Follows two best friends on their final night together, with a nightmare of drugs, bugs, and horrific intimacy.

For in-depth thoughts on Swallowed, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original festival release here.

Video Quality

Swallowed makes its Blu-Ray debut with an impressive 1080p video presentation that captures the look of the film without any impediments. The nuanced color palette saturates the screen with admirable depth and accuracy. Some lighting setups tap into various notable hues. The film supplies deep colors in moments that are the most effective. Black levels reveal the slightest signs of banding in a few moments, but they largely maintain their depth even in the most challenging environments. The presentation holds on to its spatial awareness even when you might expect it to struggle.

The production design, clothing, makeup effects, and shooting locations provide immaculate textural details that make the experience more memorable. Skin tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups. The image is crisp when it is supposed to be and hazy when the characters are experiencing more distressing developments. This Blu-Ray delivers on all fronts.

Audio Quality

Yellow Veil Pictures gives this Blu-Ray a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures the distinct sound design of the film. As the characters tumble deeper into this nightmare, some stark ambient details flesh out the setting to make things more lively and disconcerting. Environmental sounds of the world flow through the surround speakers in a way that bolsters the viewing experience. Dialogue is rendered clearly without being clipped by any competing sounds. The music and score strike a chord and stay balanced while maintaining ideal fidelity. There is some texture in the lower registers when it comes to some of the more unhinged moments and some of the bass in the music. The audio gives you what you want at every turn. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Introduction: A minute-long optional introduction in which writer/director Carter Smith discusses his excitement over having his film released on Blu-Ray and the DIY nature of the production.

Audio Commentaries: There are four commentary tracks provided that explore the film from equally valuable perspectives. While there is some overlap between the tracks, the solo track is more of a big-picture examination of how this film came to be, other tracks get into more of the technical aspects of the feature, and the final track finds film critics delving into the film from an analytical lens.

- Audio Commentary #1: Director Carter Smith

- Audio Commentary #2: Cinematographer Alexander W. Lewis, Editor Eric Nagy and Director Carter Smith

- Audio Commentary #3: Journalist and Filmmaker Mary Beth McAndrews, Actor Jose Colon and Director Carter Smith

- Audio Commentary #4: Journalists Terry Mesnard and Joe Lipsett

Interview with Carter Smith: A new 38-minute interview with the filmmaker in which he discusses his desire to make a grimy microbudget movie, the creation of his short film Bugcrush, having control over Swallowed, developing the look of the bugs, developing the look of the film, and more.

Interview with Jose Colon: A new nine-minute interview with the actor in which he discusses developing a friendship with Carter Smith, preparing for his role, the experience of shooting the film, and more.

Interview with Cooper Koch: A ten-minute interview with the actor in which he discusses his response to the script, building a believable relationship with Jose’s character, working with Carter Smith, and more.

Bugcrush Short Film: The 36-minute short film from Carter Smith is provided here with optional commentary from Smith and Cinematographer Darren Lew.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet fashioned to resemble a magazine featuring an essay from film historian Elizabeth Purchell is provided here. There are also some very detailed illustrations throughout.

Final Thoughts

Swallowed will undoubtedly make you squirm and make certain parts of your body clench as you witness the horrors depicted on screen. Director Carter Smith has always made an impression in the body horror subgenre, but it feels like he lets his foot off the gas a little bit with this outing. The film keeps you engaged at all times as you wonder if the characters are going to make it through, but there are key elements introduced that do not seem explored to their full potential. It all works because of the strong investment in character dynamics, but it comes up just short of leveling up to greatness. Yellow Veil Pictures has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a significant amount of special features. If you are looking for a skin-crawling good time, this is worth a spin. Recommended

Swallowed 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.