Julie Darling (1983)
Having been meaning to pick up the Code Red disc of this for ages and being put off by the price of a film i had no knowledge of i plumped for the UK release from Elstree Hill. A cheap and cheerful release from the dodgy grey market label, and worse of all with a PG certificate.
Obviously i wasn't expecting much from the Elstree Hill version other than to get a general idea of the film before deciding to spend £20 + on the Code Red release which has some very good extras by all account.
The Elstree Hill release surprised me with ts PG rating as there are several scenes with nudity including a Sybil Danning sex scene and a fairly dubious scene where young Julie imagines herself in bed with her father, again with nudity. There are also a couple of attempted rapes, a shotgun blast to the chest and a shock stabbing, not to mention a broken bottle shoved in a guys groin albeit from behind, but you do see the aftermath with blood pouring down the bottle. Clearly not a PG certificate given by the BBFC.
The picture quality is a vhs rip but is certainly watchable. In fact its better than some Code Red releases i could think of. The sound is not great but words are clear. Some reviews say the Code Red release isn't the best either but i can't confirm that.
The downer is the screen ratio which is 1:33 whereas the Code Red release is widescreen and remastered.
The film itself is a rip off of superior fare like The Bad Seed. Julie Darling isn't bad at all but is a little overlong with many shots of people coming and going which seem like padding.
Now i've seen this release i'll probably not bother with the Code Red version due to its high price and the film itself not being outstanding.
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