Deadly Night Shade aka Smiertelny Cien Nocy (1996)

A lesser than erotic thriller makes its Blu-ray debut with this interesting Polish import.

Studio: Royal Oaks Entertainment or Videoleader (both are listed on the box)
Release Date: June 1st, 1996 (video premiere) / ???? (blu-ray)
Run Time:
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-25)
Picture: 1080p (1.33:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: No
Slipcover: No
Starring: Tim Abell, Cory Lane, Tane McClure, Jennifer Burton, Ross Hagen, Don Scribner, Jack Slayton
Written by Sean O'Bannon
Directed by Fred Olen Ray
Rating: Unrated (multiple scenes of nudity and sexuality, violence, and language)

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Poster

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What's It About?

"Deadly Night Shade (1996) is the most overlooked strip club vampire gem of modern times. A literal "WHO'S WHO" of erotic horror classics of the '90s. The all-star cast includes Tim Abell, Tane McClure, Gabriella Hall, Nikki Fritz, Jennifer Leigh Burton, Teresa Langley, Peter Spellos, and Ross Hagen in his longtime role as Detective Crank. This stylish 16mm film directed by Fred Olen Ray hides nothing behind it. You absolutely must see this movie."

This is taken from a translation of the description on the back of the box, which is in Polish. I love how the description spends more time telling us who is in the film rather than telling us what the film is about. I would not be surprised if anyone who reads this has any idea what the film is about outside of vampire strip club.

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Video/Audio

DEADLY NIGHT SHADE looks like ass. I hate to say but it does. Out of the three films I have reviewed thus far that are the Makeflix exclusive imports (POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT and MIND TWISTER were the first two), DEADLY NIGHT SHADE is the worst. I have a feeling its due to the standard definition source being less than adequate. Everything seems to be smoothed out and all the people look like they might be sick. Everyone looks a little too colorful. The upscaling here is just as bad as SCREAM QUEEN HOT TUB PARTY. I really hate that these companies are upscaling SD footage. Just leave the SD file alone. There are whole lines of Blu-rays out there house entire TV series in standard definition and no one cares. Stop with the AI upscaling. The audio here is lossy and fine.

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Extras/Packaging

There are no special features whatsoever.

The menu is the same crappy menu as the previous two imports.

Chapter selections are still every five minutes on the dot.

The packaging is also done with AI, although it looks ok. The front cover features a collage of scenes from the film along with the film's title in English and Polish. The back of the box features a few screenshots from the film along with two different releasing companies. One of Royal Oaks Entertainment which is apparently the film's production company. The other company is Videoleader. There is even a website (www.videoleader.info) which leads to nothing. Inside is a post card featuring the same art as the front of the box. I wish they had used the film's VHS artwork on the post card instead of reusing the AI artwork. The disc features a shot of a female vampire along with the film's title in Polish.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

DEADLY NIGHT SHADE (or just NIGHT SHADE as it's known in the US) is ok. The film was released in 1996 which was after the straight-to-video trend hit its peak. Full Moon had lost their contract with Paramount and the erotic thriller was losing popularity. Shannon Whirry and Shannon Tweed's popularity had peaked and they wouldn't make very many erotic thrillers after 1995. The quality of the films were getting worse too. Just look at POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT and SCORNED (both released in 1994) and then look at NIGHT SHADE and ANIMAL INSTINCTS 3. Even though these films were made a few years apart, they look like they were made a decade apart. The film isn't too bad. It has ample amounts of nudity and it moves at a quick pace. It is definitely not one of Fred Olen Ray's best films but it gets the job done.

The Blu-ray is terrible. The picture quality is downright awful and should be studied for how not to use AI. There is almost nothing good about the picture quality and belongs in the garbage bin along with SCREAM QUEEN HOT TUB PARTY and the BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY Bubble Feature. I would not buy this unless you need to it complete your Fred Olen Ray collection.

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Film