Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Static 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Truth in advertising.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 7, 2013

Note: This review discusses some plot elements from which discerning readers may be able to infer salient information which might amount to a spoiler. For those who are good at reading between the lines and don't want any supposed surprises spoiled, it might be best to only read the technical portions of this review.

Static is a study in “what were they thinking?” There’s the core of an interesting premise here—however derivative it might be—but it’s dealt a serious blow (actually, two serious blows) with a “reveal” in the film’s first few moments which will tip off any discerning armchair “twist detector” as to what’s really going on, and, perhaps even more fatally, by a strange decision to have the bulk of the film play out in near darkness, to the point that not only are things nearly impossible to see, after a while there’s little choice but to give up caring about what’s going on at all. The basic setup of Static involves a couple (Milo Ventimiglia of Heroesand Sarah Shahi of Person of Interest) who are reeling from the death of their little boy. Their marital dysfunction is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a frightened young woman (Sara Paxton, The Last House on the Left ), claiming that gas mask wearing villains have chased her from her nearby car, which had gotten a flat tire. Of course, things are not exactly what they seem, and soon the couple and their panicked house guest are involved in a game of cat and mouse— with the would be assailants, and, perhaps, with each other.

Static seems to want to be a bit of a home invasion thriller with some added interpersonal dynamics thrown in for good measure. In one way, this approach is understandable and even laudable, for it gives the viewer a reason to really care for the characters, especially for the distraught married couple who are obviously anguished over the death of their child. On another level, though, the unfolding dramatics between the couple and their new “housemate” become increasingly bothersome once the mayhem starts, for they tend to divert attention away from the looming dread of what’s actually threatening them. While the “reveal” (which is, again, given up very early in the film for those who are paying attention) makes the reason for this approach clear, some viewers may end up feeling cheated that they’ve been robbed of both a cathartic denouement of what’s troubling the married couple and a convincingly somber reason for the attack by the gasmask wearing bad guys.

Writer-director Todd Levin evidently has a history in music video from what little online information I've been able to glean about him. I’m also wondering if he’s perhaps the same Todd Levin who released the interesting but in my estimation slightly pretentious album DeLuxe a few years ago with the London Symphony Orchestra tooling through quasi-minimalist riffs blended with some exotic percussion and a driving proto-rock beat. If it’s not the same Levin, this Todd Levin exhibits some of the same proclivities, namely attempting to blend different genres together to uneven results. The basic horror strategy here is quite evocative, with the focal trio isolated and trying to figure out why they’ve been singled out for victimization. But the increasingly melodramatic subtexts between the various characters ultimately becomes sillier and sillier, especially as anyone used to spotting clues—especially those given as explicitly as this film does—is going to wonder what all the fuss about when the answer is already completely clear.

Static 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Static is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an MVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. (A separate AVC encoded disc is included featuring the 2D version, though the 3D disc does allow the option of playing a 2D version as well). Aside from the bookending segments which are vividly saturated and which offer a sharp and clear looking image (see the second screenshot for a good example), the bulk of this film features a highly desaturated look which borders on black and white most of the time. The film is also incredibly dark for at least the final two thirds, making shadow detail virtually indecipherable and keeping fine detail to a minimum except in relatively better lit moments when there are close-ups. This was no doubt an intentional gambit on the part of the filmmakers, but it's hard to care about what's going on when you can't see what's going on.

The 3D presentation is actually surprisingly decent, given reasonable expectations (this is one of the very few times, if not the only time, when I'd be prone to give the 3D presentation a slightly higher score than the actual video if I were able to score in quarter points). Some of the establishing shots deliver quite good depth of field and visual planes, with foreground objects like trees or bushes clearly delineated from the backgrounds. However, once things get into the darker bulk of the film, dimensionality is simply swallowed up by the encroaching shadows. Occasionally an object will poke through the murkiness for a moment, but large swaths of this film play like barely differentiated planes of gray or black.

Static 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Static 3D's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is arguably the film's strongest element from a purely technical standpoint. Well balanced and full of creepy sound effects, which feature everything from mysterious footsteps to unexplained outdoor noises, to at least a couple of explosive gunshots, the track offers consistent surround activity. The film's hushed dialogue comes through as clearly as some of the more boisterous sound effects. The sound design here contributes mightily to whatever creepy claustrophobic atmosphere the film manages to muster, and it's presented here with excellent fidelity and very wide dynamic range.

Static 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Writer, Producer and Editor's Commentary features Todd Levin, Gabriel Cowan and John Suits in an okay but not overly interesting commentary. There's a lot of banter and some anecdotal information about the shoot, but this is probably best for rabid fans of the film.

Static 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'd typically try to be a little more circumspect in revealing any potential spoilers about a film, but since Static is so cavalier about spilling the beans from virtually the first moment I'm not quite so concerned, so if you've seen anything from Jacob's Ladder to The Sixth Sense to The Others, you're going to feel like it's déjà vu all over again, especially since Static is much less discursive than those films were about hiding any supposed secrets. The film has a few effectively moody moments, but it's undercut by a muddled visual presentation that ultimately ends up shrouding any interest in what's going on. By the time the figurative lights come back on, few are going to care when the "big twist" is finally revealed.