We Go On Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

We Go On Blu-ray Movie Review

He sees dead people.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 3, 2017

After his mother died, Harry Houdini famously started trying to contact her on “the other side” courtesy of various mystics, psychics and mediums, only to then ultimately traverse the territory from believer to skeptic, later becoming one of the most famous debunkers of supposed clairvoyants and/or otherwise “specially” abled folks, taking great pleasure in showing the general populace how these “charlatans” (as Houdini ended up feeling they were) accomplished their “tricks”. An arguably equal but opposite traversal takes place in We Go On, a film that features a seriously neurotic, phobia prone, man named Miles Grissom (Clark Freeman), a guy whose fear of life only partially masks what he’s really afraid of: death. A recurring dream (nightmare?) Miles keeps experiencing has him behind the wheel of a car, only to find out that the steering mechanism is locked in place and neither the gas nor the brake work, leading to predictably calamitous consequences. It’s a fitting metaphor for a man who probably wants to be in control, but who repeatedly finds the vagaries of life and/or fate preventing him from doing so. When Miles uses a windfall to place an advertisement offering tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who can legitimately prove the existence of life after death, he becomes an unwilling example of that old adage “be careful what you wish for”.

The opening scenes of We Go On ably document Miles’ encroaching fears, not necessarily just those relegated to his dream states. Miles is, in a word, a mess, unable to cope with much around him, which results in him sequestering himself in his room, where he can work quietly at his job editing infomercials. (This particular plot point brings up a concern I jokingly aired in my Evil Ed Blu-ray review, where I wondered whether I should worry about the mental health of several friends of mine who work as film editors, after having seen the unraveling of Evil Ed’s main character (a hapless film editor), as well as a comparable breakdown by someone similarly employed in the cheeky giallo sendup The Editor . Those keeping track can now add We Go On to the list of films depicting unbalanced film editors.)

In one scene that doesn’t really play as authoritatively as some others in the film, Miles walks out onto a fire escape to place an ad in the local newspaper where he offers tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who can provide definite proof of life after death. While it’s not a major distraction, some may wonder why someone who seems to suffer from all sorts of neuroses, including what seems to be agoraphobia, would choose to go out on a tiny ledge on an upper floor of a building in order to place this ad. One way or the other, though, the ad does get placed, supposedly going “viral” in the process (though that’s only alluded to), something that in turn leads to the arrival of Miles’ mother, Charlotte (Annette O’Toole). In what almost plays like a horror film equivalent to those opening shots in any given old Mission: Impossible episode where either Mr. Phelps (or Mr. Briggs) sorts through potential “applicants” for any given job, sorting them into “use” and “discard” piles. Miles and Charlotte wend their way through an ungainly amount of people wanting to work with Miles (and get that fantastic paycheck in return), ultimately whittling the list down to three potential “winners”.

We Go On perhaps wastes unneeded time with at least two of this initial trio, which includes a researcher named Dr. Ellison (John Glover) who engages in something like primal scream therapy, and a Latina medium named Josephina (Giovanna Zararius), who insists she can at least tell Miles how and when he’s going to die. Both Ellison and the third applicant are more or less dead ends (no pun intended), though Josefina’s role is at least somewhat more organically woven into the main tale, which really doesn’t start unfolding until around halfway through the film.

That plot element involves an enigmatic airport worker named Nelson (Jay Dunn), who is kind of a gnarly looking dude who confides to Miles that there’s a so-called “inner circle” that Nelson can invite Miles into where Miles will indeed be given the proof he so desperately is seeking. Without spoiling what is in fact one of We Go On’s nicest (if perhaps predictable) twists, Nelson makes good on his promise, leading to all sorts of horrifying ramifications for Miles, who suddenly realizes that making contact with “the other side” means that the other side can make contact with him.

The second half of the film details Miles’ reactions to Nelson’s incursions (in more ways than one), with a sidebar involving Nelson’s girlfriend Alice (Laura Heisler). There are a few (again probably needless) jump scares scattered throughout the film, but there’s also a perhaps more commendable angst that begins building, even as Miles does in fact conquer some of his fears and attempts to start to forge a relatively more normal life for himself, even as he’s increasingly haunted by visions from the beyond. One final domino falls into place late in the film where Alice’s “connection” to Nelson is further detailed, something that again leads to less than felicitous consequences for Miles.

We Go On is very strong on mood, as alluded to above, though its narrative could have probably used a little judicious pruning and/or shaping. The film is graced by the kind of steely presence of O’Toole, who brings both concern but also a slightly harridan aspect to the role of Miles’ mother. Freeman’s take on Miles is probably hampered by the character’s innate inability to do much other than sit around fretting about things, something that may cause some viewers to momentarily channel Cher from Moonstruck, in a desire to exhort Miles to “snap out of it”.

We Go On Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

We Go On is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lightyear Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This digitally shot feature boasts generally excellent detail levels, though as can be seen in several of the screenshots accompanying this review, the palette has been intentionally tamped down quite a bit of the time, leading to a slightly desaturated, appropriately "dead" looking, appearance. There are some occasional issues with banding, noticeable in the first nightmare sequence but intermittently thereafter when bright light sources are aimed directly at the camera. While the palette isn't especially vividly saturated, it looks relatively natural, with only some slight grading toward blue occasionally skewing things.

We Go On Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

We Go On features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one which offers at least occasional well done immersion with effects like a panning jet aircraft passing over Miles and Nelson, or a couple of scenes with Miles in a car (either in his dream world or in real life). Several key scenes take place outside, and there is some good attention paid to discrete channelization of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly, and Andy Mitton's score often spreads through the surrounds in washes of sound. For the record, the disc also offers LPCM 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks.

We Go On Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary features Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton, the co-creators of the film, with Jesse in California and Andy in Connecticut, connected via Skype for this dual conversation.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:05)

We Go On Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

We Go On probably hinges on a few too many contrived artifices, but the film develops a palpably creepy mood, especially once Nelson enters the fray. Why so much time is spent on getting to Nelson may end up creating a few potential stumbling blocks for some viewers, especially those wanting some kind of "blood 'n' guts" horror payoff that We Go On never really gets to in any case. It's fun to see O'Toole in a nicely featured role, but Freeman's Miles is (perhaps by design) a little on the annoying side. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.