Written by: Michael Den Boer on October 19th, 2010
Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1978
Director: Constantine S. Gochis
Writer: William Vernick
Cast: Damien Knight, Jeannetta Arnette, Nick Carter, Nikki Barthen, Michael Hollingsworth, Gyr Patterson, T.G. Finkbinder
DVD released: October 19th, 2010
Approximate running time: 84 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: R
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Code Red
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $16.98
Synopsis: Six people are lured by a psychopath to what they believe to be their 10th anniversary high school reunion.
The film opens and closes with scenes in which the psychopath (who is a preacher) speaks to his flock of devoted followers. The killers’ identity is established early on. His motivations for trapping and killing are driven by his need to redeem those who have sinned.
After a slow introduction things pick up after the six people have arrived and are trapped inside their former school. From there things move along briskly as the psychopath preacher methodically knocks off one at a time. Even though the kill scenes may feel tame. When compared to horror films that have since followed this film. The overall impact of the kill scenes is not lessened one bit because their lack of gore. Instead this film builds its tension through atmosphere and a eerier score. From a production standpoint the direction and acting all hold a lot better than other low budget horror films. And the overall quality of this production is even more impressive considering that this was the only film that most of the cast, the screenwriter and the director ever worked. Ultimately if you can look past its shortcomings, Redeemer: Son of Satan is a fun ride that fans of the Slasher film genre should thoroughly enjoy.
The DVD:
Code Red presents Redeemer: Son of Satan that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio. Before the film there is a disclaimer about how Code Red searched for six years and how the only 35mm prints that they were able to find were below their standards. Outside of print debris that varies in degree throughout. This transfer looks pretty good as details look crisp, flesh tones look accurate and black levels fare well. Colors also fare well with only a few instances where they look slightly off.
This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. Dialog is always clear. Background hiss and distortion are kept in check.
Extras for this release include trailers for Redeemer: Son of Satan, Nightmare, The Visitor, The Carrier, Horror High, Slithis and Family Honor. Overall Code Red give Redeemer: Son of Satan its best home video release to date.