stage adult actors (including Shelley Morrison who viewers may recognize as the South American maid Rosario on "Will & Grace"). A release of Jerry Gross' Cinemation Industries (who distributed everything from Joe Sarno's artful erotic INGA to Lucio Fulci's DAWN OF THE DEAD inspired gore-fest ZOMBI), DEVIL TIMES FIVE does not shy away from grindhouse level brutality.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 31st, 1974

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

Review: Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Coming to 4K UHD by Vinegar Syndrome in September 2024:

Bonus Captures:
Distribution Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:28:23.339         
Video

1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,873,731,788 bytes

Feature: 21,065,238,528 bytes

Video Bitrate: 28.01 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1903 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1903 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Code Red

 

1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,873,731,788 bytes

Feature: 21,065,238,528 bytes

Video Bitrate: 28.01 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary with Joan McCall and Dawn Lynn with Producers Mickey Blowitz and David Sheldon, Moderated by Darren Gross
 • Featurette with McCall, Lynn, Blowitz, Sheldon and Tierre Turner (22:01)
 • Bonus Interviews (7:00)
 • Trailer (2:17)


 Blu-ray Release Date: February 9th, 2021
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 14

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Code Red Blu-ray (February 2021): Code Red have transferred the modest budget 70's horror Devil Times Five to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "brand new 2K scan off the original camera negatives". It looks surprisingly strong at times in 1080P. It is far in advance of the 2008 DVD that Eric reviewed HERE with better color balance and contrast. It is still in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio - detail rises - but there are some less-stable color shifts (see below) and a few marks here and there. Overall though - pleasing image for a this slasher/horror ilk from the 70's.  

NOTE: We have added 42 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Code Red use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Flat but fairly crisp notable in the score by William Loose (The Swinging Cheerleaders, The Big Bird Cage, The Naked City TV series) carrying some depth and supporting the often, outdoor, scattered dialogue. Code Red offer no subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Code Red Blu-ray offers the same cast and crew commentary and interviews from 2008. There is some fun with no one taking the project overly serious. I enjoyed it and seeing the grown 'devil spawn'. There is also a trailer. 

Devil Times Five has weaknesses but is an effective genre flic - personally evoking Canuxploitation, imo - although the only link I saw was actor Henry Beckman. It's disturbing as you might imagine - actually more so (hence the R-rating.) That is probably a feather in its cap - all things considered - well realized for a, reported, 'troubled production' (Director Sean McGregor punched producer Michael Blowitz in the face, to which Blowitz responded by throwing McGregor through a plate glass window.) The Code Red Blu-ray still offers value with the adept HD presentation and bevy of old, if still pertinent, supplements. See, once teen-heartthrob, Leif Garrett as one of the 'devil children'. Fans of this gene may wish to indulge in this creepy 70's effort. 

Gary Tooze

 

Menus / Extras

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colors shift (skin tones) between frames

 

(CLICK to ENLARGE)

 

 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 

 
Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Coming to 4K UHD by Vinegar Syndrome in September 2024:

Bonus Captures:
Distribution Code Red - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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