The Emu War Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		1.0

The Emu War Blu-ray Movie Review

The Emu War is a war-comedy from Australia. Created by Jonathan Schuster, The Emu War is produced by Lisa Fineberg (Gocsy’s Classics, Tail) and Jay Morrissey (Gocsy’s Classics, Fancy Boy). Inspired by the true story and true events of Australia declaring itself in a state of war against the Emu, The Emu War explores the over- the-top nature of war with the Emu. Starring Damian Callinan, Lisa Fineberg, Aaron Gocs, and Naomi Higgins.

An entire platoon of fighters is sent into battle. The Australian troops have decided to fight a big war against the Emu. The Emu is considered a threat to Australia. The troops are ordered to kill the leader of the Emu, the Queen Emu. The platoon is led by the ambitious Major Meredith and he has an intense and unyielding hatred for the Emu because of his kidnapped son.

As the war unfolds between Australia and the Emu, the true story of what happened to Meredith’s kidnapped son comes to light. Perhaps there is more to the war and the story of the Emu than first expected. A war that no one ever expected in the first place.

The acting is terrible across the board in The Emu War. The Emu War is one of the worst comedies I have seen in ages and the entire cast phones it in with terrible performances. The ensemble cast includes Major Meredith (Damian Callinan), Mary-Sue Meredith (Lisa Fineberg), Jackie (Aaron Gocs), Wendi (Naomi Higgins), Harold Holt (Cameron James), Soldier (Bailey Lackas), Colonel (Ethan Marrell), and Terrified soldier (Luke McGregor). The performances simply fail to impress on any level and these are amateurish and lackluster performances. There is a sense of these being actors who have little to no understanding of the art of acting. The actors fail to bring out something special in the “comedy” of the film, too.

The lead visual effects by Daniel Cordery (Lieutenant Jangles, UnTrue Crime) are average and are underwhelming. The special effects are cheap and cookie-cutter – as lackluster as any random direct-to-DVD buzz-kill production. The effects are simply terrible and everything about the effects work is laughable.

Edited by Jay Morrissey (Gocsy’s Classics), The Emu War is poorly edited and feels like an assemblage of short comedic sketches edited together to try to make a coherent film. The editing style is so messy it doesn’t add any narrative strength to the production. Awful editing across the board and it makes no meaningful impression.

Composed by Asher Pope (Choir Girl, Dominion), The Emu War features boring and mediocre music. The score is laughably bad. The music adds no sense of charm to the filmmaking. It is simply average and underwhelming background music. There is nothing special about the score.

The cinematography by David McKinnar (Last Party of Summer, Hell Patrol) is somewhat decent for low-budget fare but it simultaneously lacks imagination and creativity. Though the film can look somewhat polished at times, the cinematography sticks out as mediocre. There is nothing special about the film when looked at from a visual perspective – the cinematography makes no meaningful impact.

Written by Jonathan Schuster (Fancy Boy, Fresh Blood Pilot Season), John Campbell (Fancy Boy, Marx and Venus), Jay Morrissey (Gocsy’s Classics, Smiles), Lisa Fineberg, Urvi Majumdar (Urvi Went to an All Girls School, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee), and Dane Simpson, The Emu War isn’t a well-done script. The script is a total misfire. The script is mediocre and there isn’t a single funny line in the entire film. The script has cookie-cutter characters with no interesting character arcs. The writing is ridiculously bad and the storyline as outlandish as the worst comedies. No one would enjoy the screenplay.

Directed by John Campbell (Fancy Boy, Gocsy’s Classics), Lisa Fineberg, and Jay Morrissey, The Emu War is all around awful filmmaking. The Emu War is one of the worst films I have ever seen and in terms of recent watches it is easily in the top spot for worst films. The filmmaking is lazy, boring, and dull. The filmmaking lacks any creative energy.

The entire effort feels as though it was done on autopilot by filmmakers who have never even seen an actual film before and who have no knowledge of the craft – let alone knowledge of the auteur theory or the French New Wave – or anything else meaningful for that matter. The Emu War feels like a movie made overnight by immature college students who have never seen a single film released by The Criterion Collection.

The Emu War Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Umbrella Entertainment, The Emu War is presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.00:1 widescreen. The high-definition transfer is decent looking and the transfer is reasonably well-done. Colors are well saturated and reproduced on the release. The transfer has impressive sharpness and the cinematography is authentically reproduced by Umbrella. From an encoding standpoint, Umbrella Entertainment did a terrific job.

The Emu War Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The lossless audio presentation is engaging and well reproduced. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The soundtrack is well reproduced, too. A noteworthy encode with the surrounds utilized for some of the action sequences. Umbrella has provided excellent clarity with the lossless audio.

The Emu War Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with the Directors and Creators of The Emu War

VFX Breakdown Featurette (HD, 4:34)

Deleted Scenes (HD, 3:38)

The Emu War 2018 Short Film (HD, 6:58)

Trailer (HD, 1:36)

The Emu War Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Emu War is a total disaster. The filmmaking is off-the-charts awful. One of the worst films I have ever seen and certainly the worst film I have seen in recent memory. The filmmaking is terrible and there are no real redeeming qualities to the production.

The Blu-ray release provides a quality presentation with good high-definition video, lossless audio, and a selection of supplements. Even so, it is hard to imagine anyone wanting to own this release. An awful feature-film everyone should pass on.