6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 1.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Students fight to survive a weekend in the woods.
Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Olivia Luccardi, Lew Temple, Renee Olstead, Brock KellyHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Where there's a will, there's a Feral. Writer/Director Mark Young's (Wicked Blood) Horror film finds itself ensnared in the jaws of genre mediocrity and insignificance, playing like a fully recycled Horror picture with zero creativity to its name. Young, yes, wills the movie to completion, it seems, content to build his own wheel, not reinvent it. The picture doesn't seem concerned with breaking new ground, and Young, to his credit, crafts the film fairly straight, relishes the opportunity, the blood and guts, and the predictable cadence with unwavering dedication to following formula. The film can boast serviceable production values, quality gory prosthetics, and workable acting (the cast includes Halloween's Scout Taylor-Compton). But in terms of plot creativity? There isn't any. This is a by-the-books, paint-by-numbers, etc., etc. sort of movie built around tried-and-true components that Young puts together with just enough effective effort and infectious (literally) enthusiasm to satiate genre fans but probably at the expense of winning over any new converts.
Before the madness.
Feral's 1080p presentation offers impressive command of detail and color alike. The digital source yields a more than satisfying Blu-ray picture, both in the bright daytime woodland scenes and in the nighttime exteriors and low light interiors. Outside during the day, particularly in an early establishing sequence, the image reveals crisp natural textures, showcasing nicely defined skin and clothing intimates with complexly revealing pores, pimples, scars, and other blemishes, all presenting on-screen with very impressive clarity and command. There is ample definition to trees and terrain as well as furnishings and old wooden planks in Talbot's cabin. Colors are appropriately saturated and dialed in to a natural contrast. Red blood is deep when seen during the day, natural greens pop, and various examples of clothes, blankets, and tents present with impressive health and depth. Black levels are fairly strong, critical in the film's many nighttime exteriors and low light interiors. Skin tones appear accurately reproduced. The image gets a bit noisy in the lowest light scenes but the source and encode are otherwise without significant flaw.
Feral bites onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film opens with terrifying screams and gives way to nicely immersive natural woodland ambience, both by day as the six trek through the woods and particularly at night as the students huddle around a campfire. The track offers big and small, forgettable and slightly worrisome, elements in every speaker that give them the chills, at first, and become portending sonic terrors as they realize that every rustle might be something out to get them. The track produces well defined Horror sounds, too, including growls, screams, tearing flesh, and gunshots, each with appropriate depth, stage placement, and clarity. A few discretely positioned effects are effective in building the film's atmosphere. Music is fine, with good front-end width, some low end depth, modest surround engagement, and fine fidelity. Dialogue is clear, center focused, and well prioritized for the duration.
Feral's Blu-ray release contains no extras beyond the film's trailer (1080p, 1:47). No DVD or digital copies are included. The release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover and contains reversible cover art.
The market for Feral is limited to Horror hounds who don't mind watching the same movie they have seen umpteen times before. The picture innovates in no way, shape, or form, but it's competently put together and bloody enough by any measure. It won't win over anyone who is otherwise uninterested in this genre and it's just low budget and obscure enough that only those seeking out movies like this will probably stumble across it, anyway. Horror fans can rest assured that Young has put together a perfectly acceptable film; just don't expect it to rewrite the rulebook. Shout!/Scream's Blu-ray release is unfortunately devoid of extras beyond a trailer, but it does feature perfectly good video and audio. Recommended to undemanding genre fans only.
Unrated Theatrical and Rated Versions
2013
2019
Trolljegeren
2010
2014
2018
2015
2011
2009
2007
2014
1981
2013
1981
2016
2010
Slipcover In Original Pressing
1974
2016
2016
The Woods
2015
2015