Slaughter Day: Collector's Edition – Visual Vengeance (Blu-ray)

Release Date: USA, 1991
Director: Brent Cousins
Writers: Blake Cousins, Brent Cousins
Cast: Dave Anderson, Sam Bluestone, Kuiaka Branco, Jeremy Couchiardi, Blake Cousins, Brent Cousins, John Lambert, Joe Ross, Lincoln Ross

Release Date: September 13th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 58 Minutes 13 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"In the rural recesses of Hawaii, a pair of friends must fight an ancient evil force brought to life by an occult book that possesses a group of construction workers." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 1.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Archival 1991 SD master from original tapes."

Slaughter Day comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.7 GB

Feature: 11.9 GB

This is the roughest looking transfer from Visual Vengeance to date. The screenshots below will give you a clear idea of what to expect. That said, it is hard to imagine Slaughter Day could look any better considering the limitations of its source.

Audio: 2.25/5

This release comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. For this review, I only listened to the DTS-HD stereo track. Though the audio has some distortion related issues, these are never so empowering that they take you out of the film. Dialog comes through clear enough to follow and the range is best described as satisfactory. Included with this release are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include trailers for two other films made by Brent and Blake Cousins: Loose Cannon (1 minute 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and The Rising Dead (1 minute 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Slaughter Day’s original trailer (3 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), four short films made by Brent and Blake Cousins: Slaughter Day 2 (13 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Slaughter Day 4 (13 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Slaughter Day 4 (10 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and Full Metal Platoon (4 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Brent and Blake Cousins titled The Cousins Brothers Today (8 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), alternate takes (29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Brent and Blake Cousins, an audio commentary with Matt Desiderio and Rob Hauschild of Visual Vengeance, reversible cover art featuring original VHS art, 'Stick your own' video store sticker sheet, a folded mini-poster, a four-page leaflet with a essay titled Called Into Work on a Slaughter Day written by Tony Strauss, and a limited-edition slipcover (first pressing only).

Other extras include trailers for Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell, Moonchild, and The Necro Files.

Summary:

Slaughter Day is yet another film that was inspired by The Evil Dead. And though there are many elements in Slaughter Day that were lifted from The Evil Dead, most notably, the Necronomicon. The result is a film that transcends your run-of-the-mill knock-off.

From its opening moments, Slaughter Day establishes a relentless pace that does not let up. But Slaughter Day clocks in at just under one hour. A lot happens over the course of fifty-eight minutes.

Slaughter Day is a textbook example of low-budget do-it-yourself filmmaking. And though there is no denying that there are limitations to shooting on video, Slaughter Day’s impressive camerawork is at times impressive and not your usual master and/or two-shot farming that plagues so many low-budget horror films.

The most surprising aspect of Slaughter Day is its special effects and how effectively they employ practical special effects like limb dismemberment and an endless supply of blood-like substances. Needless to say, Slaughter Day has an abundance of gore, action, and mayhem. Ultimately, Slaughter Day is a highly entertaining film that is overflowing with enthusiasm from all involved, making it hard not to get caught up in what is unfolding.

Slaughter Day is another solid release from Visual Vengeance that comes with the best possible audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer