Deadly Spawn [Blu-ray] [2011] [US Import]

Product Information

Making of Spawn (SD, 22 min) — A short EPK doc hosted by Michael Jai White, covering the usual aspects of the production like the plot, the characters and the source material. I suppose I should get to the plot at some point in this review, so here goes. Michael Jai White plays a mercenary turned Faustian-like superhero dubbed "Spawn" and meant to lead Hell's army into Armageddon. Leguizamo's overweight clown functions as a sort of guide, continually trying to influence White's path towards the dark side, like a little floating devil over his right shoulder. Of course, there's just enough humanity left within Spawn to create doubt and a hokey drama ensues where White is expected to show emotion over his family beneath the burn-victim prosthetics. Williamson comes in as the little angelic mentor floating over White's other shoulder, cajoling him to use his evil powers on the side of good. This eventually evolves into another videogame-like battle where lots of forsaking takes place and makes obvious hints at a sequel which never happened. The Deadly Spawn is presented in full frame, as intended. I am not sure what the source was for this release, but it is not a good visual effort. Even the DVD release seems to sport better detail, which is not good news. This is perhaps due to the excessive noise reduction applied, which softens the image and harms the inherent grain. I wanted this transfer to be a home run, but sadly it fails to live up to that expectation. I think we all know this movie will never look pristine, but it deserves a sharper, more natural treatment than this. Audio: How does it sound?

Todd McFarlane: Chapter and Verse (SD, 20 min) — Broken into seven separate parts which can be watched sequentially, this lengthy interview with the comic book creator talks about the Spawn character, the story and the movie adaptation.Alternate Opening (4:43, SD) offers little to no discernible changes from the theatrical cut outside of a different opening title sequence. Plot: What’s it about? Video: How does it look? Audio: How does it sound? Supplements: What are the extras? Plot: What’s it about?

Where we come across some serious issues is in the front soundstage, starting with the dynamic range. The higher frequencies noticeably clip and distort during much of the action, sounding like high-pitched squeals with hardly any distinct detail. This is made especially apparent when Spawn's cape expands and flies all around the room. It's far too bright and piercing, basically like someone turned up the volume on the special effects and called it a day. The low-end is also loud and heavy, but not at all articulate yet very boomy with several hints of noise. The only good moments are during the songs. Through all this, vocals are occasionally drowned out by the commotion, as in the scene when Spawn and Clown race to Wanda's house. Memorable Movie Quote: "The gorilla! No eating the flesh for him, no sir. He's peace-loving, and adorable!" Producer Ted Bohus said that he conceived the idea for The Deadly Spawn in 1979, and that he was inspired by an article in National Geographic about seed pods that were recovered from the Arctic. [1] According to Bohus, he created an initial creature design that involved a man in a suit, but associate producer and effects director John Dods was unenthusiastic about that prospect. [1] Several days later, Dods returned with several alternatives, including the "Mother Spawn" that was eventually used in the film. [1]

In fact, if memory serves right, much of the publicity attention went to John Leguizamo and his scary clown prosthetics. Of the entire movie, he's the only real highlight, which is actually rather sad since his performance and dialogue are genuinely awful. The one thing he does right in the part is making the character a frightening children's performer and proving that clowns really are Satan's foot soldiers from the lower depths of Hell. Aside from that, he spends most of his time spewing lame jokes about farts, rotten food, and doing out-of-place impersonations. Oh, and he supposedly plays a confusing role as the ringleader of the Apocalypse, which leads to the one and only sincere piece of humor to garner any laughs when he tells Martin Sheen with a straight face he only wants to bring the apocalypse now.

The real challenge in watching 'Spawn' is not letting your mind wonder why anyone ever greenlit this mess. From the start, as Nicol Williamson's corny voiceover narration describes a war brewing between heaven and hell, the movie seems like a DTV release made with inexpensive computer graphics even from a 1997 price point. Fifteen years later, things are made visibly worse as animated characters, especially the devil-like creature in Hell that looks like a hairless Chinese Crested (you know, the world's ugliest dog) with horns, jump into action with the same fluid movement as a 'Gumby' episode. I had to keep reminding myself that this wince-inducing adaptation of Todd McFarlane's comic book series did in fact hit theaters at one point, but I don't recall the CGI being anything to gloat about even then. Introduction with Ted A. Bohus (1:19, SD) welcomes the viewer to "The Deadly Spawn," while taking a few moments to display some merchandise for the film and goof around with an alien puppet.

The Deadly Spawn: Other Editions

Is Deadly Spawn gratuitous? In the best way possible. The movie loves blood, at least as far as the budget allows it to. The alien creature, a denizen born from a stray meteorite, is a goofy, red teething monstrosity. Whatever flaws exist in the suit or the puppet driven heads are masked by the teeth… so many teeth.