Night Screams – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1987
Director: Allen Plone
Writers: Mitch Brian, Dillis L. Hart II
Cast: Joseph Paul Manno, Ron Thomas, Randy Lundsford, Megan Wyss, Janette Caldwell

Release Date: May 29th, 2023
Approximate Running Times: 84 Minutes 59 Seconds (Theatrical Version), 80 Minutes 4 Seconds (Pre-Release Version)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 (Theatrical Version), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $52.98

"High school football star David has just won a four-year scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, and - with his parents away for the night - is planning to mark the occasion with a party for his buddies and girlfriend. But, as the evening’s festivities get underway at a local nightclub, two violent fugitives take refuge in the basement of David’s home. When the action moves over to David’s place, it quickly becomes clear that someone is intent on spoiling the celebration - as, one by one, the revelers get picked off and butchered in various gruesome ways. But are the stowaway crooks responsible for the carnage, or is this the work of someone even more unhinged?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray Theatrical Version, Blu-ray Pre-Release Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Here’s additional information about the transfer, "The following 4K UHD presentation of Night Screams represents the theatrical version of the film as first released by Overseas Film Group.

It includes several clips from Graduation Day as well as various loops which were added during the editing process to extend the runtime. While these additions were made by the producers, they have long regretted the neccessity of adding them and do not consider this cut to be an accurate representation of the their vision.

Included as a Blu-ray extra on disc #2, we have done our best to reconstruct the film as it would have been seen without these inserts and to more closely approximate what was envisioned by the filmmakers."

Night Screams comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 53.9 GB

Feature: 53.5 GB

The source used for this transfer looks excellent. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. Also, though the footage from Graduation Day and XXX loops also looks great, it is not as strong as the rest of the transfer.

Night Screams, the theatrical version, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 39.4 GB

Feature: 23.2 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Night Screams, the pre-release version, comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.6 GB

Feature: 21.2 GB

Here's the information provided about the pre-release version, "During post production, producer and writer Dillis Hart discovered that the footage which had been shot was not substantial enough to bring the final runtime to the minimum required length for feature distribution. Therefore, the films as intended was restructured to include various unrelated clips from other sources in order to pad out the runtime.

Because these clips were added during the editing process itself, no film element exists without them. However, we have done our best to reconstruct the film as it would have been seen without these distracting inserts and to more closely approximate what was envisioned by the filmmakers, while minimizing any editorial interference with the original footage of sound mix."

The pre-release version transfer is comparable to the theatrical version transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5

Both versions come with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. The audio is in great shape; there are no issues with distortion or background hiss. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with director Allen Plone, cinematographer Eric Anderson, and moderated by special features producer Ewan Cant.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc with the theatrical version include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH) and a making-of documentary featuring interviews with its cast and crew titled Blood and Chopsticks: Echoes of Night Screams (80 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH).

Extras on the Blu-ray disc with the pre-release version include an introduction by executive producer Richard Caliendo and screenwriter/producer Dillis L. Hart II (30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot-gloss slipcover (limited to 6,000 units).

Summary:

Night Screams is a low-budget horror film that was made in Wichita, Kansas. It was the brainchild of two first-time producers, Richard Caliendo and Dillis L. Hart II, who enlisted the help of a first-time director, Allen Plone, and for most of the cast, this was their first theatrical film.

By the time Night Screams was released, the horror cinema boom that started in the first half of the 1980s was already starting to wane due to an influx of products, most of which were poorly made. That said, when compared to most of the latter half of the 1980s horror cinema, a film like Night Screams is one of the stronger efforts for independently made horror films.

The narrative revolves around a football star and his friends, whose party is disrupted by two psychopaths who escaped from prison.

There are two versions of Night Screams: the version that most will be familiar with was released theatrically, and the version made exclusively for this release by Vinegar Syndrome is the producers intended version, which omits footage that was added to pad the running time. Though there are moments outside of this added footage that also drag, the narrative benefits from the removal of this footage.

As mentioned before, the cast is mostly made up of actors and actresses who have limited resumes. With the most notable cast member being Ron Thomas, whom many viewers will recognize as Bobby from The Karate Kid. That said, the performances range from adequate to good. With most falling into the latter.

When it comes to carnage, this is one area where Night Screams delivers. The killing scenes, most of which occur during the last act, are sufficiently bloody, and each victim is killed in a different way. Though the stalk and kill deaths are bound to draw the most attention, It is actually an earlier sequence where the convicts are introduced that delivers the most memorable kill sequence.

From a production standpoint, Night Screams is a film that exceeds the sum of its parts. Despite the premise covering familiar ground, the execution of said premise is well done, and most importantly, it has a solid ending that does a great job concealing the killer's identity. Other strengths are the cinematography and the synth score, which together do a good job creating a foreboding mood. That said, there are a few areas that do not hold up well, like the caricature characters that populate so many horror films and unintentionally funny moments because of cringe-worthy dialog. Ultimately, Night Screams is a well-made slasher film whose pros far outweigh its cons.

Night Screams gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome; highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer