Digi-Schlock: OBLIVION (Shout! Factory DVD)
Shout Factory has become a real Santa Claus figure for cult movie fans in a short period of time: their Roger Corman releases are standard-bearers for the b-movie set and their excellent work the Gamera series and their ongoing MST3K line is nothing to sneeze at, either. Unfortunately, when you release tons of product, not every choice is going to be a winner. Oblivion is one of the Charles Band titles the company is handling and the results, while not bad, aren't as satisfying as Shout Factory's aforementioned releases.
Oblivion has received a full-frame transfer here. It looks like a recycled VHS transfer, as the detail and colors aren't as sharp as they could be. The audio is a 2.0 Stereo mix of the era: it gets the job done but doesn't offer any impressive sonic details. There are also no extras to be found on this disc, not even a trailer.In short, it's tough to get excited about this disc because of the outdated transfer and the lack of extras. Oblivion simply isn't on a par with Shout! Factory's usual quality work, perhaps because there was a lack of materials available to make the kind of special edition that the company is known for.That said, the blame likely falls at the feet of Full Moon, who are known for not putting a lot of work into DVD's. If the partnership between these two companies is to continue, one hopes that Full Moon will invest themselves a bit more into making fan friendly discs out of their back catalog. They aren't likely to win many converts if they aren't willing to work harder than they do here.