Man's Best Friend - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Man's Best Friend

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
New Line Cinema was once the king of the Horror universe (well, at least ONE of the kings), and most notable for the Nightmare on Elm Street films in regards to their horror fame. However, they also had a few side projects that were quite fun, with Man’s Best Friend being one of the wackier ones. The goofy pet based horror film was an attempt to modernize the Cujo concept from Stephen King, and make him a more sympathetic killer rather than just wanting to put the terrifying animal down. It was an attempt along with Ghost in the Machine to revitalize New Line’s horror lineup after Freddy was down for the interim, and they generally worked for most people. I remember being absolutely terrified with Man’s Best Friend as a young teen in the 90s (especially that cat scene, which traumatized me as a 12 year old), and haven’t seen it since I was said teen. Looking back on the film, it’s almost a horror comedy at times, as the goofiness isn’t completely unintentional, and a hilarious blast to watch when you’re older. Scream Factory has gone back and given the film a nice new video remaster from the source elements, and the audio track is nothing short of awesome, making for a great upgrade from the DVD by all accounts.

Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy of The Breakfast Club fame) is an intrepid news reporter who is trying to make a mark for herself in the journalistic community. She has a lead on a story about animal cruelty in the mysterious EMAX research facility, but her informant is mysteriously killed before she can blow the lid off of a supposed scandal. Still trying to find her story, Lori manages to infiltrate the EMAX facility and is horrified to find the conditions of the animals in dire straights. One of the test subjects is Max, a giant dog who forms a connection with Lori. With EMAX owner Dr. Jarrett (Lance Henrikson) returning, Lori gets out of dodge as fast as she can with Max in two behind her.

Deciding to take care of Max, Lori adopts the giant dog as a pet, not knowing that Max is harboring a big secret. You see, Max is no ordinary dog. He’s a genetic mutant who has some incredible abilities and unique features about his physically, and is also a blend of several other species, making him a fantastic protector, or a dangerous weapon. As Lori and Max bond, Max’s darker tendencies come out as his daily medicinal dose isn’t being administered by Dr. Jarrett. As the sands of time go down, Max becomes more and more dangerous, leading to a psychotic break for the dog that turns him into a veritable killing machine intent on savagery and blood lust.

I never actually say Man’s Best Friend in theaters, but it was one of those movies that my older brothers terrorized me with by popping in the VHS tape back in the mid 90s. I was (and still am) a huge pet lover, so they loved watching that movie just to see my cover my eyes at the cat being swallowed whole scene. As an adult I have to chuckle at it, as that scene is so hilariously goofy (complete with the cartoon level burp at the end) that you can’t help but realize that they were going for an almost comedic element to that scene. The movie is no Cujo, but Man’s Best Friend is pure cinematic junk food. The kills are awesome, the viciousness of Max is pretty impressive, and the almost tongue in cheek comedy make for one fun watch.

While it is an R-rated film technically, I almost wonder if this was intended to be a PG-13 film for younger teens, but somehow got branded R by the MPAA and nothing was ever cut to achieve that PG-13 rating. The R-rating is very mild to say the least, and except for maybe one or two scenes I would be hard pressed to tell it apart from any other PG-13 movie. There is plenty of cut aways from actual gore, and the violence itself on screen isn’t very strong at all. The comedic nature of some of the scenes also lend itself towards feeling less violent as well, and besides some blood on the snout of Max, it’s really a fairly bloodless movie too..




Rating:

Rated R for terror and violence involving a household pet




Video:

Man’s Best Friend is touted as having a brand new 2K scan made from the original film elements, and fans of the movie will be more than pleased with the transfer. I was surprised that a niche film like this one would get a full 2K master, but I’m not complaining as the results speak for themselves. The 90s film is very sharp and clear throughout, with great definition on close ups, with the animatronics and gore showing up quite well as well. There’s a nice grain layer throughout, and the whole film has that “90s” look to it with elevated brown levels and a ruddy push to the color grading. Blacks are deep and inky, with great shadow detail and only moderate crush to mar the picture. There’s a few times in the lab where things look a bit dim and grain levels spike, but the are fairly innocuous in the big picture side of things. All in all, this is a great looking transfer that is light years above the old DVD.






Audio:

As with many Scream Factory releases, Man’s Best Friend comes with dual English audio options to enjoy. The first is the theatrical 5.1 track, and the second a 2.0 downmix for night listening (both in the lossless DTS-HD MA format). Naturally I’m going for the 5.1 mix, and it’s a loud, aggressive, and all around great sound mix for the pet oriented horror movie. There’s a natural bent towards the front of the room, but the track has a lot of crazy sound effects as our little pupper of doom goes on his rampage of terror, and the aggressive use of the LFE channel and the score makes for a great all around mix that doesn’t pull any punches.






Extras:

• NEW 2K REMASTER OF THE FILM
• NEW Audio Commentary with writer/director John Lafia
• Theatrical Trailer
• Teaser Trailer• TV Spots

Final Score:
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Man’s Best Friend is a fun bit of horror cheese that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but is still very enjoyable as an actual horror movies. Unlike films like Cujo, you’re sympathetic to the beast, and actually cheering him on in his kills vs. hoping to put down an out of control canine. It’s fun, goofy, hilarious, and still creepy (that cat scene is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time), and a gloriously fun watch. Scream Factory did a bang up job with the audio and video for the film, making them WAY better than I really expected it to turn out. The extras are pretty solid as well, and while it isn’t a collector’s edition technically, it is in everything but title.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ally Sheedy, Lance Henriksen, Robert Costanza, Fredric Lehne, John Cassini, J.D. Daniels, William Sanderson, Rick Barker, Bradley Pierce
Directed by: John Lafia
Written by: John Lafia
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 12th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Solid Cheesy Watch

 

[Asere]

Thanks for the review. I liked this one.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will look for it.