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In the Cold of the Night - Blu-ray

“Mother has this thing about birds.” 

Before diving into a trippy sequence of serial killer activities, In the Cold of the Night opens with a fantastic photo shoot full of neon colors and string bikinis.  Oh la la.  But the fun doesn’t end there.  A wild sex scene on a waterbed ends the evenings shenanigans.  At least it is supposed to.  But that’s not what happens when this LA photographer (Jeff Lester) closes his eyes to sleep . . .

. . . because he dreams of murder and he’s the one doing all the killing.

"Namedropping Brian De Palma all the way to the closing credits, this erotic thriller attempts to be more clever than it actually is, but the film isn’t a complete waste."


 

Written and directed by Nico Mastorakis, In the Cold of the Night tells the tale of Scott Bruin, a fashion photographer, who doesn’t know what to do with his paranoia-causing dreams of murder.  He asks his best friend, Phil (Brian Thompson), to stay the night one night; to keep watch of him.  Phil, with a baseball bat in his hands, agrees to make sure that Scott goes nowhere.  They even videotape the sleep session.

And nothing happens.  Not even the fluorescent light emanating from the water bed can disturb him.  But the next day, in broad daylight, he slips into “killer vision” again and sees Kimberly (Adrienne Sachs), the woman he is murdering in these fantasies.  Weird, right?

In the Cold of the Night might not be all that great of a plotted out movie; however, the visual style – thanks to Mastorakis and director of photography Andreas Bellis – makes this one a treasure of psychological badassness.  It’s creepy and it’s killer cool, making the dreams feel all the more real for Scott and the people around him, including David Soul as Dr. Frieberg, Shannon Tweed as Lena, and Tippi Hedren as Clara. {googleads}

The film tips its hat to Hitchcock in more ways than one.  It’s use of Los Angeles locales, including Muscle Beach, is top-notch, too.  And that killer sax, man, makes it all go down so smooth.  Nothing screams sex like the lone saxophone wailing in the night.  All of this adds to the mystery as Scott figures out what is going on inside his brain and, yes, it has to do with a video camera, his teeth, and an evil businessman (Marc Singer) who wants to profit off a deal with the Japanese. 

But, before we go on that wild ride, we have plenty of photography sessions, nudity, and cheesy romance courtesy of this soft core skin flick and its threat of designer condoms.  It’s not all downhill, though.  This one is more than content to keep its eyes on the prize and deliver one trippy sequence of stalking and killing after another. In the Cold of the Night - Blu-ray

In the Cold of the Night, thanks to the work of Vinegar Syndrome, is now on blu-ray thanks to a new 4K scan and restoration from the film’s original 35mm camera negative.  Namedropping Brian De Palma all the way to the closing credits, this erotic thriller attempts to be more clever than it actually is, but the film isn’t a complete waste.  There are some pretty funny bits and, hell, when Kimberly rides her motorcycle INTO his loft, see if you don’t fall in love, too.

This special limited edition embossed slipcover is designed by Derek Gabryszak and is limited to 1,500 units.  It is only available here VinegarSyndrome.com.

3/5 beers

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In the Cold of the Night - Blu-ray

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 112 mins
Director: Nico Mastorakis
Writer: Nico Mastorakis
Cast: Jeff Lester, Adrianne Sachs, Marc Singer
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Tagline: She walked out of a dream...and into his nightmares.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date:
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: March 26, 2019
Synopsis: High profile fashion photographer Scott Bruin has been suffering from a series of increasingly disturbing and violent dreams in which he savagely attacks and murders a young woman. Fearing for his sanity, Scott begins to investigate these strange visions but slowly starts to believe that these all-too-real seeming nightmares might not be dreams after all and that the woman in them is in imminent danger. As his investigation progresses, Scott unwittingly finds himself in the center of a sinister conspiracy much stranger than his wildest nightmares.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

In the Cold of the Night - Blu-ray

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray - March 26, 2019
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

This region Free Blu-ray/DVD combo is newly scanned & restored in 4k from its 35mm original camera negative.  It looks better than ever.  Black levels are consistent and so, too, are the colors.  The new 1080p transfer is crisp with defined edges. Colors are vivid and fine details are noticeable. Skin tones are warm. Occasionally, the red tones overcompensate in some areas, but a sharp-looking release nonetheless. The faithful English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is an incredible accompaniment to the feature.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

Not a lot, but the restoration is work the buck.

  • Archival Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
  • Archival Image Gallery
  • Original Trailer

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In the Cold of the Night - Blu-ray

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