High-rise horror hits a new low in Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray of DARK TOWER.

Just as the new Unico Tower is nearing completion in the heart of Barcelona, a window washer is slammed into the shatterproof window glass and hurled off the scaffolding, landing on and killing one of the company's executives. Vacationing security specialist Dennis Randall (Michael Moriarty, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT) would like to rule the window washer's death a suicide or a bizarre seizure, but architect Carolyn Page (Jenny Agutter, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON) who saw the event claims the man was pushed even though there was no one else on the scaffolding. Things get stranger when a security guard gruesomely dies in a malfunctioning elevator, but Randall must admit that something truly bizarre is happening when longtime colleague Williams (Bob Sherman, HAUNTERS OF THE DEEP) suddenly opens fire in the lobby and shoots four bystanders while trying to kill Carolyn before he is shot down himself. The building and/or Carolyn herself triggers vivid visions in Dennis' mind including presentiments of death that have him consulting parapsychologist Dr. Max Gold (Theodore Bikel, MY FAIR LADY), and the building makes unambiguous its malevolent intent and deadly power that may have to do with Carolyn's domineering late husband whose body was never found.

The sub-genre of high rise horror films is intriguing in concept but has rarely been executed effectively – with only perhaps POLTERGEIST III coming close by generating some chills in spite of its clunky story – and DARK TOWER is no exception. A troubled production - the credits misspell Moriarty's surname and Oliveros' given name - directed partially by Freddie Francis (NIGHTMARE) and Ken Wiederhorn (SHOCK WAVES), DARK TOWER's script co-written by Robert J. Avrech (BODY DOUBLE) offers no reason for the hauntings to start, the choice of victims, or even how and when it escalates. A reasonably tense finale gives the otherwise disengaged Moriarty and Agutter something more to play, but the bulk of the film is flat and unatmospheric for a film helmed by a former cinematographer and set in Spain – garnering little sense of menace from explorations of the office building's industrial innards – and the synthesizer score by prolific TV composer Stacy Widelitz (RETURN TO HORROR HIGH) borders on the bombastic and obnoxious (more so than Moriarty's incessant voiceovers). Bikel gets some good scenes talking to the building but thoroughly wasted are Kevin McCarthy (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) as a parapsychology colleague, Spanish actor Ramiro Oliveros (SWAMP OF THE RAVENS) as a detective with the local police force, Patch Mackenzie (DEATH DIMENSION) as one of Carolyn's colleagues who dishes the dirt on her marriage, Anne Lockhart (THE SERPENT WARRIORS) as Randall's girlfriend, and Carol Lynley (BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING) gets the most thankless role as Carolyn's executive assistant.

Released theatrically by Fires Entertainment and on video by Forum Home Video with an effective poster in which the highrise assumes the shape of a coffin and the tagline "It reaches heaven… and touches hell," DARK TOWER wound up with MGM and started popping up more often on streaming services and revenue-sharing television stations in its old video master. One cannot call Vinegar Syndrome's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen transfer from a 2K scan of the 35mm interpositive a revelation. It definitely improves in the expected areas, looking brighter and sharper – indeed, the enhanced resolution reveals the Sagrada Familia cathedral far in the background of the opening shot – but also just how blandly the film has been lit and photographed. It makes the most of the source material, but it is a film that looks like what one once meant when comparing a theatrical film to a TV movie. The DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono track – a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track is also included – is clear as ever, emphasizing not only the shrill scoring but also some of the building's sinister noises. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.