Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Black Sheep is an offbeat horror comedy from New Zealand. Produced by Philippa Campbell, Black Sheep premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Black Sheep had a successful theatrical run in the New Zealand run. Black Sheep went on to become a cult classic favorite of New Zealand cinema. The offbeat and goofy comedy film is one for fans of strange and quirky comedy – reminiscent of horror comedies like Shaun of the Dead or comedy television series like Flight of the Conchords.

Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister) takes a trip down memory lane by returning to his old home in New Zealand in order to sell off his own share of the farm. While back in New Zealand, Henry meets environmental activists Experience (Danielle Mason) and Grant (Oliver Driver). Little did Henry know, the farm was being used to conduct experiments on the sheep and now some of the sheep on the small farm are becoming mutated and dangerous killer sheep on an otherwise small New Zealand country farm side. Can Henry stop the mutant sheep from causing harm and chaos in the beautiful countryside with the help of Experience – the leader of the environmental activists?

The cast has terrific fun with their respective roles. The ensemble provides Black Sheep with a great sense of comedic wonderment and enthusiasm from each respective actor. Nathan Meister is an impressive leading actor in the role of Henry and certainly delves into the absurdity of the plot enormously well. Danielle Mason is beautiful and terrific fun as the rights activist Experience. Throughout the film, Mason finds great moments to showcase her own subtle comedic chops. Oliver Driver is also impressive as Grant – the other environmental rights activist. The supporting players add something special to the film with their performances.

The score composed by Victoria Kelly (Fracture, Under the Mountain) is a lot of fun and adds to the atmosphere of the film. The music by Kelly is certainly engaging and well suited to the horror and comedic elements of the film. The score adds a sense of zaniness to the high-octane energy of Black Sheep.

The cinematography by Richard Bluck (What We Do in the Shadows, Ash) is one of the best qualities of the production. Black Sheep is a beautifully lensed film and the cinematography brings out the best in the gorgeous New Zealand visuals. The cinematography is gorgeous and the lensing is top-notch. The stunning 4K photography looks sublime.

Edited by Chris Plummer (Boy, Under the Mountain), Black Sheep is well-paced and the filmmaking has a good sense of style. The pace and tone are exceptional throughout. The flow of the filmmaking is enormously well done and the comedic moments are given the right amount of time to shine.

Featuring production designs by Kim Sinclair (Under the Mountain, M3GAN), Black Sheep is a well mounted effort visually, too. The production designs certainly do well at showcasing the style of filmmaking. The art direction is top-notch, too. The art direction is handled by Simon Bright (Avatar, King Kong). The horror elements play a big role in the aesthetics and these elements are superbly handled by Bright.

The costume designs by Pauline Bowkett (Rain of the Children, Mee-Shee: The Water Giant) are effective and certainly work well for each respective role, too. The costuming is simple and true to the characters. These costumes feel well thought out for each of the lead and supporting actors. A well-done effort by Bowkett.

Written and directed by Jonathan King (Under the Mountain, Realiti), Black Sheep is an under-the- radar cult gem. Black Sheep is one of the quirkiest and oddest cult horror films I have ever come across as an audience member or as a critic. The unusual and offbeat sense of comedy is exactly what one would expect to find for a New Zealand production. The offbeat nature works wonders and Black Sheep is terrific fun. Black Sheep is well-directed and the style of filmmaking balances the tonal differences between horror and comedy well. The comedy elements are exceptional. Fans of horror comedies who appreciate the rom-zom-com genius of Shaun of the Dead will also love the cult comedy of Black Sheep.

Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Umbrella Entertainment, Black Sheep is presented in HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The 4K UHD release includes a HDR10 high-dynamic range encoding. The 4K UHD presentation is stunning. The visuals are wonderful and the film looks quite gorgeous throughout the feature-presentation. The outdoor scenery of New Zealand is beautifully shot and showcased. The lush visuals of the countryside are well reproduced for the 4K UHD release. An outstanding presentation and one that capably highlights the cinematography.

The 4K UHD is of benchmark quality. Streaming quality wouldn't be able to compare to the high bit-rate and encoding rate quality of the 4K UHD disc. The 4K UHD disc is exceptional and boasts not only great bit-rates but quality encoding from beginning to end. The 4K visuals were enhanced significantly by the overall presentation quality and Umbrella Entertainment did fantastic restoration work to provide fans a definitive and exemplary presentation of Black Sheep.

Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The lossless audio encoding is one of the nicest qualities of the release. The score is beautifully reproduced and highlighted throughout the lossless surround sound mix. The soundstage and sound effects are handled well and make an incredible impression. A top-notch audio presentation and one that benefits a great deal from the DTS audio encoding.

One of the great qualities of physical media is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services limit audio quality to lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding and the compression rates are a lot less robust than physical media. A physical copy (on 4K no less) is significantly better with true lossless audio quality. An impressive aspect of lossless audio is that it replicates true theatrical audio quality – the same type of audio quality one experiences in the cinema. It is one of the best aspects of the Blu-ray and 4K disc formats.

Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Umbrella Entertainment limited edition comes with a stunning outer box with wool-like texture and great spot detail for the lettering, the inside box also comes a collectors book, 8 art cards, a double sided poster, and a slipcovered copy of the main feature. The collectors edition is a beautiful premium edition and is one that fans can proudly display with their collection of this cult gem.

On disc supplements include:

Audio Commentary with writer/director Jonathan King and actor Nathan Meister

Audio Commentary with critics Matt Donato and Rob Hunter

Interview with writer/director Jonathan King (HD, 24:13)

From Bad Taste to Black Sheep: Dr. Alfio Leota on Mapping the Gory History of New Zealand Splatstick (HD, 14:32)

David Michael Brown on Genetic Experiments Gone Wrong (HD, 13:11)

Deleted Scenes (SD, 3:44)

Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary by writer/director Jonathan King and actor Nathan Meister (SD, 3:44)

The Making of Black Sheep Featurette (SD, 32:49)

Cast and Crew Interviews (SD, 34:08)

B-Roll (SD, 7:51)

Gag Reel (SD, 2:34)

A Ewe-nique Transformation: Make-up Test (HD, 00:51)

Jonathan King Interviewed by the Bazura Project 2007 (SD, 25:06)

Trailer (HD, 1:59)

Black Sheep 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Sheep is a wonderful cult horror-comedy gem. An entertaining and under-the-radar classic, Black Sheep is essential viewing for fans of Shaun of the Dead. The horror-comedy is quirky, offbeat, and enormous fun. The filmmaking is well-done and the cast does well with each respective role.

The Umbrella Entertainment 4K UHD features a stunning native 4K presentation, enveloping lossless surround sound audio, and an enormous assortment of bonus features. The collector's edition also includes deluxe packaging and several physical bonus goodies. A must-own for fans of Black Sheep.