Regression (Blu-ray Review)
Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.
Film 
Regression is the story of a young woman (Emma Watson) who claims she was sexually abused by her father and that her father and family are part of a satanic cult and that she has been an unwilling participant in the cult’s activities. Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is the small town detective assigned to investigate the case.
The film takes place in 1990 and states that during the beginning of the 1980’s into the 1990’s there was a rise in supposed crimes based around Satan worshipping cults throughout the country, which put everyone in America and particularly small towns on edge.
Here, Kenner seems to be the only one on the force with the wits and knowhow to potentially solve the case by going traditional style (brunt detective work) and also by employing the services of renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis). Dr. Raines uses “regressive” therapy to see if he can get information form Angela (Watson) in order to help in the investigation. This of course sets events in motion that cannot be undone. Angela describes demonic shadows in the night, black masses, murder, cannibalism, torture, etc.
Once Dr. Raines gets all of that info from Angela he begins on using those techniques on her family and friends and everyone put under his hypnosis corroborates Angela’s story. Kenner isn’t necessarily convinced that that’s what’s going on until he starts seeing strange things as he begins to dig deeper and deeper into the case.
Regression was a neat little horror-thriller gem from writer-director Alejandro Amenabar (The Others, The Sea Inside) – it doesn’t come close to the greatness that is The Others but it is an entertaining neo-noir romp of a film nonetheless. The limited scope of the film really seals one inside that I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up creeping certain folks out. Also, the fact that crimes that had satanic motives in those days were actually a thing. Regression is mildly recommended.
Video 
Encoding: AVC/MPEG-4
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Clarity/Detail: Regression looks great on Blu-ray. Contrast levels are nice and leveled – I did not notice any post production tweaking of any kind. A film like this lends itself to a nice and natural picture.
Depth: There are one or two instances where the image softens up a bit but it’s nothing major. More often than not – the film looks like a grey scale/sepia painting in motion.
Black Levels: Black levels did not crush and I did not detect any compression issues.
Color Reproduction: The color palette is a drab and a muted one – certain scenes that involve bold colors are few and far between.
Flesh Tones: Flesh tones are natural. There’s nothing to complain about there.
Noise/Artifacts: I did not detect any noise, artifacts, dirt, or pixilation.
Audio
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Dynamics: Regression is a horror-thriller and this near-reference track was excellent. You’ve got horror elements mixed in with a detective tale and the Blu-ray captures it all without problems.
Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer LFE channel enhanced the bass lines throughout the film.
Surround Sound Presentation: The rear channels provide some great ambient rattles especially during some of the more sinister scene.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are excellent.
Extras
I wish the Blu-ray would have been packed to the gills with special features but all we get is about 10-15 minutes’ worth of fluff ‘n stuff. Nothing compelling whatsoever.
- Ethan Hawke – Bruce’s Obsession (HD)
- Emma Watson – The Complexity of Angela (HD)
- The Cast of Regression (HD)
- The Vision of Regression (HD)
Summary
Regression is an ok horror-thriller. It could have wrapped up a little tighter but that’s fine. The Blu-ray is strong in terms of video and audio but fall short on the special features. If you want a neat little time waster then give Regression a peek.
Regression is released on Blu-ray & DVD May 10th.
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