Renfield appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a solid presentation.
Sharpness felt fine overall. Some dimly-lit interiors could seem a bit on the soft side, but most of the movie boasted appealing delineation.
I witnessed no issues with jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. As expected, the image lacked source flaws.
Colors went down a highly stylized path, with a mix of heavy greens, reds, blues and ambers. The disc replicated these tones as intended.
Blacks looked dark and deep, while shadows seemed smooth and clear. Expect a strong image here.
In addition, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack also fared well, with a largely vivid soundscape. Though not packed with action, the movie kicked to life enough to offer engagement.
General atmosphere worked well, and the mix used music in an involving manner. Violent scenes boasted appealing punch, as those used the various channels to create a lively soundfield.
Audio quality worked fine, with speech that appeared concise and natural. Music seemed vivid and full.
Effects brought a good punch, with elements that became accurate and dynamic. This turned into a worthwhile track.
The disc comes with a bunch of extras, and we launch with an audio commentary from producer Samantha Nisenboim, screenwriter Ryan Ridley, assistant editor Noah Cody, supervising sound editors Nancy Nugent Title and John Marquis, visual effects supervisor James E. Price, makeup effects artist Christien Tinsley and supervising digital colorist Dave Cole.
All eight sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, makeup and various effects, sets and locations, music and audio, visual design and editing, and connected domains.
A commentary that involves eight participants in one session could lean messy, as that seems like a lot of mouths to feed – and talk over each other. Happily, that doesn’t become the case, mainly because Nisenboim serves as an effective ringleader.
This means the track moves at a good pace while the speakers mingle in an efficient manner. We get a lot of useful notes in this engaging discussion.
Eight Deleted and Extended Scenes span a total of 17 minutes, 31 seconds. Most of these offer added exposition or minor character information.
We do get extra action, though, as well as a fantasy musical sequence that would’ve been an interesting change of pace if it ended up in the movie. This becomes a pretty solid collection of cut footage.
We also find three minutes, 18 seconds of Alternate Takes. These show unused lines and offer some amusement.
Six featurettes follow, and Dracula Uncaged runs four minutes, 48 seconds. It brings notes from Nisenboim, producer Robert Kirkman, and actors Nicolas Cage, Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.
The program looks at Cage’s work and approach to Dracula. It becomes a mix of good shots from the set and a few insights as well as praise for the actor.
Monsters & Men lasts 12 minutes, 35 seconds and delivers comments from Cage, Hoult, Schwartz, Kirkman, Ridley, Nisenboim, Awkwafina, Aghdashloo, Schwartz, Tinsley, producers David Alpert, Sean Furst and Bryan Furst, costume designer Lisa Lovaas, production designer Alec Hammond, and special effects prop foreman Matthew Hall.
With “Monsters”, we cover story/characters/screenplay, cast and performances, costumes and makeup effects, sets and locations, and props. “Monsters” mixes fluff and facts but still becomes a pretty decent reel.
Next comes Stages of Rejuvenation, a six-minute, 15-second piece that involves Cage, Kirkman, Furst, Tinsley, Nisenboim, and Alpert.
This show discusses the various looks given to Dracula as he comes back to strength. Despite some of the usual happy talk, this becomes a good view of the work done to give Dracula various phases.
Flesh & Blood goes for five minutes, 23 seconds. It offers remarks from Tinsley, Cage, Hoult, Awkwafina, Schwartz, Ridley, Kirkman, Lovaas and actors Adrian Martinez and Marcus Lewis.
During the featurette, we find more about various effects, with an emphasis on gore. This leans more self-congratulatory than I’d like but it nonetheless dispenses some worthwhile material/
After this we get Fighting Dirty, a six-minute, 12-second reel that supplies statements from Cage, Hoult, Schwartz, Awkwafina, Hammond, and stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Christopher Brewster.
“Dirty” examines stunts and action. Expect another mix of praise and facts.
Finally, The Making of a Deleted Scene fills three minutes, 34 seconds and provides info from Hoult, Hammond, Lovaas, and choreographer Kathryn Burns.
They give us notes about the unused dance sequence I mentioned. It gives us some basics but not much.
The disc opens with ads for M3GAN and Cocaine Bear. No trailer for Renfield appears here.
The set includes a DVD copy of Renfield as well. It presents the same extras as the Blu-ray.
An expansion of the 1931 classic Dracula, Renfield lacks bite. It never figures out what tone it wants to adopt so the end product feels messy and not especially interesting. The Blu-ray boasts solid picture and audio as well as a good selection of supplements. The movie disappoints.