6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Summer 1929 - at the end of the golden age of exploration - an expedition of Ivy League university botanists enter an uncharted forest on the North American frontier. Tasked to study the native flora, the students unearth a deadly organism and are soon in a fight with nature itself. They must use their limited resources to understand, survive and escape the wild and terrifying forest that surrounds them.
Starring: Dan Lin (IV), Miles G. Jackson, Teresa Marie Doran, Sari Mercer, Caleb NoelHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 60% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Flora isn't a classic-in-the-making but it is a breath of fresh air, figuratively for the audience but not at all for the characters in the film. The budget-minded and science-based survival film, from first-time director Sasha Louis Vukovic, pits man against nature, not a self-aware or "out to get them" nature but simply a nature that is toxic to humans in its natural state. What makes the film work, and what makes the film frightening, is the inescapability and the relentless nature of nature; no matter where the characters go or what they do to combat nature, it's there, with its own tricks, with its own density and suffocating presence to stymie the escape attempt, or worse. It's very well done, engaging despite the lack of a tangible boogeyman, and even more impressive given the obvious budget constraints that necessarily keep the film focused on the terror which is, essentially, the entire shooting environment that surrounds the characters in every single shot.
Death as far as the eye can see.
Flora was shot with a selection of Panasonic Lumix DSLRs. The resultant 1080p image appears faithful to the source, though the source lacks the ability to present the sort of crisp, perfectly defined digital images of much larger budgeted productions. Nevertheless, core textural qualities and colors satisfy. Dense forest scenery is consistently sharp with largely effortless complexity to various leaves, even those at some further distance from the camera. Characters are adequately revealing though lacking in the intricate intimacies captured by superior technology. Attire and period objects are likewise sharp but not necessarily at the pinnacle of 1080p clarity. Colors are fairly bold, with the natural greens the highlight. More earthen colors present in the majority of support elements. Black levels aren't too far removed from balanced depth and skin tones are healthy enough. Various issues appear throughout, including dense noise in spots as well as some jagged edges and other limitations from the source, but this is a very watchable image given the inherent constraints and limitations.
In Flora's first scene, dialogue is not entirely well prioritized. It's a little shallow as it competes with surrounding natural din. But trouble spots are otherwise relatively few for this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Rear channels carry a number of effects, whether rattling tins at a camp near film's start or a running creek in chapter eight which flows through the stage with enough natural presence to make the listener believe that he or she is standing in, or at least very near to, the water. Music spreads and transitions to a haunting, airy depth and width as the film's third act begins. Surrounds engage with prominence thereafter, capturing a sizable, chilling, dominant din that is probably the most sonically intensive moment in the film. Various era-specific musical cues play throughout the film, and they are relatively shallow and tinny but reflective of the quality of the time. Beyond that aforementioned blip on dialogue delivery, the spoken word plays clearly and without issue from the front-center channel.
Flora contains several bonuses, including a commentary, deleted scenes, a featurette, and a trailer/teaser combo. A Mill Creek digital copy
code is included with purchase.
Flora is a terrific picture that is character and environment focused, which masks its budgetary limitations with a story that requires little financial muscle to build and tell. The story is engaging, the actors are good enough, and the skill with minimal photographic and cinematic aids is quite impressive. Hopefully the small Flora proves a large step forward for first-time Filmmaker Sasha Louis Vukovic. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is generally good, featuring video that's limited only by the source constraints rather than the encode. Audio is fine and the included supplements are worthwhile. Highly recommended.
2014
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