Import Corner: Superstition (1982) (Imprint Films) Blu-ray Review

Imprint Films brings Superstition, supernatural slasher film released during the "slasher boom" of the early 1980s, to Blu-ray in awesome fashion.

Studio: Imprint Films

Release Date: March 12th, 1982 (theatrical) / 
Run Time: 1 hour 25 minutes 25 seconds
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: Yes (slip box)
Digital Copy: No
Starring: James Houghton, Albert Salmi, Lynn Carlin, Larry Pennell, Jacquelyn Hyde
Written by Galen Thompson
Directed by James W. Roberson
Rating: ACB: R18+ (strong horror violence and gore, and for language

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Poster

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What's It About?

A family moves into a long-condemned New England household with a big pond out back that everybody loves to swim in. Soon, however, they find that the pond was the site of the execution- by-drowning of a witch three hundred years before, and she's back to revenge herself on anybody nearby, whether they're Catholic or not.

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Video/Audio

Imprint Films gives us a great transfer here. The film is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. No 1.78:1 BS here. We have film grain present here throughout with the degree of heaviness dependent on the scene. Colors are strong and detail is high. Blacks are also deep and inky. The scan used here was not cleaned up (which is fine with me). There are scratches and a few hairs that show up from time to time. I love when a film's scan is not cleaned up. It helps give a scan more of a film like look to it.  I also didn't have any problems with the LPCM 2.0 track.

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Extras/Packaging

Audio Commentary by Justin Kerswell, author of "The Teenage Slasher Movie Book" Kerswell is an author, owner of The Hysteria Lives, and is a co-host of the podcast The Hysteria Continues. This is a solo track (he usually does tracks with his podcast co-hosts) and it doesn't disappoint. This is a scene-specific track where he talks about the history of the film, where different inspirations came from, how Superstition fits in the slasher film sub-genre. He goes into a the major players' histories and filmographies. This is a great track. Well worth the listen.

"Slasher Fantastico: Superstition and the Supernatural Slasher" - Video Essay by author/editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine Kat Ellinger (15m 44s, HD, 1.85:1) Ms. Ellinger starts off with talking about various giallo and slasher films which contain witchcraft and other supernatural killers. She talks about The Fog, Norman J. Warren's Terror, and Evil Speak. She then moves to the 80s where these supernatural slashers really took off with A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, and the latter Friday the 13th films. She also covers films like the Amityville Horror sequels which aren't slasher films per say but I get where she is coming from. I learned a lot from this video essay.

"Lake of Fire" - Interview with actor James Houghton (30m 9s, HD, 1.78:1) This is an interview that was first included on the Scream Factory blu-ray. Houghton was a writer for The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. He speaks about his relationship with his famous father, Buck Houghton, his soap opera days, and his time of Superstition.

"That Crazy Witchcraft" - Interview with director James Roberson (23m 57s, HD, 1.78:1) This is an interview that was first included on the Scream Factory blu-ray. He talks about his time wtih Charles B. Pearce, who directed The Legend of Boggy Creek. his directorial debut, The Legend of Alfred Packer, and the legacy of Superstition.

TV Spot (32s, SD, 1.33:1) a very rough looking TV spot.

Theatrical Trailer (1m 49s, HD, 1.85:1)

Imprint Films brings to SUPERSTITION to blu-ray with some nice packaging. Like the other Imprint Films I have reviewed, this slip box art is very pleasing. The slip box features the film's original theatrical poster as the entire front. They do not put anything on this poster art except for their logo in the upper right hand corner. The nice thing is that you might not even notice it at first. I wish more companies would follow this way of doing things instead of putting bars at the top of the slipcover or using some ugly new art. Give me the film's original poster, make it go from the top to the bottom of the slip box front and with minimal studio logos. 

Inside is a 14mm clear blu-ray case that features alternate poster art as it's cover along with a shot from the film as its inner artwork. The disc features a portion of the film's original poster as it's art.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

I liked SUPERSTITION. I had a lot of fun with it. The filmmakers keep the kills coming every 10 or 15 minutes which is nice because it dialogue scenes in films like this can grow stale if they run on too long. There is a nice balance between the two. I liked the story and thought there were a number of effective jump scares. I was shocked to see how gory the film is. SUPERSTITION was released right at the highest point in the slasher boom of the 1980s so you would think the film would have been gutted by the MPAA but it wasn't. It doesn't even look like they submitted in the first place. The filmmakers knew the gore needed to be left untouched. The gore does help the film. It doesn't make it better than it is but it helps. SUPERSTITION is going into my regular rotation. I liked it that much.

The blu-ray, from Imprint Films, is a real winner. The picture and sound are both top notch. Imprint also adds to the already great interviews that Scream Factory did years ago with a wonderful commentary track and a very informative video essay. This is a great release that slasher fans are going to adore.