The story of the coming-of-age of two step-siblings: Hippo, a video-game addicted teenager and Buttercup, a Hungarian Catholic immigrant with a love of classical music and Jesus. Like the Ancient Greek Aphrodite, Buttercup’s love is unrequited by a young man who prefers to indulge the art of war and chaos.

For thoughts on Hippo, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Hippo arrives on Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation in its original 1.55:1 that captures the aesthetic intention admirably. The film is presented with a faithfully realized black-and-white palette throughout that preserves the pinpoint contrast with ideal control. This artistic choice brings a stark quality to the narrative that does not seem absentmindedly composed to capitalize on a trend. This is an absurd and acerbic film in many respects with numerous shots filled with an impressive amount of detail. The highlights hold tight without veering towards blooming while the black levels stay strong and avoid any compression artifacts. The transfer does exhibit a hint of banding in a handful of shots, but this is not a persistent issue. Memory has delivered a favorable presentation for this film.

Audio Quality

The film arrives on Blu-Ray with a sturdy DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings life to this one as desired. Dialogue and an array of sound effects stay conservatively balanced throughout the duration. All elements delicately intermingle with the music where nothing gets buried in the track. Surround channels provide some welcome activity with the interior tones and small detours into the backyard. The track’s low end is very reserved yet provides some texture when it needs to. This is not going to go down as an audio showcase, but it works well overall. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Andronicus – Short Film: A 25-minute short film from director Mark H. Rapaport that showcases a family therapy session that goes in unexpected directions. This features several familiar faces from Hippo.

The Making of Hippo: A nearly 25-minute piece in which the cast and creative team discuss the initial meeting between key creatives, the pre-production process, the themes of the story, the qualities of the characters and the actors that portray them, the filming process, and more.

Final Thoughts

Hippo is one of the most darkly twisted surprises of the year. The film delights in its pitch black point of view yet manages to find something touching at the center of everything. The combination of coming-of-age exploration butting heads against unchecked masculinity is ceaselessly captivating and utterly hilarious. The two central performances are flawless in terms of making these characters feel believable in all of their eccentricities. Some audiences may balk at key ingredients of this narrative, but those who have a wicked sense of humor will love it. Memory has released a Blu-Ray featuring a fantastic A/V presentation and a nice selection of special features. Highly Recommended

Hippo is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

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

Disclaimer: Memory and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.