A surprising and gratifying change of pace from the folks at Wicked Pixel (Ice from the Sun, Scrapbook), this stylish and atmospheric ghost story by its
most recognizable director, Eric Stanze, is a far cry from the aggressive and often experimental cult films in his repertoire. This time he tells a carefully controlled, often bone-chilling tale bathed in ominous shadows and murky lantern light, with a surprising twist waiting at the end.
the ambitious production also manages to include a few time-skipping flashback sequences and some clever injections of black and white footage. The abandoned park locale
makes for a unique visual by itself, while Stanze also makes expert use of dirty basements, darkly lit bathrooms, and clutching hands to induce shivers with seemingly little effort. Don't expect a shock every second, however; this is a slow and steady spooker (though some might also compare a couple of moments to J-horror) and all the better for it. Bearing the new credit of "A Motion Picture by Eric Stanze," this project's aesthetic jump is especially obvious in the use of widescreen framing for the first time, and Stanze and company adapt to the framing change with a great deal of skill. Stylish landscape shots and unorthodox compositions even in the most mundane dialogue scenes make for an engaging viewing experience, and the use of light and shadow is actually more impressive than that in most major studio horror efforts.
Core gave the film a greatly expanded Blu-ray special edition featuring what's listed as a new restoration of the film, and for something
that was shot on video in the first place, the improvement here is welcome with smoother, more natural motion and, relatively speaking, more tightly-resolved detail especially in the credits. The DTS-HD MA English 2.0 stereo track still sounds great and comes with optional English subtitles. The prior commentary is ported over here (plus the outtakes and music video), with Stanze and Christ appearing for a new commentary looking back at the production including the decisions made over the editing pacing, the inspiration for the project including the films of Mario Bava, the location scouting, and the big nature of many sequences that required lots of coverage and action blocking. The new "Season Pass: Return to Deadwood Park" (44m20s) features Stanze, Christ, and Clifton looking back at the film's role in his career especially coming off the reputation he was earning after Scrapbook, the decision to shoot on mini-DV anamorphic video, the casting process, the creation of the ambient score, and thoughts on the final result years later. The archival "Welcome to Eidolon Crossing: The Making of Deadwood Park" (92m42s) is a massive, far-reaching chronicle of the film during its production with pretty much everyone involved being interviewed, along with thoughts on the discovery of the park, the evolution of the central idea, and more, peppered with plenty of production footage. Why this wasn't on the original DVD is a mystery, but it's great to have here. Also included are a post-production featurette (9m13s) about the year-long process of completing the film after shooting with a look at the editing and sound mixing, a "Crew on Camera" featurette (2m35s) showing the gang at work, an 11m47s batch of deleted scenes (most from the black-and-white segments), a radio spot to preorder the film on Amazon, "Band on Tour" and "Zombie '79" music videos, and five trailers for this film plus bonus ones for Anxiety, In Memory Of, Ratline, Savage Harvest, Savage Harvest 2: October Blood, Scrapbook, and Ice from the Sun.Saturn's Core (Blu-ray)
Wicked Pixel (DVD)