# An Osage HOME THEATER SHACK Review of...DEVIL'S DUE (Blu-ray; 20th Century Fox)



## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

[img]http://popculturelandscape.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/devils-due-blu-ray.jpg[/img]*Releasing/Participating Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Disc/Transfer Information: Region A; 50GB Blu-ray Disc 1080p High Definition 1.85::1 (Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1)
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Tested Audio Track: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Starring Cast: Zach Gilford, Allison Miller, Sam Anderson, Griff Furst


FEAR IS BORN.


PLOT ANALYSIS:*

Here we go, yet again, my friends…in the wake of the original _Paranormal Activity_ – though many film critics argue this nonsense began with _The Blair Witch Project_ – comes amateurish Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s _Devil’s Due_, a kind of _Rosemary’s Baby_-meets-modern-day-camcorder-perspective-exploitations of another “horror” flick targeting today’s immediate-minded youth in that utterly annoying “from the lens of the camera” perspective that is still all the rage. Why? I really don’t know. The template is kept basic and parallel to all the other films using this method up until this point, the film itself clocking in at just under an hour and a half (the standard for these nonsensical films) and the entire production seen from the perspective of some kind of camera, whether it’s from one of the main characters or those installed in his house by a band of religious cult nuts (I’ll get to this). The biggest problem is…haven’t we already seen this ? Before _Devil’s Due_ we had the aforementioned _Paranormal Activities_, that awful Amityville “found footage” film, _The Last Exorcism_ and its follow-ups and a handful more of these titles suggesting these events actually transpired due to the “real time” date and time of day running at the corner of the screen in every shot to say nothing of the blatant way Paramount lied with regard to its _Paranormal Activity_ franchise, making us believe the “San Diego Police Department” was involved in the “found footage” of “Micha” and “Katie’s” unfortunate demonic encounters in their lovely Southern California home (though she didn’t work and he was a self-proclaimed “day trader” sitting in pajamas all day and night…yeah right…and they’re affording Los Angeles living expenses?). There should almost be a ban against making these kind of exploitation films it’s gotten so stupid and off-putting, but my only guess is that studios continue greenlighting them because the young iPod generation relates to this type of “horror” based on its everything-in-real-time characteristics as they’re not capable of sitting through anything else.

Shot in that shaky, unsteady perspective of a camcorder – or perhaps a more modern mobile-esque device; honestly, I didn’t care – _Devil’s Due_ starts out with a graphical on-screen message quoting parts of the scriptures which suggest “multiple antichrists” will be born into our world. Where the tile of the film leads us to believe the Devil himself is about to become a guest of an unlucky hospital’s maternity ward, that’s actually not the case – and that notion ends up being one of the most remotely interesting, if not somewhat weird, aspects of the story, especially in the film’s final frame. We then meet the idiotic Zach McCall, you know, the young stud who can get any lady he pretty much wants and who has a full head of hair and everything going for him (in other words, a complete…well…you know what I was going to call him…which we all envy but can’t be), played by Zach Gilford, who follows his new bride Samantha (Allison Miller) around everywhere, filming her (as in all these other similar “found footage” films). The young suburban couple, of course with no real-world cares or troubles (yet), set out on their honeymoon which ends up being somewhere in South America (why oh why do you young people like to indulge in these fantasies of going to a remote jungle to find some drinking spots that are “unique” and “party-esque inspiring” just so you can say you did it? Didn’t it ever occur to any of you that these places are dangerous, isolated and…well…filthy and you should stay away from them? No? Never occurred to you? Thought so…back to our regularly scheduled program…). When they are picked up by a weird taxi driver that takes them to an underground “club” of some kind so that they can have a good time during their last night in this vagrant dump of a city they’re in, we know things are gonna start getting weird. And indeed they do.

As Samantha begins to consume ungodly amounts of alcohol and Zach continues to record all this on his phone or camera or whatever, the action immediately shifts to this recording device picking up the young newly-married bride’s body being taken by a group of weird people where some kind of “ceremony” is performed on her, seemingly allowing some supernatural force to enter her – but this is all after the couple stop into a streetside psychic who freaks them out when she reads Samantha’s hand and predicts that she was “born of death” and warns of some kind of impending “happening” getting ready to occur in the girl’s life. Though spooked, the couple decide to “party on” and take the invitation of this weirdo cab driver which ends up being a trap, of course, so Samantha can become part of some ritualistic cult’s ceremony. Apparently, new husband Zach was unconscious during this as well, because the camera that picks up what happens in the strange room suggests he must have been knocked out during the ceremony and unable to help his new wife.

