Clay (Clay Tatum) is a loner photographer who enjoys a mundane life with his artist wife Whitney in Los Angeles. Whitney advises Clay, who has been creatively stagnant and unemployed for months, to go out and be productive while she’s out of town and not to “just lay in the living room and drink beer.” While taking photos out in a park, Clay happens upon his long-lost friend, Whit (Whitmer Thomas). After a night of catching up, Whit discloses an unsettling secret to Clay, which puts a strain on his marriage and causes him to question his own sanity.

For in-depth thoughts on The Civil Dead, please see my colleague Andre Couture’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

The Civil Dead debuts on Blu-Ray with an incredibly solid 1080p video presentation that holds up especially well throughout. The high definition master delivers exactly what it needs to, and the encode reveals nearly nothing in the way of compression artifacts or macroblocking. The image is crisp and clean with the natural color palette resolving well, even if the film is not focused on delivering eye-popping hues. The film provides the occasional splashes of bold colors within the lighting, costumes, and certain elements of the production design.

The presentation provides a pleasing amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design along with the fabrics of the clothing provide crystal clear textural details. Highlights are well balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. The black levels also hold up quite well with not much in the way of crush or banding. Flesh tones are natural with an appreciable amount of detail present in close-ups. This one is a joy to watch in high definition.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray provides a great DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings this movie to life as intended. While the budget on this one might be modest, there does not appear to be any notable deficiencies when it comes to how the sound was captured. Dialogue is the main focus of the film, and it comes through clearly without being clipped by any competing sounds. The music in the film is likewise well-balanced and maintains its fidelity as it establishes an inviting atmosphere.

This is not a movie that digs deep in the low end, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the speakers in subtle yet narratively effective ways. When the characters are roaming from room to room, there are some ambient details that flesh out the setting. A handful of sound effects such as doors slamming engage the low end in a way that provides some nice texture to the proceedings. This is a well-rounded audio presentation for fans. This release provides English subtitles.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Co-Writer/Director/Actor Clay Tatum & Co-Writer/Actor Whitmer Thomas provide a fun and informative commentary track in which they discuss the intimate production during the pandemic, getting help from friends and family, elements from the film they had to cut, aspects they included from their personal lives, how the script evolved, the jokes they included in the script only to make each other laugh, and more that makes for a solid listening experience.

Deleted Scenes: Nearly five minutes of unused material is provided here including Clay trying to sell a broken camera and someone trying to break into the cabin.

Theatrical Trailer: The nearly two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

The Civil Dead is a low-key feature directorial debut which uses its indie film scrappiness as a narrative benefit. The focus of the narrative is the dynamic between the two leads, and the way in which they are allowed space to discover how they relate to one another is a joy. The movie is often very funny, and even when things get a little dark or uncomfortable the film remains transfixing. There are short stretches when the film stalls ever so slightly, leading you to believe it could have been tightened up a little bit more, but overall it remains a solid opening effort from this creative team. Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome have released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a fun array of special features. If you enjoy a low-key comedy with a slightly dark edge, be sure to give this one a spin. Recommended

The Civil Dead 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: Utopia and Vinegar Syndrome 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.