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

Release Dates: USA, 1994 (Saurians), USA, 2004 (Dinosaur Chronicles)
Directors: Mark Polonia (Both Films), John Polonia (Dinosaur Chronicles)
Writers: Mark Polonia (Saurians), Billy D'Amato (Dinosaur Chronicles)
Cast: Mark Polonia, Maria Davis, Matthew Satterly, Todd Michael Smith, Dustin Davis, Todd Carpenter (Saurians), Todd Carpenter, Bob Dennis, Dave Fife, John Polonia, Mark Polonia (Dinosaur Chronicles)

Release Date: April 21st, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 77 Minutes 35 Seconds (Saurians), 68 Minutes 26 Seconds (Dinosaur Chronicles)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Interlaced / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Saurians)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.95

"When a routine construction blast shakes their sleepy town, a group of locals discover that the explosion has awakened two dinosaurs from a centuries-long slumber, who soon run amok in the local woods on a rampage of terror." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 1.5/5 (Saurians), 2/5 (Dinosaur Chronicles)

Here’s the information provided about Saurians' transfer, "New director-approved SD master from original tape elements."

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

Disc Size: 46 GB

Feature: 17.5 GB (Saurians), 4.4 GB (Dinosaur Chronicles)

The screenshots give you a clear idea of what to expect. Both films look rough and it does not help that they are interlaced. That said, I doubt they will look any better than they do for this release.

Audio: 2.5/5 (Both Films)

Each film comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English with removable English SDH. Dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise this audio track is serviceable.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Visual Vengeance trailer for Saurians (1 minute 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a Visual Vengeance trailer for The Dinosaur Chronicles (57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a trailer for Saurians 2 (1 minute 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Saurians Super 8 raw footage (8 minutes 18 seconds, no sound), Saurians stop-motion outtakes (3 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Kevin Lindenmuth (7 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Todd Carpenter (4 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Saurians Locations Visit (4 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Making of Saurians (7 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an alternate, never-released Rae Don Home Video version of Saurians (55 minutes 53 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, interlaced, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with director Mark Polonia and the Visual Vengeance crew for Rae Don Home Video version, an audio commentary with Mark Polonia, moderated by the Visual Vengeance crew for the Visual Vengeance version, a bonus feature film; Dinosaur Chronicles (68 minutes 26 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, interlaced, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Making of The Dinosaur Chronicles (4 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Mark Polonia, moderated by the Visual Vengeance crew for Dinosaur Chronicles, reversible cover art featuring original Saurians VHS art, 'Stick your own' VHS sticker set, a folded mini-poster with alternate vintage promotional art, an original piece of Super-8 film from the movie (limited to the first pressing), and an O-card slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Other extras are Visual Vengeance trailers for Dinosaur Valley Girls, Splatter Farm, and Feeders.

Summary:

Saurians: A construction blast disturbs the ground and awakens two dinosaurs, who then proceed to wreak havoc on a small, sleepy town.

Shot on Super 8, Saurians is an early film in the career of Mark Polonia, a filmmaker who to date has directed over 100 films. Even at this early stage, it's clear that he does not let any budgetary limitations get in the way of his cinematic ambitions. His DIY style of filmmaking saw him often work with friends and his twin brother John, and a hallmark of the Polonia Brothers films is their use of stop-motion animation.

While the dinosaurs are the main attraction, the first dinosaur attack does not happen until around the 29-minute mark. Fortunately, once the dinosaurs attack, they leave a lot of carnage in their wake. Although the stop-motion animation is crude, it gets the job done. Ultimately, Saurians is a textbook example of a so-bad-it's-good type of film.

Dinosaur Chronicles: The narrative has two unrelated stories whose only connection is dinosaurs. The first story revolves around the survivors of a cruise ship that sinks during a storm who end up on an island habited by dinosaurs. The second story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies and dinosaurs. The filmmakers manage to salvage the unfinished film, originally titled Prehistoric Island, by combining it with another dinosaur-themed story. That said, anyone familiar with the Polonia Brothers brand of DIY filmmaking knows what to expect, such as low-budget special effects and unconventional storytelling, while the uninitiated might not appreciate their type of cinema.

Visual Vengeance gives a pair of Polonia Brothers' films their best home media releases to date.

Written by Michael Den Boer