The camera action, still being shot by Zach after all this craziness on their honeymoon, then shifts to the next morning when the couple is supposed to leave to come back to the States; Samantha questions how the two of them got back to their hotel room from that weird underground club they were in while also taking notice of strange bruising on her legs. Thinking nothing of it in the moment, the couple return home as Zach continues videotaping their opening of wedding gifts and other goings-on at the house; eventually (as if we couldn’t see this coming) Sam tells Zach that she’s pregnant even though she had been taking the birth control religiously. The couple see a doctor, who claims all the tests on the baby are 100-percent normal according to the sonograms and such, yet Sam begins to slowly exhibit very strange behaviors including wild, unbridled and inhuman-like strength, attitude sweeps, personality disruptions and eventually the symptoms we see in all these supernatural thrillers a la _Paranormal Activity_, the prerequisite “staring into space with possessed eyes.” 

As the weeks pass, Sam’s symptoms get more and more bizarre to the point she is convinced there’s something wrong with her baby. They return to the doctor only to find out she has left on a “leave of absence” and won’t be coming back. The replacement doctor acts suspicious and very indifferent to the couple’s previous doctor’s condition or whereabouts, and he ends up playing a very pivotal role in the film. When Zach expresses to him the way Sam has been thinking there is something wrong with the baby inside her, he ensures the kid “they will be keeping an eye on her.” And indeed, they do – the strange cult that had abducted Sam sets up shop in an abandoned house on the couple’s block and installs hidden cameras in their house to watch their activities day and night; this also solves a problem, from a filming standpoint, of having the “Zach” character continuously walk around with a camera through the film, with the cameras now installed in their house taking over the “perspective priority” for us, the viewers. 

In a particularly disturbing sequence highlighting the “changes” Sam is going through since her “spontaneous pregnancy,” the couple attend a communion ritual for a kid of someone they know (not sure if it was one of their siblings or a friend) in their local church and the priest, Father Thomas (Sam Anderson), is suddenly and invisibly attacked during the ceremony, blood pouring out of his nose and a presence forcing him down on the floor; the church breaks into a panic while we see the priest staring right at Sam, who has taken on some creepy red eyes in quick shots as she sits silent in the row of seats. Obviously, there’s something inside her that doesn’t like anything to do with the church or what it stands for.

Zach struggles to cope with everything that’s going on with his new wife – I bet at this point he was sorry he ever married this nutty broad – and eventually watches the old footage captured during their honeymoon and which depicts Sam being dragged to some kind of ritual room where she’s “infiltrated” by some kind of spiritual force; he then notices a clip of someone attending the weird ritual, which turns out to be the same cab driver who took them to this underground bar. As the pieces come together, Zach goes to see Father Thomas, who is now in the hospital recovering from the “attack” at church and who clings to his religious icons in his hands. The confused, terrified young man attempts to ask Father Thomas about the strange markings all over his house that seem to coincide with demonic and Devilish icons, while trying to get answers about why his wife is behaving the way she is. A blatantly shook up and terrified Father Thomas babbles something to Zach about the “many antichrists” that will be born upon this world – and that Zach must leave his presence immediately. Weird, indeed.

Of course, this is all setting up the final sequence of the film which depicts Zach breaking into the strange abandoned house only to find the video monitors that are connected to the cameras that have been placed inside his house by this weird cult; when he runs into what appears to be the cab driver from South America that started all this, he’s freaked and runs off to his own house, which is now surrounded by strange figures in the darkness and who are members of the ritualistic cult. Inside, a now fully-possessed Samantha continues digging demonic symbols into the wood floor of their bedroom while husband Zach is thrown about the room in a hysterical demonic temper tantrum by whatever force is inhabiting his new wife’s body. Finally, the terrified and possessed young girl carves into her stomach attempting to “get out” whatever it is that’s inside her, the baby eventually being taken by one of the leaders of the cult who turns out to be the replacement doctor the couple had seen weeks earlier. That explains his strange behavior and the way in which he wouldn’t answer questions about their previous doctor…

Suddenly, the video cuts to a bloodied, filthy and exhausted Zach being interrogated by detectives at a police station; apparently, they are convinced he killed his wife and “did something” to their baby based on the blood he’s covered in. He attempts to explain what happened to them in South America…the strange cab driver…the underground party…the cult that abducted them and impregnated Samantha…but the cops want “the real story” from him. What follows is the video perspective cutting to another young, just-married couple honeymooning in Paris when they’re approached by the same cab driver who offers to take them “someplace fun”…the underlying notion here being that indeed multiple antichrists are being born into the world, and this cult impregnates certain women to bring about their births.

