Jonah Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Jonah Blu-ray Movie Review

Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me!

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 5, 2024

The drive to protect a child goes beyond mere instincts, pushing even the most civilized, normative parent to near-animalistic extremes when danger strikes. Perhaps that's why Jonah works, and also why it doesn't. For every beat in which Alaina Huffman's Margot strives to protect her son from further harm, there are bizarre counter-moments where she barely seems concerned for his safety. It's meant to yank us back and forth. Can we trust her? Should we trust her? Can we even begin to believe her claims? But instead it comes across as inconsistent and, eventually, exhausting. Which is a shame, because there's a solid little thriller lurking in Jonah's darkest corners. With a bit more screenplay spit-shine and a few stronger actors, it might have been that rare indie diamond-in-the-rough word-of-mouth carries to cult acclaim. Instead, it's merely... fine.

When troubled mother Margot (Stargate Universe's Alaina Huffman, who's a dead ringer for a young Ashley Judd) claims her nearly catatonic son Jonah (Lincoln Huffman) was traumatized into silence after being abducted by aliens, two journalists who investigate strange happenings, Ozzie (Supernatural's Osric Chau) and Darren (Good Trouble's Ken Kirby), arrive with a desire to expose the truth, whatever that may be. But as their investigation deepens, Ozzie grapples with his own haunting memories, leading to intense skepticism and profound encounters. Directed by Ben Van Kleek in his feature film debut and co-written by Trevor Vandelac, the film also stars Battlestar Galactica's Tahmoh Penikett, Katrina Kaevich and Matthew Lee Kwen.

Too much time is spent with Jonah's central mystery, with too little coming much too late in the film to satisfy. Oh, there are supernatural shenanigans afoot (I'd argue early and often), but Chau overplays his disbelief to levels not seen since The X-Files' Scully was having her memory wiped between episodes. (I mean, come on. There's no other explanation for her skepticism extending beyond Season One.) Huffman is the real talent here, doing her best with the script she has in hand, injecting doubt into her story and infusing every sentence with a tiny escape hatch that genuinely keeps you wondering if she's telling the truth or if something more sinister is swirling behind those eyes. The screenplay increasingly hits harder and harder, and often too squarely on the nose, but Huffman does a decent job attempting to reign it in, even as her co- stars struggle. Penikett shines as well, though his role is exceedingly slight. Had he starred as Ozzie, Jonah would've had a whole new verve and watched its dramatic tension bump up two notches. Again, Chau isn't bad, but everything from his demeanor to his thin frame to his alto vocal range undermines his efforts.

The ending won't take anyone by surprise, I suspect. Nor will the requisite spike in violence, psychological melodrama, or the death of a character or two come as much of a shock either. It's all par for the course, not to mention telegraphed from the outset. Jonah's role in the tale also isn't going to blow minds, although there's enough of a move towards coalescing plot points to still make his inevitable rise from the depths of his coma state somewhat exhilarating. However, the film's meager budget begins to show its seams at the same time, limiting the punch and effectiveness of the third act and resorting to running and running and running through a forest. (A scene that apparently is every low budget movie's best friend.) Somewhere in its midst, Jonah has a great concept, great ideas and great characters. Unfortunately, the result doesn't live up to its own potential, failing to muster the tone, tenor and suspense more refined cinematography, music and performances might deliver.

Jonah Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For the most part, Jonah's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is up to snuff. Stark outdoor colors give way to warm indoor hues, satisfying primaries, lovely skintones and deep black levels. Contrast is dialed in well and detail is pretty decent, with most shots boasting clean edge definition, adequately resolved fine textures, and solid delineation. There are several scenes that appear soft by comparison, particularly those in which Margot is telling her tale and presenting herself as a troubled woman that's difficult to believe. Perhaps the slight softness is an intentional decision to make her seem less trustworthy or her story less convincing. Unfortunately, it isn't consistent, leading me to believe it's simply a product of less-than-stellar cinematography. At least there aren't any encoding issues a la macroblocking or banding to report, though some crush is present in the darkest sequences. Ah well. Jonah looks about as good as it could, all things considered.

Jonah Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jonah's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is also a tad hit-or-miss overall. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and nicely prioritized in the soundscape, and dynamics are quite notable when all hell breaks loose. The only issue is that when hell is dormant, the front-heavy nature of the chatty thriller becomes more and more apparent. Rear speaker activity is engaging, but it's too aggressive when chaos ensues and too subtle and quiet when Margot is telling her story to the investigators. LFE output follows suit, though it certainly makes its presence known in the final fifteen minutes of the film. All told, there's nothing "wrong" with Jonah's lossless track. It's merely exactly what you might expect from a low budget film's sound design.

Jonah Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray release of Jonah doesn't offer any substantive extras.

Jonah Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is Jonah worth a try? Sure. I've certainly seen far worse when it comes to indie sci-fi/horror. It has its problems but as a rainy-day suspense story, it works enough to warrant a rent. Will it wow and dazzle and fool you? I seriously doubt it, so approach with some measure of caution. The same could be said of Jonah's Blu-ray release. While far from bad, its AV quality is solid but less than extraordinary and it doesn't offer any extras. Ho hum. Hopefully you enjoy it more than I did.