6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
4-year old Echo and her mother Ivy, a tarot card reader, live a quiet life in a rural area. When reclusive Kurt moves down the road to restore an abandoned farmhouse, an accident leads to Echo's murder, and suddenly three lives collide in mysterious and wicked ways. Kurt assumes he can hide his secret under the ground. But Echo burrows into his head until he can feel her in his bones. As she haunts his every move, Ivy must dig deep to see the signs and prove that love won't stay buried.
Starring: John Adams (LX), Zelda Adams, Toby PoserHorror | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s a famous song called What a Difference a Day Made that will probably be instantly recognized from its mere title by fans of artists as disparate as Dinah Washington and Jamie Cullum. Some viewers may want to slightly alter that title to read “what a difference a ‘d’ makes” when watching the two films aggregated in this release, since both The Deeper You Dig and The Hatred are products of a husband, wife and daughter(s) team known collectively as The Adams Family, which will of course evoke instant recognition of another kind, namely of Charles Addams’ inimitable comic panels, which then famously gave birth to The Addams Family on television and then all of the feature films which followed it (decades later, it should be noted, which is itself testament to how enduringly popular Addams’ creations have been). John Adams, Toby Poser and their daughters Zelda and Lulu have been making films together since 2013’s Rumblestrips, a film which was sparked at least in part (according to some supplements included in this set) by Poser’s dissatisfaction with the waning of roles being offered to her as she approached the age of 40. This particular Adams family has continued to produce a regular supply of indie fare in the intervening years, including Knuckle Jack, The Shoot and Halfway to Zen. The Adams basically do everything on their films, sharing acting, writing, cinematography, editing, scoring (and one assumes craft services) credits in various ways across their productions. The Deeper You Dig only features Adams, Poser and younger daughter Zelda in both acting and production roles, while The Hatred features John Adams working under the pseudonym John Law, with both Zelda and Lulu on screen and behind the scenes in various capacities, without any overt assistance from Poser.
The Deeper You Dig is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following pretty generic information on the transfers of both films in this set:
The Deeper You Dig and The Hatred are presented in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratio with 2.0 stereo sound. The High Definition masters were provided by Wonder Wheel Productions.While the IMDb doesn't offer any technical data points on the shoot, this interview with Toby Poser discloses that the film was captured with Canon 5D and 6D cameras. There are some differences noticeable between various moments that are perhaps due at least in part to different camera models, with some of the snowbound outdoor material looking a bit more digital and kind of overly sharpened at times. On the whole, though, this presentation offers great detail levels and some surprisingly well executed CGI considering what was probably a miniscule budget. There are several stylistic quirks on display, including some close-ups that are slightly out of focus and some other more intentionally out there imagery where contrast can be pushed and whites come close to blooming. Some minor banding is noticeable is some scenes, as in a sequence where Kurt points a flashlight directly at the camera.
The Deeper You Dig features an LPCM 2.0 track that offers some nice renderings of ambient environmental sounds courtesy of the many outdoor scenes. The film doesn't really rely on traditional startle effects, though there are some fun effects when Kurt shoots at either inanimate objects or "reanimated" objects (meaning visions of Echo). The score includes some interesting choices, and sounds fine throughout. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly without any problems. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Black Sky (1080p; 2:25)
- Falling in Love (1080p; 1:49)
The Deeper You Dig has some really arresting imagery, and there are a couple of breathtaking edits as well. The underlying premise of the film is definitely fun and creepy and should be enjoyed by horror fans, even if the film occasionally gives into some of the more "traditionalist" impulses it seems to be willfully avoiding most of the time. For such a modestly budgeted film, the production is well wrought, and technical merits on this Blu- ray are generally solid. The supplementary package is typically excellent as per Arrow's standard operating procedure. Recommended.
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