In the dead of winter, Catherine, a talented musician, travels to her aunt’s remote cottage to work on new material in solitude. Once there, she and local photographer Grace spark up a budding romance while visiting an abandoned farmhouse with a disturbing past. Soon after, strange and seemingly supernatural occurrences begin to manifest at the cottage, escalating each night and dangerously eroding Catherine’s sense of reality.
For in-depth thoughts on The Strings, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original release here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that captures the desolate beauty of the picture. The opening of the film features the main character traveling through a snowstorm, and the cold lifelessness of that excursion pervades the picture. The movie has a reserved color palette that is accurately saturated in what is mostly muted interiors with flourishes of notable lighting. Occasional hues make an impression, but detail and clarity are the greater achievements. There is decent detail on display, especially in the production design and textures of the clothing.
The movie often taps into the darkness to ratchet up tension, and the transfer serves up deep black levels that do not experience crush or other shortcomings. Objects hold up well in the shadows and retain their depth with no major banding at hand. There is the slightest loss in detail when it comes to some of the panning shots in the shadows, but it is not a significant issue throughout. There is no damage or digital noise on display in this transfer. Shudder has done a nice job with this release.
Audio Quality
The Strings arrives on Blu-Ray with a standout DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that represents the film perfectly. Music is a vital part of the narrative, and every tune permeates the room for an immersive experience. Dialogue and various sound effects stay capably balanced throughout the duration where nothing gets muddled in the track. Surround channels provide some exceptionally creepy activity with the interior tones and other bumps in the night. The track’s low end provides some necessary texture when the tension is building. The movie digs deep when it needs to, and environmental sounds wrap you up quite well. This track does everything that is asked of it. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer/director Ryan Glover, writer/producer Krista Dzialoszynski, and actor/musician Teagan Johnston provide a commentary track in which they provide some great insights into the production process, the themes of the film, the qualities of the character, the location shooting, and more that is worth a listen.
- Interview with Teagan Johnston and Ryan Glover: A 15-minute interview with the actor and filmmaker as they discuss the background of the story, creating music for the film, the personal nature of the performance, the collaborative process, and more.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes: A four-minute collection of unused material is provided.
- Behind The Scenes Photo Montage (3:14)
- A Look At The Film’s Music: A five-minute look at the process of developing music for the feature.
- Extended Musical Performance: A nearly seven-minute version of a performance from the living room.
- Soundtrack Album Teaser (0:47)
- Original Trailer (1:18)
- Booklet: A multi-page booklet featuring the essay “Tragically Beautiful: The Frozen Landscapes of The Strings” from film critic Mary Beth McAndrews is provided here. This piece gives a well-rounded analysis of the importance of the setting to this story. There are also a couple of postcards included.
Final Thoughts
The Strings is a very low-key outing that will test the patience of most mainstream horror fans. This movie is the epitome of a slow burn, occasionally to its detriment, but it does effectively build up the tension as it leads you to an effective finale. Even with this payoff, this may not be enough for many, especially with some inconsistent performances accompanying things. If you do enjoy a more emotion-driven character piece with existential horror trouncing over traditional scares, this is much more likely to land with you. It is not perfect, but it lands its punches if you can get on its wavelength. Shudder has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a fine assortment of special features. Recommended
The Strings 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: Shudder 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
