Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

The Super Blu-ray Movie Review

The Tenant 2?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 20, 2018

While it may sound churlish, maybe legendary producer Dick Wolf should stick to his ever burgeoning slate of television series like his many Law & Order outings or perhaps more saliently given one of the stars of The Super, shows like Chicago P.D.. As is documented in the actually kind of weirdly fascinating “making of” featurette included on this Blu-ray as the sole supplementary feature, Wolf came up with an idea for a horror movie nearly half a century ago, though his idea was relegated to a title (The Super, in case you were wondering), and an image for what might literally be called the film’s key art, since the only other element Wolf thought up was the tag line, “He has your keys”, and in two versions of marketing material a shadowy figure can be seen with a ring of keys either down a dark hallway or through a keyhole. That tagline turns out to be just one of several misdirections the wending screenplay by John J. McLaughlin offers as it details nefarious goings on in a Manhattan high rise where something sinister seems to be killing folks. In fact the film spends a rather long span of time detailing the first (and second) such murders, in an admittedly creepy scene that features a teacher returning home from work and trying to grade papers while also caring for what appears to be her brain damaged partner. Suffice it to say no one (human) makes it out alive, but the fact that these characters haven’t been introduced properly means there’s absolutely no (or at least fairly little) audience involvement with them, and once the film’s “big reveal” shows up around an hour and a half later, this particular set of murders, as well as potentially others that accrue during the film, don’t make any sense, at least within the explanation for things given (yes, those who pay attention to the papers the teacher is grading get at least a tangential clue to an ultimate connection, but even this seems completely random and tenuous, considering what ends up following).

In just one of several hoary horror movie clichés that The Super traffics in, clear indication that some malevolent spirit is living inside the huge boiler in the subbasement of a large New York City apartment house is given, with shots of old style heating vents acquiring a frightening aspect as a result. Also in the basement with the boiler is totally weird superintendent Walter (Val Kilmer, billed as the star, but really a featured player), who seems to be engaging in some kind of voodoo rituals. Also on the building’s staff are two other “prime suspects” in terms of the killings and disappearances, building manager Mr. Johnson (Paul Ben- Victor) and a second super, Julio (Yul Vazquez). But wait, you also get — because this building evidently needs a lot of maintenance (hey, some of the killings are really bloody), a new super, a former cop named Phil Lodge (Patrick John Fluegler, aforementioned star of Wolf’s Chicago P.D. series), is also hired, bringing along his two daughters Violet (Taylor Richardson) and Rose (Mattea Conforti) in the wake of a devastating fire that has claimed the life of Phil’s wife.

As is overtly mentioned in the featurette, Wolf’s original conception (such as it was) was for something more along the lines of a traditional slasher film, with perhaps just a hint of a supernatural element, but the final version of the film is decidedly skewed toward the supernatural element, with the “kill scenes” seeming particularly disruptive as a result. The fact that the murders are so graphically staged, and fall so completely within the confines of admittedly well staged gore and jump scare scenes in any number of other horror movies, makes the more disjunctive aspects of The Super all the more apparent. This is a film commendably long on mood and some nice, spooky imagery (peek at screenshot 7 for a moment that would be at home in any given Stephen King or J-horror adaptation), but one that probably cheats too much when certain revelations are made, in a plot conceit that almost willfully borrows from “twist” films like The Sixth Sense.

Also as with that particular and perhaps other M. Night Shyamalan thrillers, The Super wants to recast everything that has gone before with supposedly mind blowing denouement toward the film’s conclusion, and that in turn can lead to a number of interesting foreshadowings that are offered along the way for those brave enough to revisit the film for a second viewing. Performances are committed throughout, though the film really doesn’t offer much in the way for (adult) damsel in distress Beverly (Louisa Krause), who predictably has romantic sparks with Phil. Kilmer (who was evidently dubbed due to throat cancer) makes a rather menacing presence, and is well pitted against the Flueger’s stalwart apparent hero. Both child/teen actresses do fine work as well, even if their roles are deliberately written to offer yet more obfuscation and misdirection.

Note: I evidently liked The Super at least a bit more than my colleague Brian Orndorf. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

The Super Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Super is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Unfortunately, the IMDb doesn't list any technical data, and I simply wasn't able to make out what kind of cameras were being used in some of the brief candid footage seen in the making of featurette. The featurette does get into how director Stefan Rick and cinematographer Stefan Ciupek were hired as a "package", since they had done some German films together (another cinematographer is also credited). The Super's often impressively stylized visuals are among its chief assets, and this high definition presentation is often quite impressive, especially given some of the darkness of the presentation, and other gambits like grading in a variety of colors, including blues, teals and browns, all three of which can hopefully be made out in various screenshots accompanying this review. I was particularly struck by fine detail levels in some of the shots that combined dimness with grading (see screenshot 6 for one example). There are a couple of minor deficits here, including some quick CGI that isn't particularly effective, and a couple of scenes in the subbasement where for one reason or another shadow detail is less effective than in the bulk of the rest of the presentation.

The Super Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Super's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is considerably more cliché ridden, filled with horror movie sound design tropes like sudden jolts of LFE accompanying jump cuts and the like, but it's still consistently effective. There are rather wide washes of sound that pour out through the surrounds when little "POV" journeys through the heat ducts occur, and some of the bustle of the building's rather opulent lobby also offer at least some discrete channelization of effects. Dialogue and score are also rendered cleanly and clearly without any problems whatsover.

The Super Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• He Has Your Keys: Making The Super (1080p; 20:27) is an above average featurette that offers some interesting interviews with the cast and crew, notably Dick Wolf.

The Super Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's both effective imagery and effective sound design in The Super, and in fact some interesting ideas, but too many of the latter tend to bury the benefits of the former two. It's kind of comically commendable that Wolf and his team admit this film began with nothing other than a title, a tagline and a focal image, but that's probably not quite enough to build an actual film on. Technical merits are first rate for those considering a purchase.