Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Lamb 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 17, 2022

Noomi Rapace has one of those faces that might be perceived as just slightly alien looking, as if she may have been the product of a very close inter-species encounter of some kind. Perhaps saliently, then, Lamb features Rapace as an Icelandic woman named Maria who farms a barren landscape with her husband Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) and who finds herself "mother" to a bizarre lamb-human hybrid creature that is born in a stable on their property. The whole emphasis on lambs and the fact that the film begins on Christmas (or perhaps Christmas Eve) might suggest there's some sort of religious subtext percolating beneath this patently odd plot, but if there is, it eluded this particular reviewer, unless one simply goes with a thesis that a story revolving around grief, loss and potential salvation is inherently religious. And in fact this tale would almost seem to be more pagan or folkloristic in ambience than anything. This is not a "shock a minute" horror outing, as I guess some people expected it to be, and is instead a very slow burn, filled with long, lingering shots of craggy Icelandic countryside and equally long, lingering shots of mundane activities like Ingvar feeding the couple's sheep or in fact Maria feeding Ingvar. The whole supernatural element actually doesn't really intrude until well into the film, unless one counts a brief but disturbing sound effect in the story's opening moments.

A radio broadcast wishes people a Merry Christmas and then launches into a prayer, as snow falls and a brief but unsettling sound of animal (?) breathing wafts across the soundstage. In a cozy looking farmhouse Maria and Ingvar are enjoying a meal. The film then segues to "Chapter 1", which is apparently some months later (a cursory internet search suggests that sheep have around a five to six month gestation period), where there is some very graphic footage of Maria yanking various sheep newborns right out of sheep mothers (more cursory internet searching suggests these were not the product of CGI, and in fact were accomplished on the first day of shooting, which I'm sure really excited Rapace in particular). One of the very few dialogue scenes in this early part of the film has Ingvar mentioning that he has read that time travel has been proven to be theoretically possible, but that he wouldn't want to travel to the future, since the present is so appealing. Maria, on the other hand, instantly suggests that traveling to the past should be possible, too, and there's a clear aching quality to her comment that does have acres of subtext (which ultimately will be explained).

The fact that the first real "reveal" of the baffling hybrid lamb-human creature isn't given until around the 40 minute mark may indicate as well as anything the somewhat languorous pace of Lamb, which may make some of what the film does spend time on seem somewhat peculiar. The first half or so of the film documents the almost Groundhog Day repetitious cycle of life on the farm, despite the sudden addition of the lamb-human hybrid the couple names Ada (for reasons which intentionally won't be detailed here). However, then kind of weirdly and I'm frankly sure not all that helpfully, Ingvar's wastrel brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson) shows up, and seems more annoyed than shocked that there's this creature being raised by the couple. That leads to a series of floridly melodramatic moments which are nonetheless often played with perhaps appropriately ice cold emotions. A whole sudden vignette offering Maria, Ingvar and Pétur watching football on television which leads to Maria putting in an old VHS tape of what seems to be Pétur in a music video just comes out of left field and is another kind of inexplicable element in the overall completely peculiar tone of the film.

Issues of grief and parenthood seem to underlie the premise here, but in a way while a second late "reveal" at the film's climax gives a little more information and in fact plays into the very issues of grief and parenthood, the reveal in turn raises a whole series of questions in terms of longer lineage or at least provenance, if I may skirt potential spoiler territory. These perhaps niggling narrative or expository concerns aside, there is little doubt that Lamb is a completely unsettling, at times weirdly harrowing, experience. Performances are uniquely captivating and the VFX work establishing Ada as a living, breathing creature are impressive if unavoidably quirky.

Lamb 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc. Note that this release does not include a 1080 disc; you need to purchase a 1080 version if you want the film in that format.

Lamb is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of A24 with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot with Arri Alexa Minis and finished at 4K, this is an often extremely striking looking presentation in 4K. There are both clear upticks in already excellent detail levels as well as a fine burnishing of the palette courtesy of Dolby Vision. One thing that instantly struck my eyes is that digital grain is much more apparent in this version than the 1080 version, something that is noticeable from the very first look at a Christmas snowfall. Fine detail is elevated throughout this presentation on everything from lamb's wool to the roughhewn textures of Ingvar's barn and outbuildings. Interestingly, though, some of the wide shots really didn't seem to have huge upticks in either general or fine detail levels to my eyes. The palette assumes some really interesting new highlights in this version, especially in the cooler end of the spectrum, with blues in particular looking really evocative and nuanced. A number of darker scenes have at least marginally improved shadow detail.

Note 2: I encountered one of the same authoring anomalies on this 4K disc that I also mentioned with regard to the 1080 disc, and which I'm reporting here in case anyone else experiences it. While the subtitles are ostensibly optional, I could not get them to turn off. Switching them from Spanish to English worked, but the "Subtitles Off" option did nothing and English subtitles continued to display, whether I used the Pop-Up Menu or went back to the Main Menu. I did not have the same problem with the Top Menu not actually showing menu choices upon a return that I experienced with the 1080 disc.

Lamb 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lamb has an impressively immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that establishes clear surround activity from the get go, with a literal whirlwind of both storm sounds and the spooky heavy breathing of -- well, something. A distant bell clanging due to the wind outside clearly emanates from the left channel while plaintive bleats from scared sheep intrude from all sides. It's just the first of many well wrought sound design moments, with excellent use of the side and rear channels offering ambient environmental sounds throughout the presentation. Long swaths of this film play without much if any dialogue, and as such surround activity is typically delivered via background noises or a moody score. When spoken moments to occur, all dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. See my comments above regarding subtitles and their supposedly optional nature, but one way or the other, English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Lamb 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While A24 is releasing 1080 and 2160 versions of the film separately, they at least have commendably included the same slate of supplements with both formats.

• Two Short Films by Valdimar Jóhannsson

  Harmsaga (Dolor) (HD; 13:15)

  
  

  Dögun (Dawn) (HD; 1:56)

• VFX Reel (HD; 3:04) is a fun look at the rendering and compositing process for various shots featuring Ada.


• Four Deleted Scenes

  Pétur and Truck Driver (HD; 00:44)

  
  

  Picking Up Gasoline (HD; 00:23)

  
  

  Ingvar and Ada Take the Sheep (HD; 00:51)

  
  

  Maria and Ada Drive (HD; 00:19)

Additionally, the DigiPack includes a booklet with sketches, stills and production data.

Lamb 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of hilariously given the reoccurrences of "synchronicity" which seem to repeatedly show up in my life, the Google Doodle as this review was being written was an homage to artist Rosa Bonheur and featured one of Bonheur's paintings of a woman gazing at a herd of sheep. Maybe that's a subliminal hint that Maria may have another chance to nurture a hybrid beast. In a world of cookie cutter entertainments, Lamb is at least something a bit unusual, though those thinking it's some kind of sui generis offering may want to explore everything from Metamorphosis to Tusk. The interlinked subtexts of parenting and grief give this film an unusual emotional heft which is contrasted rather interestingly with its cool, almost detached, approach. I'm not sure everything in this film actually works, but Lamb is unforgettable, one way or the other. Technical merits are solid, and Lamb comes Recommended.