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

ADDITION: Severin Blu-ray (February 2021): Severin have transferred David Gregory's Plague Town to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. We expect that the image quality is a very strong replication of the film's production and theatrical showings. I thought it looked quite good in 1080P, showcasing the many keenly-derived shots and cinematography by Brian Rigney Hubbard. There are many dark scenes in the film and details in the frame were generally discernable. As David Gregory is a co-founder of Severin, we imagine the HD presentation is top shelf. 

On their Blu-ray, Severin use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. There is also a lossy stereo option. There is surprising separation in the surround and the film is rife with sneaky effects and creepy bass. It sounds excellent. The score by Mark Raskin - who has composed for a lot of documentary shorts in this genre-space. The film's music adds quite a bit to the viewing experience augmenting tension. The lossless is quite impressive, I thought. Severin offer optional English, French and Spanish, subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Severin Blu-ray include the 2009 commentary by Director David Gregory and Producer Derek Curl who discuss details of the cast, crew and production in order to complete the project. I thought they were very forthcoming and found their comments educational especially for those keen on the creation of gore effects or the entire filmmaking process of a low-budget film. There is also a wonderful full-length documentary by Howard S. Berger - which we will get to below - but also repeated from Dark Sky Film's 2009 Blu-ray are the A Visit to Plague Town featurette, The Sounds of Plague Town video piece and Gregory's 3/4 hour student short 'Scathed'. They do add 'Till Death' and there is a trailer. The significant inclusion is White Lace & Button Eyes - The Making of PLAGUE TOWN running longer than the main feature. It's hard not to gain an appreciation for Plague Town after watching it. Budding film-makers will find it fascinating as the creation process is reflected back on - hurdles, errors, positives etc. and the reaction of cast and crew from joy to disappointment. The level of effort and commitment was so admirable. I was very impressed with this extra and found it a highly worthy inclusion on the disc.       

I usually don't talk much about the film - as it can be so subjective - but as I was quite taken with the White Lace & Button Eyes supplement, I will briefly comment on David Gregory's Plague Town (or as he prefers "A Slaughter in Plague Town".) I think this is a better film than given credit for. It's obvious that Gregory is passionate about film and the horror genre. There are many attributes including subtle details, the audio etc. that went into his singular vision for this film. It suffered from the same persistent foibles that almost all Indie filmmakers are plagued (no pun intended) - budget and time. The latter exposing his work prematurely for Festival inclusion - possibly the death knell of being seen by a wider audience. The expression of Plague Town - though imperfect - has value. Personally, I suspect the overdone, often distasteful, effects isolated the overall appeal - shrinking the base to a smaller niche of devout Gorehounds. But that is the film he wanted to make and he was probably never going for mass appeal. The Severin Blu-ray and its extras are recommended to future filmmakers and those leaning to the more raw examples of the horror genre. There is plenty to appreciate here.

Gary Tooze