Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		1.5

The Hatred Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 8, 2017

You’d think with all the recent well documented and unsettling unrest in Charlottesville that a film which begins with a voiceover announcing the infiltration of Nazis into American society might have a sudden, if unintended, “ripped from the headlines” quality that would give it some visceral impact. It’s some indication of how haphazard The Hatred is, though, that even what turns out to be a mere prelude to the main story is devoid of any context or information other than that brief introductory narration which seems to be implying a kind of The Man in the High Castle alternate reality, but which in fact is simply plopping former Nazis down in Middle America after World War II. While events have proven that indeed some Nazis matriculated to the United States after the war ended, The Hatred never even clarifies whether this is part of some nefarious plan (which seems to be the case) or whether it's just the "natural" course of events after the war, and certainly never gets into the apparently villainous background of a farmer named Samuel Sears (Andrew Divoff of Wishmaster Collection fame), who comes off as more of a creepy Amish sort, especially since he seems to want to keep his pretty daughter Alice (Darby Walker) from interacting with any modern types. There’s an absolutely bizarre subtext in this early part of the film which seems to suggest a kind of “separation” between the Sears family and their surrounding environment that is at least somewhat reminiscent of The Village, but, again, nothing is explained or developed and therefore nothing ever really resonates in a truly memorable fashion. Samuel is first seen in a labored getup involving a gas mask and a long battered trenchcoat (one the production design team reportedly took a lot of time in developing, evidently hoping for a new “franchise character”, according to the making of featurette), but even that is only explained fitfully later. This whole opening sequence, which lasts for over twenty minutes, has some intriguing elements, as well as two pretty horrifying deaths, but it just kind of floats in midair without any grounding. Who is Samuel? Was he a Nazi officer? What about his wife? Why is he insistent Alice stay away from the townsfolk? These questions are just the tip of this particular iceberg, one which also has unexplored issues regarding a priceless Nazi relic that just shows up on Samuel's doorstep one day and which he plasters behind a wall in his basement. There's the clear indication that this relic is "spewing" negative energy, something that leads to at least one of the aforementioned deaths, but even this supposedly important plot element is never really explained or explored.

But you know what? All of those questions end up not really mattering because — the film simply plops forward several decades to modern times to get to its aforementioned main story, which concerns a bevy of beautiful young women who descend upon the Sears farmhouse, ostensibly to babysit young Irene (Shae Smolik). Regan (Sarah Davenport) is the chief babysitter, but she’s surrounded by a coterie of her girlfriends. After such a protracted prelude, one which basically establishes the fact that the Sears homestead is under the sway of a malevolent supernatural force (something that frankly could have been depicted a lot more quickly and probably clearly), The Hatred takes a surprisingly long time to actually get to its version of a haunted house tale.

Suffice it to say (and without mentioning any major spoilers) there are spirits haunting the Sears estate, and they, along with that aforementioned Nazi relic, seem to be able to “reach out and touch” little Irene. Things are pretty resolutely predictable once the actual scare-a-thon gets its rather belated start, and there are some admittedly nice jump scares that accrue in a couple of moments, but virtually everything about this film is chaotically presented and therefore too almost random seeming to ever generate sustained anxiety. The whole subplot of the relic feeding on fear is itself such an overused plot device in horror films that the whole Nazi angle seems positively extraneous.

Characters come and go without much ado in the film, with at least a couple of potential victims’ fates never really adequately detailed. The film careens pretty wildly between Regan and Irene and various other hangers on, with a few spectral intrusions livening up the proceedings, but maybe it’s this film and not some horrifying amulet with untold powers which should have been sequestered behind a basement wall.

The Hatred Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Hatred is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The film's closing credits state this was captured digitally with Alexa cameras, and it boasts the same typically sleek, well detailed if kind of flat look that this technology often offers. Perhaps surprisingly for a horror outing, a lot of the contemporary storyline plays out in rather brightly lit environments, even some summery fields, something that elevates detail and especially fine detail levels. The opening prologue which is set in the 1960s is graded rather unusually, with a slight yellowish tinge that's quite evocative but which tends to slightly tamp down fine detail levels. The last act of the film is the darkest, with a lot of dimly lit material, and there are some deficits in both general detail levels as well as shadow definition throughout this section. Practical effects look rather good, with some of the CGI having a slightly soft look. There are some brief moments of banding when things like headlights are aimed directly at the cameras, but otherwise no anomalies intrude.

The Hatred Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I get so used to so many titles I review featuring either DTS-HD Master Audio or uncompressed LPCM audio that it was kind of a refreshing change to see that The Hatred offers a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. There's some effective if clichéd and kind of hokey sound design in the film, with washes of LFE panning through the soundstage, and some score choices that kind of subliminally add to the angst even when what's on screen isn't particularly scary. Surround activity is pretty consistent, though this is a fairly talky horror enterprise, especially in its long middle section when the girl arrive to babysit Irene. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation and all elements are delivered without any damage, distortion or other problems.

The Hatred Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Hatred - Behind the Scenes (1080p; 12:00) is standard EPK fare, with lots of interviews (some with wonky audio for some reason).


• Audio Commentary with Producer Malek Akkad and Writer/Director Michael G. Kehoe is accessed via the Setup Menu under Audio options.

The Hatred Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

About the only innovative thing in The Hatred is that the bunch of co-eds who arrive at the farmhouse never strip down to underwear or have illicit dalliances with hidden boyfriends. That in and of itself may be enough to turn off a certain horror demographic, but there's so much left unexplained and/or unexplored in this film that I doubt even genre aficionados will find much to recommend in this uneven film. However, for those considering a purchase, technical merits are strong.