The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie Review

American Nympho.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 4, 2025

Writer/director Jim Cummings has made quite a name for himself during the last decade, coming in hot with critical indie darling Thunder Road before taking a detour with The Wolf of Snow Hollow, both of which defied their impossibly small budgets with memorable visuals, interesting stories, and a real knack for efficiency. Both also starred Cummings as a curiously similar central figure (a neurotic, insecure police officer) whose emotional instability and outbursts made him a magnetic subject, even if the well-worn genre trappings of Snow Hollow proved to be a less satisfying outlet for his particular brand of black comedy. His latest project The Beta Test is a collaboration with PJ McCabe, who joins him in writing/directing duties after appearing in both earlier films and a few of Cummings' early shorts, including 2017's The Robbery. Among other things, The Beta Test examines another fragile male mind in full collapse, this time set against a three-pronged backdrop of shady Hollywood agents, infidelity, and digital footprints.

It's a surprisingly comfortable fit for what seems like a seamless transition into new-ish tonal territory for Cummings. He once again stars as ambitious young talent agent Jordan Hines, who's due to be married to sweetheart Caroline Gates (Virginia Newcomb) in a few short months but clearly dreads the prospect of monogamy. His daydreams -- or hallucinations, really -- grossly exaggerate the perceived interest of other women and, combined with Jordan's staunch avoidance of past vices (alcohol, smoking, even coffee), this restless behavior bleeds into his professional and social lives too, from fruitless attempts to land lucrative Chinese client Raymond Lee (Wilky Lau) to the harsh treatment of a new assistant, Jaclyn (Jacqueline Doke). Jordan's whiffs of infidelity manifest fully on the day he receives a foil-stamped purple envelope in the mail; it's an invitation for no-strings-attached sex with "an admirer" at a local hotel, where he even gets to choose between all manner of tawdry options like a dinner menu. Blindfolds are mandatory.

Eventually, Jordan's impulses get the best of him and, as expected, the brief encounter does nothing but nudge him further away from his fiancée; it also drives a wedge in his friendship with co-worker PJ (co-director and co-writer PJ McCabe), who distances himself from Jordan after digging up some dirt on the envelope's origin. But Jordan's main adversary can be seen in the mirror, as his particular line of work -- a slick-talking talent agent struggling to compete in a potentially dying industry -- forces him to eventually re-evaluate his compulsive dishonesty with everyone, including himself. As the envelope mystery deepens, so too does the potential of him finally owning up to his mistakes.

Tonally, The Beta Test owes tribute to several existing films, from Cummings' earlier work to clear inspirations like American Psycho and the output of David Fincher, including The Social Network. That's good company to be in and, to its credit, The Beta Test still manages to carve out a mostly unique identity despite its similarities to these films. It's also acted extremely well, from Cummings in his magnetic lead role to even the smallest supporting character, and a number of unique touches -- covered briefly in the A/V comments linked below -- offer proof that the creative team was in full control of the film despite working with limited resources. In short, The Beta Test is more dependably solid work from Cummings and, though not a total breakthrough effort for the director, it's yet another standout independent film that will hopefully lead to bigger and better things hopefully still fueled by the same do-it-yourself spark.

Much like Cummings' first film, The Beta Test was a fully crowd-funded affair but shrewdly traded in Kickstarter for Wefunder, a resource that actually gives investors a return on their money if profits are eventually made. It's nothing if not an interesting way to generate support for independent projects and, as evidenced by the film's ~$300,000 budget (which creates a mostly† seamless atmosphere), a legitimate option for aspiring directors of all ages. [Please note that I am not endorsing this resource in any official capacity, nor was I one of The Beta Test's financial backers.]

This welcome Region B Blu-ray edition from Arrow greatly advances upon IFC's 2022 Blu-ray released stateside; not so much from a technical perspective, of course, but in the presentation and breadth of its bonus features, which include a mixture of exclusive film-specific supplements as well as an entire second Blu-ray disc filled with early short films by Cummings and company that's exclusive to this still-available Limited Edition from Arrow. It's one of those rare cases where an overall home video package exceeds the main feature itself... which is of course interesting and well worth a look, but this release will be even more appealing to die-hard fans of Cummings' output in general.

† - It's hard to fault The Beta Test for working on a tight budget, yet it's also impossible to ignore some of the film's cheaper-looking moments. The worst of the bunch ends its opening scene, a bloody death by way of window tossing that's so wholly unconvincing that it's almost painful. Maybe just show it from a different angle?

