Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 22, 2019

Regular readers of my reviews may know that I have sometimes had a hard time believing the oft used epigram “Based on a True Story” (or words to that effect) that frequently show up at the beginnings of films, and there’s probably no better example as to why I have felt that way than Strange Nature. While the film is ostensibly based on a big ecological mystery concerning scores of deformed frogs that started appearing in Minnesota several years ago, writer-director Jim Ojala “turns things up to 11” (in a manner of speaking) by using that phenomenon as the basis for a horror film where not just frogs have mutated (if you catch my drift). The film has some very convincing practical effects (Ojala has had a long career as a makeup and effects artist), but from a story perspective, Strange Nature is often almost comically illogical.

That “comically illogical” part almost seems to be intentional at times, as Strange Nature kind of weirdly traffics in at least some of the same underlying plot dynamics as Erin Brockovich, when a former Top 40 singer named Kim Sweet (Lisa Sheridan) returns to her rural home with her young son Brody (Jonah Beres) to discover that some kind of nefarious poisoning is creating mutants, and not just of the frog variety. There are a number of frankly weird subplots, some of which are trotted out never to be heard from again. The fact that there’s a pesticide company in town doesn’t exactly leave much in suspense as to what’s going on, but there are some fun moments here, including a nice turn by Stephen Tobolowsky as the town’s duplicitous mayor.

Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Strange Nature is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. FilmRise has recently gone from MOD BD-Rs to pressed Blu-rays, but Cinedigm seems to be moving in the opposite direction, since this came to me on a BD-R. The image quality here is certainly watchable, but it does have a few passing issues, including recurrent banding which is especially noticeable in both fade ins and fade outs. Some of the SFX work, including what looks like green screen moments, is pretty shoddy some of the time (see screenshot 6), but the practical effects work is considerably more convincing. There is what appears to be archival footage of deformed frogs that looks like it was sourced from smaller formats, and the downgrade in image quality is fairly noticeable.

Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Strange Nature features a well designed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one which derives some good consistency in surround activity courtesy of the many outdoor scenes. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation, and there are no problems of any kind to report.

Note: There are no subtitles available on this release, though the disc has been incorrectly authored so that pressing the subtitle button on your remote brings up "English" and "Off" options, even though the "English" option never provides subtitles.

Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:25)

Strange Nature Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Any film that ends with (minor spoiler alert) a baby with an eye in its shoulder probably shouldn't be trotting out any kind of "Based on a true story" imprimatur, but, that said, I just wish Strange Nature had really gone for the gusto in terms of providing some off the wall, gonzo humor. The scenes of deformed frogs and other horrors are this film's calling card, and for those who like (?) watching such images, Strange Nature may provide a thrill or two. Video quality is a little iffy at times, but audio is fine, for those considering a purchase.