Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 13, 2023

Gustavo Graef Marino's "Instinct to Kill" (2001) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with actor Tim Abell and new audio commentary with Abell and David DeFalco a.k.a. The Demon. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Were mainstream critics wrong yet again when they trashed Gustavo Graef Marino’s Instinct to Kill in 2001? Yes, one hundred percent. Despite being a B-film and proud of it, Instinct to Kill is light years ahead of recent, big-budget films like, say, The Comeback Trail and The Protégé. In fact, if you compare what Mark Dacascos and Tim Abell do in Instinct to Kill to much of the work Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert De Niro have done in recent years, you will quickly discover that the gap in quality is quite striking. (For obvious reasons, I am intentionally not mentioning Bruce Willis and the quality of his recent work). Despite enjoying plenty of support from mainstream critics, the old and once reliable stars have been doing awful work, and the newcomers that were supposed to fill their shoes have been even worse. No, I am not attempting to carefully lay the groundwork for an incoming case where I would argue and declare that Instinct to Kill urgently needs a serious reevaluation and a much-deserved cult status. It is not that kind of special genre film. But it is not the genuine turkey the mainstream critics described in 2001 either. It is a nice B-film that does everything a proper B-film is supposed to do, perhaps even a bit more.

Instinct to Kill opens with a couple of flashbacks that quickly summarize the progression of a horrific marriage. Then, in the present, we see Jim Becket (Abell), a middle-aged cop, abusing his beautiful wife Tess (Missy Crider) in the worst possible ways and getting arrested by his partner, Lance Difford (Kadeem Hardison). However, in prison, Becket quickly figures out how to escape, and once he gets out, Tess becomes a target again. Realizing that Tess is in grave danger again, Difford reaches out to former cop J.T. Dillon (Dacascos) with a request to teach her how to fight back. Dillon reluctantly agrees and begins working with Tess at his secluded house in the countryside, but it is not too long before Becket discovers how to force his target back into the open.

The opening credits reveal that three writers worked on the screenplay for Instinct to Kill, two of which can frequently be seen contributing to bonus features on various Blu-ray releases. The first is Josh Olson, who worked with David Cronenberg on A History of Violence, and has done numerous episodes for the excellent program Trailers From Hell. The second is C. Courtney Joyner, who worked with Mark L. Lester on the campy gem Class of 1999, and has done plenty of outstanding interviews and audio commentaries for various Blu-ray releases of cult and classic films. (See The Hallelujah Trail). The third is Randall Frakes, who scripted Donald G. Jackson and R.J. Kizer’s late-night charmer Hell Comes to Frogtown. So, as you can tell, the screenplay that was handed to Marino to do Instinct to Kill was tweaked by some very talented and very knowledgeable people who undoubtedly knew exactly what they were supposed to deliver.

After the opening credits disappear from your screen, it will take you less than fifteen minutes to realize that Marino had a clear path to follow and knew exactly how to reach the final destination that was described in the screenplay. While the cop-turned-monster is on the loose, there is just a ton of solid action that provides all the fireworks you would expect to get from a proper B-film. On top of this, Marino creates a very fine atmosphere to go along with it as well, which is something that is not always guaranteed in these types of projects.

Keeping in mind that Instinct to Kill was completed immediately after Brotherhood of the Wolf, it is easy to declare that Dacascos was the magnet that was supposed to legitimize the former. However, even though Dacascos leads where he is required, he is not the undisputed star of Instinct to Kill. Indeed, there is plenty of material where Abell and Crider are fully in control and lead with authority, as the screenplay undoubtedly required.

Marino was able to use the services of the very talented cinematographer Jacques Haitkin, who passed away earlier this year. Haitkin lensed the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, the unorthodox action thriller The Hidden, the cult horror film Shocker, and the outstanding made-for-TV neo-noirish thriller Buried Alive.

Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Instinct to Kill arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Dark Force Entertainment.

The release is struck from a brand new master and the entire film looks very healthy. Delineation, clarity, and depth are very good, and there are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. I think that there is a bit of room for encoding optimizations, but even on a very large screen the visuals remain quite strong. Color balance is stable. However, I think that in a couple of areas saturation levels become a tad too strong, possibly giving the visuals a more contemporary appearance that is not perfect. This being said, I did not see any concerning anomalies and still think that the overall balance is good for a film from 2001. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. However, I had to turn up the volume of my system a bit more than usual to be able to hear all exchanges clearly. Naturally, I have to warn that if you plan to view the film at night, more than likely you won't have a perfect experience with it if you do not adjust your volume. This is why optional English subtitles should have been included. The original soundtrack has limitations that make it quite easy to conclude that the film was shot with a small budget.

Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Actor Tim Abell - in this exclusive new program, actor Tim Abell discusses the early stages of his acting career and how his work revealed some truths about behaving properly in the real world, the type of characters he was/still is attracted to, and the character he played in Instinct to Kill. Mr. Abell also has some interesting comments about the reception of Instinct to Kill and the state of the film business in the early 2000s. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by actor Tim Abell and David DeFalco a.k.a. The Demon (owner of Dark Force Entertainment). It is a very nice and very, very honest commentary that frequently summarizes how I feel about Instinct to Kill. For example, Mr. Abell points out that the original material from the book that inspired Instinct to Kill is even darker and film alters some details but not the tone of this material. Also, Mr. DeFalco correctly points out that it is the strength of Mr. Abell's character that gives the film its identity, not Mark Dacascos' performance. It is mentioned that as a direct-to-video production Instinct to Kill looks very solid too, which is my take on it as well.

Instinct to Kill Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mark Dacascos appeared in Instinct to Kill immediately after his collaboration with Christophe Gans on the French blockbuster Brotherhood of the Wolf, which is quite a transition considering that the former was a direct-to-video production. It is just as surprising that it is not Dacascos but a very good Tim Abell that gives Instinct to Kill its identity. I knew that I would enjoy Instinct to Kill because as its opening credits appeared on my screen, I saw the names of a lot of very talented people who have been involved with plenty of genre films I like and own. Despite being a B-film, I think that in some ways it is quite a bit better than many recent big-budget action films. RECOMMENDED.