It has been quite a month for tales of survival in my household. Just in the past few weeks, films as varied as Greenland, Runaway Train and Centigrade have showcased the larger-than-life obstacles that life can throw at you in a moment’s notice. It is in my review of the latter film in which I shared some of my disappointment with the lack of emotional stakes and general sense of boredom with the plot developments, despite the intimate filmmaking on display. Horizon Line from director Mikael Marcimain can be added to this ever-growing list of survival tales as something of the polar opposite of Centigrade. Whereas that film was a very subdued, claustrophobic and believable indie thriller, Horizon Line is a big, dumb studio movie through and through with plenty of beauty shots and elaborate set pieces, not to mention inane dialogue and manufactured chemistry. They both have their pluses and minuses, but imagining a film that could hit the sweet spot between these two modes of filmmaking feels like it would be something special. As it stands, Horizon Line has an edge when it comes to mindless fun.
The film at least attempts to make you care somewhat about the fate of our protagonists. Sara (Allison Williams, Get Out) and her boyfriend Jackson (Alexander Dreymon, The Last Kingdom) are more than smitten with one another as they indulge in something of a permanent vacation on the idyllic island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. When Sara has to leave to return to her real life, she bounces without a proper goodbye – not being able to handle goodbyes is her main character trait. A year later she has to return to the island for the wedding of a close friend where she once again reconnects with Jackson, now sour about being abandoned by the woman he loved. Past grudges soon slip away in favor of renewed passions that finds the couple getting back into old rhythms. One night of ecstasy later, the pair find themselves late to the only boat that will be able to take them to the location of the wedding. Thankfully – or so they think – an old pilot friend Freddy (Keith David, Pitch Black) offers to allow them to tag along on his trip to the wedding in his plane.
This beginning portion of the film is not particularly thrilling, but it allows you to get a sense of these two characters before things go to hell. Plus, who doesn’t love numerous beauty shots of an island setting? It is not too long into the trip when Freddy suffers a fatal heart attack that sends the aircraft into a nosedive that results in a smashed GPS, a malfunctioning autopilot button and other unknown issues that will be discovered in due time. The only silver lining is that back in the day Freddy had given Sara a few flying lessons, and she proved herself to be something of a natural. Still, Sara is not equipped to handle anything with the plane besides keeping it in the air for the time being. Together, they must use their skills to find their way across this endless ocean to dry land where they can worry about landing before the plane runs out of fuel. This basic concept is thrilling on its own, but the movie stacks the odds against them even more at every turn including the presence of a massive storm, leaking gas lines, altitude sickness and more that would make any normal person want to curl up into a ball. It’s the type of escalating drama that you really only need in a feature film.
While the obstacles may be considered overkill, you cannot deny that these sequences keep your pulse pounding throughout much of the latter half of the film. At a terse 90 minutes, the movie moves along at a really nice pace that does not give you much time to think about how ridiculous some of the decisions and developments are within the story. The acting talent on display from Williams and Dreymon ranges from passable to cringeworthy depending on the moment. They make for good eye candy, but the relationship they try to establish from the offset never feels like something in which you truly want to invest yourself. In the midst of their calamitous flight, the film sets aside time for them to hash out old grievances, but the problems seem even more trivial than they normally would be given the circumstances. It is when the narrative has them close to death that Horizon Line seems to be the best version of itself. You know what you are getting from the film just from the logline and knowing it is from a major studio, so you can just kick back and enjoy the increasingly outlandish situations these characters find themselves in.
Video Quality
Horizon Line comes to Blu-Ray in a vibrant 1080p presentation in its 2:39.1 original aspect ratio that truly pops in high definition. The clarity throughout is outstanding with subtle flourishes of the island locations and ocean scenery coming through crystal clear. Color saturation is great with the color palette pushing slightly warmer to fit the mood and location of the narrative. The opening of the film features the most intense instances of warm push, but the aesthetic becomes more natural once the movie gets to the plane. Skin tones are natural to the lighting conditions, although a lot of exposed skin is covered in all manner of cuts and bruises as the story goes alongs. The colors throughout the film have a particular vibrancy to them, which is often enhanced by the cinematography. Black levels are pretty deep and do not fall victim to any noticeable digital noise or errors of the sort. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered an outstanding high definition presentation here.
Audio Quality
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is quite engaging, but does fail to deliver something truly unbelievable. There is pretty consistent activity in this briskly paced film from jump, which gives ample opportunity to engage the speakers. This film is not meant to be a full-throttle action film, but there are moments where certain kinetic sequences do not quite pack the punch or depth one might expect. Dialogue comes through clearly for the most part, but the roar of the plane and wind often lessens the distinctiveness of particular sounds. All of the effects have a nice sense of direction within the mix with noises such as the engine of the plane moving around the speakers in compelling ways. The movie uses environmental sounds to good effect, but the track does not feel as detailed within the chaos as some I have heard. There are numerous moments that make good use of the low end. The track is quite capable, but it is not the MVP aspect of the disc.
Special Features
- Deleted Scenes: Three scenes totaling six minutes of unused material including an absolutely ridiculous scene where Sara accidentally lights the plane on fire with a lit cigarette. Most of these scenes were cut for good reason.
Final Thoughts
Horizon Line is pretty fun despite being patently ridiculous and even a bit poorly acted at times. You cannot go into this film expecting legitimate quality or else you will be pulling your hair out. Know that it is a quick shot of dumb entertainment that looks pretty and you might actually enjoy it. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray with a solid enough A/V presentation and an assortment of deleted scenes. If you are feeling wistful for times when you could take in a big, stupid studio film in theaters, this one translates fairly well to a smaller screen.
Horizon Line 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: Universal Pictures 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.