At the end of the day, this was yet another re-hashing of _Paranormal Activity_ that really had no genuine essence; I get the whole fascination with “bringing the Devil back into the world” as portrayed by _Rosemary’s Baby_, but _Devil’s Due_ was no _Rosemary’s Baby_ with Mia Farrow…not even close. And this fascination with “from the camera’s perspective” in modern horror cinema has to stop as it’s really tiring and annoying now; we’ve already had the wool pulled over our eyes in things like _Paranormal Activity_…do we need to continue to be lied to and made to believe these things happened because a video recording says so? 

I think I’m getting too old for these…

Oh – look for an interesting part when Sam has finally come under the influence of this presence inside her and is carving up some helpless deer in the wilderness near her house, attracting the attention of some other youngsters in the area who are unfortunately subjected to her “new powers”…

[img]https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhDSfxwFaO5vWW-VJVVJsCC_WWdVteEwE7mgo0Y1yWi3OP3F9Y[/img]*VIDEO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC LOOK?*

I wasn’t expecting much going into the video aspects of _Devil’s Due_, based on the simple fact that it was taking the “video capture perspective” which is normally grainy and noisy in characteristics – you know what? The film looked anything but. 20th Century Fox delivers an outstanding looking 1.85:1 Blu-ray transfer here on its 50GB BD, with bright, sharp contrast and incredibly clean, crisp visuals. The entire presentation, which appeared without letterboxing on my display, looked like it was filmed on an HD camera – and that was most likely what they were going for – with the whole canvas appearing sharp as a tack, clean and absolutely bursting with detail.

Exterior shots on the 1.85:1 transfer looked tremendous and brilliant, but when the action shifted inside, even during very dark sequences, the transfer held up and didn’t exhibit much, if any, noise or macroblocking; likewise, flesh tones appeared spot on and oversaturation didn’t appear to be an issue. The sequence in which Zach goes to visit the priest in the hospital in particular was striking in this regard, with a rock-solid image and explosive detail that reminded me of a 4K demo I saw recently and which really blew me away. This was a fantastic video presentation from Fox, especially given the subject material. 



[img]http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/devils-due-allison-miller-zach-gilford.jpg[/img]*AUDIO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC SOUND?*

The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, in 5.1, wasn’t as impressive as the video presentation but it got the job done with anchored, centered dialogue and noteworthy soundstage movement when called upon. In these types of films – a la _Paranormal Activity_ – not much goes on for a majority of the running time until the devious spirits begin to act up or take possession of someone; as such, these films, as it was with _Devil’s Due_, remain dialogue heavy and restrained to the center channel. When strange, Devilish occurrences begin to rear their ugly heads, the soundtrack responded with appropriate panning and channel identification. LFE appeared to be on the weaker side, but this was due – no pun intended – to the nature of the material here and the fact that we are supposed to be watching events that transpired via a video recording of some kind. 

For the most part, the Master Audio mix was effective for the subject material, keeping dialogue firmly locked in the center for the majority of the film but spreading both dialogue and effects into the appropriate surrounding channels when called upon. One scene that stood out for me was when the camera perspective is closing in on a ritual being performed and the audio cues swept from the left front channel to the middle in a convincing, almost unsettling way; there were some other brief moments like that in the film as well, but don’t expect _Gladiator_ or _G.I. Joe: Retaliation_ here. 


























[img]http://www.ashvegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/devils-due-movie-photo-20.jpg[/img]*FINAL THOUGHTS:* 

As a sucker for demonic/possession films and stories, I was curious to check out _Devil’s Due_; it ended up being, as I suspected, another one of these _Paranormal Activity_ rip-offs with absolutely nothing new to offer the genre. The whole “from the camera angle” thing is getting tiring, honestly, and they need to hang this elementary, somewhat amateurish filmmaking tactic up already. If you are curious, give it a rental…but it’s far from a buy as far as I’m concerned.

As always, thanks for reading – and I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts if you did see it.


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review. I am also tired of “from the camera angle” movies. It was so yesterday! I will skip this movie after reading this review. Thanks for the heads up!


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tripplej said:


> Thanks for the review. I am also tired of “from the camera angle” movies. It was so yesterday! I will skip this movie after reading this review. Thanks for the heads up!


Hey, Joe! Thanks for reading and commenting, as always; it's not that I believe the "camera perspective" is so "yesterday" (though I totally respect your opinion), it's more that it shows, to me, a lack of experience with filmmakers and a tendency to just cash in on this craze that caters to the young, mindless generation packing into theaters merely to have a place to play with their cell phones, not to watch a motion picture...:sarcastic:

I'm just tired of it already as a film enthusiast. 

