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

ADDITION: Code Red Blu-ray (June 2021): Code Red's new re-release of their 2017 Blu-ray of The Being features the same transfer from the 2017 2K scan of the original vault elements. The Being is housed on a single-layer Blu-ray with a high bitrate in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. As far as I can tell, the film was shot on 35mm, and due to the poor black levels and large grain, I can only assume that these 'original vault elements' are not the original camera negatives. All that being said, this is after all a horror/comedy so the crushing blacks and heavy grain only really add to the grimy B-movie experience. There are also the occasional blips or scratches, but nothing too outrageous. Barring some unforeseen future restoration from the original negatives, you could do much worse than this Blu-ray from Code Red.

NOTE: We have added 36 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

Code Red's Blu-ray of The Being is given a 24-bit 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio track. The film's horror/sci-fi sounds come across appropriately creepy and slimy here, with dialogue discernible. The genre appropriate music is thanks to Don Preston (Eye of the Tiger.) Sadly, there are no subtitles on this Region 'Free' Blu-ray from Code Red.

Code Red provides two audio commentaries for this Blu-ray release of The Being. The first is a 2017 commentary with director Jackie Kong. The director recalls her debut film, as well as working with the cast of celebrities (Martin Landau, José Ferrer, Dorothy Malone) comedians (Ruth Buzzi, Murray 'The Unknown Comic' Langston), and others (Marianne Gordon was married to Kenny Rogers at the time of shooting, and Kong had never heard of him). Kong shares many recollections from the shoot, and has a good sense of humor throughout. Fans of Kong's work (Night Patrol, Blood Diner, The UnderAchievers) will get a kick out of this track. The second track is carried over from Code Red's older SD DVD version release of The Being. This feature-length audio commentary features comedian Johnny Dark (fondly remembered as 'the CBS page' on multiple Letterman appearances) and is moderated by Marc Edward Heuck (The Movie Geek from the old 'Beat the Geeks' TV show). While the microphone levels pick up too much on Dark's part (you can hear him licking his lips as he is introduced) this is still a fun and laid back commentary. The topics tend to veer away from the film, but this is just fine considering you can get a more factually based track with Kong. The film's trailer and a handful of other Code Red trailers round out the supplements on this Blu-ray.

Code Red's Blu-ray re-release of The Being hopefully introduces more people to the underappreciated work of director Jackie Kong. Kong's brief but entertaining body of work always played with genre tropes while showcasing a unique sense of humor. This Blu-ray from Code red features a great audio commentary from Kong, as well as one with Johnny Dark that is worth a listen. While the A/V here is nothing to write home about, the movie is still a joy, and hopefully more will discover it now on physical media.

Colin Zavitz