The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The Haunting of Julia is a haunting and slow-burn supernatural horror. The tale interweaves elements of horror and the surreal. The feature-film brings to life a story adaptation by Harry Bromley Davenport as based on the novel by Peter Straub. Produced by Peter Fetterman (The Exorcism of Hugh, The Waterloo Bridge Handicap) and Alfred Pariser (Shivers, The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane), The Haunting of Julia is a captivating experience. Executive produced by Julian Melzack (Tomorrow Never Comes, Angela), The Haunting of Julia stars Mia Farrow in the central role.

Unexpected terror can strike at any moment. Julia (Mia Farrow) and Magnus (Keir Dullea) suffer a huge tragedy when their young daughter Kate (Sophie Ward) begins her morning by choking and squirming. Horrified by Kate’s physical suffering, Julia and Magnus are unsure what to do with her. Julia begins a tracheotomy and she accidentally causes her daughter to die. The tragedy causes nothing but pain for the Lofting family.

Julia ends up going to a hospital to rest and recover from the incident while her husband stays at the home. As Julia returns to living a normal life, a new home is purchased away from her painful past memories. Now living in London, Julia is tormented by visions – the belief that her home is being haunted by a young girl. As events unfold in the tale, Magnus begins to question the sanity of Julia and what is true or imaginary. Are these hauntings real?

Mia Farrow delivers an exceptional performance. The entire film would not have been possible to work so well without a strong lead. Farrow manages to provide the film with the right degree of depth and dimensionality that was required for the production. The tale is supernatural and Farrow must bring these elements forward as an actress without breaking from the realism of the piece. The film walks along a fine line and to ground the filmmaking, Farrow delivers a realistic performance that is quite compelling. A good dramatic role for the leading actress.

The production design by Brian Morris (Angel Heart, Evita) is one of the strengths of the film. The Haunting of Julia is a naturalistic looking production and the film brings a sense of authenticity. Exploring the creepy and atmospheric house locations, the designer brings to life a haunting, evocative, and creepy aesthetic. The results will provide a haunting sense of terror that works well for the genre.

The costumes by Shuna Harwood (Notting Hill, Richard III) aim for a sense of simplicity and realism. The characters costumes are never flashy or flamboyant. The costuming showcases the ordinary in a simple yet effective manner. The results work well for this tale.

Edited by Ron Wisman (Sword of Gideon, Ticket to Heaven), The Haunting of Julia is a slow-burn film and the editing reflects that in a variety of facets. Wisman showcases the haunting atmosphere with strong editing – delivering a sense of quiet dread that may creep up on audiences unexpectedly. This is a good aspect of the film and something to commend.

The cinematography by Peter Hannan (Withnail & I, Absolutely Anything) is arguably the most beautiful element of The Haunting of Julia. The cinematography is phenomenal and serene – the combination between surrealism and realism is striking. Hannan doesn’t simply present the tale with a simple atmosphere as a cinematographer. The approach provides the gothic chills the audience desires.

The score composed by Colin Towns (Doc Martin, Cadfael) is often minimalistic and provides a quiet atmosphere to the production. The music by Towns doesn’t stand out as much as some of the other production elements. The score often seems too minimalist to make a huge impression on the film. However, the score still adds some decent atmosphere to the supernatural film and this is well worth noting.

The screenplay by Dave Humphries (London’s Burning, Quadrophenia) is not one of the strengths of the film. The script isn’t as interesting as some of the other elements. The story is somewhat average and it rarely delves in to the characters in a more meaningful or thought-provoking way. Much of the strength comes directly from the cast and the screenplay doesn’t stand out as much as expected. The Haunting of Julia is still a decent effort by Humphries.

Richard Loncraine (Finding Your Feet, Richard III) finds the balance needed for The Haunting of Julia and brings the supernatural element to the silver-screen. Though the script isn’t the most impressive aspect of the film, Loncraine finds a way to highlight the surrealism of the tale and to bring forth a strong lead performance by Mia Farrow. Loncraine didn’t craft a masterpiece with this film but the results are more haunting and compelling than expected for a slow-burn supernatural horror film. Fans of the genre will certainly wish to experience the vision of The Haunting of Julia.  

The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Shout Factory, The Haunting of Julia is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The release presents a native 4K resolution video presentation as sourced from the original camera negative. The 4K scan is phenomenal and this is an impressive and near flawless presentation of the feature-film. The print quality is outstanding and the scan has no signs whatsoever of print damage. The HDR is well utilized and is more subdued than some might expected: the emphasis is on authenticity and the high dynamic range does a good job highlighting these bright and dark elements of the image.

The filmic presentation preserves a fine layer of natural film grain and the transfer retains that organic quality without sacrificing anything in regards to video resolution. The result is a presentation that will appear better than any previous release available on home media (and arguably besting the original theatrical presentation). Color reproduction appears excellent and the subdued and haunting aesthetic of the film is perfectly rendered with the scan. A mesmerizing 4K encode and one that is gripping from beginning to end. One can't look away.

The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. The lossless audio quality on the release is exceptional. The audio clarity was astonishing and the track sounds every-bit as impressive on the 4K UHD when compared to the 4K scan. The fidelity is crisper and more engaging than expected and there certainly is a good sense of depth and detail to the audio presentation. Dialogue is clear throughout the presentation. The score is well reproduced. Though the track has a somewhat quiet soundstage, the audio track has more gravitas than one might expect – the obvious benefit of lossless encoding is a highlight on this release.

The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is a 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo pack collector's edition. Both discs in the release provide the new 4K scan sourced from the original camera negative. Both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray release share the same audio commentary as listed below:

Audio Commentary with Director Richard Loncraine and Film Historian/Author Simon Fitzjohn

The Blu-ray disc also includes the following supplemental features:

Park Life – Simon Fitzjohn revisits the locations of Full Circle: The Haunting of Julia (HD, 15:32) is an all-new location tour featurette produced for the new 4K UHD collector's edition release.

The legacy supplements are provided as well:

Coming Full Circle – Tom Conti Recalls His Humble Horror Beginnings (HD, 11:00)

The Fear of Growing Up – Samantha Gates on Her Childhood Chills (HD, 10:24)

A Haunting Retrospective – Critic Kim Newman on an Underrated Ghost Story (HD, 24:47)

The Haunting of Julia 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Haunting of Julia is an atmospheric and haunting film. The strength of the film resides in the quiet and thoughtful filmmaking of director Richard Loncraine (Richard III). The filmmaker brings together something that is evocative and compelling. The lead performance by Mia Farrow is exceptional.

The Blu-ray release features an exceptional 2160p 4K UHD presentation. The native 4K scan (sourced from the original camera negative) is beautiful and serene. This is a near flawless video presentation. The original theatrical release was unlikely to have ever appeared as pristine as the transfer on this release. The HDR (high dynamic range) is fantastic as well.

The release includes a selection of legacy supplemental features alongside a new audio commentary track featuring director Richard Loncraine and author Simon Fitzjohn. The release also includes a new featurette entitled Park Life. The extra explores the locations of the film. A well- rounded release and one that fans of The Haunting of Julia won't be able to resist. Highly recommended.