Of Unknown Origin [Blu-ray]

"Of Unknown Origin" was released theatrically by Warner Brothers in 1983 to mixed reviews and almost nonexistent box office grossing only a little over 1 million against a production budget of 4 million. The screenplay is based on the novel "The Visitor" by Chauncey G. Parker III. While labeled a horror film generally, it is much more than just that in addition to being anchored by a quirky and inspired lead performance by legendary actor Peter Weller. The basic premise is a successful family man in New York City who becomes obsessed with a rat who has taken up residence in his basement. His obsession with trying to kill the tenacious rodent eventually causes him to start to lose his mind while destroying his house in the process. I would actually label it more as a mixture of psychological thriller, drama and horror sprinkled with some black comedy. Highly unusual and extremely entertaining in my opinion, it is one of my favorite films from the glorious 80's.Scream Factory finally brings "Of Unknown Origin" to blu-ray in an edition which while a bit light on extras should still makes fans of this cult classic happy. Warner Brothers personally oversaw a new 2K scan of the interpositive utilizing the AVC codec at a bit rate which hovers between the upper 20's and low 30's. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Simply put the film looks gorgeous and blows away the ancient DVD without breaking a sweat. The opening titles do seem a bit soft but once the film truly begins detail is immaculate with perfect colors, contrast and black levels. It is truly like seeing the film again for the first time! Audio is presented in crystal clear 2 channel master audio and English subtitles are included for the hearing impaired.Special features are as follows with the commentary track from the DVD release ported over:NEW The Origins Of Unknown Origin – An Interview With Executive Producer Pierre David (14 minutes)NEW That Rat Movie – An Interview With Writer Brian Taggert (18 minutes)NEW Hey, Weren't You In Scanners? – An Interview With Actor Louis Del Grande (14 minutes)Audio Commentary With Director George P. Cosmatos And Actor Peter WellerTheatrical TrailersStill GalleryNo slipcase is included and only the original poster art is included on the blu-ray sleeve.Fans of "Of Unknown Origin" should pick up Scream Factory's blu-ray without hesitation. Featuring an immaculate transfer and some informative extras along with the DVD commentary track, this disc comes highly recommended.

Way back in the 1980s and 90s I used to go to the video store and rent all of the horror films.Most weren't that great but there were a few that stood out in my mind.Recently I started thinking about this movie and I couldn't remember the title. Finding it started to become an obsession for me.I remembered it because of its uniqueness and dark humor.Fortunately this guy who lives in N.Y. city knew the title and he told me.The mysterious visitor that invades this guy's house represents the struggles that we all go through I guess at times. Jeff MarzanoRecommended further viewing:Godzilla (U.S. and Japanese Versions)Godzilla 2000Godzilla vs. DestoroyahHorror HotelI Was A Teenage WerewolfInto The FireIT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space)Invasion Of The Saucer MenMad Doctor Of Blood Island / Brides Of Blood / Beast Of BloodNot Of This Earth (original)PhantasmPSYCHOThe Blob (with Steve McQueen)The Brain That Wouldn't DieThe Flesh EatersThe Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The FlyThe Four Skulls Of Jonathan DrakeThe Haunting (original)The Hideous Sun DemonThe Hypnotic EyeThe Incredible Shrinking ManThe Indestructible ManThe MansterThe Night Stalker (TV movie from the 70s)The Thing (from another world)The Thing (John Carpenter's remake 1982)The Thing That Couldn't DieThe Twilight Zone Collections

Man versus mutant Rat. Not so much a clear-cut battle but very funny and entertaining to see Peter Weller loose it over vermin.

Remember watching a cartoon or tv show episode where a character is trying to get some kind of pest animal out of their house? Well imagine that as a psychological horror film and you've got Of Unknown Origin. Apparently this was based on a novel called The Visitor, which I've never read so I don't know how faithful it is, but I 100% believe that the book's title sounds way better than what the movie used. I'm probably not the only one who was lied to by the movie's trailer which was promoting a different story than what we ended up with, but overall this turned out to be a decent film. The acting was good and Peter Weller was excellent as the main character Bart Hughes who starts off as a normal husband and father whose slowly driven crazy by stress from work and the large, vicious, and seemingly vindictive rat terrorizing his home. The movie does a great job at building suspense and using clever camera work to make the rat appear monstrous, disgusting, and intimidating. However the movie drags out Bart's torment at the hands of the rat for way longer than it needs to in my opinion. Also the high pitched squeals that are used for the rat get very annoying over time. Plus the ending of the movie wraps up way too neatly than it should given that Bart's boss and co-workers probably still think he's gone insane and he's resorted to completely destroying the inside of his house just to kill this damn rat. Also his wife and son return home bringing his pet hamster back with him, and given what Bart went through I was expecting him to freak out and or try to kill the poor thing. But no, it just ends with a funny stinger that I was surprised didn't have a laugh track following it. And if you're expecting a body count, there isn't any except for a poor kitty cat that didn't deserve it and made me sad. But despite all of that and the misleading trailer, Of Unknown Origin is still a decent 80's horror movie. Also that guy from Scanners whose head explodes is in this, but his head doesn't explode...bummer.

Great Movie!!

Fantástica película que siempre he querido tener, desde que la alquilé hace mucho tiempo en un videoclub. La imagen no esta mal y el doblaje es el mismo que recordaba. Me la he acabado comprando también en bluray de importación ya que en este caso el trabajo es fantástico, aunque sin idioma español pero tampoco es que tenga mucho diálogo.

If you can't play region A bluray's then get this DVD if you like the movie. Pretty good transfer for DVD. Another cheesy killer rat flick. Not much in the way of gore or kills, but a fun movie still.

Buena película sonido bueno imagen también

A little gem of a film, haven't seen it since the days of renting videos. Recommended for all horror fans.