A TV station employee takes a camera crew out to an abandoned factory to investigate a purported snuff film that was made there, only to end up running for her life. Nami hosts a late night home video program. She receives a tape which appears to be a real snuff film. She and her crew investigate the location where she meets a man looking for his brother who warns her to stay away. As she gets closer to the truth, she and her friends are subjected to a brutal nightmare.
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Video Quality
Evil Dead Trap comes to Blu-Ray via Unearthed Films with a 1080p master in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio derived from a 4K restoration. While it is appreciated that the film was given this level of care, there are some obvious shortcomings to the source material considering many moments still look pretty raggedy. Even with that said, much of it looks pretty great in comparison to what the aesthetic intention is for the film. The brightly lit daytime scenes are the most fetching when it comes to evoking the greatest amount of detail. The most apparent negative about this transfer are the instances of compression artifacts in the darker moments and the lack of distinct detail in the shadows. There also remains a light amount of wear and tear. There is no hiding that this was a movie shot on a smaller budget with primitive lighting sources. The grain at least maintains an organic appearance which mostly resolves well with some minor moments that spike or become a bit clumpy. The transfer features decent color saturation throughout with the gnarly hues rendering well on screen, especially in elements of the clothing, production design and some of the filtering. Unearthed Films has done a nice job of rescuing this one on disc.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray presents the film with two LPCM 2.0 mono tracks, one in stereo and one in mono, that are both presented in the original Japanese. Dialogue is easy to understand as it comes through without distortion throughout the film. The film does not go full tilt with low end impact, but as things get more crazy near the end this track throws some weight behind the action. You will not find much in the way of wear and tear at play. The terrific score maintains a nice fidelity with no real instances of fuzziness or distortion to muck up the experience. This release does have optional English subtitles provided. Unearthed Films has done a fine job of presenting this film in the most stable quality possible.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Toshiharu Ikeda and SPFX Manager Shinichi Wakasa deliver a fairly informative commentary track in which they discuss various aspects of the production including the performers, the special effects work, the moments of levity and more. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this track, but these two talk in a sarcastic tone throughout which is very grating.
- Audio Commentary #2: Filmmaker Kurando Mitsutake (KARATE KILL, GUN WOMAN) provides a really great commentary track in which he discusses the time period in which the film was released, how porn helps revolutionize technology, how this fits into the genre, the reasons behind the title, and more including insights from interviews conducted with an actress and some of the craftspeople.
- Audio Commentary #3: James Mudge of easternKicks delivers a strong commentary track in which he discusses the perceived influences on the film and how the director responds to such comparisons, details about the performers, the common tropes of Japanese horror, the score of the film, the film’s legacy and more.
- Trappings of the Dead – Reflecting On A Japanese Cult Classic: A great 19-minute featurette in which author Calum Waddell discusses the impact this film had on Japanese cinema, references within the film to past works, various rumors connected to the film, how the story connects to the brutality of Japan’s past and more.
- Storyboards: A collection of storyboards from the film are shown.
- Behind The Scenes Stills: A three-minute collection of photos from the production of the film.
- Promotional Artwork: A collection of material used to market the film is shown here.
- Trailers: This disc provides the nearly 90-second trailer for Evil Dead Trap. There are also trailers provided for Untold Story, Hanger, and A Serbian Film.
Final Thoughts
Evil Dead Trap is a fairly unhinged tale which delights in its bonkers narrative turns which takes you from a slasher and “house of horror” film to something much more deranged. The production is a bit rough around the edges, but that is part of its charm. There are numerous sick and twisted moments within this one which should satisfy horror fans. Unearthed Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty good A/V presentation and some strong special features. If you are looking to find some weird gems within the international horror scene, give this one a shot. Recommended
Evil Dead Trap is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Unearthed 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.