The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (Blu-ray Review)
After a mass shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Knowing the police will be closing in on them, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in a remote lumber mill. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.
Film 
The gist of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek is that a group of militia members have taken hold at their heavily armed and fortified headquarters after a mass shooting at a police officer’s funeral in a nearby town. The members of the militia are rattled because one of them is the gunman but is not fessing up to the crime due to not wanting to be in the limelight. Members of the militia are also toying around with the idea of turning the gunman into authorities so as to take the heat off of them.
On the surface, such a tale would almost be considered simplistic or even unrealistic. Yet, in these troubled times, some of what’s on screen seems to mimic what is going out in the world in real life. I’ll start off by saying that I was riveted to the core with this film. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek features a cast of familiar and unfamiliar character actors. All of them do a great job playing up each of their characters.
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek is also a bit of a neo-noir thriller and that it broods and wants the viewer to stew in their own juices, as if to make us uncomfortable with what’s going on. I’ll be honest and say that certain parts of the film did make me feel uncomfortable but not because I had a problem with the story but because it was so damn believable.
When the final revelation was shown, I was absolutely floored by it. I had to check the calendar because I was shocked that such a low-key film like this had this much of an impact in 2019 already. I guess that’s the power of film, story, and maximizing every dollar spent to get it on the big screen. In fact, I’m such a fan of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, I’ve been recommending it to friends to give it a shot. The film runs less than 89-minutes without credits, so it’s a brisk viewing for such great material. I hope more people discover The Standoff at Sparrow Creek and I look forward to future films by writer-director Henry Dunham. He has hit it out of the ballpark with this one.
Video
Encoding: AVC/MPEG-4
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Clarity/Detail: The Standoff at Sparrow Creek on Blu-ray looks terrific, and dare I say, reference in terms of video presentation. Contrast and sharpness levels have been kept in check and I did not notice any instances of heavy post processing or tweaking of any sorts. The Blu-ray looks as natural as can be.
Depth: The cinematography does a great a job in framing the film in terms of scope – it gives it that extra bit of depth, as if it was making the film look twice as expensive as it is.
Black Levels: The film is framed in many dark places but the black levels on this Blu-ray do not crush. In fact, don’t let the screencaps fools you – the film is not that dark.
Color Reproduction: The color palette is quite limited since the film takes place either outside, in darkened warehouse rooms, or brightly lit warehouses.
Flesh Tones: Everyone looked nice and healthy for the most part.
Noise/Artifacts: The image was nice and clean, with no signs of noise or artifacts.
Audio
Audio Format(s): English DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish French
Dynamics: The film may be
Low Frequency Extension: The LFE subwoofer channel does give the film some extra low frequency bumps here and there. Some of the violence heard out in the distance is enhanced a bit by the rumble of subwoofer, so be on the lookout for those bits of low-end bass.
Surround Sound Presentation: The film deals with the front stage but the surround sound channels do some nice work during the scenes of gunfire and explosions out in the distance. These scenes are limited but if you’re rear surround speakers are working and properly connected then you will hear some nice multi-spatial effects work in the background.
Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue levels are clean, clear, and crisp.
Extras
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek screams out for an audio commentary. Unfortunately, all we get is a standard EPK with the stars, producer, and director. It’s fine but I wanted more.
- The Making of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek
Summary
Who would have thought that such a little thriller would make a big impact so early in the year? The Standoff at Sparrow Creek succeeds where films with ten times the budget have failed. The Blu-ray features stellar video and audio specs. I do wish the supplemental features had more meat and potatoes but it’s a small price to pay for such a cool film. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek is one of the best films of the year!
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek is released
on Blu-ray & DVD March 5,2019!
ORDER NOW!
