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Scream Queen: Collector's Edition – Visual Vengeance (Blu-ray)

Release Date: USA, 2002
Director: Brad Sykes
Writer: Brad Sykes
Cast: Linnea Quigley, C. Courtney Joyner, Kurt Levee, Jarrod Robbins, Nova Sheppard, Emilie Jo Tisdale, Nicole West

Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 73 Minutes 43 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Horror star Malicia Tombs (Linnea Quigley) mysteriously dies after leaving the set of her latest, now unfinished, low budget Shot-on-video shocker. Soon, an unseen masked killer is chopping and hacking his/ her way through the cast and crew as punishment for Tomb's death - leaving a bloody trail of revenge." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 1.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "New director-approved 480p SD master presented on Blu-ray from original tape elements".

Scream Queen comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.6 GB

Feature: 16.6 GB

Going by the information provided about the transfer source, Scream Queen is a film that’s never going to look that great. That said, it has many of the hallmarks that plague taped-sourced SD transfers. Could Scream Queen look better than it does here? I doubt it.

Audio 2.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. Though the audio is in good shape, there are moments where the audio spikes. That said, the dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, this track is satisfactory.

Extras:

Extras for this release include Scream Queen Visual Vengeance trailer (51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Scream Queen original trailer (2 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), original script selects, Linnea Quigley image gallery with music from Scream Queen, Behind The Scenes image gallery with music from Scream Queen, an interview with editor Mark Polonia (2 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Linnea Quigley (12 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), the original producer’s cut of Scream Queen (78 minutes 35 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a behind the scenes documentary titled Once Upon A Time In Horrorwood (29 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with screenwriter/director Brad Sykes, reversible cover art featuring original home video art, 'stick your own' VHS sticker set, collectible Linnea Quigley folded mini-poster, six-page liner notes with an essay titled And Then There Was One: Bringing Scream Queen to the Small Screen written by Tony Strauss, limited-edition 'Series 2' video store rental card (first pressing only), and a limited-edition slipcover (first pressing only).

Other extras include trailers for Dinosaur Valley Girls, Heartland of Darkness, and Repligator.

Summary:

The narrative revolves around a scream queen who tragically dies after angrily walking away from her latest film due to disagreements with the director and the cast.

Though Scream Queen relies heavily on a plot twist, it is easy to spot where things are going; there are no real surprises. The narrative is best described as basic, with the main focus being more on the murder-death set pieces than any character development. All of the characters, including the protagonist, are one-dimensional.

That said, if there were a reason to check out Scream Queen, it would be its star, Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons), in the role of the protagonist, Malicia Tombs. She has made a career starring in horror films, and the character she portrays feels like an extension of her career trajectory. Fortunately, whenever she is on screen, that scene is immediately elevated substantially. When it comes to the rest of the cast, they are forgettable.

From a production standpoint, it is clear that Scream Queen is a film working on an anemic budget. And though its main character is Linnea Quigley, her actual screen time is limited, especially if you don’t count moments where a double was most likely used. The best moment is a scene where Linnea Quigley’s character does a parody of These Boots Are Made for Walkin' titled This Chainsaw's Made for Cutting. Ultimately, Scream Queen is a by-the-numbers slasher film that even this genre's most diehard fans will find a chore.

Scream Queen is another strong release from Visual Vengeance that comes with the best possible audio/video presentation and informative extras.