Zombeavers - Blu-ray Review - Freestyle Digital Media

They'll Dam You To Hell!

Released by: Freestyle Digital Media

Release Date: May 19, 2015

Production Year: 2014

Region Code: A

Running Time: 1:17:04

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / English DD 2.0

Video: 1080p (1.78 Aspect Ratio)

Subtitles: English SDH

THE FILM:

They’re ferocious, they’re furry, they’re ZOMBEAVERS, the stars of this 2015 horror-comedy, directed by Jordan Rubin. When a trio of sexy college girls (Cortney Palm, Rachel Melvin, Lexi Atkins) arrive at a remote cabin for a weekend getaway, their vacation is quickly jeopardized by a hungry bear, a menacing hunter (Rex Linn), and the girls’ own party-crashing boyfriends (Hutch Dano, Jake Weary, Peter Gilroy). However, these preliminary disturbances are nothing compared to what lurks in the lake by the cabin: The result of a local chemical spill, a horde of bloodthirsty, zombified beavers closes in on the unsuspecting co-eds. It isn’t long before the kids are engaged in a life and death struggle with the ferocious ZOMBEAVERS, but it turns out that the creatures themselves are only the beginning of their nightmare.

I am definitely a fan of this movie. This is probably the fifth or sixth time I have watched it now. For one thing, it's a quick movie to watch being around 75 minutes, not counting credits. Plus I found it to be a good horror-comedy. It's silly but not way over the top. The acting was good and the practical effects looked pretty good too. Some of the CGI was okay, but I am not a fan of CGI in horror films. I'll take practical effects any day. 

AUDIO:

There are two English audio tracks included on this Blu-ray, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. Both tracks sounded fine and had a fairly good balance, but to me the sound level of the dialogue could have been slightly higher, since it seemed a little softer during moments that also featured sound effects or the score. English SDH Subtitles are also included.

VIDEO:

"Zombeavers" tunnels its way on to Blu-ray thanks to Freestyle Digital Media. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video quality is quite nice. Colors look bright and vibrant. Skin tones look natural in appearance. Black levels look very good in brighter scenes, but tend to look a bit flat in darker scenes. Viewers should be pleased with the amount of fine detail in the film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio Commentary - This track features members of the cast and crew popping in to talk about various scenes of the film. The participants include Jordan Rubin (Director), Evan Astrowsky (Producer),  Jonah Zimmerbeg-Helms (Creature Effects Technician), Jonathan Hall (Cinematographer), Freddy Waff (Production Design), Christopher Lemole (Producer) Tim Zajaros (Producer), actors Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins, Rachel Melvin, Rex Linn, Jake Weary, Peter Gilroycover and Bill Burr.

This has to easily, be the most people I have ever heard participate in a commentary. Some of the participants were not physically present and talked via phone. I do wish they did two commentary tracks, one with the cast and one with the crew. I think a whole track with the cast would have been pretty fun. The only disappointing thing about the commentary is that for some reason it only runs for about 57 minutes instead of the full length of the film. Among topics discusses in the commentary are how the film came to be, funny stories involving the barrel from the beginning of the film and how one of the actors was almost fired before shooting began. They do a great job talking about what is happening on the screen, what went in to creating the zombeavers and how they had to puppeteer them also. I enjoyed the commentary even though I wish they had brought the cast back in for the last twenty minutes of the film.  

Behind the Cameos featuring Stephen Merchant, Bill Burr and John Mayer (3:44) - A humorous interview. Be sure to watch it.

Behind the Scenes (1:03) - A brief look at how some shots in the film were achieved. 

Building A Beaver (1:53) - This featurette offers a sneak peak at the work involved to create a zombeaver.

Deleted Scene (:36) - "You seriously like this music" extended scene

Man Becomes Monster (1:02) - Here we get a look at actor Rex Linn (Smyth) having a mold done of his head.

Auditions (5:53) - We get to see some audition scenes from the main cast which are then followed by the actual scene from the film.

Storyboards

Behind The Scenes Stills (2:35)

"For Your Consideration" Trailer (1:02)

International Trailer (1:38)

U.S. Trailer (1:45)

IN CONCLUSION:

A fun film and a nice Blu-ray to boot. This Blu-ray was released exclusively to Best Buy. I do not know if/when it will be available for sale in other stores. It was fairly cheap when I bought it on release day, about $9.99 I believe. The trailer should give you a good idea if this film is for you or not. The song that plays over the end credits reminded me of the cover to the song "Down With the Sickness" from the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" in that it's the same style. Oh and be sure to watch the scene that follows the end credits.

OVERALL: 3.5 / 5