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Trapped Ashes (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Trapped Ashes is a twisted homage to classic horror anthologies like Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow, featuring four surreal and macabre tales directed by genre legends Joe Dante, Ken Russell, Monte Hellman, Sean Cunningham, and Oscar-winner John “Gaeta-Tron” Gaeta. When seven strangers — including John Saxon and Henry Gibson — become trapped in a haunted Hollywood studio house, they’re forced to reveal their darkest memories to survive. The stories include a cadaver-implant nightmare (The Girl With The Golden Breasts), a ghostly encounter in Japan (Jibaku), a seductive muse entangling young Kubrick (Stanley’s Girlfriend), and a grotesque womb-bound twin (My Twin the Worm). With striking visuals by FX legend Robert Skotak (Aliens, T2) and an eerie score by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell), the film is a visually rich, darkly surreal tribute to horror cinema. Trapped Ashes is now fully restored in 4K UHD Blu-ray!

 

Film

Trapped Ashes is a strange little horror anthology that doesn’t always hit the mark, but when it does, it leans hard into the grotesque and the surreal in all the right ways. Think Tales from the Crypt meets an FX fever dream, sprinkled with sex, decay, and a whole lot of squirmy body horror. The setup is classic genre cheese: a group of strangers, including legends like John Saxon and Henry Gibson, gets stuck in a spooky movie studio attraction and has to spill their darkest secrets to escape. It’s a frame story you’ve seen before, but it’s handled with a wink, and that cheeky tone sticks around.

Each of the four tales has its own weird flavor, thanks to a mix of horror veterans behind the camera. Joe Dante, Ken Russell, Monte Hellman, Sean Cunningham, and John Gaeta all take turns in the director’s chair, which gives the movie a patchwork feel — but that’s part of the charm. The real standouts here are the veteran actors. Saxon and Gibson know exactly what kind of movie they’re in and play into it without overselling. Some of the newer or lesser-known performers don’t fare as well. Their delivery can be stiff, and it becomes pretty clear who’s been around the block and who just found the set.

What gives Trapped Ashes its kick, though, is the production design. You can tell someone was having fun digging into German Expressionist influences—plenty of sharp shadows, distorted sets, and exaggerated lines. The Dutch angles are out in full force, which adds to the off-kilter dream logic that runs through all the stories. And then there’s the sex and body horror. Oh yeah, it gets gooey. Ken Russell’s tale of breast implants made from cadavers is pure lurid madness, and John Gaeta’s “My Twin the Worm” is straight-up Cronenberg-style nightmare fuel. It’s messy, unhinged, and kind of beautiful in its grotesquery.

Video

NOTE: Stills are provided for promotional use only and are not from the 4K or HD Blu-rays

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Layers: BD-100 / BD-50

Clarity and Detail: The 4K restoration reveals a solid uptick in fine detail, with textures and practical effects coming through nicely — especially in the more visually stylized segments. While not razor-sharp by modern standards, it’s a clear improvement over prior transfers and maintains the film’s vintage genre aesthetic.

Depth: There’s a strong sense of depth throughout, particularly in moody set pieces and the stylized interiors of the haunted studio house. HDR enhances depth subtly but effectively, lending certain scenes an immersive, almost tactile quality.

Black Levels: Black levels are deep and generally well-controlled, with shadow detail holding firm in most scenes. A few moments exhibit mild crush, but nothing distracting enough to undercut the overall experience.

Color: The color grading embraces the film’s vivid and surreal tones without pushing into oversaturation. Dolby Vision brings added nuance to bold reds, glowing greens, and eerie lighting schemes — especially during the more dreamlike or grotesque sequences. Check out the vivid blue jacket Henry Gibson wears throughout – cuts like a knife!

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are stable and believable across the film’s varied lighting styles, never veering into waxiness or unnatural hues — even during more heightened moments

Noise and Artifacts: Grain is consistent with the film’s 35mm origins and nicely resolved. There are no major issues with noise, compression, or digital tinkering; the presentation feels clean and filmic.

 

Audio

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: The track boasts an impressively wide dynamic range, shifting effortlessly between moments of eerie quiet and bursts of horror-driven chaos. Musical stings and sudden sound effects hit with real force, while subtle ambient cues are rendered with clarity and precision.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: Bass response is deep and tight, used to great effect during intense sequences. Whether it’s a throbbing musical cue or a body-horror moment, the low end adds real weight without ever sounding muddy or overblown.

Surround Sound: Surround activity is aggressive and immersive. Rear channels are consistently engaged with creepy whispers, echoing footsteps, and directional cues that enhance the anthology’s shifting environments — from confined horror-house hallways to expansive dreamscapes.

Dialogue: Vocals are clean, well-prioritized, and perfectly balanced within the mix. Even when layered under heavy scoring or sound design, dialogue remains intelligible and anchored to the center channel, never getting lost in the chaos.

 

Extras

The Blu-ray disc in this 4K UHD set comes loaded with a generous slate of extras that dig deep into the making and legacy of Trapped Ashes. Highlights include a brand-new 4K restoration from the original elements with Dolby Vision grading, along with both the original full-length cut of Ken Russell’s “The Girl with the Golden Breasts” and the director’s cut of Monte Hellman’s “Stanley’s Girlfriend,” both presented in SD. Fans can also dive into an archival five-part making-of documentary, a newly recorded commentary by comics artist and film historian Stephen R. Bissette, and a visual essay titled “Hollywood Parasite” from Ryan Verrill and Dr. Will Dodson. Three new interview segments round things out, featuring directors, cast members, and producers reflecting on the film’s unique production and anthology format.

• New 4K restoration from 35mm OCN/IP by Craig Rogers of Deaf Crocodile
• New HDR Dolby Vision color grading by Tyler Fagerstrom
• Director’s Cut of Monte Hellman’s “Stanley’s Girlfriend” episode (SD)
• Original full-length cut of Ken Russell’s “The Girl with Golden Breasts” episode (SD)
• Original 5-part Making Of video with cast and crew interviews (SD)
• New commentary track by comics artist (Swamp Thing), film historian, and author Stephen R. Bissette.
• “Hollywood Parasite: Hysteria in Trapped Ashes” – New visual essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson.
• Three new video interviews with: Director John Gaeta, cast members Jayce Bartok, Scott Lowell and Lisi Tribble, producers Yuko Yoshikawa & Yoshifumi Hosoya, and cinematographer Zoran Popovic, moderated by producer/writer Dennis Bartok for Deaf Crocodile. Cast members Tahmoh Penikett & Tygh Runyan and production designer Robb Wilson King. Producer Mike Frislev of Nomadic Pictures.

Summary

Trapped Ashes isn’t prestige horror. It’s cult movie horror — deliberately offbeat, sometimes goofy, and unapologetically weird. It stumbles in parts, mostly when the performances drag or the pacing sags, but when it gets rolling, it delivers some visually wild, sleazy little gut-punches. For fans of anthology horror and practical effects, it’s absolutely worth a spin — especially now that it’s been polished up for 4K. Just don’t go in expecting subtlety. Deaf Crocodile have gone all in on the Trapped Ashes  4K UHD Blu-ray release and is recommended.

Trapped Ashes is now available on 4K UHD Blu-ray!

ORDER NOW!

 

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