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In DEATH VALLEY, mercenaries with nothing to lose are hired to rescue a bioengineer imprisoned in a cold war bunker. Upon entering the ominous facility, they find themselves in a fight for their lives, under attack from an unknown and deadly creature. DEATH VALLEY, from Writer-Director Matthew Ninaber (who you loved as Psycho Goreman), is “a wild time you don’t want to miss out on.” (Bloody Disgusting).
For thoughts on Death Valley, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Death Valley debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film pretty well. The movie itself has a natural color palette that is especially vibrant when it comes to daytime environments, but even the darkest scenes reveal a fair amount of detail and clarity. Admittedly, there is slight loss of detail in fast panning shots, but it is not a huge issue throughout. The movie relies on darkness to build tension at various points, and the deep black levels aid in maintaining the illusion of the story. There is some light banding in some of the darkest moments, but objects hold up pretty well in the shadows and retain their depth.
There is never any doubt that this was shot on a limited budget, but visually the film has very little in the way of deficits. The transfer allows for this world to have some texture which makes it feel more authentic. The buckets of blood really make an impression both on an aesthetic and narrative level. There is no overt damage or digital noise detectable in this transfer. There are not very many moments that are going to jump off the screen, but this is a rock solid video presentation overall.
Audio Quality
The film comes to Blu-Ray with a more-than-capable DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie provides a strong workout for your surround setup, especially in the environmental sounds that offer up a very immersive atmosphere for the story. These channels get some nice activity both during the outdoor scenes in the woods and inside the base during any lead up to any horrific moment. The low end of the track is especially active during moments of gunfire and other creature violence. The dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the music where fidelity is maintained. This track is quite precise and effective, and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc. There are English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Cast & Crew Commentary: Director Matthew Ninaber and performers Jeremy Ninaber and Jacqueline Ninaber provides an entertaining commentary track in which they discuss the difficulties of filming during a pandemic, the very uncomfortable weather conditions, the DIY nature of much of the production, the continuity errors due to repurposing some footage and more. This does help provide some insight into the rickety nature of the film.
- The Making Of Death Valley: A 17-minute making-of piece that is actually pretty substantial as it goes into the realities of developing the film during the pandemic, bringing on cast members outside of the family, the costume design, the set construction, and more.
Final Thoughts
Death Valley is impressive when taken in the context of what this dedicated group of creatives made during one of the toughest periods in modern history. The scale they are able to give this movie within their limited means, along with the excellent practical effects, really helps elevate the film overall. Unfortunately, appreciation only takes you so far when you find yourself distracted by some of the unconvincing performances. There is much to appreciate about this one, but there are some core issues that keep it from being truly great. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and some solid special features that help you appreciate more about the film.
Death Valley is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
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