Rating summary
Movie | | 3.5 |
Video | | 4.5 |
Audio | | 4.5 |
Extras | | 0.0 |
Overall | | 3.5 |
The Terror: Infamy Blu-ray Movie Review
"The weak are meat..."
Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 13, 2024
It's a sad testament to the plight of new television productions that I have an easier time delving into an anthology show than an ongoing series. The
reason is simple: if cancellation comes a' callin', an axed ongoing series has cost me a great deal of time and emotional investment. But an anthology
show? No such bad luck. Such is the case with The Terror, an eerie little AMC horror outing that, after two seasons, was unceremoniously
given
the boot. But no worries, Blu-ray fans. You can pick up the first or second season without losing a minute or a dime. Infamy has nothing to do
with the series' first season, nor does it end with a promise of any carryover to a potential third season (which isn't coming anyway). The two share
nothing in common, well, save the titular terror. The first season told the tale of the doomed crews of two British ships stranded in the arctic ice,
hunted -- perhaps haunted -- by a strange Inuit creature known to the locals as The Tuunbaq. Infamy, though, ditches the Brits and focuses
on an American-run Japanese WWII internment camp, where a community of Japanese Americans are terrorized by real world and
supernatural forces.
Synopsis: In
The Terror: Infamy, the second installment of producer and Primetime Emmy winner Ridley's Scott's horror-tinged anthology,
a
group of World War II-era Japanese-Americans on Southern California's Terminal Island are menaced by a "bakemono," a folkloric specter that may
or may not be more dangerous than the retired American Major Hallowell Bowen (C. Thomas Howell), an official with the War Relocation Authority.
Suffering forced evictions and imprisonment after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Terminal Islanders are hounded by prejudice and injustice, as well
as bad omens and bizarre deaths. One of them, Chester Nakayama (Derek Mio), decides to take on the malevolent entity, journeying to realms of
evil in both the present... and the distant past.
Executive produced by Alexander Woo (
True Blood), Ridley Scott (
The Martian,
Gladiator), Guymon Casady (
Game of
Thrones), Alexandra Milchan (
The Wolf of Wall Street), David W. Zucker (
Killing Kennedy), Jordan Sheehan (
The
Man in the High Castle), and written by Max Borenstein (
Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla),
The Terror: Infamy also stars Derek
Mio, Kiki Sukezane, Naoko Mori, Miki Ishikawa, George Takei, Cristina Rodlo, Shingo Usami, Hira Ambrosino, Eiji Inoue, James Saito, Reilly Dolman,
Lee Shorten, Alex Shimizu, Yuta Takenaka, Camille Martinez and Reed Diamond.
What begins with a good deal of grace and a palpable sense of creeping dread soon unspools a bit, getting lost in the balance between human and
ghostly horrors. Two competing plot threads, each with its own dire straits and stakes to offer, compete in all the wrong ways, vying for attention
and dividing the series' efforts. It all recovers before it falls too far, thankfully, but the damage lasts the entirety of the ten-episode season. There
are fantastic characters in both the Japanese-American and American relocation camps, a tantalizing blend of terrors foreign and domestic, and
some truly spooky visuals, scares and starts. The endgame is even stronger than its preceding opening and middle stretch, gaining momentum as
everything begins to converge and answers become clear. Moreover, unlike the first season, the supernatural entities here can't be misunderstood
as hallucinations or the product of the harsh elements, nor does a central creature like The Tuunbaq turn out to be a strangely CG'd polar bear. No,
the ghosts in
Infamy bite, and help, and hurt, and embrace, and hinder. J-horror fans will be pleased with the variety, as the twisting,
turning Japanese folklore bits bear plenty of fruit.
Beyond the J-horror B-plot is also a strong A-plot that runs parallel to horrific history. Internment camps are easily as frightening as the arctic
expanse of Season One, and I'd argue more so. Weather, climate, blizzards, even predators; each are servants of the natural; evils that only seem
evil to the likes of those fighting to surive. Here the threat is so much more physical, prevalent and inevitable. Escape again becomes the goal, and
a salient sense of being trapped presses in from all sides, but
Infamy does something more interesting than its predecessor: ambition.
Racial tension, bigotry, hate and other timely topics are tackled, one by one, until the series' takes on an almost poignant relevance that reaches
past its surface genre tale. Yes, the series' ambitions are a touch too far-reaching, and yes, the show never quite sticks the landing as well as it
desperately hopes to. But there's genuine terror in the idea that human beings might never achieve the peace and enlightment dreamed of since we
first stepped foot out of the caves. Maybe we're damned to kill one another, to hate, to fight, to kill, over and over again until we blink out and
disappear. That's the true horror of
Infamy: the thought that we might be too far gone to save.
