Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Son Blu-ray Movie Review

One step forward, two steps back.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 18, 2021

Writer-director Ivan Kavanagh's Son is a visceral, largely compelling film that unfortunately ends with a thud. It sure hits the ground running, though: a young woman -- later identified as "Laura" (Andi Matichak) -- is being followed on the highway and, after a fruitless rest stop, gives birth in her car on the side of the road. Fast forward eight years later, and Laura's now living what appears to be a well-adjusted life in rural Mississippi with her young son David (Luke David Blumm) before the peace is broken by a group of disturbing visitors that appear in his bedroom one night. After fleeing in terror and contacting the local police, Laura speaks to detectives Paul (Emile Hirsch) and Steve (Cranston Johnson) about her past which involved growing up in a Satanic cult, who she believes to be the intruders. Once David begins to show very unsettling health problems, Laura doubles down on her story. But with no signs of forced entry or even fingerprints to show for, the detectives begin to think portions of her childhood may have been fabricated.

Immediately after the violent death of her kind neighbor Susan (Erin Bradley Dangar), Laura leaves town with David in tow; from here on out, Son depicts a gruesome trail of bloodshed that seems to follow them at every turn. It's a story that can't exactly be spelled out for fear of excessive spoilers, but let's just say that Son attempts to maintain a careful balance between straightforward horror film and psychological thriller -- we're not quite sure who to believe at first, but enough clear evidence is eventually presented that we're pretty sure where this train is headed. Imagine the surprise, then, once Son completely back-peddles on this evidence to serve up what amounts to an extremely short-sighted and unearned twist ending courtesy of unreliable narration. You probably won't see it coming... but then again, why should you? It's a classic case of bait-and-switch that will leave all but the most forgiving horror hounds with a sour aftertaste. This Hail Mary may or may not sink the entire ship, but it damn sure won't strengthen repeat viewings.

Even so, Son is not without its strengths. The film's excellent cinematography, pervasively jet-black atmosphere, and respectable effects work will appeal to those who like their horror films squishy and shocking, and large portions of this story are compelling enough that you'll want to see it through. Andi Matichak and Luke David Blumm do well enough in their lead roles, with the latter occasionally approaching the heights of Linda Blair in The Exorcist (which, due to its subject matter, obviously warrants a base-level comparison, as does Rosemary's Baby.) But Emile Hirsch, surprisingly enough, is the dead weight here: he is not at all believable in his role, substitutes eyebrow-raising for acting, and is easily pushed to the background in almost every scene he's in. At least one of these criticisms might be negated by that twist ending, but either way he mostly stands out for the wrong reasons -- hell, I might even revoke his lifetime pass for Into the Wild. Like the film's last few minutes, he seemed to be doing so well until now.

So while Son is clearly not a total waste of 98 minutes, it feels like a compromised film that respects left-field twists more than its own audience. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray mostly focuses on the film's A/V strengths and, from that perspective, at least gives established fans a clean copy for their collections. The inclusion of a few real bonus features -- a commentary, interview, anything -- might have softened some of the story's fundamental weaknesses with a thoughtful explanation from the writer/director, but sadly nothing on that level is included on this disc.

Son Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The pervasively dark Son looks great on Blu-ray courtesy of RLJ Entertainment, which serves up a very strong 1080p transfer that showcases its admittedly striking atmsphere. Fine details and colors stand out exceedingly well here, from the dingy interiors of several seedy hotel rooms and near-abandoned residences to moody lighting that bathes main and supporting characters if various shades of green, red, and even purple. Black levels hold up nicely with only stray moments of crush and no blooming, while only a few of its boldest hues flirt with color bleeding. I'd have loved to see what Son looked like in 4K, especially with an HDR pass, as it quite obviously shares built-in strengths with some of that format's best-looking candidates. But for what it's worth, this film still feels right at home on Blu-ray, and I can't imagine fans being disappointed at at all with its overall appearance: it's very dense and striking, obviously encoded well with almost no compression artifacts or signs of heavy processing. In short, a fine-looking disc.

Son Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track aims reasonably high on a modest budget, creating a suitably effective atmosphere that absolutely pulls the viewer in during several key moments -- and not just the jump scares. The film's pervasive sense of dread arrives in sonic waves that frequently wash over its effective score, balancing itself nicely so as not to intrude except during its most visceral or stylishly striking moments. Dialogue is clean and very well recorded with no sync issues, while its overall dynamic range is nicely leveled with smaller home theaters in mind; in short, it gets plenty loud but thankfully won't have you reaching for the remote every five minutes. Save for a full-blown Atmos mix, there isn't much room for improvement here -- channel panning, discrete effects, and LFE are all effectively utilized and frequently work together to get the job done nicely, even with "only" six channels.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and extras.

Son Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc package ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork, a matching embossed slipcover, and a promotional insert. A few surface-level extras are included but don't add much to the main feature.

• Interviews with the Cast and Crew (4:45) - Writer/director Ivan Kavanagh and actors Andi Matichak, Emile Hirsch, and Luke Blumm speak briefly about the film, their characters, and working together.

• Deleted Scenes (6:14 total) - Ten or so short deleted scenes, including a string of mostly black-and-white flashbacks from Laura's earlier years, are presented with no context and, for the most part, don't make much of an impact for that reason. An optional director's commentary or at least an intro would have helped.

Son Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ivan Kavanagh's Son is a compelling horror-thriller with a (mostly) solid cast, great practical effects, an unpredictable story... and quite possibly the dumbest twist ending since High Tension. (It may even be enough to sink the entire ship, depending on your tolerance for bait-and-switch tactics.) I obviously don't regret watching it, but this one's still a fairly tough blind buy recommendation based on that aftertaste. Even so, anyone who revels in gooey red gore and (oc)cult-themed horror should at least give it a spin and decide for themselves. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray comes up short on solid extras, but the low price tag and solid A/V presentation make this a decent buy for established fans.