The Id Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

The Id Blu-ray Movie Review

The Law of the Father.

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson November 4, 2016

Hoping to infuse some new life into the modern horror thriller, screenwriter Sean H. Stewart and first-time director Thommy Hutson set out to make a small chamber drama about the dysfunctional relationship between a repressed middle-aged daughter and her demanding Father (as he's called in the film). Meridith Lane (Amanda Wyss; Tina Gray in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) lives an insulated life with her needful dad (Patrick Peduto) in their middle-class suburban home in California. Meridith rarely, if ever, leaves the house under the watchful eye of the Lane patriarch. Although Meridith's crippled Father suffers from a variety of other ailments, making him nearly a complete invalid, he still has functioning eyes, ears, and mind. For all of her adult life, Meridith's individuality and path to womanhood have been stymied by the stringent rules Father has imposed on her. He does not allow her to wear makeup or lipstick, nor does he permit her to go out on a date. Meridith still lives in the bygone era of her teen years, never fully grown up. On a mundane day tending to her dad, the telephone rings and the male voice on the other end purports to be Ted (Malcolm Matthews), Meridith's prom date and probable high school sweetheart. Ted says that he wants to come over for a visit on the weekend, giving Meridith newfound hope and vitality. Meridith begins to assert her own wishes to Father, who will not bend.

In the first half of The Id, Stewart and Hutson craft a scenario that appears to be headed for Throw Popa from the Train territory. In fact, some of the story events are highly reminiscent of Throw Momma from the Train (1987) with only the gender roles reversed. Meridith exhibits the same steadfast devotion to an odious parent that Owen does to his Momma. There is also a scene similar to Danny DeVito's black comedy where the grownup child contemplates poisoning the older parent at the next meal. Moreover, Patrick Peduto's performance and voice could easily be mistaken for Dennis Hopper. Indeed, Peduto's role seems to be at least partially inspired by Hopper's drunkard father in Rumble Fish (1983). Peduto also spouts the same kind of theological dogma to Meridith that Margaret White spews to her daughter, Carrie.

Father and daughter are at odds with each other.

The vitriolic monologues that Father dictates to Meridith remind me of the same harsh tone that Freddy Krueger uses on his daughter, Maggie Burroughs, in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). Freddy's "I didn't need a glove to kill your bitch of a mother, and I don't need one now!" coalesces with similar invective that Father invokes to berate Meridith and her mother. Father remains Meridith's worst nightmare throughout the film. The Id is self-reflexive about the Elm Street films. Hutson and his cinematographer Athit Naik make a deliberate homage to the 1984 classic with a low-angle shot of Meridith lying in her bathtub. (Also, the dark green on the front of the Lane house is the same color that adorns the top half of the Thompson house on 1428 Elm Street.)

For all of The Id's knowledge of genre tropes and its awareness of the films that it cites, the narrative falters in the second half. Hutson and his editor Marc Cardenas collapse the boundaries between fantasy, the dream world, and the "everyday reality" that unfolds in the Lane household. During the last forty-five minutes or so, this editing pattern grows tiresome. The film constantly shifts between Meridith's hallucinations and what is actually transpiring in her home. The filmmakers intentionally want to blur the lines but this practice wears thin after awhile. Additionally, Malcolm Matthews is too mirthful as Ted and his joviality does not mesh well with the unpleasant surprise he brings to Meridith at her doorstep. This turns out to be a cruel move on Ted's part. Further, Hutson and Stewart could have given Meridith more character goals and options to deal with her plight. Granted, these additions could have resulted in a much different film. It is also true that the director and writer want to be faithful to the "rules" of cinematic space that they establish. Meridith must never step outside of the house. Her repressed domesticity clashes with the youth and vibrancy of the dutiful and attractive social worker, Tricia (Jamye Grant), who represents the future in the "real world" on the outside. Hutson and Stewart set up too many limitations that they can't get around. Structurally, the ending fits with the dreamlike preamble that the filmmakers show at the very beginning. At the same time, however, they cheat their audience with the finality of the resolution. Going in a different direction with some ambiguity could have made the picture more successful.

The Id Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Id arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the production houses Hutson Ranch Media and Panic Ventures, and through arrangement with San Francisco-based CAV Distributing Corporation. The Id's menus are designed much like a DVD's with background music and chapter sub-menus comprising animated thumbnails. The main menu is not java-friendly, however, and the user is taken to a separate screen upon clicking on an item.

