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Killjoy
R0 - United Kingdom - Boulevard Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (17th September 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** He's not clowning around... Michael, a reserved high school student, has always been an outcast among his peers. One day, the bullying goes too far and he endures his final beating. Now a new face is in town, ready to exact Michael's revenge. His name is Killjoy and he thinks murder is a laughing matter. Killjoy is a deadly clown who cleanses the streets of an inner city hell-hole of villains, but is he a crusading vigilante or a savage demon? When beautiful high school student Jada has need of the harlequin horror's murderous services she begins to wonder just what his motivations might be...
Video
UK budget distributor Boulevard Entertainment released "Killjoy" on to DVD using a direct port of the Film 2000 release (right down to Film 2000's logos still being present). The transfer is in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but is unfortunately non-anamorphic. The problems do not stop there. The biggest issue with this release is that annoyingly, it's a NTSC->PAL transfer, meaning we get copious amounts of problems with combing and ghosting. This is rather noticeable, even in motion, especially in focused close-ups with any sort of motion. Also an issue, is the level of detail included. Although it isn't bad for the format, items in the background have a tendency to look clunky and blocky, with a lack of sharpness and clarity. Colours are generally not too bad. Skin tones appear accurate for the most part, and lighter colours utilised in clothing and day time external shots look fine. Blacks are not always as deep as they should be, and shadow detail can vary from okay, to non-existent depending on the scene in question. There isn't much in the way of damage to the print, though that should be expected for a film made in 2000, no matter how small the budget. Overall, this is an unimpressive and barely adequate transfer that could certainly do with an overhaul. The disc is region free, and the feature runs 71:49.
Audio
There is a single audio option available here; English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. To be honest, it may as well have been a mono track due to the minimal channel separation included. The track itself is average at best. Dialogue is clear for vast swathes, but can be a slightly overpowered by the score and sound effects at times. The sound effects themselves come through clear, but when coupled with the score and dialogue, everything sounds very flat, with hardly any depth at all. There aren't any signs of damage though; no drop outs, no scratches, and no pops or hisses. Fidelity could be much improved, but for a budget DVD release, of a low budget horror, the track just about passes as adequate. No subtitles are included.
Extras
The main extra here is the "Making of Killjoy" featurette (12:04). This is standard promotional fare, with some movie clips, behind the scenes footage, and congratulatory backslapping sound bites edited together to bring you sparse bits of actual information. The featurette is of VHS quality, and there are serious lip-synching issues. You can skip this one. There is also a theatrical trailer (2:09).
Overall
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