The Feast Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Feast Blu-ray Movie Review

Eat the rich.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 21, 2022

Some horror films take a conventional path to deliver straightforward scares, but others throw in a bit of symbolism to spice up to the meal. Then there's Lee Haven Jones' The Feast, a Welsh-language import that lays on social allegory so thick that it can't be viewed from any other perspective. Anyone just here for good old-fashioned dramatic tension and stomach-churning gore will get some of that, but they probably won't find The Feast's heavy-handed environmental lectures to be worth the trade... and if that didn't scare you off, it's subtitled and glacially paced to boot.

But those dreading the language barrier shouldn't worry: The Feast isn't a dialogue-heavy affair and even spends its first seven minutes without saying a word. Most of its time is spent inside a modern, luxurious home nestled in several hundred acres of mountainous Welsh wilderness as middle-aged matriarch Glenda (Nia Roberts) hastily prepares for a dinner party while her family goes about their business. Her political husband Gwyn (Julian Lewis Jones) is out hunting rabbits for the main course, while adult sons Gweirydd (Sion Alun Davies) and Guto (Steffan Cennydd) are respectively training for a triathlon and nursing an ugly foot injury. Until both guests arrive the only outsider is Cadi (Annes Elwy), a waitress filling in for Glenda's usual assistant; she's extremely quiet and seems intrigued by the home and family, but it's not long before the dynamic shifts dramatically and chaos rains down on the party, guests included.

Warning: Potential spoilers lurk below (next paragraph only).

That vague description implies that The Feast is some kind of slasher film; it's not, nor is it a cleverly-crafted whodunit where an otherwise joyful event is destroyed by outside forces. Almost everyone here is miserable aside from ethereal Cadi, who silently walks throughout the home like a distant relative, cat burglar, or visiting guest from another country. She's actually a Mother Earth stand-in while the wealthy family and their two guests represent humankind's ongoing crusade to sap the planet of natural resources, a notion that's neither all that original or hidden, and exacts her grisly revenge in "eye for an eye" fashion. Yet the film's elegant construction and slow, methodical pace do manage to create something of a hypnotic effect that makes large portions of The Feast quite captivating from a visual perspective. It's also a sonically memorable experience, thanks to an outstanding original score by composer Samuel Sim and excellent sound design that really captures an isolated, sterile environment where danger lurks just below the surface. While its heavy-handed story and somewhat disappointing climax threaten to derail this production, The Feast's strengths largely outweigh its missteps... but even with that in mind, it's definitely not a horror film for all audiences.

Needless to say The Feast is the kind of film where your mileage may vary, as evidenced by our own Brian Orndorf's slightly more critical theatrical review (which strangely doesn't mention its environmental message, so maybe it's not as obvious as I thought). Regardless, RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers support with a very strong A/V presentation for this great-looking and sounding production, even though its lone bonus feature is underwhelming.

The Feast Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The routinely beautiful and almost elegant cinematography for The Feast is captured well on RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray, which presents the film in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio on a handsome 1080p transfer. The mostly symmetrical and smooth opening scenes promise a very carefully-shot production and one that puts plenty of thought into visual storytelling which, combined with an abundance of natural light and the central home's modern interiors, makes the film quite a feast for the eyes... if you'll pardon the pun. Color reproduction matches the visuals with a mostly subdued palette that travels into more vivid territory on several occasions: stray background details, such as the lush landscapes and an expensive painting in the main dining area, as well as in more obvious places like colorful fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients of the dinner. Then there's the intentionally oversaturated "freak-out" sequences, which are packed with intense hues and rapid fire effects that wouldn't feel out of place in a 1990s music video.

But all things considered this is a great Blu-ray presentation, one that runs at a solid bit rate and shows no obvious signs of noise reduction, sharpening, compression artifacts, posterization, or other eyesores. A few stray moments of banding were spotted on harsher gradients and fades, but this is almost inevitable on the format.

The Feast Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Feast has the distinction of being the first Welsh-language film entered into our database -- not that there haven't been any others in cinema history or even recent times, but the total number made is maybe a few dozen. Regardless of its language origins, this Blu-ray's DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is a fine one indeed, one that has solid fundamental qualities (crisp dialogue, strong separation, good mixing balance) and great atmospherics as well, including no shortage of surround activity and discrete effects when tension and horror are dialed up a few notches, as well as the potent and occasionally enveloping original score by composer Samuel Sim. It doesn't always swing for the fences, of course, since The Feast plays it straight during the bulk of its runtime, only treading through more ambitious sonic territory when the situation absolutely demands it. But overall, there's no major room for improvement here.

No English dub was made, but optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature.

The Feast Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art and a promotional insert. One bonus feature is on board and, while it's not all that impressive, it's still better than nothing.

• The Making of "The Feast" (14:22) - This English-language featurette feels a bit annoyingly self-promotional and defensive in its execution, as director Lee Haven Jones and writer Roger Williams lead off by speaking about their very first film in a vaguely condescending way. Key cast members also speak briefly about their characters, including Annes Elwy and Nia Roberts, while the more interesting cinematography and score are discussed for 30 seconds apiece and in no detail. It's worth a once-over, but the film deserved more than this.

The Feast Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Director Lee Haven Jones' The Feast looks like an impressive debut at first glance since the captivating atmosphere, intriguing first act, and slow-burn pacing all work strongly in its favor more often than not. While the film as a whole never quite reaches the level promised by its setup (mostly due to heavy-handed allegory and a weak final payoff), it's still a damn fine effort and should at lease intrigue those who value unconventional horror. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers a solid A/V presentation but is light on extras, as the lone featurette fell short of expectations given the film's subject matter. Recommended to the right audience, but I wouldn't blame you for streaming it first.