Eight teenage girls are trapped at an endless birthday party after a massive earthquake. When one goes inexplicably missing, a menacing power struggle takes hold. Then, rumors of a male prowler push the girls’ fragile psyches even further into a series of strange rituals and fierce delirium.

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[youtube https://youtu.be/yU3bl8Lufgs?si=KxUuaMUFlaksLqLj&t=1050]

Video Quality

Ladyworld comes to Blu-Ray thanks to Yellow Veil Pictures with a strong 1080p video presentation that represents the film without issue. The image is clear with the subdued color palette showing up with the stability of the environment. This disc handles the environment well with nothing appearing washed out. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups. The presentation shows off a significant amount of depth given the confined space the characters find themselves in throughout. The production design along with the fabrics of the costumes provide crystal clear textural details. The black levels occasionally lag ever so slightly with depth and show signs of crush and banding in certain shots. Compression artifacts never show up as an issue. Despite some minor deficiencies, this Blu-Ray is a fine representation of this movie.

Audio Quality

Yellow Veil Pictures delivers a rich DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track which does a perfect job of bringing this story to life. Environmental sounds of the space engage the surround speakers in an effective way that ramps up the tension of the scenario. While the characters are hunkered down in this confined space, some intriguing ambient details flesh out the setting. Dialogue is the main focus of the film, and it always comes through clearly without being overshadowed by any competing sounds. The music in the film is well-balanced while maintaining its fidelity. Kinetic moments are not a consistent part of this track, but the opening moments of the earthquake are handled well. Otherwise, the low end of the track mostly provides some nice texture to the more unsettling dialogue-driven stretches. The audio track does everything it needs to.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Amanda Kramer and Co-Writer and Editor Benjamin Shearn provide an informative commentary track in which they discuss the realities of the production, how they utilized the locations on a limited budget, motivations behind certain choices, the complications of indie filmmaking, allowing room for the script to be tweaked, working with the young actresses, the input of the Director of Photography, and much more that makes for an entertaining track.

Alternate Opening Scene: A minute-and-a-half-long alternate opening is provided in a slightly unfinished form.

Deleted Scenes: There are five unused scenes provided totaling six minutes of minor moments that did not make the final cut. These seem to have been cut for pacing reasons, but they are worthy of a look.

Rejected Teaser: A two-and-a-half-minute teaser is provided.

Trailer: A new two-minute trailer is provided.

Paris Window (2018): This 85-minute feature film from Amanda Kramer is provided here in HD with DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio.

Paris Window Trailer: The minute-long trailer for this additional feature is provided.

Bark (Short, 2016): The 11-minute short film is provided here about an argument that truly gets out of hand.

Intervene (Short, 2018): A nearly 13-minute short film is provided that provides more psychological weirdness.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring the essay “We’re Not Safe” from film critic Alexandra Heller Nicholas is provided here. This piece gives a well-rounded analysis of the themes and structure of the film.

Final Thoughts

Ladyworld takes a familiar premise of the collapse of social order within a small group and puts it through the unique lens of director Amanda Kramer. The filmmaker always injects a detached sense of reality into her features, and how these girls react to their isolation embodies that spirit quite a bit. Unfortunately, the film also struggles not to feel prohibitively cyclical in a way that is likely to test the patience of audiences. The performers all put in effective work, but the film itself feels like a short film stretched out to feature-length form. Yellow Veil Pictures has released a Blu-Ray featuring a really good A/V presentation and a terrific assortment of special features. The film is worth a shot to see if it resonates with you, but it will likely struggle to connect with most.

Ladyworld 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: Yellow Veil Pictures 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.