- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Region: B (Region-Locked)
- Certification: 18
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Run Time: 101 Mins.
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 10, 2011
- RRP:
[amazon-product region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B005DZINEM[/amazon-product]
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.co.uk
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Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2/5]
When it comes to zombie films, there has been no real innovation in the genre since George A. Romero pretty much invented it and the rules they all seem to follow with his “Dead” films. In order to stand out, you really have to do something special and spectacular. I’m afraid to say that The Dead, doesn’t do much other than placing the action in the beautiful African landscape, which is something we haven’t really seen before, but it doesn’t do much at all with this golden opportunity.
Directed by The Ford Brothers and shot on previously unseen locations across Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa, the story focuses on American Air Force engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Rob Freeman), the sole survivor of a plane crash, who must make his way across Africa to get back to his family, fighting off the living dead along the way. He joins forces with local military Sergeant Daniel Dembele (Prince David Osei) who is searching for his missing son. Together they must overcome their differences in order to survive the flesh-eating menace that attack them at every turn.
The film follows all the rules of the zombie genre with no surprises. It has slow-moving zombies, that eat flesh and pass on their infliction through biting you, they can only be killed by a shot to the head, and yet, somehow, despite their lumbering movements, people still manage to get caught by them.
The bottom line is, if you’re looking for something unexpected and exciting in The Dead, you’re looking in the wrong place.
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
The original production and transfer by Anchor Bay hamper what had the potential to be a very beautiful looking film in high definition. This AVC encodement, in 1080p/24, is plagued by softness and video noise that makes the image look less than agreeable.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The sound is good, but it could have been much better. Gunshots ring out all through the soundstage with an amazing amount of reverberation, but they sound a bit too high-ended. Low frequencies are quite deep, but they are just a little untamed and the overall levels are pushed quite loud with dynamics suffering a bit.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
The filmmaker commentary is the only real supplement of note on here. The rest are very brief interviews segments and one deleted scene that don’t bring much to the table.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Audio Commentary with writer/producer/director Howard J. Ford and writer/director of photography/co-director Jon Ford
- The Dead: Cast & Crew Interviews (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:04:59)
- Prince David Osei Interview (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:03:02)
- Deleted Scene (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:41)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
The Dead really is dead, deadly dull as a horror film. The UK Blu-ray release from Anchor Bay is nothing to write home about either. My advice is to skip this one entirely or only use it as a last ditch rental option.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B005DZINEM[/amazon-product]
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.co.uk
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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