The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 23, 2022

With tongue perhaps more than slightly in cheek, I have an employment opportunity for a certain compiler of Blu-ray collections. Kier-la Janisse has had a hand in some of the more interesting releases from Severin this year, including two thematically linked aggregations of titles, the mammoth All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror and the somewhat less expansive House of Psychotic Women Rarities Collection. But if Janisse ever were to want to put together a collection of Estonian stop motion animation featuring at least tangential "folk horror" elements, albeit with a psychotic dairy farmer rather than a psychotic woman, there would probably be no better place to start than The Old Man Movie. Of course, finding any other Estonian stop motion animated efforts might be a bit of a challenge, although this particular disc does offer a handful of shorts produced by the feature's creatives which also offer some of the same characters and the same sweetly quaint technique.

The Old Man Movie might seem like it's "kiddie fare" considering its stop motion approach, but this is a decidedly dark and at times potentially off putting piece, at least for those wanting something to show their smaller children. A somewhat obscenity laced screenplay and a story that ultimately sees one character inserting himself into the rear end of a cow to make a kind of bovine-human hybrid probably isn't exactly "Disney-fied", to say the least, and so appropriate expectations probably need to be set. I'd actually compare this is in a way to Tim Burton's work, or perhaps Henry Selick's, but The Old Man Movie is perhaps unbelievably even weirder at times than either of those filmmakers.

Like many "folk horror" outings, this story sees veritable "outsiders" interloping into a rural community. In this case it's the three grandchildren of a somewhat obsessive dairy farmer who can't stop milking his prized cow. That's probably a good thing, though, as an opening vignette has already documented the "horror" of another dairy farmer who didn't get to his cow in time, resulting in a calamitous udder catastrophe (sorry, couldn't resist). That character has devolved into a chainsaw wielding madman by the film's climax, just in case any parent out there isn't taking my earlier comments to heart.

This is certainly one of the oddest films in recent memory, and if it is never quite as funny as it seems to want to be, it's undeniably inventive and charmingly grotesque, if that doesn't seem like too much of an oxymoron. I would have loved a supplement on this release giving some background on this project, since the shorts included as supplements seem to suggest these characters have had a life outside of this feature film, but the only brief datapoint is a mention on the back cover stating that this was based on "a popular Estonian web series created by Peeter Ritso and Mikk Mägi".

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Old Man Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed Animation and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is a really nicely detailed looking transfer for the most part, albeit within the sometimes extremely odd aesthetic of the film. As can be gleaned from some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, the character design is almost ogre like at times, and those are the good guys. The faces and heads really do not have a ton of detail and in fact don't even move all that much, but fine detail on everything from a somewhat gonzo rooster to the clothes the grandkids wear tends to be excellent throughout. The miniature sets feature a wealth of design flourishes, and both palette and general detail levels remain secure throughout.

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

If you've ever wondered what Estonian pop music sounds like (and who among us hasn't?), The Old Man Movie provides some fun examples delivered via either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 options. There are English language tracks also in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0, but I found some of the choices, like the robotic reverb added to the opening "newsreel" in the English language version to be not particularly helpful. The Estonian tracks retain some kind of inherent fascination, and offer dialogue, effects and score with excellent fidelity and some fun engagement of the surround channels courtesy of the mayhem unleashed by unattended to udders. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Old Man Shorts

  Taste of Cow (HD; 2:07)

  
  

  I went to Sauna with Grandchildren (HD; 1:55)

  
  

  My Cow Gave Birth (HD; 1:54)

  
  

  The Old Man is Tired (HD; 2:30)

  
  

  The Old Hag Had Me Put an Implant (HD; 2:33)

• Trailers includes The Old Man Movie (Original Estonian Trailer) (HD; 2:23) and The Old Man Movie (English Dub Trailer) (HD; 2:41), along with trailers for other releases from Unearthed Films and MVD Visual.

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

The Old Man Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ms. Janisse can thank me later for any forthcoming collection of Estonian stop motion animation, but all joking aside, there actually are some "folk horror" elements in this completely gonzo piece, though it ultimately just goes completely insane and frankly kind of defies description. This should be approached with at least a bit of caution for those who are easily offended by jokes involving various animal orifices and the like, but one thing is for certain: this is one completely unique piece of filmmaking. Technical merits are solid and the shorts are as anarchic in their own ways as the main feature. With caveats noted, and with any young children out of viewing range, Recommended.