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Deadgirl: 15th Anniversary Edition – Unearthed Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2008
Directors: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel
Writer: Trent Haaga
Cast: Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Candice King, Eric Podnar, Jenny Spain, Andrew DiPalma, Nolan Gerard Funk, Michael Bowen

Release Date: October 24th, 2023
Approximate running time: 101 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $34.95

"When high school misfits Rickie and JT decide to ditch school and find themselves lost in the crumbling facility of a nearby abandoned hospital, they come face-to-face with a gruesome discovery: a body of a woman - stripped naked, chained to a table and covered in plastic - and soon realize she is anything but dead. Quickly the boys find themselves embarking on a twisted yet poignant journey testing the limits of their friendship, and forces both to decide just how far they're willing to stretch their understanding of right and wrong." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

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

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 27 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English, LPCM Stereo English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a LPCM stereo mix in English. These two tracks have many of the same qualities. Both of these tracks sound clean and balanced. That said, there are moments where the audio spikes when the score or an ambient sound occurs. And since this occurs on both of these tracks, I have to assume that this is an intentional part of the sound design. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a production gallery, a behind the scenes gallery, a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Dead Girl shooting script, Dead Girl 2 first draft, Jenny Spain's audition (1 minute 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), five deleted scenes (7 minutes 1 second, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), The Makeup Effects of Dead Girl with Jim Ojala (10 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo with text about the images shown in this extra), a featurette titled Exquisite Corpse: The Making of Deadgirl (7 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with special makeup effects artist and designer Jim Ojala (30 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Shiloh Fernandez (9 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Noah Segan (17 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Trent Haaga (24 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with co-director Gadi Harel (14 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with co-directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel, composer Joseph Bauer, editor Phillip Blackford, cinematographer Harris Charalambous, Trent Haaga, Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan, an audio commentary with actress Jenny Spain, reversible cover art, and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

The narrative revolves around two high school boys who find an imprisoned woman in an abandoned asylum.

There are films that make you feel uncomfortable, and then there is Dead Girl. Reportedly, screenwriter Trent Haaga, who often worked with Troma, offered the film to Lloyd Kaufman to direct, and even he turned it down. Needless to say, the moment when it becomes clear where the narrative is going after the discovery of the retained woman, Deadgirl is a film that most viewers are going to tune out of quickly.

Despite a series of horrific things that unfold in Dead Girl that will inundate most viewers, below the surface, there is more to Dead Girl than just shock for shock value. There are things under the surface, like peer pressure and morality, that are explored.

The most surprising aspects of Dead Girl are the performances. Everyone is all in for their respective roles, especially Jenny Spain in the role of the dead girl. Though her character spends most of her screentime restrained and does not speak, that is not to say that her performance is not without ferocity.

Despite being billed as a horror film, Deadgirl is a film that is virtually devoid of elements that one would associate with traditional horror cinema. That said, all of the ‘horror’ in Deadgirl comes from depraved acts instead of your usual jump scares.

The world has changed drastically in the 15 years since Deadgirl was originally released. There was a time when one could not imagine a teenager devolving to the level of sadistic cruelty that the characters do in This Dead Girl. This type of depraved behavior has become all too common in 2023, making the story that unfolds more believable than ever. Ultimately, Deadgirl is a film that fans of extreme in your face will get the most mileage out of, while everyone else is sure to quickly turn out and run for the hills.

Deadgirl gets an excellent release from Unearthed Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras.