Why So Blu?

The Drownsman (Blu-ray Review)

Can a glass of water kill? When you see a puddle on the floor, do you fear you’ll fall intoit? What if the stuff of life was a gateway into your worst dreams? Anchor Bay Entertainment presents the provocative and highly anticipated Canadian horror film The Drownsman.  The Drownsman has captivated audiences at film festivals all over the world, including Fantasia Film Festival, Toronto After Dark, Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival and Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Film Festival. Accolades include winning Best Horror Feature at Buffalo Dreams and Best Feature at Buenos Aires RSFF. The Drownsman was directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, Ejecta), written by Cody Calahan (Antisocial) and Chad Archibald, produced by Christopher Giroux (Dead All Night) and stars Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable and in the horrifying title role, Ry Barrett (Neverlost, Kingdom Come, If A Tree Falls).

Film 

After almost drowning in a lake accident, Madison (Michelle Mylett, Antisocial) developshydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. After shutting the world and her friends out for over a year, her friends attempt an intervention. But, instead of curbing Madison’s fear, they unknowingly unleash something far worse: The vision of serial killer – turned- supernatural psychopath Sebastian Donner – known as “The Drownsman” – who begins to stalk the women one by one, dragging them into a lair of submerged torment from which there is no escape.

If I’m going by overall content of the movie, its getting a 1.5, but since I did think there was an effort and some makeup talent and whatnot here, its getting a 2.  I say that because the story here has an idea, but the way they decide to execute it script-wise ends up being pretty clumsy and a lot of it comes across as dopey or more silly than the director is intending it to be.  And its got some awful twists and turns that don’t help it either.

But, like I said, some of the lighting, attack scenes and make up are quite well done.  The killer in this movie looks great ultimately until he is clearly lit.  Then, he looks like the main orc from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Forgive me that I’m not recalling his name).  None of this is ground breaking stuff or showing massive talent potential, its just something that’s done well, making this a better production that other cheapies you might see.

This movie was a Canadian production.  Some great horror films have come from the northernest country of the North America continent.  This isn’t one of them.  But, it did qualify for being one of those movies where everyone tries their damndest to hide their Canadian accent and fail at intervals.  My sister and I tend to enjoy watching that sort of thing.  Stupid, yeah, and I can’t tell you really why we think its funny.

The Drownsman wants you to believe its some big “new thing” revelation and that they’ve created a new classic monster.  But the movie just screams of being just one of a pack of ‘new’ straight to video horror films that come in hordes and none of them are memorable.  If you’re gonna catch this one, its likely going to be through your streaming service after perusing through what to watch forever.

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1o80p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Clarity/Detail: The film boasts a very good transfer.  The image is sharp and detailed.  Its very dark and some scenes prove to be a bit smooth.  Detail is pretty strong.  The monster in the film has fabrics and stuff ripped up and hanging and you can make out the shreds and texture of his clothes.  Also, dingy “lair” surface textures come through quite grimy and detailed.

Depth:  Things run about as loose as they can look in the tight quarters the movie takes place in.  Backgrounds look nice and objects have a nice distant feel from each other.

Black Levels:  Blacks are rich and heavy.  There is some detail lost and crushing going on.  Much of the film toward the final 2/3 is clouded in darkness.

Color Reproduction:  Not an incredibly colorful film.  The scenes that take place outside of the monster’s layer are well laid out.  The colors there feel bold and balanced with each other.  The “dark and gritty” scenes do feature a nice look for their dingy colors.

Flesh Tones:  Skin tones a little cool and consistent.  Facial features look great in close ups.  As you pull away there are moments where things look a bit too smooth.

Noise/Artifacts:  Clean.

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 Dolby True-HD

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics:  This is a solid track that accurately gives a full sounding experience.  The effects sound pretty distinct and are effective.  Its not a loose track and there is some blending here and there.  There is a problematic moment at the end, but for the most part, the 5.1 does a decent job in its portrayal.

Low Frequency Extension:  Jump scares get enhanced.  Attacks, crashes, grumbling and big scoring hits also are boosted by the subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation:  The rear speakers mainly serve the purpose of adding some score and ambiance.  The front speakers are active and feature accurate screen to speaker volumes and movement.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Clean, crisp and plenty audible.  Please note, there is a sequence with screaming at the end that severely peaks and brings some major distortion.

Extras 

The Drownsman is not drowning in any extras.

Summary 

The Drownsman is an attempt at concocting a new slasher type of horror villain that wants to be the next big thing, but just doesn’t really execute to the fullest to give us anything really notable or exciting.  Ultimately at best its just an also ran.  This Blu-ray features good video and audio, but skimps on the extras.  If you’re really wanting to see The Drownsman bad, I’d hold off til it shows up on Netflix or something.