Victor Crowley appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a largely positive presentation.
Overall sharpness seemed good, though inconsistencies occurred, mainly during low-light shots. Those could be a little soft, so the movie showed mild drops in delineation. Still, most of the flick appeared well-defined.
Jagged edges and moiré effects didn’t mar the presentation, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to appear.
In terms of palette, Crowley went with a fairly teal and orange orientation. Inside a downed plane, red/purple dominated as well. Within stylistic choices, the hues seemed well-depicted, though the red/purple could seem a smidgen heavy.
Blacks were dark and dense, but shadows seemed a little inconsistent. As noted, low-light shots could be a bit on the dense side. Otherwise, this became a well-rendered affair.
As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, it offered a fairly typical horror movie soundscape. This meant a lot of creepy atmosphere and occasional “jolt moments”.
Along with good stereo music, the soundfield was able to open things up in a satisfying manner that embellished the story. A few pieces – mainly related to the plane – added the most pizzazz. The mix didn’t dazzle, but it worked fine.
Audio quality was always good. Music appeared full and rich, while effects demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy.
Speech was natural and distinctive throughout the film. Again, this wasn’t a heavily active track, but it made sense for the story.
The disc presents two separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from writer/director Adam Green and actors Parry Shen, Laura Ortiz and Dave Sheridan. All four sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, and related areas.
Despite the inclusion of all the actors, Green dominates this track. That’s not a bad thing, as he provides some good notes. The actors throw in occasional tidbits as well to make this a fairly useful discussion.
For the second commentary, we hear from Green, cinematographer Jan-Michael Losada, editor Matt Latham and make-up effects artist Robert Pendergraft. All four sit together for their running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, various effects, cinematography, editing and connected domains.
Once again, Green becomes the most prominent participant, as he carries most of the commentary. He also repeats some information from the cast track, though he tries to avoid these déjà vu moments. Green again proves to be a pretty compelling speaker, so he helps turn this into another informative piece.
Next comes the one-hour, eight-minute, 38-second Fly on the Set. As implied by the title, it mainly consists of raw footage from the shoot, with comments shot impromptu in that setting.
I like this kind of material and find a lot to enjoy about “Fly”. It provides a fun view of the production and gives us a good glimpse behind the scenes.
Raising the Dead… Again runs 26 minutes, 41 seconds and features an interview with Adam Green. He covers the factors that led to a fourth Hatchet film, cast and crew, and general thoughts. Some of this repeats from the commentaries, but Green still brings us a nice overview of the subjects.
The disc opens with ads for Nails, MFA and It Stains the Sands Red. We also get a teaser and a trailer for Crowley.
Because I liked the first three Hatchet movies, I hoped the fourth would continue to entertain. Unfortunately, Victor Crowley suffers from weak attempts at comedy and horror that render it impotent. The Blu-ray delivers generally good picture and audio along with a solid collection of bonus features. After three entertaining predecessors, Crowley disappoints.