Ethan Berger’s feature narrative debut is an engrossing contemplation of blind adherence to tradition through the lens of a fictional college fraternity. Tom (Alex Wolff), a passionate ‘brother’ of this fraternity, is charmed by the promises of high social status and alumni connections that open doors. But as a classmate outside of his social circle named Annabelle (Halle Bailey) enters his life, his devotion begins to falter. Once the scheduled hazing of new fraternity members comes to a disturbing head, Tom is faced with the decision of a lifetime.

For in-depth thoughts on The Line, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

The Line comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that captures this material exceedingly well. The film primarily portrays a more reserved world with only pops of color in the lighting choices, costumes, and other design elements. The transfer handles every unique environment with the appropriate amount of care. The transfer reveals texture within the clothing and production design that adds significant depth to the picture. Skin tones are detailed and natural across the ensemble. Highlights are handled well with no signs of blooming, and the blacks are deep and do not falter with any crush or compression artifacts. Utopia has done a first-rate job with this release.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a natural yet impressive DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that executes this story with ease. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being consumed by competing sounds. Environmental flourishes flesh out the soundscape to make the world feel more lived-in and bustling. The film uses music to control the tone as it saturates the room with a confident soundscape. The soundtrack adds some noteworthy texture to the low end at points. Sounds are positioned perfectly in the mix so nothing emerges from unnatural points. This is a top-notch release all around. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Ethan Berger provides an informative commentary track that delivers plenty of engaging production details about the locations, the production design, the performers, the narrative and structure of the film, and much more.

Deleted Scenes: A nearly four-minute collection of unused material is provided here.

Theatrical Trailer (1:33)

Final Thoughts

The Line is a visceral and upsetting look at group dynamics and the toxicity that can arise and be dismissed so swiftly. While the territory has been explored before, that does not take away from the captivating nature of this impressive debut feature. The performers are scary good, but we do feel that Halle Bailey was painfully underutilized. This is a tough watch at times, but you will be rewarded if you take the pledge. Utopia has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top-tier A/V presentation and a couple of cool special features. Don’t let this one slip past you this year. Recommended

The Line is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome/OCN Distribution.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Utopia & 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.