SHREDDER
(2003) Blu-rayDirector: Gary Huson
Scorpion Releasing/Ronin Flix
SHREDDER
(2003) Blu-rayScorpion Releasing declares "Death to Snowboarders" with their Blu-ray of the 2003 slasher SHREDDER.
Cole (FULL HOUSE's Scott Weinger) is hoping for an intimate weekend with spoiled princess girlfriend Kimberly (SUPERNATURAL's Lindsey McKeon) at a sports chalet at a closed down remote ski resort her father's company is trying to flip; however, she has invited along her cousin Pike (Juleah Weikel), B.F.F. Robyn (Holly Towne), snowboarding Olympic hopeful Kirk (Peter Riggs), and his geeky videographer Skyler (Billy O'Sullivan) along for the trip. At a rest stop, the girls also decide to give a lift to French stud Christophe (POWER RANGERS' Brad Hawkins). Upon arrival at the derelict resort, they discover the belongings of Kirk's rival Chad who Kimberly has invited in the spirit of competition (and because she wants to get into his ski-pants) but no sign of the snowboarder. Despite warnings from the local sheriff (Seth Reston) about local murders and bar owner Bud (Ron Varela) about the resort's "evil" reputation since the death of a little girl in an accident caused by three drunken snowboarders, the group decide to stay, hitting the slopes and being slow to realize that a black-clad skier has it out for people who break the rules of the slopes.
A post-SCREAM slasher, SHREDDER is slickly-executed, dumb fun with a scenic backdrop, two-dimensional characterizations – apart from some nice chemistry between Weikel's rumored lesbian and Weinger's wholesome blue-balled lead – and a couple novel kills (although the opening set-piece involving a wire decapitation is the only impressive showcasing of Ron Knyrim's Sota F/X wizardry). The killer's motivation is old hat and the modus operandi involving the resorts rules of conduct for skiers would be less ludicrous if the film's stabs at humor were actually funny; on the other hand, it is easy to root for the killer if these people are examples of snowboarders ("I don't ski, I shred!" proclaims one victim to the killer who is sharing a ski lift with her). For a better snowbound slasher, try the still somewhat ordinary COLD PREY or the much more entertaining COLD PREY II.
Originally released direct to DVD by MGM, SHREDDER comes to Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing with a 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen encode that looks quite good throughout, showing off textures of bare skin, prosthetic effects, and locations while also making evident some of the rougher edges of the production (including some jitter during undercranked shots on the slopes) while the use of Fuji stock mentioned in the commentary leads to colors that seem slightly off compared to the usual Kodak stock. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo soundtrack is without issues, conveying the film's dialogue clearly (while some ADR also stands out) and serving the original score better than the source music which is sometimes mixed in a muddled manner with the foley track during the snowboarding sequences. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.
The new audio commentary by director/writer Greg Huson moderated by Nathaniel Thompson is quite informative and entertaining. Huson recalls the luck of finding a disused ski resort left undemolished next to a new one with the former providing the location – the production did not have to set decorate for the derelict look, instead they had to clean it up – and the latter supplied new equipment. He is frank about what he feels did not work, including some of the film's humor, the need to shoot inserts with the resort rules pamphlet in post-production to emphasize the plot point, and how the scoring and source music covered up some things that did not work in the editing. While he is also frank in his assessment of the performances, he also conveys affection for the cast and the shooting experience. Also included is an interview with actress McKeon (8:45) who discusses the Idaho shoot, her fellow cast members, her thoughts on being a woman getting killed in horror films, and how the extent of her snowboarding in the film consisted of sliding into and out of shots. The bloopers reel (10:11) is presumably the deleted scenes extra from the MGM DVD and only the last bit qualifies as a blooper while the rest include extensions to the strip poker scene, tops and tails of sequences, and comparisons between the workprint and color-graded versions of a scene. The film's theatrical trailer (1:36) is also included along with trailers for PANGA/CURSE III: BLOOD SACRIFICE, LAND OF DOOM, GAS PUMP GIRLS, and THE HAPPY HOOKER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD. The disc comes with a reversible sleeve with original and new artwork, a slipcover, and a mini poster of new cover art. (Eric Cotenas)