Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 24, 2024

Microbudgeted features have a long and storied history in the film industry, ranging from the absurdly low $7,000.00 it cost Robert Rodriguez to make El Mariachi to more fulsome but still less than "blockbuster" funding afforded (no pun intended) films like the relatively recent Australian feature Monolith. Monolith may in at least some ways be a salient film to compare to Terror Firma, both for the fact that each film tries to create a science fiction tinged ambience with next to no money, but also due to the fact that both of them are more or less confined to one location. In that regard, it's arguable that Terror Firma is actually a bit more ambitious, since one of its subplots sees a focal character lost in some kind of interdimensional madhouse environment which necessitated writer and director Jake Macpherson at least temporarily getting out of the dilapidated house where most of the action takes place. Also, at least somewhat like Monolith, there may be some kind of "alien" presence involved in all of the mayhem, though Macpherson's screenplay can be a bit (maybe a lot) opaque in offering clear, concise explanations for exactly what's going on.

Lola (Faye Tamasa) is seen making her way somewhere, in an oddly abandoned urban environment, a trek which is accompanied by seeming "voices from nowhere" (since there's no one else around), all of which instantly starts things out in a somewhat delirious, almost quasi-drug fueled haze (and let's just say you ain't seen nothin' yet). Lola eventually ends up at that aforementioned dilapidated house, where she's greeted by her estranged brother Louis (Burt Thakur). In just one of several plot points left generally unclarified, Lola needs a place to stay, and Lou's house is evidently it, despite whatever has gone down previously between the siblings. Complicating this already awkward reunion is the presence of Lou's housemate Cage (Robert Brettenaugh), who almost instantly starts making inappropriately suggestive comments to Lola. Lola has already spied what seems to be an "alien" looking plant on her way to Lou's, in what might be the floral equivalent of foreshadowing.

In another largely unexplained plot machination, suddenly the trio is, evidently with the rest of humanity, put under quarantine (sound familiar?), receiving a government authorized shipment of food and supplies to tide them over. Lola finds a packet of seeds underneath one of the boxes, and of course plants them. Rather weirdly, instead of an actual flower, the trio finds a hole in their backyard the next morning, and Cage, ever the provocateur, just thrusts his hand in, finding a kind of magical jelly (later called "juice") that seems to offer a "favorite flavor" to anyone who tastes it. The juice also has an instant hallucinatory effect, which seems to alternate between euphoria and hysteria.

If all of that isn't gonzo enough for you, stay tuned, because Lou suddenly finds himself transported to — well, good question, other than that he seems to maybe be underground, leaving Lola to contend with an increasingly unhinged Cage. It's all deliberately askew and increasingly odd, to the point that the film has several sequences involving Lola, who manages to finally get to her brother, and Lou crawling through tunnels of muck in order to try to get back to the house, with Lola encountering an enraged Cage, which then propels the plot into even more bizarre content, including having Lola ensconced in a huge pile of dirt.

If Terror Firma could have arguably used at least a little more clarity, it excels in creating a mood of isolation and confusion, one that seems to echo what many people experienced during the lockdown of the pandemic. That sensibility may admittedly be undone by some of the weirder elements of Macpherson's screenplay, which sees things getting quasi-Grand Guignol (including the use of a huge bloody knife) in one of actually several climaxes in the third act (things actually start to get violent even before that, and a sidebar character is dispatched almost as soon as he shows up). Performances are generally solid, and Macpherson manages to keep things visually interesting despite his obviously tiny budget and use of mostly one set.

Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Terror Firma is the first Blu-ray release from fledgling label Dark Arts Entertainment (founded by Brian Yuzna and John Penney), offered here with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb states the Sony FS5 was utilized, and while the IMDb doesn't offer the resolution of the DI as of the writing of this review, the Sony captures at source resolutions of 4K, so I wouldn't be surprised if this had a 4K DI. The presentational aspects tend to vary between the relatively "normal" and the increasingly psychedelic as the juice's effects begin to take hold, so certain allowances need to be made in terms of pretty radically varying detail levels. The "normal" sequences offer a nicely suffused palette and generally great looking detail levels, though a lot of the film tends to be minimally lit, which can lead to slight deficits in fine detail and/or shadow definition. The hallucinogenic material is often very aggressively graded/filtered, often toward reds, and detail levels can understandably ebb at times. There's a pretty heavy digital grain field which I personally didn't find that "organic" looking.

Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Terror Firma features an LPCM 2.0 track that is nicely robust, though I have a hunch some fans will join me in wishing there had been a surround track offered, since the film virtually wallows in weird effects and a synth heavy score by Heavy Arms. There's reasonably wide stereo imaging at times, and dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Extended Director's Cut (1:35:05) adds quite a bit of running time to the release version's 1:21:48, but I wouldn't argue that it offers any really substantial clarification in terms of some of the more obscure plot points.


• Director's Commentary accompanies the release version.


• Photo Gallery (HD; 9:50) is authored to auto advance pretty rapidly, so have your Pause button handy if you want to linger on any given image.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:30)

Terror Firma Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While film fans may be instantly reminded of another badly punned title similar to this one, Troma's inimitable (?) Terror Firmer, kind of hilariously, there was also an old audio Doctor Who outing from 2005 which bore the very same title of this film. This is an obviously "homemade film" (Macpherson even starts his commentary by telling listeners he's recording it from his home, and the credits include several other MacPhersons, who capitalize the P but who I assume are related to Jake). Whle it probably could have benefitted from a least a little more clarification, Terror Firma manages to craft an appropriately drugged out ambience. Technical merits are generally solid, and with caveats noted, Terror Firma comes Recommended.