- Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
- Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: PG-13
- Run Time: 90 Mins
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Digital Copies: None
- Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: November 13th, 2012
- List Price: $24.99
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Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Vamps, reuniting actor Alicia Silverstone with Director Amy Heckerling from their Clueless days, tells the story of Goody (Silverstone) and Stacy (Krysten Ritter), 2 gals who live and love the night life, the clubbing, hooking up, and always looking for the next thrill. The side note? Goody and Stacy are modern-day vampires. While the party at night program may be initially fun, the two realize they have a lot to learn about love, especially after Stacy falls for the son of a vampire hunter, and Goody runs into the man of her dreams from decades earlier. Now the two must decide what path their lives with take. Continuing partying? Or finally settle down? What results is a film that, despite 2 charming leads, lacks any real substance.
Anyone in my immediate family will easily all agree that Clueless, perhaps, is one of the finest comedies of all times. Touching at times, downright hilarious in nearly every moment, yet still down to earth in its message, Clueless made Silverstone and its Director Heckerling into household names (well maybe more Silverstone.) Unfortunately for either star, neither found success after this initial pairing. So, why not try again? When I heard about the reuniting of the two, I had hoped that Vamps would be a modern-day Clueless. Upon the first few moments, the laughs are there, and my excitement level was high – just hoping we might have something special here. But then the movie’s main storyline began.
Alas, the main problem with Vamps is that we never really care about Goody or Stacy – despite the actors being charming. Yes, they love to party, and stay out all night doing who knows what. But, why do we care and, most importantly, SHOULD we care? The simple answer is that we never, ever do. Despite Heckerling’s sometimes witty, funny dialogue, Vamps just doesn’t work.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Vamps arrives with a 1:78:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer, one of which is pretty solid. The film’s color palette boasts a very bright palette, some of which occasionally creates a contrast level that can be a bit too warm. Detail, despite this, is fairly strong especially that of clothing textures. Facial close-ups are accurate as well, with correct flesh tones. There is evidence of video noise in a few sequences, but nothing that creates a big issue. All in all, this is a good effort from Anchor Bay.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio-wise, Vamps‘ Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix offers up a suitable aural experience. Dialogue is well reproduced via the center channel, and there’s no evidence of drop out. Atmosphere can tend to be on the reserved side, but that is probably a genre limitation versus a sound design problem. Some of the more livelier moments do open up the sound field, giving us a better sense of the full 5 channel mix. Outside of these sequences, the track is front-heavy. All in all, this is a mostly decent effort from Anchor Bay.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
No features, not even a trailer, are included.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2/5]
Despite Anchor Bay putting together a decent V/A presentation, Vamps lacks real substance, making this one I’d recommend you skip entirely.
Additional Screen Captures
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Vamps on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B009LNID4M[/amazon-product]
[amazon-product]B0090EDE00[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Vamps on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
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