The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This clean and precise 1080p presentation from Arrow unsurprisingly appears to be similar to the transfer featured on IFC's 2022 Blu-ray, so please see my review of that title for more details. I'm assuming the encoding isn't identical, but I'd be surprised if any meaningful differences exist between these two releases.

The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the default audio option (DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio) sounds identical to IFC's Blu-ray linked above. Like that release, Arrow's Blu-ray also includes a DTS-HD 2.0 option... but whereas IFC's stereo track is Descriptive Audio, this one's just a standard mixdown for two-channel playback.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Packaging and extras are where Arrow's Limited Edition leaps ahead. This two-disc release ships in a clear hinged keepcase with reversible artwork; also included is a purple "envelope" slipcover and a few nice inserts, including a replica of Jordan's "no-strings-attached" invitation and a booklet with cast/crew credits, technical specs, and a new essay by film critic Anton Bitel. Bonus features can be found on both discs and are detailed below.

DISC ONE (Movie)

• Audio Commentary - Co-directors Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe sit down for this candid commentary (their first, apparently!), which as expected covers a lot of ground including story development, casting, locations, unique shortcuts, the pros and cons of crowd-funding and limited budgets, and much more.

• Sex, Lies & Purple Envelopes (11:01) - This visual essay was recorded exclusively for Arrow Video in 2023 and features comments by author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas with supportive film clips.

• The Making of The Beta Test (21:35) - A warm and casual look behind the scenes with ample contributions from Cummings, who begins with a condensed overview of his career path thus far.

• Trapped. Hiding. Boom. (16:32) - This second video essay by author and film critic Guy Adams broadens its scope to examine the role of hotels in various films throughout history.

• Trailers (2 clips, 3:24 total) - A pair of promotional pieces for the film.

• Image Gallery - A manual slideshow of 80 photos in various aspect ratios.

DISC TWO (Short films)

The Minutes Collection - All six installments of the 2017 short film series.

• Parent Teacher (17:38) - An school parent/teacher night goes south and never recovers. Co-directed and written by Jim Cummings and Dustin Taylor Hahn, who also stars as the teacher.
• Cory Comes to Christmas (17:17) - A similarly uncomfortable holiday family gathering in which a young woman introduces her boyfriend for the first (and probably last) time. Directed by Jim Cummings and co-written by Cummings and Dustin Taylor Hahn.
• The Stop (12:42) - Three friends do drugs in a car right before a familiar police officer pulls them over. Directed by Danny Madden and co-written by Madden, Jim Cummings, and Dustin Taylor Hahn.
• Marty <3 Katy (16:18) - A put-upon restaurant manager's shift is turned upside-down when his ex-girlfriend shows up. Directed by Jim Cummings and co-written by Cummings and Dustin Taylor Hahn.
• Native Stand Up (14:13) - A Native American man tries his hand at stand-up comedy on stage at a Texas bar. Co-directed and written by Jim Cummings and Dustin Taylor Hahn
• The Robbery (10:18) - Made after the 2016 success of his original short Thunder Road, this similarly single-shot black comedy follows a teenager and her botched convenience store robbery in broad daylight. Directed by Jim Cummings and co-written by Cummings and Dustin Taylor Hahn.
• Minutes: Behind the Scenes (4:22) - A bite-sized featurette with members of the cast and crew.

• Us Funny (2016, 15:33) - Co-directed and starring Jim Cummings & Julia Bates (who also wrote it), this short film follows Jim and Julia on their first date in Los Angeles... which is intercut with a later tragic event.

• Sundance 2016 (31:11) - Behind the scenes before, during, and after that year's awards show, this casual and candid travelogue hinges on the success of Cummings' original short film Thunder Road.

• Sundance 2017 (27:18) - This like-minded sequel focuses on Dustin Taylor Hahn, PJ McCabe, Jim Cummings, and their hopeful entry The Robbery, included on this release under "The Minutes Collection".

The Beta Test Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Beta Test should be of great interest to the growing fanbase of Jim Cummings, who shares writing and directing duties with co-star PJ McCabe in an erotic thriller-comedy that sits right at home in his existing body of work while also feeling like something new and different. Story-wise, it owes too much to other films to be considered truly original (at least in comparison with Thunder Road and The Wolf of Snow Hollow) but still remains a consistently engaging effort that's very well acted and, aside from one very questionable bit of CGI, pretty damn seamless considering its ultra-low budget. Arrow's Limited Edition greatly advances on IFC's 2022 Blu-ray with a full array of bonus features including an entire second disc of short films from Cummings and McCabe. Highly Recommended to fans.