6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.
Starring: Kim Dickens, Lennie James, Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-CareyHorror | 100% |
Supernatural | 60% |
Melodrama | 24% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The zombie-infested, stench-of-death world of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead has not quite eradicated humanity, but it has all but eradicated hope. Each series has spent considerable screen time capital on the push-and-pull struggle between those who fight to hold tightly to hope and those who would capitalize on the larger hopelessness around them, or on those who suffer horrific fates within the haunting hopelessness of a failed world. Many have perished in those battles, often as part of a larger, much more universally vicious cycle in the new normal where fighting for hope necessarily means losing so much of it along the way. In Fear the Walking Dead's fourth season, the pursuit of hope remains a central theme, but along with it comes the realization that hope isn't enough. The world also needs help. Help, in this season, comes in the form of roadside boxes filled with post-apocalyptic luxuries: bottled water, canned food, a pocket knife, maybe something to read to pass the time. "Take what you need, leave what you don't," the boxes read. It's a small gesture but a critical first step in, just maybe, redirecting humanity back to what it once was and towards what it could be, a world where a helping hand offers a path towards healing, and not just from the immediate physical concerns of a world gone dangerously mad.
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season's 1080p Blu-ray presentation appears faithful to the source. The show is gritty and grimy, with season four particularly noteworthy for its frequent color desaturation that tones everything down towards a grayscale where excess color is nonexistent and even the most vibrant shades are reduced to curiosities amongst a horrifically bleak and bland landscape. Various scenes in the first eight episodes do offer more color saturation, a more flush and full palette that delivers a forgiving reprieve from the doom and gloom, but expect primarily -- and entirely through the final eight episodes -- to see and all but feel the downtrodden world of post-apocalyptic Texas where even red blood appears dull and devoid of color. Skin tones favor that grayscale push and black levels are fairly deep with only modest appearances of raising above true black. The image is texturally sound, with abundant detail evident in close-up, revealing complex facial features, high yield clothing definition (not limited to fabric details and garment frays but also caked-on dirt and grime), and wonderful environmental visuals including complex natural terrain and rough and tactile pavement. The picture is grainy and naturally sharp; the textures and limited colors both equally contribute to a gritty, downtrodden image that is spectacular through-and-through. No significant source or encode anomalies are apparent, either. A job well done from Lionsgate.
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack plays large and as a perfect compliment to the show's intense action scenes and more simple world details alike. Musical delivery is a highlight, featuring impressive front-end stretch, a healthy surround integration, and hearty low end accompaniment. The deeper and more intense the music, the better the track seems to get. There is no shortage of first-rate opportunities for the track to demonstrate its command of the material during zombie attack scenes and sequences, such as when a character finds herself alone against a horde of zombies partway through episode six inside a FEMA center. The scene delivers a well balanced attack of intense music, skin-crawling zombie moans and groans, and support details, all of which present all over the stage but converge into a sonically adept sequence. A raging storm in episode 10 is another of the season's sonic highlights, with sharp cracks, deep booms, and saturating rain falling all over the stage. Gunfire is a strength, whether considering pops from John's dual single action revolvers two the pair of heavy machine guns Al has mounted in her SWAT vehicle. There's a healthy boom and depth to most every shot. One of the most interesting sounds comes in episode 13 when a car horn is operated by connecting it to an external car battery; the effect is quite prolific and stage filling. Blowing winds and buzzing insects seamlessly shape the world in downtime. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized with firm front-center placement.
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season contains a few commentary tracks scattered throughout the set. A digital copy voucher
is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Disc One:
Fear's fourth season first half is not particularly great, structurally or thematically, but it's also a purposeful purging that sets the show on a very different course with a blended cast: some old, some new, one crossing over from The Walking Dead. The second half if not compelling, either, but it's well done within a fairly familiar structure that is much more The Walking Dead -- particularly early series The Walking Dead -- than it is Fear. There's talk of a third spinoff show in the works, but at this point Fear comes fairly close to being a whole new creature as it is. And the show seems better off for it. Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Fourth Season delivers high end picture and sound along with a handful of commentary tracks. Recommended.
2015
Special Edition
2015
2015-2023
2016
2017
2019
2020-2021
2022
2023
2017
2010
2018
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1990
2019
2005
1997
2012
2010-2022
Ben & Mickey vs. The Dead
2012
Collector's Edition
1985
2015
Ultimate Undead Edition
2009
Les Raisins de la Mort
1978
1978
50th Anniversary Edition
1968
2018
2016
1994
2018