If you're curious, snag a rental of "Devil's Due"...though I can't recommend a buy.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

didn't take more than me watching the trailer before I said "uh uh..I ain't watching this" lol.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Mike Edwards said:


> didn't take more than me watching the trailer before I said "uh uh..I ain't watching this" lol.


You didn't miss much, Mike; if you have seen Paranormal Activity and its lame jokes that were sequels you've seen this. :sarcastic:


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> You didn't miss much, Mike; if you have seen Paranormal Activity and its lame jokes that were sequels you've seen this. :sarcastic:


sounds like I missed a couple hours of pain watching it


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Mike Edwards said:


> sounds like I missed a couple hours of pain watching it


Well, besides that...:sarcastic:

But technically you only would have had to endure an hour and a half of pain, not a couple...

Actually this wasn't as bad as the last rental my wife picked, "That Awkward Moment"....BOY was that TERRIBLE...I just wanted to shut it off 20 minutes into it...wasn't even WORTH a review...:rolleyesno:


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

I saw the film last night and liked the story but I agree there are too many movies with shaky cameras these days. 
Is HTS allowing R rated reviews here?


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

asere said:


> I saw the film last night and liked the story but I agree there are too many movies with shaky cameras these days.
> Is HTS allowing R rated reviews here?


yes, with the change of ownership we've reverted back to the older policy of R-rated reviews


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Mike Edwards said:


> yes, with the change of ownership we've reverted back to the older policy of R-rated reviews


That's good to know ;-)


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> I saw the film last night and liked the story but I agree there are too many movies with shaky cameras these days.


Thanks for your feedback; given your penchant for horror flicks, I had a feeling you'd like it in some way. But these "from the camera perspectives" have to stop. Enough already. We know this isn't "real found footage" that was stored away in someone's closet or in a so-called police department's archives room...:sarcastic:



> Is HTS allowing R rated reviews here?


Yes.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> We know this isn't "real found footage" that was stored away in someone's closet or in a so-called police department's archives room...:sarcastic:
> 
> Yes.


Lol! True


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

:T :rofl2:


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage this one is of subject but I saw again The Beast Within. Great oldie!
Never gets old


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Osage this one is of subject but I saw again The Beast Within. Great oldie!
> Never gets old


Awesome; did you catch it on Blu-ray or on broadcast? I used to like the film but as I said, since I've gotten older those "human transformation/graphic body horror" style flicks like Beast Within and the remake of The Fly really get under my skin now...don't know what it is...can't really watch 'em...

You want a suggestion for a GREAT little under the radar horror flick that SHOUT! Factory just brought to Blu-ray, finally? Check out PRISON:

http://www.amazon.com/Prison-Collec...ie=UTF8&qid=1401734758&sr=1-1&keywords=Prison

This creepy little Renny Harlin flick wasn't even available on DVD up until the Blu-ray was released recently for some odd reason...I have it on my "to buy" list and it was a guilty pleasure of mine when I was younger...highly recommended.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> Awesome; did you catch it on Blu-ray or on broadcast? I used to like the film but as I said, since I've gotten older those "human transformation/graphic body horror" style flicks like Beast Within and the remake of The Fly really get under my skin now...don't know what it is...can't really watch 'em...
> 
> You want a suggestion for a GREAT little under the radar horror flick that SHOUT! Studio just brought to Blu-ray, finally? Check out PRISON:
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing. I once saw it on Amazon and read up on it. Now that you highly recommend it for sure it's on my to buy list too.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Thank you for sharing. I once saw it on Amazon and read up on it. Now that you highly recommend it for sure it's on my to buy list too.


I definitely do recommend it; I caught this back when it came out around '88 or so and taped it off cable if I'm not mistaken...there is a whole debacle about why this title never made it to any home video format, and it's discussed on the Blu-ray from SHOUT! Factory...:T

The film is a classic haunted house story, but instead within an abandoned and reopened prison...seems the unjustified killing of an inmate years ago at this place within the electric chair prompts the inmate's ghost to come back and haunt the prison, wreaking havoc on the staff and the inmates for revenge. Lane Smith plays the evil warden while we get a young Viggo Mortensen (in one of his first roles) as the James Dean look-alike prisoner who attempts to stay alive while this ghost takes over. It's a great, fun ride and I can't wait to own it on Blu!


