New on blu-ray is the entertaining documentary Skull World. The film focuses on a 30-something man named Greg Sommer, who is better known by his alterego of Skull Man. The film follows Sommer as he tries to develop the Canadian chapter of Box Wars, which is a form of LARPing, that originated in Australia, which has participants dressing up in cardboard costumes and engaging in epic battles. When I first saw the film at the Canadian Film Festival a few months ago, I said that I enjoyed the film thanks to the unique and interesting character of Greg Sommer. The blu-ray release is labeled the “Warrior Edition” and is definitely the definitive release of the film for your home viewing needs. The disc is loaded with over five hours of special features, including an hour of content that is only available on the blu-ray. Summary of Features
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There are two commentary tracks on the disc. The first one is standard commentary with director Justin McConnell and Greg Sommer. The second commentary is entitled Skull Man’s Rockin’ Commentary Experience and features Sommer solo, in character as Skull Man.
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There are 21 deleted scenes (five of which are exclusive to the blu-ray), as well as seven extended segments. The highlight here would be the full half hour dedicated to Sommer’s trip to Australia to participate in the Boxing Day battle with the founders of Box Wars.
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The disc also features trailers for the film and the DVD for Skull Man’s Box Wars, as well as a gallery of photos.
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Exclusive to the blu-ray is a 22 minute self-produced pilot for a Skull Man’s Box Wars TV series. I thought that this ultra low budget, and somewhat cheesy, episode was quite humorous and it was one of my favourite features on the disc.
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Also exclusive to the blu-ray is footage from the film’s premiere at the Canadian Film Festival, which featured a surprise box battle during the Q&A. As a bit of aside, I should note that I was in attendance at the screening and can be spotted a couple times during the feature (since I was sitting near the front).
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Another blu-ray exclusive is the music video “Maiden” by heavy metal group The Overfiend, which was directed by Justin McConnell and features Greg Sommer. There’s another music video on the disc entitled Skull Man’s Pit Files, which is more of a mosh pit montage than a true music video.
Overall, I thought that Skull World: Warrior Edition is well put together disc for an enjoyable film. Purchase direct from Unstable Ground
Blu-Ray
Standard DVD
Box Wars Combo Pack Blu-Ray
Box Wars Combo Pack DVD
Warrior Pack Blu-Ray
Warrior Pack DVD Purchase from Amazon (Canada)
Blu-Ray
Standard DVD Purchase from Amazon (US)
Blu-Ray
Standard DVD