Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Tell-Tale Blu-ray Movie Review

The heart knows best in this fitfully entertaining thriller.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 20, 2010

The cinematic trope of donor organs taking over their host bodies, often to nefarious ends, has been a staple since at least the days of good old Igor taking that damnable “criminal brain” and handing it to Dr. Frankenstein, who installed it in his monster. Tell Tale’s title obviously harkens back to the iconic story of Edgar Allan Poe, and so concerns a heart rather than a brain, but what really sets it apart is that this transplanted organ is out for some semblance of justice, rather than simply routine mayhem. Director Michael Cuesta is no stranger to death and destruction, having helmed several episodes of both Six Feet Under and Dexter, and he mounts a mostly gripping drama here that makes the most of screenwriter Dave Callaham’s update of a heart that has a lot on its mind, so to speak. If some of the film is overly treacly, with a few too many clichés for its own good, that tendency is somewhat ameliorated by a fun premise and a killer (no pun intended) final second or two that ties up a couple of loose ends with a nice, blood soaked bow.

One big happy family. Except for the big and happy parts.

Josh Lucas (Poseidon) portrays single father Terry Bernard, who has just received a heart transplant. Terry’s young daughter Angela (Beatrice Miller) has her own problems, suffering from the extremely rare genetic disease Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), which is causing her soft tissue to slowly ossify, resulting in what will probably be certain death early in her adulthood. Angela is under the care of something approaching the perfect doctor, a woman named Elizabeth Clemson (Lena Headey, 300). Elizabeth and Terry soon begin to experience romantic sparks, something that begins to wreak emotional havoc with Terry, as he is receiving strange thumping messages from his new heart, messages which seem to indicate that the donor did not go gentle into that good night, and indeed was dragged there kicking and screaming, evidently by a team of thieves.

Terry soon finds himself on a sort of Death Wish vengeance spree, wherein his shiny new heart begins to thump loudly when he comes into contact with those responsible for the donor’s untimely death, and Terry then erupts into unexpected fits of rage and returns the favor. Along for this sort of manic depressive roller coaster ride is a jaded police officer (Brian Cox), who is just as happy to have Terry close a cold case with a few unsolved murders than he is to actually figure out what really happened to the original donor.

Tell Tale moves through its setup and attendant killing spree with a modicum of fuss and bother, much like the best Dexter episodes. Unlike Dexter, aside from a final great “gotcha” joke (if you have a dark sense of humor), there’s little of that television series’ giddy dance between gore and hilarity. Instead we get a series of bloody murders where the audience infers that the victims deserve what’s coming to them, but where there’s little to no backstory or motivation to really make it compelling. In fact it’s only in the film’s final act, when we finally get to the real reason that Terry’s donor was murdered, and a really nasty turn by Dallas Roberts as a vicious surgeon considerably ups the film’s disquietude, that the audience is finally sucked into Terry’s nightmare fully and completely, and Tell Tale quivers to life like an electroshocked heart. Roberts, who resembles a half-mad John Ritter, delivers one of the most disturbing performances in recent memory, in a cameo that will have most viewers squirming in abject horror. Roberts delivers Callaham’s throwaway line, “That’s gonna hurt in the morning,” with an understated brilliance that ratchets up the film to near Dexter levels of horrific humor.

Where the film falls noticeably short is in the completely cliché ridden relationship between Terry and his daughter, one that is played for such unending pathos that diabetics are warned to steer well clear of this film. Headey does her best in a woefully underwritten role, rising to the occasion late in the film when Terry makes the questionable decision to drag Angela to a museum featuring the skeleton of FOP’s most famous victim, and then, later, when Terry falls victim to the conspiracy he’s been trudging around the edge of for most of the film. Lucas does a creditable job evincing Terry’s basic goodness while also depicting the man’s descent into near madness as his new heart compels him to commit unspeakable acts of horror.

There’s nothing new or especially innovative in much of this, but Cuesta doesn’t waste any time getting us into the story and keeping the question of what really happened to the donor front and center. When the “punch line” is finally delivered in the film’s closing scene, it’s a sinister little joke on all that has gone before, aided by a wonderful sound effect that will leave a lot of people simultaneously giggling and cringing in horror. If only the rest of the film had been able to walk that Dexter-esque tightrope, Cuesta may very well have delivered a modern mini-classic. As it stands, Tell Tale is a gruesome little film that has brevity and a decent premise on its side. If its ultimate realization leaves something to be desired, it at least isn’t thwarted by over arching ambition.

Tell-Tale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tell Tale's AVC encoded 1080p image (with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio) is grainy, grimy and gritty, perfectly in tune with the dark psychological undertones of its drama. Contrast is frequently just slightly blown out, rendering some of the darker scenes murky. None of this is a problem, per se, and most probably accurately represents director Cuesta's vision for the film, which sports a "lo-fi" ethos in most departments. Colors are good, if sometimes muted, but that very subtly plays to the film's strengths, especially in the ice blue, desaturated look of the film's horrifying climax. While the grain may give the overall film a slightly soft look in the wide and medium shots, close-ups reveal a wealth of detail like every hair on Lucas' body (and he's filmed shirtless virtually as much as he is clothed). It's hard with a film this purposefully processed, which was relatively low budget to begin with, to really properly assess a high definition image as a standalone property. I'm quite positive this Blu-ray recreates the theatrical experience excellently. I'm just as sure persnickety videophiles will find it too soft and lacking in contrast, despite that being the wish of its creator.

Tell-Tale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tell Tale's audio mix offers one true superlative in its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track--the relentless thump, thump of Terry's transplanted heart which overwhelms the subwoofer and surround channels with air pressure changing intensity. There are moments of really good immersion here, especially in some of the city scenes, and in two of the murder segments, one in a parking structure and the other in a subway tunnel, where the claustrophobic acoustics are perfectly rendered. Otherwise this is a pretty talky picture without a lot of opportunity for knock your socks of sonic effects. Dialogue is clean and crisp and easy to understand, and the brooding underscore is well mixed into the overall soundfield. But it's that incessant, overpowering thump, thump that's likely to stay with you long after the film has ended.

Tell-Tale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are offered.

Tell-Tale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tell Tale harkens back to those great B-movie thrillers that Val Lewton used to crank out for RKO. There's nothing really brilliant here, but the film has a good, uneasy ambience and an interesting enough premise to see it through its clichéd rough spots. Dallas Roberts steals the film in a late cameo, which finally elevates the proceedings to that giddy area where you don't know whether to laugh or scream. Those of you who like thrillers with a slightly gruesome twist could do a lot worse than to rent this for an evening's scare.