In MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY, the once peaceful and booming Yellowstone City has fallen on hard times, but when a local prospector strikes gold, things seem to be turning around. Any hope is soon shattered when the prospector is found dead and the Sheriff quickly arrests a mysterious newcomer. But nothing is so simple in this sleepy western town, and more than a few of the locals have secrets to keep and reasons to kill. As the brutal murders continue, pitting neighbor against neighbor, Yellowstone City goes down a bloody path to a final showdown that not all will survive.
For thoughts on Murder At Yellowstone City, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Murder At Yellowstone City comes to Blu-Ray with a decent enough 1080p presentation that has a few more deficits than most modern films. The film is filled with intricately conceived period interiors and fetching cinematography capturing vast expanses that are presented with some amount of clarity on this disc. The film appears to have added some artificial grain for aesthetic purposes, but it is not pulled off very well and often makes the image more artificial than it should be. This is most apparent against sun-drenched backgrounds, but some darker, shadowy sequences lack the depth you wish. Subtle facial features are visible in many shots, such as the various cuts and scrapes that the characters collect throughout their journey. Colors from the landscapes look nice and well saturated on screen, but some of the color grading looks inconsistent from scene to scene, which would likely be a source issue. No instances of compression artifacts crept up during the viewing. Most of the problems with this transfer link back to the film and not the disc itself.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is much more satisfying and effective. The score brings a richness to the story that fills up the room on this track. When the action kicks in, which it does quite frequently, there is some heft to the low end that is appreciated in a tale such as this one. The dialogue primarily stays in front center channels and is reproduced clearly without being overwhelmed by competing sounds. There is some nice ambient activity in the rear channels, especially when you are in the saloon. The track does a good job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers dialogue. This track is a solid effort all around. There are optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Richard Gray; actors Anna Camp, Scottie Thompson, Aimee Garcia, Tanaya Beatty, and Isabella Ruby; and writer Eric Balgau provide a very lively and occasionally chaotic commentary track. There are some fun moments on the track, but it does not substantially change our opinion of the film.
- The Making Of Murder At Yellowstone City: A brief five-minute piece in which the cast and crew discuss what makes the script so compelling for them and their experience bringing this story to life on screen.
- Deleted Scenes: Six scenes totaling seven minutes are provided here which include some unfinished VFX shots which make this a fun novelty. The excised moments are not essential, but they are worth checking out for those who like the film.
Final Thoughts
Murder At Yellowstone City is a very rote and uninspired western tale which hopes to capitalize on having a few notable names in the cast in lieu of a compelling script. You are asked to care about a key mystery which finds characters expiring at an increasing frequency, but very few in this sprawling cast are given anything to sink into, leaving the audience unable to truly care when some of the tertiary characters exit the picture. There are individual moments that work pretty well, but the overly long runtime ends up dissipating much of that goodwill by the time the credits finish rolling. RLJE Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray set featuring an okay A/V presentation and a few decent supplemental features. There have been some strong indie westerns in recent years, but this one seems most likely to appeal to less discerning fans of the genre.
Murder At Yellowstone City is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: RLJE 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.