This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?

For in-depth thoughts on From Black, please see my colleague Lane Mills’ review from its original streaming debut here.

Video Quality

The film debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio which delivers a rock solid experience. The movie itself is not splendidly saturated with color with its muted palette that does not visually dazzle, but you are treated to a striking amount of detail and clarity. The cool push suits the dour narrative quite nicely in its own subtle way. There is slight loss of detail in some of the panning shots in the shadows, but it is not a consistent issue throughout. The movie leans on darkness to build tension, so luckily the transfer provides deep black levels that do not succumb to crush. Objects hold up mostly well in the shadows and retain their depth with only fleeting banding at hand. There is no damage or digital noise on display in this transfer. The movie may not be set up to serve as reference material, but it is rendered with clarity thanks to this format.

Audio Quality

From Black comes to Blu-Ray with a terrifically active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The experience is overwhelming in a good way, and will be appreciated by horror fans who pick up this disc. Dialogue and sound effects remain in harmony with the score where nothing gets murky in the track. The movie provides a surprisingly intense workout in key moments, and environmental sounds provide a very unsettling, immersive atmosphere for the story. The low end of the track provides some welcome texture when more horrific territory is being explored. Surround channels get some explosive activity with the house ambiance and other ritualistic noises during any lead up to an unsettling reveal. There are optional English SDH and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

From Black is a pretty effective combination of exploring the fallout of grief with paranormal menace which sends a shiver up your spine. Anna Camp puts forth one of her strongest performances yet, and she often smooths over some of the deficiencies in the script. The film delivers many thrills and chills, but it feels a bit unwieldy at times which keeps it from ranking as a new classic. Nevertheless, this is one of the better Shudder originals we have seen in a while, and it is worth a look for horror fans. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation but no special features.

From Black will be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD on August 15, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films 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.