Devil Times Five – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1974
Directors: Sean MacGregor, David Sheldon
Writers: John Durren, Dylan Jones, Sandra Lee Blowitz
Cast: Leif Garrett, Sorrell Booke, Gene Evans, Taylor Lacher, Joan McCall, Shelley Morrison, Carolyn Stellar, John Durren, Gail Smale, Dawn Lyn, Tierre Turner, Tia Thompson, Henry Beckman

Release Date: August 20th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $54.98

"Julie, her boyfriend Rick and a number of other guests have assembled at the chalet of her wealthy father, nestled deep in the snowy surroundings of Lake Arrowhead. Their laid-back boozing and petty arguments are upended by the unexpected arrival of a group of five mysterious children who claim to have become stranded after their bus broke down. Taking pity on the youngsters, the group offers to let them stay at the house until help arrives. Unbeknownst to the adults, these tots are in fact on the run from an asylum, and they waste no time in getting down to manipulating and then viciously killing their unsuspecting hosts." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

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

Devil Times Five comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 61.7 GB

Feature: 61 GB

This release presents Devil Times Five in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, whereas Code Red presented the film in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The source looks excellent; all source imperfections present on Code Red’s release have been cleaned up. Areas of greatest improvement are image clarity, black levels, contrast, and compression. That said, color saturation is solid, and the image always retains an organic look.

Devil Times Five comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.4 GB

Feature: 24.3 GB 

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

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. This audio track is a noticeable improvement over Code Red’s Blu-ray release. There are no issues with background hiss or distortion; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with actresses Joan McCall and Dawn Lyn, producer Michael Blowitz and uncredited co-director David Sheldon, moderated by Darren Gross, and an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an alternate Devil Times Five title card (1 minute 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), bonus archival interviews (7 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette comprising interviews with actor Tierre Turner, Joan McCall, Dawn Lyn, Michael Blowitz and David Sheldon (22 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Bruce Wank, son of executive producer Jordan M. Wank titled Daddy's Home (8 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with second assistant director Walter Dominguez titled Puppeteering (20 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower titled Holiday from Hell (26 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Joan McCall and Dawn Lyn, Michael Blowitz and David Sheldon, moderated by Darren Gross, and an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 5,000 units).

Summary:

Three wealthy couples staying at a remote mountain home are surprised by five children who appear out of nowhere. Unknown to them, these are not your ordinary children. When bodies start to pile up, the adults suspect that the children are behind what is going on.

Throughout Devil Times Five, there are many noticeable continuity errors, notably a wig that's used to cover up Leif Garrett's haircut. After a few weeks, the original director, Sean MacGregor, was fired. Most of his footage was considered unusable. The mixing of newly shot footage with what was usable of Sean MacGregor’s footage is why there are continuity errors.

The best horror films rely heavily on body counts and keeping momentum in between kills. Unfortunately, a film like Devil Times Five has a slow-moving narrative that spends most of the four introducing characters and providing a glimpse into their imperfect lives. Fortunately, things do pick up considerably in the last 25 minutes. This is also when the majority of the kills happen. That said, most of the murder set pieces are elaborate in design and, in some cases, unique, like the scene where a woman named Lovely is eaten alive by piranhas while taking a bath.

There are a few actors who would go on to become household names, like Sorrell Booke, who would later play Boss Hogg in the Dukes of Hazzard, and 1970’s teen heartthrob Leif Garret. Performance-wise, the cast ranges from adequate to good. That said, the only performances that stand out are the evil children. 

From a production standpoint, Devil Times Fives has a few notable films. Though the premise is far-fetched and downright silly, the ending is the film's creepiest moment, and outside of this, the rest of the film is not scary or disturbing. The visuals are serviceable, and if the score sounds oddly familiar, look no further than its use of London Bridge is Falling Down. Ultimately, Devil Times Five is a mess of a movie that even die-hard slashers fans will find a chore to get through.

Devil Times Five gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome, 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer