Crash and Burn (Full Moon) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Studio: Full Moon Features
Release Date: September 1990 (video premiere) / June 10th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 24 minutes 47 seconds
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-25)
Picture: 1080p (1.78:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Paul Ganus, Megan Ward, Ralph Waite, Eva LaRue, Jack McGee, Bill Moseley
Written by J.S. Cardone
Directed by Charles Band
Rating: R (strong horror violence and gore, 2 sex scenes, nudity, and language)

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Poster

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What's It About?

It's the year 2030 and the world is ruled by a corrupt aristocracy. When renegade broadcaster Lathan plunges to his death in what appears to be an accident, his granddaughter Arren (Megan Ward, TRANCERS 2) believes it to be the work of a "Synthoid" - a human-like robot - that is programmed to kill all who pose a threat to Unicom. The only thing that can stop the virtually indestructible Synthoid is a dormant robot that Arren brings back to life for a desperate showdown with the relentless killer.

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Video/Audio

Advertised as being "remastered from the original 35mm negative" and presented in an aspect ratio of 11.78:1 (opened up a bit from the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio), CRASH AND BURN looks good but could have been so much better. Colors and skin tones are good and the uptick in resolution brings about all different levels of detail. The problems lie in the very obvious digital manipulation Band has applied. This does not feel very film like. It feels like something we would have gotten on Blu-ray ten-plus years ago. It is certainly watchable but I would have preferred Band just leave the scan as is and not mess with it. Both Dolby Digital tracks are lossless but they get the job done.

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Extras/Packaging

Promo for Delirium TV (1m, HD, 1.78:1) plays at disc startup

Promo for Delirium Magazine (30s, HD, 1.78:1) plays at disc startup

Promo Full Moon Horror (1m 22s, HD, 1.78:1) plays at disc startup

Original Trailer (1m 5s, HD, 1.78:1) The trailer makes it seem like the mech features more in the film than it does.

Commentary - Here we have producer/director Charles Band and actor Bill Moseley talking about the film. Some nice behind the scenes stories, calling out different actors, and whatnot. This is a pretty decent commentary track that never gets boring.

Behind the Scenes (6m 59s, SD, 1.33:1) Anyone who knows anything about Full Moon knows they loved their behind-the-scenes stuff. They were always producing this stuff, usually in their "Videozone" line but this was before that so the branding wasn't there yet. I can not get enough of these behind-the-scenes featurettes, especially the ones from Full Moon.

Blooper Reel (6m, SD, 1.33:1) I always appreciate these kinds of things because they show what a mundane thing filmmaking can be.

Trailers:

Deathstreamer (1m 37s, HD, 2.00:1)
Quadrant (2m 3s, HD, 2.00:1)
Bad Channels (1m 40s, HD, 1.78:1)
Suspecies 5 (2m 18s, HD, 2.35:1)
Bad CGI Gator (1m 52s, HD, 1.78:1)

The film is divided up into 18 chapters with no chapter selection menu. In fact, almost all of the features are relegated to the main menu with the trailers being the only special feature to get their own submenu.

The front artwork is the same as we have always gotten for the film, just with the "remastered from the original 35mm negative" being added.

The disc art is the same as the front art.

Disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

CRASH AND BURN was one of the few Full Moon films I did not see during The Video Store Days. It got lost in the avalanche of straight-to-video films of the 1990s. There were so many films to choose from during this time that it made it all but impossible to watch them all. Had I seen the film back then, I might have liked it more than I did watching it today. This thing is pretty dull. It's one of those films that Charles Band either produced or directed that took place in one location. Films like CREEPOZOIDS, SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA, PUPPETMASTER, and DOLLS all do this but they are all way more entertaining than CRASH AND BURN. I liked the premise, the actors, and the location. The problem here is that Band doesn't do anything with any of this until the last 30 minutes or so. The first hour focuses on characters we don't care about. These are flat, lifeless characters that the actors do their best with. I will say, once the film does get going around the 50-minute mark, the film does take off but those 50 minutes feel so much longer than that. This was one of the first films Band made under his new Full Moon Entertainment production company, so I can look past some of the film's flaws as minor stumbling blocks. CRASH AND BURN isn't a terrible film. It's a letdown with so much potential.

Full Moon does a lot of good with this release and some not so good. The not so good is the transfer. The added digital tinkering does not do the 35mm scan any favors. I don't know why Band added all this useless nonsense but he did and I have to take points away because of it. The special features are worth picking this release up. The commentary track with Band and Moseley is nice and the behind the scenes featurette is a hoot. The trailer does a good job of selling a film we did not get but that is part of its charm. I do recommend this release even if the transfer isn't all that great.

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Extras/Menus