The Brood (1979)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1979
Running Time	87:49
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	David Cronenberg
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Oliver Reed Samantha Eggar Art Hindle Henry Beckman Nuala Fitzgerald Cindy Hinds Susan Hogan Gary McKeehan Michael Magee Robert A. Silverman Joseph Shaw Larry Solway Reiner Schwartz
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Howard Shore

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Psychiatrists seem to make good thriller fodder, rudely probing their subjects and hiding suspicious secrets. Doctor Hal Raglan (Oliver Reed) is no different - he's using a radical new therapy technique he has dubbed Psychoplasmics that allows himself to assume any character when interviewing a patient, understandably causing them great distress, evidenced by boil-like wounds and lacerations over their body. One such subject is Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar), a confused and often lonely patient whose only solace is the weekend visits from her young daughter Candice. Upon her return from a weekend visit, Candice's father Frank discovers cruel injuries on her back and instantly blames the mother - citing her violent past. A string of bloody murders follow and the finger is firmly pointed at Nola, who is securely locked up. Who is perpetrating these murders, and who are The Brood? More importantly, why don't they have belly buttons? Young Candice is next on the list, and it's up to her Daddy Frank to save her.

    Director David Cronenberg is known for his atmosphere, and he delivers it here in spades. The entire film has a dark, sinister feel and succeeded in drawing me in from the first few frames. Although the plot is a bit wobbly, and some of the costumes and effects don't quite stand up, there is a lot to appreciate in this interesting thriller. One thing's for sure - you won't look at kids in hooded tracksuits the same way again!

Video

    This video transfer is surprisingly good considering its age and relatively low budget.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect of 1.78:1. This is relatively close to the film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The transfer is slightly windowboxed on all sides of the frame, however it is likely this will only be noticeable to projector users.

    The video presentation has a good degree of clarity evident and very little damage or imperfection. Shadow detail is an important part of the atmosphere of this film, and it stands up well. A good example of this can be seen during a very dark scene at 43:20 - the amount of detail in the room despite its low lighting is very good indeed. Some slight film grain is visible at 80:43, but only lasts for a few brief moments. There was no low level noise evident in the transfer.

    MPEG artefacting is thankfully absent, and only a few minor film blemishes can be seen. A substantial water mark makes itself known at 76:36 and aside from a few tiny specks of dust here and there the print is problem free. Aliasing does creep in on a few occasions, such as on the roof shingles at 59:50, but these are only fairly mild and not too distracting.

    Most colours appear bold and consistent, with no signs of bleeding or oversaturation at all.

    No English subtitle streams are included on this single layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only one soundtrack accompanying this film on DVD, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack.

    The English dialogue is clear and easy to discern most of the time. It is only let down on occasion by the slightly tinny nature of this dated mix.. The ADR is perfect and realistic. Audio sync is spot-on.

    There are no loud pops or dropouts to report, however the pitch of the soundtrack does waver briefly at 41:30.

    The score by Howard Shore is perfect orchestral horror fare, with many high pitched tense moments that mirror the action on screen beautifully.

    There was certainly no subwoofer response or surround activity to be found here.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    None.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    The Region 2 Dutch disc has English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and more trailers, and it is also the cut version.

    The French Region 2 (released under the title Chromosome 3) would have been the best of the lot if it was uncut, because it has the following:

• English and French mono soundtracks, however French subtitles are forced during English playback
• David Cronenberg and Howard Shore interview (20 minutes, French translator present)
• David Cronenberg filmography in French

    Given that our Region 4 disc is the same cut as the European censored versions, I can only recommend the uncut Region 1 NTSC release by MGM.

    The video transfer is very clean and sharp, considering the film's age.

    The audio transfer is an unremarkable reproduction of the original mono soundtrack.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall