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Dagon – Umbrella Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 2001
Director: Stuart Gordon
Writers: Dennis Paoli, H.P. Lovecraft
Cast: Ezra Godden, Francisco Rabal, Raquel Meroño, Macarena Gómez, Brendan Price

Release Date: July 4th, 2018
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 51 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R 18+ (Australia)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English/Gallegan/Spanish
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region B (Australia)
Retail Price: $14.00

"A boating accident off the coast of Spain sends Paul and his girlfriend to the dilapidated fishing village of Imboca looking for help. As night falls people start to disappear and things not quite human start appearing. Whilst running for his life as the entire town pursues him, Paul discovers Imboca's dark secret... the freakish half-human creatures that populate the town.

They pray to Dagon, a monstrous God of the sea. All outsiders are sacrificed - the men are flayed alive and the women offered as unwilling brides to bear Dagon's unholy children." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 2.5/5

Dagon comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 39.1 GB

Feature: 29.6 GB

This transfer has been sourced from an outdated transfer. Image clarity is inconsistent, and there are issues related to DNR that give that image a waxy look. It should be noted that the Blu-ray that was released by Vestron also suffers from all of these issues.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with two audio mixes. Both of these audio mixes are listed as DTS-HD 5.1 mixes. Both audio mixes sound clear and balanced throughout. The second of these two DTS-HD 5.1 audio mixes sounds slightly more robust than the other DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix. Included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. It should be noted that most of the dialog spoken in this film is in English. The English SDH subtitles do not translate any of the dialogue that is not in English.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a slipcover (limited to first pressing), H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Dagon printed on the inside cover (limited to first pressing), two TV spots (1 minute 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a theatrical teaser (2 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), B-Roll / Making of Footage (4 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), archival interviews from the set: director Stuart Gordon (3 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and actor Ezra Godden (2 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Macarena Gómez (12 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Stuart Gordon (17 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Raquel Meroño (14 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival interview with Ezra Godden (20 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Summary:

Dagon was directed by Stuart Gordon, who is best known for his adaptations of the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft. Though Dagon gets its title from the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, it also draws heavily from H.P. Lovecraft’s novella The Shadow over Innsmouth. Stuart Gordon has adapted H.P. Lovecraft five times (four feature films and an episode from the television series Masters of Horror). And, in terms of content, Dagon is the adaptation that comes closest to capturing the essence of H.P. Lovecraft.

From a production standpoint, Dagon achieves all of its goals. The premise is superbly realized, the special effects are well executed, and there is an ample amount of gore. And the atmospheric visuals do a good job of reinforcing the foreboding mood. The foreshadowing dream sequence that opens Dagon, the scene where the protagonist discovers what the townspeople are doing with tourists, and the finale provide an extremely satisfying conclusion to the events that have just unfolded and are all standout moments.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good in their respective roles. The most memorable performance comes from Macarena Gómez (Sexy Killer), who played Uxa Cambarro, a half-woman, half-amphibian. Other notable performances include Ezra Godden (Band of Brothers) in the role of the protagonist, Paul Marsh, and Francisco Rabal (L’Eclisse) in the role of an alcoholic vagrant named Ezequiel, whom the worshipers of Dagon avoid because alcohol has infected his body. Ultimately, Dagon is a faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft that stands out as one of Stuart Gordon’s best films.

Though this release comes with solid audio and an assortment of informative extras, it is ultimately marred by a mediocre transfer.