5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A dark folk tale set in the hills of Wales during the industrial revolution.
Starring: Maxine Peake, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Mark Lewis Jones, Jodie InnesHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One of the more impressive original films created for AMC's Shudder streaming service, William McGregor's debut feature Gwen is an intimate 19th-century period drama peppered with elements of unsettling horror. Shot entirely on location in the bleak mountains of Snowdonia, our title character (Eleanor Worthington Cox) ekes out a meager farming life with her stern mother Elen (Maxine Peake) and younger sister Mari (Jodie Innes); the jury's still out on dad (Dyfrig Evans), who no longer lives with the family but, according to the mother, will return someday. Their modest rural life is full of hardship and peppered with occasional bursts of happiness...but when a neighboring family dies of cholera, it seems to set off a chain of more bad omens: an animal heart nailed to their door, strange conversations with the town minister, noises during the night, and a partially ruined crop, just for starters. After visiting the neighbors' abandoned farmhouse against her mother's wishes, Gwen begins to doubt the official explanation of their deaths.
While Gwen's relatively meager plot occasionally struggles to match the crippling emotional weight of its tone and setting, those who enjoy slow-burning dramas will find themselves almost immediately hypnotized by the spell it creates. It's the kind of film that already feels timeless, ripe for future viewings to pick out subtle hints and layers you didn't notice the first time around. Acting is superb all around, with both Gwen and her mother leading the relatively small cast of less than a dozen real speaking parts. The rare moments of true horror are well-earned and extremely unsettling, both from their surprising rarity and the aforementioned sound design, which serves up a very effective brand of "quiet-loud" dynamics that simultaneously drop your guard while keeping things slightly off-balance.
Although it first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival more than a year ago, Gwen's road to international distribution has
thankfully led to a reasonably quick home video release. (No sign of it on Shudder's list of available titles, but I'd imagine that's coming soon
enough.) For now, RLJ Entertainment's solid Blu-ray release adds a lot of support for the main feature with a great A/V presentation, but the
extras don't dig as deep as expected.
Shot entirely on location in Snowdonia (northwestern Wales, UK), Gwen's stark and hypnotic atmosphere is a big part of its overall effectiveness, so it's good to know that RLJ Entertainment's 1080p transfer handles everything the film throws at it. Overcast skies, natural lighting, and deep pockets of shadow are frequent visitors, giving outdoor scenes a reasonable amount of depth while flattening out the much more claustrophobic interiors. Colors are extremely muted for the most part but remain consistent, with suitably pale skin tones and period-specific costumes looking realistically drab. For this reason, a few brighter hues -- open fires, blood, exterior paint, and fresh vegetables -- often seem like comfortable oases in direct comparison. Shadow details are handled exceptionally well, as are sequences shot in very dense fog and other weather-related events. Only the darkest scenes, mostly by candlelight, are slightly hampered by visible noise and very slight compression artifacts, but these are few and far between. For the most part, this Blu-ray offers an exceptionally crisp and satisfying transfer that fans and first-timers will appreciate.
Not to be outdone is the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, perhaps an even bigger key to Gwen's oppressive atmosphere. Dialogue scenes and other moments are extremely hushed but remain crisp, often featuring subtle background noises. Wind, thunder, and other harsh elements make excellent use of panning and rear channel presence, often dipping deep into lower frequencies to build a lot of layered tension. The original score by James Edward Barker is very sparse and organic but likewise sounds very full and dynamic when needed. Overall, it's a deceptively strong-sounding mix that, while not packed with wall-to-wall excitement, remains a great example of effective "quiet-loud" sound design.
Optional English (SDH), Spanish, and French subtitles are offered during the film, some of which also translate a few stray lines of Welsh dialogue. These are formatted nicely; small but legible, and placed within the 2.39:1 frame.
Gwen arrives on Blu-ray in a standard keepcase with poster-themed artwork, a matching matte-finish slipcover, and no inserts. On-disc extras are minimal but at least offer a surface-level peek at the production.
Gwen is a high-quality period drama peppered with intense horror, blanketed by an effective atmosphere thanks to its excellent visuals and sound design. While the story itself does not always carry enough weight or deeper meaning to match, this is still a very unique production that stands out in a typically low-rent genre filled with cheap jump scares. Gwen earns all of its slow-burning terror, infrequent as it may be, and remains mostly compelling for the right reasons. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers an extremely strong A/V presentation but only a few surface-level bonus features. Still, this surprise international hit comes highly recommended for fans and first-timers at the current price point.
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