As the world faces a deadly plague, humanity’s hope for a cure lies with a scientist who awakens imprisoned in a metal chamber. She desperately works to escape her confined cell to save the last of humanity.
For in-depth thoughts on Tin Can, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Tin Can makes its Blu-Ray debut with a pretty strong 1080p video presentation that captures these distinct locations well. This is a film that takes place largely in shadow, but rarely does the disc struggle with the dark environments. The black levels hold up fairly well when it comes to depth, but there are slight signs of banding in certain shots. The flesh tones are natural with a tremendous amount of detail present in close-ups. The image is clear with the natural color palette popping off the screen in a few different areas. The film employs some bold colors when it comes to certain lighting choices which are handled quite well. The presentation shows off an impressive amount of depth, even though much of the movie depicts cramped spaces. The production design along with the fabrics of clothing provide crystal clear textural details. There are a few small areas where this disc could be improved, but overall this Blu-Ray does a fine job with this one.
Audio Quality
Epic Pictures once again chooses to give their Blu-Ray a Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy audio track instead of a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, which admittedly still sounds quite good but could likely be given greater impact with a lossless track. The music conjures up a specific atmosphere and is well-balanced while maintaining its fidelity. Hard-hitting moments are used sparingly in the narrative, but the texture is there when needed. Environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in an effective way. When characters are trying to break out of cramped spaces, there are some intriguing ambient details that flesh out the situation. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The audio track gets the job done, but it potentially could have been a richer experience with a full lossless track. This disc provides English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Seth A. Smith, Producer Nancy Urich, and Co-Writer Darcy Spidle/Actor Chik White provide an entertaining and informative commentary track in which they discuss shooting this movie before COVID, the background elements of the production, amusing stories from set, the collaborative nature of the production and more.
- The Last Bell Does Toll – The Making Of Tin Can: A pretty great 29-minute featurette which explores the realities of bringing this idea to life, the warehouse which housed the sets, the design and construction of the different set and prop elements, the communal aspect of the crew, the acting process and more.
- Music Video – ‘The Last Bell Does Toll”: A nearly four-minute music video is provided here.
- Music Video – “Zaum – The Enlightenment (Part I)”: A six-minute video is provided here.
- Trailers: This disc provides the two-minute trailer for Tin Can. There are also trailers provided for other Dread titles including Tiny Cinema, Midnight and Bad Candy.
Final Thoughts
Tin Can is a skillfully made thriller which takes some of the tropes of the genre and subverts them in meaningful ways. The lead performance from Anna Hopkins is key to getting us deeply invested in this story and gripping our chairs as we cheer for her freedom and safety. Although made before the current global pandemic, the film represents the current state of society very effectively in a way you will not soon shake. Epic Pictures had released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty decent A/V presentation and a few compelling special features. If you are looking for an under-the-radar thriller, be sure to put this one on your list. Recommended
Tin Can is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Epic Pictures 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.