The myth of the dreaded “wendigo” comes to shocking life in this terrifying horror thriller. When a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, seek to help a troubled young boy who possesses a strange secret, the consequences are more dreadful than they could have possibly imagined.
For in-depth thoughts on Antlers, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Searchlight Pictures with a gorgeous 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film well. The movie itself has a cooler color palette with many scenes cloaked in darkness which this transfer handles brilliantly. There is also a great amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation. The fine detail that is detectable on faces is quite remarkable. Roaming shots remain stable and avoid any blurring or banding. For a movie that relies on darkness to build tension, it is important to have deep black levels, which this thankfully does. Objects hold up very well in the shadows and retain their depth. There is no damage, black crush or digital noise detectable in this transfer. This is a supremely impressive transfer from Searchlight Pictures that allows this brand new film to thrive at a high bit rate and deliver a problem-free viewing experience.
Audio Quality
Antlers comes to Blu-Ray with an outstanding DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie is very active throughout with big bursts of activity when the creature is in full effect, especially near the end. The low end of the track is especially active during the climax with a bit of wall shaking happening. The dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the unsettling score where nothing gets lost in the mix. Surround channels get some excellent activity during the numerous scenes in the room where sounds are coming from unknown origins. This is a film that is immensely satisfying from a sound design perspective. The directionality of this track is on point with sounds coming from all of the appropriate places. This track is quite powerful, and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc.
Special Features
- The Evil Within: A six-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss their approach to unlocking the terror of this film, the artistry they wanted to bring to the story, the themes and characters, drug addiction and more.
- An Exploration Of Modern Horror with Guillermo Del Toro: A three-minute piece in which the acclaimed director and producer discusses the state of modern horror and the underlying poetry that is brought to many features. He gives some great evidence to how many conventions of the present owe a lot to the past.
- Artifacts and Totems: A three-minute piece in which the creative team discuss the process of bringing this community to life on screen to match the vision of a rundown American town that has a helpless, moody atmosphere.
- Gods Walk Among Us: A six-minute featurette which takes a look at the digital and practical effects used to create the film’s primal creatures. There is a ton of great behind-the-scenes footage shown here.
- Cry Of The Wendigo: A three-minute piece which explores the folklore behind the wendigo as told by the film’s First Nations consultants. You get to learn about the creature’s mythic origins and about its connection to man’s betrayal of the land.
- Metamorphosis: A three-minute exploration of the transformation of Scott Haze including his extreme weight loss to play this character.
- Comic-Con@Home with Scott Cooper & Guillermo Del Toro: An excellent 41-minute panel moderated by Steve Weintraub from Collider in which they start off by answering some fun personal questions like movies they have watched the most, favorite Disneyland rides, their biggest inspirations and more. The two also get a lot into the process of bringing Antlers to the screen with a lot of rich details that should please fans.
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Antlers is a very effective horror film which delivers a lot of thrilling moments but slightly stumbles when it comes to realizing its full potential. The trailer is one of the most effective released in the past few years, but the actual film suffers from some slight pacing issues. The performances are a standout aspect of the film with young Jeremy T. Thomas really making a huge impression. Searchlight Pictures has given this film a Blu-Ray with an impressive A/V presentation and a surprising number of special features. If you are a fan of the film, you should be more than pleased with this release. Recommended
Antlers will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on January 4, 2022. The film is currently available to purchase on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
