Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 20, 2024

Paul Gross, writes, directs, and stars in Hyena Road, a 2015 Afghanistan War film centered on Canadian troops who are seeking to build a relationship with a former Mujahideen fighter of the Soviet-Afghanistan war in the 1980s. The film is both character-based and action-centric, taking time to build characters and narrative intrigue while peppering the landscape with high intensity action sequences that range from open country to cramped urban arenas. It's not a standout in its genre, but genre fans will find it to be a satisfying venture that looks at the realities of war, ranging from its horrors to the unlikely alliances that form within it.

In the rocky terrain of Afghanistan, a crack team of Canadian soldiers eliminates a target. As they aim to reach their extraction point, they pause a friendly convoy fearing a deadly IED (Improvised Explosive Device) to be on the road. The confirm and eliminate it but come under surprise attack by a band of well armed combatants who also greatly outnumber the Canadians. They find refuge in a nearby village where a mysterious elder, with two different colored eyes, houses them and guarantees their safety with the attacking Taliban. When word returns to headquarters, the news piques the interest of intelligence officer Captain Pete Mitchell (Gross) who believes the Afghani man who harbored the soldiers may be a legendary Mujahideen fighter known as "The Ghost" for his ability to effectively go into seclusion, return from wounds, and continue to terrorize the then-invading Soviet forces. He sets out to build a relationship with this individual, but the path is complicated, particularly as the military brass attempts to construct a roadway deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The film is as much a sociopolitical thriller as it is a straight war film. Rather than just another film depicting the rigors and horrors of combat, Hyena Road strives to be something more: a fuller, more satisfying journey into the heart of the conflict that looks not simply at the black and white aspect of one side shooting at another. Rather, it is also a look at the rigors of relationships built of, and in, war. Certainly, all come to the table with their motives, wants, needs, and agendas, but the film is careful to examine the cross-cultural interactions and the way that certain differences, but also certain similarities, can and do impact the battlefield and the greater theater of war.

Still, at its core, Hyena Road is an action war film which satisfies genre needs, even if there is nothing truly remarkable about the way the action is captured and presented. It's effective though certainly familiar, and the film does a good enough job of building the men who are involved in the action to make it more robust in terms of not just the dynamics on the battlefield but in building at least a semblance of emotional connection with the men in order to give the combat a weightiness that would be missing were it just moving images of firefights. That is not to say that the film's characters are remarkable or memorable, but they are more than props holding a gun, especially when it comes to Mitchell and Sanders, clearly the film's lead characters. It even does well to build up "The Ghost" despite is dialogue being filtered through a translator. Neamat Arghandabi's work in the film as that character is not to be overlooked for the nuance of the performance and not simply the color of his character's eyes.

Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p video presentation is of a satisfactory quality. It is in no way a standout, but it offers a good general clarity and nice definition to the rocky Afghan terrain and some of the more roughhewn location details in Afghani homes and military bases. Military uniforms are suitably crisp. Facial definition satisfies basic requirements, offering good, generally tangible clarity to pores and facial hair and stubble. This is not any sort of standout detailing, but it is clearly a product of a good source that the 1080p resolution reveals with ease. Colors are generally limited to earthy beiges, browns, and yellows, especially in the various examples of Afghanistan's harsh terrain. Combat uniforms are of the desert camo variety and all of these earthy elements offer nice separation and tonal nuance. There is some blood and a few examples of bolder colors, like Canadian flags with a good bit of red, but don't expect a vivid color explosion here. There are a few lower-res shots interspersed throughout (look in the 33-minute mark for a string of examples). Noise is in evidence in lower light shots, but it is not particularly bothersome. A few fleeting examples of banding are also present. Overall this is a solid enough transfer.

Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack proves pleasantly engaging throughout. The track introduces some terrific reverb to single gunshots which echo around the stage, and this is amongst the very first sort of surround usage heard in the movie. Listeners can nearly track the echoey reverb for several seconds after the shot rings out through the open, rugged terrain. Full-on combat engagements offer shots cracking from every corner and rounds zipping through the listening area. The mayhem of modern combat is fully realized here. While bass is not overpowering, it's solid enough but could certainly stand to be cranked up a little bit in support of explosions and even unsuppressed gunfire. More basic atmospheric effects do well to pull the listener into any given moment. Music is enjoyably spaced and adequately clear. Dialogue is clear, positioned in the front center channel, and is well prioritized throughout. An English LPCM 2.0 track is also included.

Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, this Blu-ray release of Hyena Road contains no supplements beyond trailers for itself (1080p, 2:09) and a trio of other films: Transpecos, Buffalo Boys, and Back Roads. The main menu screen does offer full video and musical accompaniment with a full suite of options ("Play Feature," "Chapters," "Setup," and "Extras"). No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Hyena Road Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hyena Road clearly plays second fiddle to some of the titans of the War genre, even those centering on the more modern warfare landscape centered on the War on Terror. It cannot match films like Lone Survivor, 13 Hours, or Zero Dark Thirty for production values or resonance, but it is certainly a very capable second tier film, perhaps up there with the likes of The Outpost in that higher, but not highest, genre stratosphere. The Blu-ray is very capable in terms of its solid video and audio performance, but the absence of extras is a real disappointment. Worth a look for genre fans and a recommended buy at $10 or less.