Lionsgate presents
The Terror: Infamy's ten episodes across three BD-50 discs:
1. A Sparrow In a Swallow's Nest - In 1941 Chester Nakayama is caught between his insular Japanese American neighborhood on
Terminal Island and his current all-American life; extreme circumstances push his community and personal life to the brink, all while someone
watches closely.
2. All the Demons are Still In Hell - After Pearl Harbor, the Terminal Islanders are evicted from their homes and must find shelter
elsewhere; while Henry, separated from his family, faces injustice at the hands of the government, Chester engages in a paranoid search for
answers.
3. Gaman - As the Terminal Islanders adjust to their new surroundings, Chester tries to provide for his family, while fending off the
evil that follows him; Henry reels from the trauma of his imprisonment; Asako sees bad omens; Amy takes up a new job.
4. The Weak are Meat - Chester, in search of a better life, is treated with hostility by his fellow Americans; Luz hopes to be accepted
by Henry and Asako in their new home as the Japanese American community celebrates Obon, a festival to commemorate the dead.
5. Shatter Like a Pearl - The Japanese Americans are forced to undertake a humiliating exercise that divides the community; Chester
comes face to face with a man who forces him to question his very nature; Luz, stricken by grief, is forced to make an important choice.
6. Taizo - A story of the past provides insight into the present evil that stalks the Terminal Islanders; Chester returns home to his
family; Henry and Asako are faced with a difficult decision.
7. My Perfect World - The Nakayamas have been torn apart; Chester searches for the person he believes can help, by any means
necessary; an outbreak in the community forces Amy to act, though she's caught between doing what she's told and doing what's right.
8. My Sweet Boy - Chester and Luz have reached a turning point in their relationship; Amy must take matters into her own hands as
she's tormented by a powerful nemesis; Chester meets a boy who gives him answers.
9. Come and Get Me - The Terminal Islanders return home to find that things have changed since they left; the Nakayamas, still
tense from the pain they've inflicted on one another, must come together to battle the spirit that threatens their future.
10. Into the Afterlife - Henry and Asako look to the past to provide answers to their current turmoil; Chester and Luz grapple with
their identities in hopes of saving those who are dearest to them; Amy and Yamato-san struggle to once again assimilate into American life.
The Terror: Infamy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Lionsgate brings The Terror: Infamy to Blu-ray with a strong AVC-encoded 1080p presentation. Colors are dusty and subdued but ultimately
quite striking throughout, bolstered by the patented palette of so many WWII stories and lending a desaturated despair and longing to the proceedings.
Flesh tones are handsome and lifelike, primaries occasionally startle with vibrant power, and black levels, though a tad wanting at times, are solid.
Detail is also remarkable, with natural edge definition free of haloing and fine textures that are both beautifully resolved and more filmic than a few
irritatingly razor-sharp digital productions of the last few years. Moreover, anomalies like banding are largely absent -- if not entirely MIA -- although I
did detect fleeting glimpses of slight, almost imperceptible blocking in the night skies on a small handful of instances. (Nothing remotely as bad as the
compression issues consumers encountered while watching the UK Blu-ray release of Season One. Here it amounts to quick blips on the radar rather
than any sort of prevailing problem.) All told,
Infamy looks fantastic and will easily please fans of the series.
The Terror: Infamy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Infamy's lossless audio is similarly impressive. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, confidently centered and convincingly grounded in the
soundscape. The bustle of the camp is brought to (depressing) life courtesy of assertive rear speaker engagement as well, creating a soundfield that
makes interiors inviting, exteriors involving and ghostly scenes more frightening. Directionality is spot on and channel pans are eerily smooth, infusing
hauntings with a greater sense of presence from the entity stalking the Japanese Americans. Several scenes featuring the chaos and violence of racism
and hate are backed by chest-thumping LFE output; a strange compliment but one that, here, is warranted. Bottom line? Infamy sounds every
bit as good as it looks and eliminates any and every distraction, allowing fans to sink in, hunch down and try to survive the horrors the series has in
store.
The Terror: Infamy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
The Blu-ray release doesn't include any substantial special features.
The Terror: Infamy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
The Terror: Infamy is, in some ways, better than its first season predecessor. But it doesn't quite live up to its ambitions in its middle act, losing
the careful balance between human and supernatural horror stories nailed in its opening and especially its final episodes. Does it ruin the season?
Hardly. Infamy boasts a great story and engaging characters, not to mention the fact that it stands as the first TV show to ever dedicate a
season in its entirety to the interment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release is even better, with an excellent AV
presentation that's well worth the bargain-priced cost of entry. More special features would have been most welcome, particularly considering the all too
real stories of the men and women who were arrested and thrown into internment camps, but the series is steady enough to stand on its own in that
regard. Recommended.