Gravy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Gravy Blu-ray Movie Review

Thoroughly Monstrous Millie.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 7, 2015

Broadway chanteuses haven’t always had an easy time matriculating to the world of film, even if they’re major stars on the Great White Way, as evidenced by such iconic names as Ethel Merman and Mary Martin, two titans of the stage whose cinema careers never exactly exploded. Of course, neither Merman nor Martin ever appeared in a horror comedy (at least that I can recall), so maybe Broadway’s Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sutton Foster, can be the exception to this pesky rule. Foster is part of the ensemble cast of Gravy, a spottily effective film co-written and directed by James Roday, probably best known as the star of Psych. Roday may in fact be attempting to “psych” out audiences with Gravy, a film which teeters precariously between rather gruesome blood and guts and humor that is pitch black. Roday further ups the ante by delaying the actual thrust of the plot with a rather sweet prelude which finds apparently shy and retiring Anson (Michael Weston) working up enough nerve to ask convenience store clerk Bethany (Sarah Silverman) out on a date. That turns out to be a bit of willful misdirection, or at least a fitful attempt at bookending (since the film returns to this scenario in its closing moments), for Gravy is really concerned with a trio of weirdos (including Anson) who take over a Mexican cantina one Halloween, holding customers and employees hostage and forcing an anachronistically French chef named Yannick (Lothaire Bluteau) who works there to create gourmet meals featuring a string of victims culled from the hostages as various “appetizers”. Those whose minds immediately wander to entertainments like Eating Raoul will find themselves in good, or at least like minded, company, for Roday doesn’t hesitate to at least reference the legendary Paul Bartel comedy. (Those whose minds wander instead to Cannibal! The Musical will find Gravy sadly lacking in song and dance numbers, despite the participation of Foster.) Gravy is a bit too much of a “wink-fest” for its own good, but there are some scattered laughs to be had, as well as a copious supply of gore.

Once the introductory sequence with Anson and Bethany is over, the film moves into its main course (sorry), quickly introducing a coterie of folks in the restaurant. Kerry (Sutton Foster) is a waitress enjoying what she expects will be her last shift as a menial employee, having decided to pursue greener pastures in a completely unrelated field (one which ironically would have come in handy considering the carnage that's about to ensue). The holiday means that the restaurant is not exactly doing record business, allowing other employees like Chuy (Paul Rodriguez), Winketta (Gabourey Sidibe), Hector (Gabriel Luna) and Cricket (Molly Ephriam) time to both interact, occasionally dysfunctionally, as well as to help Kerry celebrate. Suddenly Kerry’s last night on the job is thrown for a loop by three interlopers, Stef (Jimmi Simpson), Mimi (Lily Cole) and the aforementioned Anson, all of whom inform the others that they’re trapped inside the restaurant (with doors more or less glued shut and no windows), and are now about to become supposedly tasty morsels. That’s basically the entire setup of Gravy, which then spends the rest of its running time dispatching various folks among scattered one liners and, of course, an emerging plan by the survivors to try to escape.

In one of the supplements included on this new Blu-ray release, Roday talks about trying to “tiptoe” between the genres of horror and comedy, and while it can’t be denied that Gravy has a lot of traditional scary imagery, including rather graphic looks at bodies being rent asunder as they’re transformed into various delicacies, it’s obvious that the tonal focus of the film is decidedly more cartoonish, something that is handled in an oddly inconsistent way, as if Roday weren’t quite sure how to tiptoe between the idioms. The film therefore tends to veer rather wildly between sophomoric physical humor, more intelligent verbal sparring, and just unabashed gross out moments, more like a pretty chaotic cinematic Dim Sum than a well planned three course meal.

Gravy might have done better had it tipped completely over into the scabrous territory of Eating Raoul, or instead tried to traffic in more of the overt sweetness that colors the film’s bookending segments with Sarah Silverman. Roday had plenty of experience navigating some pretty arch territory throughout the several seasons of Psych, but there’s only so far that kind of smug superiority can take a film that has cannibalism at its core.

Gravy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gravy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While the overall image is sharp and precise, detail levels struggle to overcome a setting that is almost entirely made up of quite dark and/or dimly lit interior environments. Therefore, some wide shots that capture larger areas of the restaurant sometimes fall victim to anemic shadow detail and in a couple of instances crush, where things like black hair or costumes merge with the background. Close-ups can still reveal abundant fine detail, including some squirm inducing looks at various body parts being prepared for consumption. The film's gore offers some of the most vivid saturation of the palette, with good, forceful reds. A lot of the film bears a kind of sickly green-yellow cast, however, something that further detracts from detail levels in midrange to wide shots. Contrast is generally consistent, as are black levels. Once again, there is a tendency toward splotchy yellow artifacts in the darker scenes, something that tends to be a recurrent issue with some of Shout!'s discs.

Gravy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gravy's sound design isn't overly ambitious, and so the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix tends to exploit surround activity more through things like ambient spatial differences, with events happening at the back of the restaurant reverberating through the surrounds as something else is happening in the foreground, rather than really over the top immersion. Some of the best and most consistent surround activity comes courtesy of some source cues, including Tears for Fears, whose Curt Smith also helped to provide the film's score. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized on this problem free track.

Gravy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary Track features James Roday, Sutton Foster, and Jimmi Simpson.


• What is Gravy? (1080p; 5:56) is a standard issue EPK with some fairly amusing interviews.


• EPK (1080p; 6:23) tells you everything you need to know in its title.


• Trailer (1080p; 2:16)

Gravy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gravy may provide a bit to nosh on for "horror comedy" fans, but truth be told neither its funny bone nor its gore is particularly "nutritious". Performances are generally quite winning, especially the fey Simpson and weirdly vulnerable Weston. A stronger, more incisive, screenplay would have helped this effort, which ends up being more of a snack than a full fledged meal. Technical merits are generally very good (video) to excellent (audio) for those considering a purchase.