Bad Channels (Full Moon Features) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

One of my favorite Full Moon Entertainment films finally gets a Blu-ray release and it is a damn good one.

Studio: Full Moon Features
Release Date: June 25th, 1992 (video premiere) / June 10th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 20 minutes 17 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
Starring: Paul Hipp, Martha Quinn, Aaron Lustig, Ian Patrick Williams, Charlie Spradling
Written by Charles Band and Jack Canson
Directed by Ted Nicolau
Rating: R (language)

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Poster

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What's It About?

There's a hip new disc jockey at KDUL, Superstation 66, and he's about to make rock and roll history. He's Dangerous Dan O'Dare, the most controversial DJ to hit the airwaves and he's changing the station's format from only polka music to a wild rock and roll. But when a fungus-headed alien named Cosmo -who has quite a taste for hard rock and beautiful young women - lands nearby, he takes over the airwaves, miniaturizing the ladies listening to the radio in a bid to bring these rockin maidens back to his home planet.

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Video/Audio

After decades of being stuck with various standard definition releases (VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD) so this HD release is something very special. BAD CHANNELS was shot on 35mm film and this transfer does a good job of bringing the film to home video in the right way. I used to watch this thing all the time back in the 90s so I can tell you that I am very happy with the presentation here. It looks like the negative was taken great care of because there isn't any damage found here. Detail is good with finer detail getting a boost in closeups. Colors, especially after the alien takes over the radio station, look great. Film grain is here but not overly so. This is how I hoped the film was going to look when Full Moon announced this release and it couldn't have made me happier.

Full Moon went lossy with the sound, yet again, but I don't mind it too much. Dialogue is crisp and clear as is the music, which is the big draw here. We get all different kinds of rock bands here and they all sound great.

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Extras/Packaging

Full Moon Features Promo (1m 22s, HD, 1.78:1) Automatically plays at disc start up

Full Moon's Freakshow Podcast Promo (1m, HD, 1.78:1) Automatically plays at disc startup

Delirium Magazine (30s, HD, 1.78:1) Automatically plays at disc start up

Original Trailer (1m 40s, HD, 1.78:1)

Commentary - director Ted Nicolaou sits down to break down everything about Bad Channels. He does repeat just about everything he talks about in the interview found elsewhere on the disc but does so by expanding the stories. I loved hear him talking about the cinematography and the actors. The nice thing about this track is that Nicolaou talks through the whole thing. There are not too many downtimes here.

Behind the Scenes (11m 31s, SD, 1.33:1) So, this IS the Videozone that was included on the VHS release but it isn't. The first 12 minutes or so of the Bad Channels Videozone focused on the film at hand. The second half of the Videozone focuses on C. Courtney Joyner, who worked on a ton of Full Moon films like Pupper Master III, Doctor Mordrid, and Lurking Fear. Joyner did not have anything to do with Bad Channels so I am perplexed as to why they would have a section of a Videozone on a film he had nothing to do with. So, what we got here was the Bad Channels Videozone but without the stuff about a guy who did not have anything to do with Band Channels.

Ted Talk (27m 45s, HD, 1.78:1) Nicolaou started out as an editor for the films Charles Band was making in the 80s. This got him the directing job on Terrorvision (an awesome film you should check out). When that film didn't do well (he says it "crashed and burned"), he returned to editing. A few years later, Band started Full Moon Entertainment, and he brought Nicolaou into the fold to make films for the new company. Band had been to get Nicolaou to make Bad Channels because he wanted to do the same thing for radio that Terrorvision did for television. Nicolaou kept saying no because Terrorvision had been such a good experience (the shooting aspect) but also a depressing one (the failure and the aftermath). He eventually took the job because Band finally talked him into it.

Nicolaou then speaks about the cast, all of whom he has nothing bad to say about. He then moves on to talking about the bands featured in the film. He says they would drive out to the valley, get high, and listen to a ton of bands. Then, during post-production, the music supervisor was able to get Blue Öyster Cult to do the film's score. Nicolaou locked the edit of the film and sent the film over to Blue Oyster Cult, who Nicolaou may have pissed off because he told them what to do (Nicolaou jokes about this. Nothing was said by the band)

Nicolaou then talks about the effects used in the film which he calls "low-fi." He breaks down how they did the effects with the girls the alien captures in the bottles. Then he talks about the alien design along with his robot sidekick. He says that he is surprised at the amount of people who worked on all the effects because Full Moon's budgets were never big.

He loves working with Charles Band because Band loves movies. He works with people he trusts and lets them make their films without meddling too much. Band would only step in if something wasn't right. If the dailies look and sound good, then Band doesn't say anything. Band will step in when the film hits post-production. Band would watch the first edit and then give notes on how to get the film to the right length with the right pacing. In the end, Nicolaou is very happy with the way the film turned out and he loves hearing from fans who appreciate it.

Rare Trailer (2m 15s, SD, 1.33:1)

Full Moon Trailers

Quadrant (2m 3s, HD, 2:1)
Deathstreamer (1m 37s, HD, 1.78:1)
Suspecies 5 (2m 18s, HD, 1.39:1)
Bad CGI Gator (1m 52s, HD, 1.78:1)

Packaging-wise, we get a lackluster redition of the film's original poster art. The alien, the robot, and the girls in the bottles are there but the radio background is missing, replaced with a black background and a blue light in the middle, behind the alien. I really love the poster art and I wish they had used it here. I mean, the DVD had the right art, why not the blu-ray? The disc art features the shot of the alien arriving with the big spotlight behind him. It's one of the best shots in the film and I am happy Full Moon used it as the disc art.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

I haven't watched BAD CHANNELS since the 90s, so this viewing was an experience. I used to watch this film all the time back in the day, and I felt like I was transported right back to sitting in my bedroom the day BAD CHANNELS hit VHS. The doctor from LETHAL WEAPON 3 ("a dumb-dumb wound?") stars as a radio disc jockey whose station gets taken over by an alien who uses the airways to capture women to take back to his planet. The film also stars a fucking MTV VJ (remember those?) Martha Quinn. She is actually pretty good here which is not something that can be said about most of the VJs that did films. The film is filled with rock music from bands like Blue Oyster Cult, Joker, Dracult Milk Toast, and Sykotik Sinfoney with each band getting a music video that fills in for the women being taken. The alien's design is interesting with his big rock-like head and little robot assistant. This is one of the few Full Moon films that does not contain any violence, gore, or nudity. While it is still rated "R", the reasoning is for "language" and nothing more. This was the right move as anything worse would have felt out of place. BAD CHANNELS is a great example of what Full Moon was able to do back in the day with very little money but a lot of talent.

Full Moon has done right by BAD CHANNELS. The picture quality is really good and the sound isn't too bad either. They do well with the special features with a brand new interview with director Ted Nicolaou who is always game to talk about his films. Nicolaou also sits down with Charles Band for a delightful audio commentary. We also get a shortened Videozone (see Extras/Packaging section for details) along with two trailers for the film. BAD CHANNELS is one of the final "classic" Full moon films (ones released during the Paramount Days) and they given the film the release it deserves.

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Extras/Menus