CAV presents The Id in its native ratio of 2.35:1 on this BD-25. Overall, the transfer replicates the appearance intended by Hutson: a gritty seventies film look with pallid skin tones as well as splashy beige and red hues. However, authoring and compression are poor. This has to be one of the lowest video bitrates encoded for any Blu-ray that I've seen. The bitrate averages a meager 13479 kbps, with the total bitrate of 18.92 Mbps. Essentially, this looks like a 2K master transferred to DVD and upconverted to HD. While The Id is mostly a pale-looking film, the low encode results in a considerable loss of detail. The effect of compression on the image is seen in the first reel. When watching the Blu-ray, pay attention to the long shot of the house in Screenshot #12. There is aliasing present on the shingles or shake roof. This is not apparent in the static capture but when watching in-motion, the viewer should be able to pinpoint the shimmer. There were a couple of instances where I think I spotted some low-level noise but this was not a recurring anomaly. Hutson inserts some older film-like images with a tramline (see #7) that are part of Meridith's dream. This is an intended aesthetic effect and not a fault of the transfer. The flashbacks/memories that Meridith evokes contain some overexposed light that suffuse the images with dreamy and airy qualities (see shot #s 6 & 20). Note also that Hutson uses split screen compositions (see #s 14 & 15).

CAV has divided the movie up into sixteen scene selections.

The Id Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

CAV has provided two audio options for the film's sound track: a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix (encoded at only 448 kbps) and an LPCM 2.0 stereo track. Inexplicably, CAV misprioritized the movie's sound fidelity, opting to give the filmmaker/actor commentary its own LPCM 2.0 with a bit depth of 24 and bitrate of 2304 kbps. Compare that to the LPCM's movie-only track, which consists of only 16-bit sound with a standard bitrate of 1536 kbps. I listened to both mixes on opposite sides of my couch in my home theater and ultimately prefer the 5.1 track, which unsurprisingly shows more separation and range. The surround left channel is arguably the most active. Father's incessant bellows of "Meredith!" are prominently heard there as well as ambient noises. The front left discretely picks up Trisha's door knocks. (On the LPCM track, they are heard on the right surround channel.) During the climax in the last reel, Hutson employs a very enveloping sound mix that ricochets across all the speakers. Composer Sean Schafer Hennessy's score is adequately reproduced, although it sounds too saccharine during the main credits. The sentimental melody may act as counterpoint to the rest of the score but still sounds out of place. Sitting on the far left end of my couch proved to be the "sweet spot" for hearing the 5.1 track. Unfortunately, CAV hasn't supplied any English subtitles or closed captions. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and subs aren't really required.

The Id Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Feature-length Commentary with Director/Producer Thommy Hutson and Actress Amanda Wyss - in this primarily screen-specific commentary, Hutson addresses the cast members' contributions, the film's tight schedule and budget, and how he interpreted the characters from Stewart's script. Hutson leads the discussion and Wyss is really only along for the ride. She interjects her opinions on occasion but mostly replies with short affirmatives to her director and reacts to what's happening on screen. Indeed, at one point, Hutson asks her if she watched the film prior to recording the commentary and Wyss seems surprised at certain moments that crop up during her viewing. Hutson is quite enthusiastic about his work and the track is worthwhile for the information he imparts.

• Needs, Wants & Desires (25:25, 1080p) - this very good making-of featurette features extended sit-down interviews with screenwriter Sean H. Stewart, director Thommy Hutson, as well as actors Amanda Wyss, Patrick Peduto, and Jamye Grant. Regrettably, producer Daniel Farrands is not present here and to hear the extent of his participation in the project would have been valued highly.

• Behind the Scenes of The Id (8:55, 1080p) - B-roll footage captured by executive producer Joe Robinett that shows cast and crew at work inside the Rancho Cucamonga, CA house where the film was shot.

• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (6:29, 1080p) - a collection of ten excised scenes that are presented in 2.35:1 16x9 widescreen. They can be played individually or together with a "PLAY ALL" option. None of the omitted scenes adds anything to the story and it is understandable why they were discarded. CAV has included prefatory notes preceding each, explaining where they originated in the script/rough cut and reason(s) for their deletion.

• Audition Footage (8:45, 1080p) - script-reading sessions featuring actors Patrick Peduto, Jamye Grant, Malcolm Matthews, Brent Witt, and Stefanie Guarino at their auditions. The footage appears in rather rough shape and may have been upconverted from interlaced video. The auditions can be played individually or together with a "PLAY ALL" option.

• Photo Gallery (2:00, 1080p) - a montage of high-resolution color photographs taken on the set of The Id.

• Original Trailer (1:58, 1080p) - an original trailer for The Id that was apparently intended for the theatrical market. Displayed in 2.35:1 and optimized for 16x9 playback.

• Previews (3:50, 1080p) - After the disc loads, trailers appear for the Farrands-produced horror franchise documentaries Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th, and Bill Philputt's More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead.

The Id Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Poring over the press notes of The Id beforehand, I expected a much scarier thriller than the resultant film proved to be. I want to recommend it but The Id is just an average horror feature. Fans of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series should first give the movie a RENTAL. My advice is if you enjoy the film enough, then it would we worth investing in the Blu-ray's bountiful extras. Be warned, though, that the disc's technical authors engage in some very dubious encoding choices that diminish the picture and sound.