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> I definitely do recommend it; I caught this back when it came out around '88 or so and taped it off cable if I'm not mistaken...there is a whole debacle about why this title never made it to any home video format, and it's discussed on the Blu-ray from SHOUT! Factory...:T
> 
> The film is a classic haunted house story, but instead within an abandoned and reopened prison...seems the unjustified killing of an inmate years ago at this place within the electric chair prompts the inmate's ghost to come back and haunt the prison, wreaking havoc on the staff and the inmates for revenge. Lane Smith plays the evil warden while we get a young Viggo Mortensen (in one of his first roles) as the James Dean look-alike prisoner who attempts to stay alive while this ghost takes over. It's a great, fun ride and I can't wait to own it on Blu!


The movie seems interesting alright and going straight to bluray is a gem indeed  
I will let you know when I get it.
I'm also going to get the Canadian film Curtains. That is one movie that has never been on dvd. It went from vhs to bluray.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Excellent!


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## smurphy522 (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks so much for the "warning" I mean review. Aww Yeah! The Beast Within, I recall seeing it when it made its run at drive-ins it was decent. Great story at least.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> Awesome; did you catch it on Blu-ray or on broadcast?


Sorry I forgot to answer the question earlier. I saw the movie on dvd I bought it awhile back. I was thinking of getting it on bluray but I am not sure if it's worth it being and old film I am sure there won't be much difference in video/audio.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

smurphy522 said:


> Thanks so much for the "warning" I mean review. Aww Yeah! The Beast Within, I recall seeing it when it made its run at drive-ins it was decent. Great story at least.


Hey Murph!

Thanks for your feedback and for reading; yeah, this one can be skipped unless you're a diehard (*cough cough* ASERE cough cough* :T ) horror fanatic that happens to like these "YES! THEY'RE TRUE! THEY'RE TRUE STORIES TOLD BY THE LENS OF A CAMERA THAT HAPPENED TO PICK UP ACTUAL FOUND FOOTAGE FROM AN ACTUAL EVENT!!! YES!!! YES I AM TELLING YOU THEY ARE TRUE STORIES!!" films that happen to be all the rage the last couple of years since the Paranormal Activity series really threw them further into the public spotlight beyond what Blair Witch Project ever did...but give it a rental if you're really curious.

As for Beast Within, yeah, me and asere keep bringing this crazy little horror flick up in different threads...scared the bejesus out of me when I first saw it, if only for that insane transformation sequence at the end. Remember these posters in video stores and theaters promoting that end sequence?










and










There's also another one that originally ran with the video release -- and I believe theatrical release -- of the film which proclaimed "WE DARE YOU TO SIT STILL IN YOUR SEAT DURING THIS FILM'S HORRIFIC CLIMAX!" or some such wording; I can't seem to track any art of that one down...

The story, meanwhile, was a bit far-fetched even for swampy, racially bigoted Mississippi standards, suggesting Bibi Besch (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) was "raped" by a menacing swamp creature of some kind, leading to her giving birth to her son (Paul Clemens) who ends up experiencing a pituitary gland disorder that gets out of control. Of course, at the end, the boy transforms into a "locust creature" -- as far-fetched as that seems -- and that final transformation sequence has become legendary for its sheer gross-out points (gets me to this day, along with the similar bladder effects used in Amityville II: The Possession and even Cronenberg's The Fly).

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xs...lippe-mora-s-the-beast-within-1982_shortfilms

Man, is this STILL unsettling...:unbelievable:


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Sorry I forgot to answer the question earlier. I saw the movie on dvd I bought it awhile back. I was thinking of getting it on bluray but I am not sure if it's worth it being and old film I am sure there won't be much difference in video/audio.


SHOUT!, from what I understand, has been doing some decent cleanup work with these old horror titles so if you really like the film, it may be worth an upgrade...but I'm sure the DVD looks fine for its age. Is this the one you bought, as part of MGM's "MIDNITE MOVIES" series?


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Osage_Winter said:


> SHOUT!, from what I understand, has been doing some decent cleanup work with these old horror titles so if you really like the film, it may be worth an upgrade...but I'm sure the DVD looks fine for its age. Is this the one you bought, as part of MGM's "MIDNITE MOVIES" series?


Lol about the cough, cough! I don't necessarily like all those movies that shake the camera or act like it's real footage. I lost interest in Paranormal after part 2 but there was something about Devils Due that interested me even if it was predictable.

Yes I own that copy of Beast Within. I might get the bluray version when it becomes cheap enough.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

asere said:


> Lol about the cough, cough! I don't necessarily like all those movies that shake the camera or act like it's real footage. I lost interest in Paranormal after part 2 but there was something about Devils Due that interested me even if it was predictable.
> 
> Yes I own that copy of Beast Within. I might get the bluray version when it becomes cheap enough.


LOL, I know...I was only pullin' ya leg, my friend! :T


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