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Constantine: The House Of Mystery Blu-ray Review

“Constantine: The House Of Mystery” needs more content.

“Constantine: The House Of Mystery” is a collection of 4 DC Showcase animated shorts including the new titular “Constantine: The House Of Mystery” and 3 previously released shorts “Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth!,” “The Losers,” and “Blue Beetle.” Why there isn’t at least one other new short is the real mystery.

The 26 minute titular short is based on “The House Of Mystery” comic and is set after the Apokolips War. John Constantine and Flash decide to alter the timeline to prevent the war from happening, but, as punishment, Constantine becomes trapped in the House of Mystery in which his friends continually try to kill him in an endless loop. It’s a bloody and repetitive horror tale, but hey, at least Matt Ryan reprises Constantine again.

“Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth!” (which is based on the “Kamandi” comic series) revolves around Kamandi and his allies being kidnapped by a gorilla cult looking to find their reincarnated God. It’s always great to see lesser known characters get the spotlight and this is no exception. The combination of the old school comic panel color scheme mixed with this involving sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale makes this the best of the lot.

“The Losers” is based on the original WWII/men on a mission incarnation of the comic. The plot finds a rag-tag team on the mysterious Dinosaur Island searching for scientists who are studying strange occurrences on the island. It’s a violent tale that may please fans of the comic, but it left me cold. The animation is also rather lackluster.

Last, but not least there’s “Blue Beetle” which finds the titular hero teaming up with some allies (Including The Question!) to combat Dr. Spectro. The 60’s style take makes this a fun, lighthearted, and comical short that will undoubtedly appeal to 60’s “Batman” lovers as well.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: Widescreen 1080p. How does it look? The 4 shorts all look crisp and colorful in hi-def.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The voice acting, sound effects, and music are satisfactory on the shorts.

Extras:
* Digital copy
* “DC Showcase: One Story At A Time”- A 16 minute featurette on the new shorts.

April 22, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Blue Beetle, Constantine, Constantine: The House Of Mystery, Constantine: The House Of Mystery Blu-ray Review, DC Animation, DC Comics, DC Showcase, John Constantine, Kamandi, The Losers