The Last Video Store appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a presentation faithful to the source.
Sharpness largely seemed positive, as the majority of the movie offered appropriate delineation. A few mild instances of softness occurred, but most of the film looked concise.
I saw no jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. I also noted no signs of source defects.
Colors veered toward stylized greens, reds, blues and purples. These hues served the production’s choices.
Blacks seemed fairly deep and firm, while shadows offered pretty good clarity. This came across as a “B+” presentation.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it focused on the usual scope one associates with creepy horror films. This meant a lot of spooky ambience and not much more.
That said, the mix did kick to life at times. Some of the stabs at scares worked well, as did more action-oriented beats.
In addition, music provided nice utilization of the channels. These elements added impact to the soundscape.
Audio quality seemed solid. Music was lively and full, while speech appeared natural and concise.
Effects also appeared accurate and dynamic. All of this led to a generally positive soundtrack for a low-budget horror tale.
When we head to extras, we open with an audio commentary from film critics Matt Donato and Meagan Navarro. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at their youthful experiences with movies and video stores, cast and crew, references and genre domains, and their thoughts about the film.
This ends up more an appreciation for Last Video Store than anything else. While I like the enthusiasm Navarro and Donato show, they don’t give us a lot of substance here.
Two visual essays follow. We get “The Videonomicon Unleashed” (14:10) with critic Heather Wixson and “Nostalgia Fuel” (12:51) with writer/critic Martyn Pedler.
With “Unleashed”, Wixson examines the movie’s themes and references, whereas via “Fuel”, Pedler discusses genre domains and filmmaking subjects. Both provide some useful material at times but they also simply reiterate the plot of Store too often.
Under Short Films, we get four efforts. This domain includes 2012’s ’Twas the Night of the Tree Beast (5:18), 2013’s M Is For Magnetic Tape (2:46), 2013’s The Last Videostore (9:52) and 2019’s The Video Store Commercial (4:10).
Beast tells of a Christmas tree that comes to life and goes on a violent spree, and Tape depicts a video store clerk’s superheroic stand against a crime kingpin. Last offers a preliminary version of what would develop into this disc’s primary feature, and Commercial comes with a similar “magical VHS” theme.
Packed together, these can feel a little redundant. All four feature Kevin Martin as a video store clerk and they follow similarly fantastic concepts.
Still, they come with creativity and don’t overstay their welcome. The shorts give us a fun look at the efforts that preceded the feature-length Store.
Next we get a ”first attempt” at a long version of Last Video Store. This reel offers four minutes, 53 seconds of footage shot for an endeavor they apparently abandoned at that time.
Why? I don’t know, as we get no explanation here.
The short reel also largely lacks original audio, so it winds up as a collection of snippets without much that can explain to us how this version’s story would’ve differed from the final feature.
All of this makes the “first attempt” material semi-interesting but frustrating. Some commentary to discuss the topics would’ve been helpful.
Pre-Viz splits into three subjects: “Walkthrough” (1:44), “Preystalker Sequence” (1:47) and “End Scene” (2:45). These all give us CG renderings used to help the filmmakers plan the scenes.
Via Behind the Scenes, we get 12 minutes, 50 seconds of footage that shows aspects of the production.
In addition to the film’s trailer, the disc concludes with an Image Gallery with 49 shots from the movie. It seems forgettable.
A horror romp that giddily wears its influences on its sleeve, The Last Video Store can’t quite live up to its potential due to budgetary restraints. Despite those issues, it still delivers a fun experience that keeps us engaged from start to finish. The Blu-ray brings pretty solid picture and audio along with a fairly positive set of supplements. I’d like to see what the filmmakers could do with more money at their disposal, as Store shows promise.