SyFy Original Films strikes again with the heavy metal mayhem of "Metal Shifters." Boasting an ensemble cast from the channel's television shows like Kavan Smith ("Stargate: Atlantis"), Chris Gauthier ("Eureka"), Paul McGillion ("Stargate: Atlantis"), and Donnelly Rhodes ("Battlestar Galactica"), this fun little movie does a great job at making the most of its small budget. Imagine "Transformers" with only one robot, "The Blob," and the cult classic "Hardware" all smashed together, and you get an idea of what to expect from "Metal Shifters." It's good for a fun night at the house if you're trapped on the couch.
The Movie:
A 17 foot iron statue is brought to life by alien bacteria that arrives on Earth on a crashed satellite. The metallic monster goes on the hunt for the only thing that satisfies its need for energy: human blood. A local contractor and his former girlfriend must find a way to stop it before it destroys their small town and kills all the residents.
Video Quality:
I am surprised how good this movie looks in high definition. Although you can definitely see the limitations of the CG, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as you would think for a low-budget sci-fi film. The picture is crystal clear and, even though it was obviously shot digitally, didn't appear too clean. The blacks were separated nicely and the different dark shades didn't get cluttered together. This had a great transfer overall.
Audio Quality:
The audio for "Metal Shifters" does the movie justice. There are plenty of great background noises spread across the speakers. The metallic scraping and crunching comes through loud and clear. However, the sound doesn't drown out the dialogue or music score. The mix and balance will satisfy home entertainment enthusiasts.
Special Features:
There's not much on the "Metal Shifters" Blu-ray when it comes to bonus material. We get a 15 minute "making of" featurette that includes interviews with the cast and crew. There's some satisfying footage of the special effects crew working with the robot arms and such. A trailer for the film is also included.
Final Analysis:
If you're a fan of low-budget sci-fi films and the movies shown on the SyFy Channel every Saturday night, "Metal Shifters" is for you. It's a fun little film with familiar actors genre fans like to see working. The video and audio quality is great, making this worth the money for those just looking for an entertaining movie to watch. If you're looking for extra features, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed.
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Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.
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