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

Release Date: USA, 2003
Director: Philip J. Cook
Writer: Philip J. Cook
Cast: Mark Redfield, Doug Brown, Gage Sheridan, Frank Smith, Michael Weitz, Tara Bilkins, Mike Diesel

Release Date: October 22nd, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 104 Minutes 52 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: $24.95

"After losing his job and his wife, Gordon crashes his car and lands in purgatory, where he's attacked by fanatics and enslaved souls. He's soon saved by a quirky band of freedom fighters from different historical eras, all of whom died in noble sacrifice. Reluctantly joining their cause, Gordon embarks on a wild adventure through surreal, hellish landscapes to battle the Despiser, the malevolent ruler of the realm. Facing shifting realities, monstrous creatures, and intense car chases over lava oceans, their journey leads to the ultimate showdown to save all of humanity." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Producer-supervised SD master from original tape source".

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

Disc Size: 35.2 GB

Feature: 24.4 GB

The source looks great; colors and flesh tones look correct, the image looks crisp, and black levels fare well. That said, this is one of Visual Vengeance’s better-looking transfers.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a trailer for Invader (1 minute 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a trailer for Outerworld (1 minute 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Despiser Visual Vengeance trailer (1 minute 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Despiser production trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles),image and art gallery with music from the film playing in the background, behind the scenes gallery with music from the film playing in the background, original DVD menu animated intro (17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo), a featurette titled Despiser: Storyboard to Animation (2 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo), outtakes reel (12 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), blooper reel (4 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), deleted scenes (10 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Making of Despiser (15 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Philip J. Cook and actor Mark Hyde (14 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Philip J. Cook and actors Mark Redfield and Gage Sheridan, an audio commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum, reversible cover art featuring original VHS art, 'Stick your own' video store sticker sheet, a folded mini-poster, a 2-Sided Insert, and a limited-edition slipcase (first pressing only).

Other extras include trailers for Dinosaur Valley Girls, Kung Fu Rascals, and Fungicide.

Summary:

A man finds himself in a purgatory inhabited by dead aliens who crashed on Earth.

Despiser is a sci-fi/action hybrid that takes place in what resembles a virtual reality. And though there have been other films about purgatory, it's safe to say that Despiser goes where others have not gone before. That said, at the heart of Despiser is a classic good versus evil scenario where characters on a holy-like mission vanquish evil.

From a production standpoint, Despiser is a film whose ambitions are often undermined by its limited resources. The narrative has many lulls that derail its momentum, despite the fact that there is a good amount of time devoted to backstory. Though the CGI is more of an eyesore than an asset, one should not fault the performances since the actors go all in on the story that unfolds. Ultimately, Despiser is a film that you are either going to enjoy or loath; there is no middle ground.

Despiser gets a solid release from Visual Vengeance that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras.