Death Screams (Limited Edition): Blu-Ray Review

The 1982 slasher Death Screams aka House of Death aka Night Screams has made its’ way on to Blu-ray with a new 2K restoration from an archival 35mm print.

Set in a small Southern town, the local Sheriff is trying to track down a young couple that has gone missing. What he doesn’t know. Is that the young man and woman were brutally murdered while having sex on a motorcycle. Their bodies are now floating down the river, just waiting to be discovered. As the townsfolk get ready for their annual carnival, the killer begins to make his/her way around town, though doesn’t really do much of anything until the film’s final act. Most of Death Screams has us getting to know the featured teenage characters which is a big of a change for the sub-genre. There aren’t any bad or mean teens here, though we do get one that is kind of a goofball. He reminded me of Shelly from Friday the 13th Part III. We don’t really want to see any of them die, which maybe was the point.  For those looking for little more than series of kills, this one might be a disappointment.

Arrow Video has done their best to rescue this obscure horror film from disappearing for good. Despite not being much of a fan of Death Screams, I commend Arrow for trying to save lost films. As 35mm prints fade away over time, many movies will be lost forever. Now, I should state that despite this being a 2K restoration, Arrow was only able to do so much to clean up the film. The archival 35mm print was badly worn. Eve with the color grading and digital restoration, the transfer looks just-above-adequate at best. Death Screams features the original uncompressed mono audio track which also sounds imperfect, but acceptable.  Having said that, if I loved a film, I would want any presentation of that title I could have, and Arrow clearly put work into delivering the best presentation based on the elements available to them.

Bonus Materials:

  • Brand new 2K restoration from an archival 35mm print
  • Original uncompressed mono audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Brand new audio commentary with producer Charles Ison and special effects artist Worth Keeter moderated by filmmaker Phil Smoot
  • Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
  • All the Fun of the Scare: The Making of Death Screams – newly-produced making-of documentary featuring interviews with producer Charles Ison, special effects artist Worth Keeter, writer Paul Elliott, actors Hanns Manship and Curt Rector and many others
  • TV and Radio Spots
  • Image Galleries
  • House of Death Alternate VHS Opening Titles
  • Two versions of the screenplay under the original title of Night Screams [BD-ROM content]
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original artwork and a newly-commissioned reimagining of the original VHS artwork by Sadist Art Designs presented with die-cut slipcover
  • Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brian Albright

By: Marc Ferman