Based on the short story “Winter Light” by acclaimed author James Lee Burke, GOD’S COUNTRY is a neo-Western thriller set in the snowy wilderness of the American West. Thandiwe Newton plays Sandra Guidry, a Black professor living and working in a rural college town. She discovers a mysterious red truck parked in her driveway and soon learns it belongs to a pair of local hunters seeking to enter the forest behind her house. Sandra turns them away politely but firmly – her experience tells her these are not the sort of men to welcome freely into her world. But they won’t take no for an answer, and soon Sandra finds herself drawn into an escalating battle of wills that puts her most deeply held values to the test.

For in-depth thoughts on God’s Country, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

God’s Country debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures its very stylized look well. The movie has a very hazy aesthetic complemented with a low contrast, muted color palette. This transfer seems unconcerned with presenting deep black levels which results in some amount of crush and banding. Objects could stand to present with a bit more detail in these instances with their lack of clarity and depth. In certain expanses, the transfer delivers a striking amount of detail and clarity within the environment. There are certain deep hues such as the orange of fire which make a big impression. No damage and only a bit of digital noise was detected which detracts from this transfer. IFC Films and RLJE have reason not to offer this one on 4K UHD, but this is the type of material that would thrive with that level of care.

Audio Quality

The film comes to Blu-Ray with a tremendously effective DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that realizes the sound design perfectly. Dialogue and sound effects are balanced well with the score where nothing loses clarity. The movie shows off when it comes to environmental sounds that add to the sense of isolation felt by Sandra with a very immersive atmosphere. Surround channels create a very dynamic sense of spatial awareness with subtle sounds emanating from all of their distinct points. The low end really comes alive near the end of the film when things come to a head as it adds some terrific texture to the atmosphere. This audio track more than gets the job done. There are English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary #1: Screenwriter Shaye Ogbonna, producer Amanda Marshall, and writer-director Julian Higgins provide a steady and informative commentary track in which they discuss the original source material and short film, how the story evolved after the 2016 election, the force of nature that is Thandiwe Newton, starting production right at the beginning of COVID-19, challenges faced throughout the production and more that is worthy of a listen.

Audio Commentary #2: Cinematographer Andrew Wheeler with writer-director Julian Higgins provide another good commentary track in which they discuss their background with one another, motivations behind certain scenes and more.

Deleted Scenes: There is 12 minutes of unused material provided here with optional commentary with editor Justin LaForge and writer-director Julian Higgins.

VFX Breakdown: A nearly seven-minute piece with commentary from VFX producer Cooper Vacheron and writer-director Julian Higgins which breaks down all of the special effects shots of the film and how they executed things on a practical level.

Original Score Featurette: A nearly seven-minute piece which takes a look at the work of first time composer DeAndre James Allen-Toole, how he became involved in the project, motivations behind certain sounds and more.

Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

God’s Country is a searing portrait of bottled up contempt brought to fiery life by a knockout performance from Thandiwe Newton. Nearly every step of the way men prove themselves to be the worst as they disrespect boundaries and disregard feelings because it does not align with their beliefs. Certain developments may feel a bit extreme to most people, but the movie does a fine job of illustrating how and why people get pushed to their breaking point. This film is very well constructed in a way that sustains tension while never feeling exploitative. IFC Films and RLJE Entertainment have released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a nice array of special features. This is one of the great overlooked films of 2022. Recommended

God’s Country is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

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.