Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead - Blu-ray Review - Scream Factory

Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner's.....

Released by: Scream Factory

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Production Year: 2014

Region Code: A

Running Time: 1:38:35

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1 / English DTS-HD MA 2.0

Video: 1080p (1.78 Aspect Ratio)

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

THE FILM:

In the aftermath of a comet breaking up over Earth, most of the planet's population quickly succumbs to a strange disease which turns them into "zombies." Few survive, and those who do, quickly discover all existing fuel sources have been rendered useless by the plague.

Trapped in a wilderness teeming with living dead, one of the survivors, Barry (Jay Gallagher), has lost everything except his sister, Brooke (Bianca Bradey). But even as the disaster unfolds, Brooke is kidnapped and dragged to a terrifying medical lab run by a psychotic "doctor" (Berynn Schwerdt) who is performing a series of deranged experiments on plague survivors. As Brooke struggles to devise an escape plan, she realizes that the doctor's experiments have given her strange powers over his zombie captives. Unaware of his sister's new powers, Barry teams up with fellow survivors to rescue her and protect what family he has left.

I really enjoyed this film. It is not your typical zombie film. There is a comedic element to it, but the humor is typically of the dark variety. There may not be much in the character development department in this film, but there are some likable characters. Even the demented doctor is an oddly entertaining fellow. It sounds like a sequel may be happening which is good news. I would definitely like to see what the Roache-Turner brothers have in store for the next chapter.

AUDIO:

There are two audio options available on this Blu-ray, a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. The audio quality is excellent with the bone crunching, flesh ripping and head exploding moments sounding great! There are plenty of opportunities where the audio gets to shine and it does just that. I thought the balance between dialogue, sound effects and score was fine. I did not notice any audio issues like hiccups or drop outs at all except one instance during the discs main menu screen where at about the 31-32 second mark, there's a brief one second glitch in the audio. But at least it's on the menu and not during the film. There are also English SDH and Spanish Subtitles included in this release.

VIDEO:

"Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead" gnaws its way on to Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory and IFC Midnight. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. Overall, the video quality of this Blu-ray is great. During well lit close-ups, there is an amazing amount of fine detail present. Video quality and different aspects of the video can change frequently in this film as it offers a variety of point of views and color palettes. In some scenes colors are super rich and very saturated and in others, very cold with a minimal amount of color. The changes were not off-putting and really, just gave the film more style and made certain scenes stand out by having a different look. Black levels looked good as well. One thing of note is during that the commentary track, it is mentioned that five different models of cameras were used to film the movie over the course of the four year production. The only negative comment I have is that at approximately the 1:02:50 mark of the film, if you look near the top of the screen at Benny's hair, it appears to be a bit blurry. I am talking about just the top couple inches (depending on your TV size) of the screen. That was the only time I noticed it and it was only while the characters were standing there during that time. I do not know if that is from the original filming or if it happened afterward. But I thought I should mention it.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio Commentary with the Roache-Turner Brothers - A highly entertaining commentary with Kiah Roache-Turner who directed and Tristan Roache-Turner who produced. The brothers co-wrote the film as well. Viewers are treated with a large amount of information pertaining to the making of the film. For starters, "Wyrmwood" was filmed over the course of four years. The pair cover everything from shooting locations, including their mother's garage, to the cast, the script, the weapons used in the film and more. If you enjoy commentary tracks, this is a fun one that you should check out.

The Wyrmdiaries: Behind the Scenes of Wyrmwood (49:29) - This behind the scenes look at the film starts off with some make-up effects, making a gun used in the film, some video effects, stunts and more. There is also footage included showing a dangerous stunt that went wrong but thankfully the stunt-woman was not injured. You name it, I think they cover it to some degree. The cast and crew really look to be enjoying themselves while making the film. 

The 7 Minute Teaser Scene (8:14) - From what I saw in the behind the scenes featurette, this was made before shooting began on the film.

Crowdfunding Video 1 (6:01) 

Crowdfunding Video 2 (4:14)

Storyboards by the Director (1:32)

Trailers (4:23) 

Deleted Scenes (19:30) - Ten scenes that were cut from the film.

Reversible Cover

IN CONCLUSION:

If you prefer your zombie films to be straight forward and traditional, this may not be the film for you. However, if you like a bit of dark humor and a fair bit of craziness tossed into the mix, then you should definitely give this film a look. I found it to be quite fun and as the quote on the cover states, "Mad Max Meets Dawn of the Dead", that is a pretty accurate mash-up. The blu-ray looks and sounds pretty nice and also sports some good extras. As of this review, it can be bought quite cheaply as well. Prices sometimes rise following the week of release, so keep that in mind. Anyhow, good movie, good blu-ray, cheap price... no brainer (no pun intended).

OVERALL: 4 / 5