Broil Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Broil Blu-ray Movie Review

Not so hot.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 11, 2020

While they’re never developed in any major way, there are some curious echoes of two relatively recent films in Broil. Both Ready or Not and Knives Out documented the exploits of well to do families with certain secrets, with (ostensibly) murderous mayhem ensuing. Both of those films had skewed senses of humor, something that arguably might have helped Broil, a film which may also tend to remind some people of Twilight in its depiction of characters who are angsty “monsters” of some type (and one of Broil’s most perplexing elements is exactly what kind of monsters its focal family actually are). The fact that Broil is evidently being released on Blu-ray in Germany as Vampire Dinner (this despite the fact that the IMDb does not list any alternate titles for the film, that I could find, anyway) might suggest that we're dealing with blood drinking "undead", something that is perhaps further accentuated by the fact that focal character Chance Sinclair (Avery Konrad) needs to stay away from direct sunlight and also requires regular blood transfusions. But other little plot dollops dropped here and there suggest other kinds of "maladies" afflicting the Sinclair family, not that the paterfamilias August (Timothy V. Murphy) thinks about their situation as anything like an affliction, and indeed considers it a blessing.

If both Knives Out and Ready or Not each had their own distinctive structural peculiarities, they at least told a relatively cogent and easily understandable story. Alas, the same can probably not be said of Broil, a film which is split into supposed “chapters” (with chapter headings) that actually deconstruct things in an often confounding way. The fact that the film seems to ping pong back and forth between various points of view and/or even time frames makes the narrative in this film unexpectedly daunting at times, something that may detract from any intended “fun” in the proceedings.

Chance is a problem student at a Catholic girls' school, and her recalcitrance ultimately ends up with her being exiled to her grandfather August's luxe mansion, where an annual family dinner is being planned. Chance's parents June (Annette Reilly) and December (Nels Lannarson), have hired a chef named Sydney Lawson (Jonathan Lipnicki) to cater the affair, though Sydney has other "particular skills" that play into the story as things develop.

The film has an at least acceptable, if awfully derivative feeling, premise, but it's repeatedly hampered by odd editing and structural decisions that keep diverting attention away from supposed focal characters (why open the film with Chance, and then pretty much abandon her for long spells of time?), and there are simply way too many unanswered questions by the time appropriate havoc has been wreaked. It's fun to see Lipnicki all grown up and in this case portraying a tic filled character who is probably "on the spectrum", as has become popular to say. That casting decision may be enough to recommend this odd film to some.

Broil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Broil is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. I haven't been able to find any authoritative technical information on the shoot (this seems to have gone "straight to video" and/or streaming and I haven't even found much straight out promotional material for it online), but I'm assuming it was digitally captured and finished at a 2K DI. This is a competent if not hugely thrilling looking presentation. There are huge swaths of the film that play out in near darkness, as can probably be gleaned from some of the screenshots accompanying this review, and a lot of those sequences can look hazy and/or murky. The better lit material has good amounts of fine detail, but even in some of these scenes there's a gauzy softness that can tend to work against consistent detail levels. The palette looks natural, though a couple of scenes are either lit or graded towards reds or blues, with a noticeable diminution in fine detail.

Broil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Broil features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is competent, like the visuals, with one arguably problematic exception: someone has mixed the score to almost preposterous levels at times. The first time you'll notice this is in the first couple of minutes, where a hugely rumbling series of thumping drums simply drowns everything else out, and this is a tendency that recurs throughout the film for no discernable reason. Aside from this mixing element, the actual track has great fidelity and when it's not being overpowered by music, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly.

Broil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:34)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the supplements have been authored to follow one another automatically After Trailer for this film plays, the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Broil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Broil has some interesting ideas, but it's way too scattershot in any number of arenas to ever fully resonate. Supporting characters just kind of waft in and out of this tale, and in fact it's almost hard to decide who's supposed to be a supporting character and who's supposed to be a main character at various junctures in the story. Aside from the glut of characters, there's also arguably too much trying to be stuffed into the plot, with all sorts of family dynamics playing out within the context of whatever it is the Sinclairs are supposed to be. The film has some stylish moments, and it is fun to see Lipnicki in this role, but I doubt even inveterate horror fans will find much to inspire Halloween shivers in this film. Technical merits are generally solid, though the score is mixed to insanely high levels on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, for those who are considering a purchase.