The Resurrected – Vinegar Syndrome (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1991
Director: Dan O'Bannon
Writer: Brent V. Friedman
Cast: John Terry, Jane Sibbett, Chris Sarandon, Robert Romanus, Charles K. Pitts, Megan Leitch, Lauren Briscoe, Ken Camroux-Taylor, Patrick Pon, Bernard Cuffling

Release Date: September 23rd, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 105 Minutes 30 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $64.98

"Private investigator John March is handed the most unusual case of his career when the beautiful Claire Ward turns up at his office asking for help. Her husband, the esteemed chemical engineer Charles Dexter Ward, has started dabbling in strange and secretive experiments and has recently moved out of the marital home and into a remote and disused ancestral farmhouse to continue his activities in privacy. As these experiments take an ever more sinister turn, with reports of body parts being delivered to the property, Charles himself begins displaying increasingly erratic behavior, apparently taking on the personality of someone from centuries ago. With Charles eventually committed to a psychiatric facility for evaluation, leaving John and Claire free to investigate the property, the nightmare has only just begun…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

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

The Resurrected comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.8 GB

Feature: 61.1 GB

When compared to Shout Factory’s 2017 Blu-ray release, this new transfer is a massive improvement. Flesh tones and colors look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

The Resurrected comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.4 GB

Feature: 28.8 GB

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

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in excellent shape; it is a marked improvement over previous home media releases. Dialogue always 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 producers Mark Borde and Kenneth Raich, writer Brent V. Friedman, special effects artist Todd Masters, and actor Robert Romanus.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a photo gallery with music from the film playing in the background (stills/posters/home video art/drawings), a Japanese trailer (1 minute 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with text in Japanese), home video promotional trailer (1 minute 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Chainsaw Awards Speech (3 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), deleted and extended scenes (18 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Todd Masters titled Human Experiments (15 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with production designer Brent Thomas titled Lovecraftian Landscapes (7 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with composer Richard Band titled Grotesque Melodies (10 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Brent V. Friedman titled Abominations & Adaptations (17 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Chris Sarandon titled The Resurrected Man (15 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with author S.T. Joshi titled  The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward (24 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Jane Sibbett titled Claire's Conundrum (15 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with film critic and author Kim Newman titled A Grisly Crossover (25 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Robert Romanus titled Being Present (14 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Chris Sarandon titled Duality of Man (20 minutes 53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival audio commentary with Mark Borde, Kenneth Raich, Brent V. Friedman, Todd Masters, and Robert Romanus.

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

Summary:

The Resurrected is the second of two feature films directed by Dan O'Bannon, the other being The Return of the Living Dead. Besides directing, he’s worked as a screenwriter whose notable credits include Dark Star, Alien, Dead & Buried, Lifeforce, Invaders from Mars, and Total Recall. The Resurrected is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, a story that was first adapted for cinema as The Haunted Palace in 1963.

A wife worried about her husband, who's drastically changed and secluded himself in a cabin his family has owned for centuries, hires a private investigator.

Not only is The Resurrected a more faithful adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward than The Haunted Palace, but it also does something few H.P. Lovecraft adaptations have ever achieved, retaining the essence of its source. Adapting the works of H.P. Lovecraft is a difficult task, and in most instances film adaptations are more inspired by than trying to bring to life what's on the written page. That said, something that sets The Resurrected apart from other H.P. Lovecraft adaptations is how effectively it blends other H.P. Lovecraft stories with The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

The opening moments of The Resurrected foreshadow the direction of the entire story. The narrative begins with a grim scene in an asylum, where a headless corpse is found in a man's room. Following this shocking discovery, the story shifts back in time, focusing on a private investigator who plays a crucial role in the unfolding events as he reflects on the occurrences that led to this moment. This opening setup does a phenomenal job setting the tone, and it does an excellent job capturing the essence of H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

The narrative revolves around a character who becomes obsessed with his family's past, and in the process, he helps resurrect a descendant who's been dead for over 200 years. Although the premise is firmly rooted in horror, the bulk of the film is better described as a mystery where a private detective searches for the truth. That said, things do lean heavily into horror in the latter half of the film.

An exemplary performance by Chris Sarandon (Fright Night) in the dual role of Charles Dexter Ward and Joseph Curwen anchors The Resurrected. Despite his limited screentime, Chris Sarandon makes the most of it, delivering a performance that stands out significantly above the rest of the cast. However, the performances of the other cast members can best be described as serviceable.

From a production standpoint, The Resurrected is a film that often exceeds the sum of its parts. The production design and the special effects (all of which are practical) are outstanding. These two things really shine when it comes to the moments in the subterranean world below Joseph Curwen’s house. Composer Richard Band (Re-Animator) delivers an exceptional score that reinforces the mood and captures the cosmic wonders of H.P. Lovecraft’s writings. Dan O'Bannon's direction is solid, and the visuals are overflowing with foreboding atmosphere, which greatly enhances the mood. Ultimately, The Resurrected is a well-crafted adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft that his fans and fans of horror cinema should thoroughly enjoy.

The Resurrected gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras; 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 MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer