Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 3.5 |
| Extras |  | 0.0 |
| Overall |  | 2.5 |
Strait-Jacket Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 10, 2020
'Strait-Jacket' is currently available from Mill Creek as part of a two-film bundle with 'Berserk!.' The film was previously released in August 2018 under the Shout! Factory label. I do not own
and did not review that disc, so the technical portions of this review are independent of that release.
For a full film review, please see Brian Orndorf's review of the Shout! Factory release by clicking
here.
Strait-Jacket Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Strait-Jacket looks fairly strong in the aggregate. The black-and-white photography enjoys good contrast within that spectrum, with fine white
highlights, solid black level depth, and a positive feel of tonal nuance throughout the middle range. The grain structure is intact, appearing a bit dense
and snowy,
spiking in some places, but holding more finessed and moderate in others. Texturing is stable and reliable, presenting good object definition around
house interiors,
farmyards, and of course faces and clothes. The picture is sharp, sure, and satisfying. There are some speckles and pops but such appear without
intrusiveness or obvious frequency. The encode is rather strong a well, showing little in the way of serious compression artifacts. While screenshot
comparisons are not foolproof, this does appear to be very similar, if not identical, to the Shout! disc.
Strait-Jacket Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The LPCM 2.0 uncompressed soundtrack is likely not radically different from Shout!'s DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 encode. The track is perfectly
acceptable in all areas, delivering clear music that does not often push limits for space or aggressiveness save for the most intensive moments of
axe-slaying where music crescendos, screams pierce the stage, and the swing slices through the speakers with a thudding impact on the victim's neck.
The
track offers a few other examples of light, and mostly inconsequential, atmosphere. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. From the left and right
speakers it images quite effectively to the front-center area.
Strait-Jacket Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Unfortunately, the Mill Creek disc contains no supplements. On the other hand, the Shout! disc is feature-packed, including a commentary, several
featurettes, trailers, still galleries, and more.
Strait-Jacket Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Strait-Jacket offers a compelling examination of a murderer and the various trigger points that take her back to that fateful day she
slaughtered her husband and his lover. It's well performed with a few surprises in store, and the curiosity to see it through allows audiences to hold on
through some sluggish stretches through the middle. Mill Creek's Blu-ray offers quality video and dependable audio. No extras are included. For those
not bothered by the lack of supplements, this is the way to go over the Shout! disc. It's cheaper, ships with another movie, and the A/V presentations
are
likely not far off. However, those desperate for extras obviously need to go with Shout!'s release.
