The Blue Jean Monster is a 1991 Hong Kong horror-comedy film directed by Ivan Lai. The movie is about a police officer named Joe who has a happy life with his pregnant wife. One day he gets a tip that a bank is about to be robbed and rushes to it but is killed. Then the strangest thing happens, Joe becomes a vampire when a black cat jumps on his body and is hit by lightning. Can Joe take revenge on his killers?

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[youtube https://youtu.be/yU3bl8Lufgs?si=QaTKSsmL0UAoGWOm&t=254]

Video Quality

The Blue Jean Monster comes to Blu-Ray via 88 Films with a new 1080p master in its original aspect ratio derived from a new 2K restoration of the Original Camera Negative. This new release offers a very strong presentation that ranks favorably among the efforts we have seen from the label. The transfer does not appear to experience much in the way of filtering or DNR which allows it to appear natural and only slightly aged. The grain resolves consistently with sporadic moments when the grain field becomes unwieldy and the image quality stumbles for a few seconds.

This transfer displays very little in the way of wear and tear, but some marks remain here and there. Some shots present as a bit soft which likely links back to the quality of the source elements. The film avoids nearly all instances of compression artifacts, banding, and other digital anomalies. The transfer enjoys rich color saturation in the clothing, production design, and lighting choices. Fine detail rarely disappoints as you take in subtle facets of the craft elements without issue. 88 Films continues to go to some unique places with their Hong Kong titles.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with an LPCM 2.0 dual mono track in the original Cantonese that holds up quite well for the most part. Dialogue shows signs of being a bit boxy at points, but it is clear and easy to discern during the majority of the runtime. There are signs that this film is a bit older, but there are no serious bouts of damage or audio dropouts. The music does a swell job of establishing the atmosphere of the narrative, but there is some strain in the upper registers. The film comes alive when necessary as thrilling moments crop up and make themselves known. This release does have optional English subtitles provided. 88 Films has done a respectable job of providing stability for this one.

Special Features

Man Made Monster – An Interview with Assistant Director Sam Leong: A nearly 21-minute interview with the assistant director in which he discusses how he got involved in the film industry, learning under producer Chua Lam, the direction of Iva Lai, the casting of Shing Fui-on in the lead role, adapting the script to meet the budget and time constraints during production, the legacy of the film, and more that is well worth a watch.

Trailer: The three-minute Hong Kong trailer is provided here.

Stills Gallery: This disc provides various stills and marketing materials in a gallery.

Double Sided Poster

Final Thoughts

The Blue Jean Monster is very entertaining at times, but there are some choices made that keep it from being great. The film is at its best when it is taking things more seriously with the brutal crime drama and even the berzerker monster at the core of the narrative letting loose. Where the film stumbles is in its misguided brand of comedy that is at best cringeworthy and at worst problematic. The juvenile and slapstick nature of the comedy does not feel at home in this narrative, creating a tonal whiplash. The good parts are still very good, but this film needs a better balance. 88 Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a really good A/V presentation and a couple of decent special features.

The Blue Jean Monster is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: 88 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.