Blu-ray Movie Reviews

It's been a hell of a day on the highway. When Federal Officers Elizabeth Anderson and Sam Hallaway arrive at Captain Billing's office, they have three sets of stories to figure out and a string of vicious murders to consider. One zealot cop, a strung out junkie and an eight year old girl all sit in testimony to the roadside rampage, but as the Feds begin to expose the fragile little details each witness conceals so carefully with a well practiced lie, they soon discover that uncovering "the truth" can come at a very big cost.

Jennifer Lynch hasn’t been making many movies since Boxing Helena but we’re seeing a bit of a resurgence from David Lynch’s daughter. This thriller was quite the pleasant surprise and I’m actually surprised that there isn’t more buzz on it. The thriller genre has been going through a bit of a bland run lately with the occasional blip that is then imitated over and over again until the next blip. Surveillance is very effective in being original, but above that, unsettling. The film has tons of atmosphere and manages to keep you on your toes despite a rather subtle pacing. The performances here are outstanding and I love the non-Hollywood formula. Fans of the genre really should give this one a look!

Magnolia has been delivering some pretty strong transfers for a smaller studio and this one is pretty good. I didn’t have the chance to see this one theatrically so I am unsure about how much of the small issues I have with the video presentation have to do with creative choices or not. The black levels of the film are raised considerably early on, and banding is clearly evident from time to time. The image has a washed out quality that dulls things down a bit, but it does add to the sumptuous mood of the film. Colors are often muted, and the image has a bit of a hazy look to it. Dimensionality is there, but weaker than most Blu-ray titles I’ve seen.

The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and I was really impressed with the sound design and execution. Even the standard passages are engaging with a very open soundstage and great score work. Dynamic range is impressive and the punctuations of every disturbing sequence really helps drive the points home. I did notice some slight strain in the dialogue from time to time, but it was hardly distracting.

Extras include a look behind the scenes of the film along with some deleted scenes and an alternate ending. You also get a feature commentary with the director.

Lynch has done a great job with this horror/thriller entry. The film is very effective in keeping you on edge and I loved how the story played out. The presentation is definitely good enough to give the thumbs up but I think the video could be improved upon.