The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie Review

Swimming with the basics.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 1, 2015

The Drownsman blends the "don't go in the water" terror of Jaws with the supernatural boogeyman shenanigans of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Yet even with a somewhat unique blend of classic motifs, the film never offers much more than standard genre convention, pitting a group of girls (one of whom has a closer relationship to the killer than she knows, à la Halloween) against a terrifying something that takes pleasure in drowning victims and listening to their heartbeat as they slowly die. Outside of a few random revelations, the movie follows convention but does so with a spirit and apparent affection for the genre, trying to find a good middle ground upon which atmosphere, story, characterization, and scares all come together in some semblance of balance. In that regard the film succeeds -- it's pretty well made -- but nothing can help it overcome the repetition apparent in its core raw materials or the lack of distinguishing personality in its characters, hero and villain alike.

Submerging into terror.

Madison's (Michelle Mylett) best friend Hannah (Caroline Korycki) has just gotten engaged. Hannah asks Madison to serve as her maid of honor, and Madison happily accepts. Moments later, however, Madison take a tumble off a pier. While she's underwater, she sees a terrible vision of a beast of some sort that clearly intends to do her harm. She awakens safe and sound on the pier, surrounded by friends, but the event will have a lasting traumatic impact on her life. A year later, she's too terrified to get out of bed. She misses Hannah's wedding, and her friends have had enough. They enlist the help of a psychic medium (Clare Bastable) to try and fool Hannah into thinking that there's really nothing going on. But the event takes a turn for the surreal when they all sense that there's something more with them in the room and Madison is almost killed when they try and force her to face her fear of the water. Now, they're all in danger, and it's up to Madison to set aside her fears and face them directly, lest she and all her friends die at the hands of a soaking-wet madman.

Perhaps the film's greatest shortcoming, beyond recycling standard procedural elements, is its painfully flat and interchangeable characters. Beyond Madison's standing as the first targeted girl and a few revelations that emerge over the course of the movie, she's interchangeable, and almost indistinguishable, from any of her girlfriends who come along for the ride. In fact, had the movie transferred a couple basics to any of the others, the movie wouldn't miss a beat. It's not reliant on the characters, then, just the ideas behind them, and that one happens to be central to the story and the others happen to be victims meant to maintain a sense of danger and urgency. Michelle Mylett isn't terrible in the lead part, but she's not given all that much with which to work. Her character is accentuated more by the core story materials around her and less by her performance of the part as it's written, leaving her out to dry and forced to sink or swim on the ebbs and flows of the script rather than any dynamics she may be able to inject into a flat character who is more a piece of a puzzle and less an organic entity fans will deeply care about by movie's end.

Fortunately, there's hope, a little bit of light in the darkness evident within the movie's vanilla shell. Structurally, it hearkens back to the classics of the 80s, which is always a good place to start. Rather than just splatter blood and guts all over the screen, as modern genre films are apt to do, The Drownsman works on a psychological plane that's accentuated by the scares rather than the entire movie be dependent on the scares and gore. Mood matters in The Drownsman, and the movie always makes sure to keep tension high as the girl search for answers, away from immediate danger but always knowing that it's lurking everywhere they turn, making objects as simple as a glass of water or a kitchen sink things that instill fear and portend harm. The movie definitely lifts some ideas from the aforementioned Nightmare franchise and generally makes good use of that franchise's (or, at least the first couple of films) key ingredients. Where this one comes up short in comparison is the absence of a well defined would-be victim and presenting only a shell of a killer who, unlike Freddy Krueger, isn't physically or verbally memorable. This film's nemesis is a dark, globular figure with no real defining characteristics and, by way of the film's setup, isn't allowed the opportunity to truly interact beyond presence and raw force, whereas Robert Englund was given the time to shape the character beyond the physical tools at his disposal. Granted, that "menacing, silent shape" thing worked out well for the Friday the 13th franchise, but there's so little real definition that the movie can't get away with that, particularly considering the added dynamic layers the movie builds beyond "stalk and kill."

The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Drownsman's 1080p transfer, sourced from a digital shoot, looks quite good. The movie opens with a gritty throwback style that's dark and unforgiving but that soon gives way to a more traditional digital sheen. But even with that inherent inorganic, flat look the movie remains moody through its generally low and warm lighting and shadowy backdrops. Details are always impressive, wether up-close facial basics or various odds and ends like scuffed wood floors or accents around a home like sinks and bathtubs. The few good looks the audience gets at the killer reveals some superb makeup work and prosthetics. Colors are well defined even in those warmer, lower light shots. Black levels are critical, and while there's a mild hint of paleness, the transfer maintains fairly deep and accurate shadowing that accentuates the movie's bleak feel. Very light banding and noise interfere, but never to a mood-killing extent.

The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Drownsman doesn't sink but instead swims with a very strong Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music is hauntingly heavy and effortless, offering a wide, full sound stage with easy and natural surround and deep, heavy bass in support, both in primary score and in some background beats at a party near film's start. The track features plenty of eerie, moody atmospherics. Dripping water throughout a number of backgrounds represents the most obvious, and each drip plops to the ground with unmistakable richness and attention to detail. Basic haunting atmospherics help shape several scenes, while a nice burst of rain and thunder envelop the listening area near film's end. Dialogue is naturally focused in the middle and plays with scene-commanding accuracy. Only a few screams near the end go inexplicably sharp -- painfully so -- and out of balance. Otherwise, this is a very good, highly atmospheric and beautifully film supporting track from Anchor Bay.

The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Drownsman contains no supplemental content.

The Drownsman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Drownsman might have been a far superior movie given a little more attention to character detail on both ends, in Madison and the killer alike. There's a lot here to enjoy, a good atmosphere and a movie that plays to the genre's real strengths and less to the idea that more gore means better horror. But the movie never quite finds its own identity despite a relatively good working premise. Hopefully a sequel can bring out the best of a world that's primed for something better. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The Drownsman features rock-solid video and audio. No supplements are included. Fans of 80s Horror should find enough to like here to make this one at least worth a rental or a solid buy at a bargain price.