DVD Sleuth: The Revenant DVD Review

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The Revenant (2009)

Lionsgate
DVD Released: 9/18/2012

All Ratings out of
Movie:
Video: 1/2
Audio:
Extras: 1/2

Review by Mike Long, Posted on 9/18/2012

In my recent review for Bait, I wrote about how filmmakers have spent years trying to put a new spin on the shark movie. The same can certainly be said for the zombie film. Zombies came back into vogue in the early part of the 21st century, and they are still going strong. Unfortunately, most zombie movies don't stretch their creativity beyond the standard Romero-fest in which the undead wander the landscape and humans hide out and argue. We have seen some variations on the theme, including zombie comedies (with Shaun of the Dead being head and shoulders above the rest), zombie westerns (The Dead and the Damned), and I feel certain that there's a zombie musical out there which is simply slipping my mind at the moment. The Revenant attempts to shove the zombie idea into a few other genres, as if it wants to fill in all of those remaining gaps.

The Revenant opens in Iraq, where soldier Bart (David Anders) is shot and killed while on patrol. The action then moves to Bart's funeral in Los Angeles where he is mourned by his best friend, Joey (Chris Wylde), his girlfriend, Janet (Louise Griffiths) and their friend, Mathilda (Jacy King). Sometime later, Bart awakens in his coffin, forces his way out and goes to Joey's apartment. Of course, Joey is shocked to see his friend back from the grave and once he's calm, the two discuss Bart's situation. He was certainly dead, but now he's walking and talking, but he's always decaying. And, they soon learn that he needs blood to live. The decide to hide this news from Janet and Mathilda. Things take a turn for the weird when Bart and Joey inadvertently kill a mugger. Learning that Bart is now virtually indestructible, the two decide to become vigilantes. But, cleaning up the streets is a dangerous task, even if one is already dead.

Again, audiences have been looking for something new in the zombie movie genre and for many, The Revenant may sound like the answer. And, on paper, I'm sure that it does. The movie takes the basic living dead premise and then mixes it with a buddy movie and then an action movie. I think that this is supposed to feel like what could have happened next had the story in Shaun of the Dead been continued. There's no doubt that there are similarities between the more serious Bart and Shaun and the stoner Joey with Ed. Not only does The Revenant share some traits with that movie, but it also feels very reminiscent of 1988's Dead Heat mixed with The Punisher. It also echoes things like Forever Knight where an immortal tries to fight crime.

The Revenant takes these familiar elements and puts them in a decidedly dingy, low-buget environment. (Are the roaches in Joey's apartment real of CG?) However, other than this apparently deliberate (necessary?) move, the movie has a very hard time deciding what its tone should be. I've read comments where people describe it as a comedy, but that's inaccurate. There are clearly some jokes here, but the movie is free from laughs. There is one unforgettable moment where the film clearly goes into over-the-top Brain Dead-like humor, but otherwise things are played fairly straight. The movie may deal with the undead, but it's never a horror movie. Granted, it contains horror elements and there's a nice debate about exactly what kind of creature Bart is (vampire vs. zombie), but the supernatural elements are tread very matter of factly. This leaves the action part of the film, which Director D. Kerry Prior handles quite well. But, once get the idea that Bart can't be killed by gunfire, a second scene with this seems like overkill (no pun intended). The movie does contain an interesting plot twist which kicks off the third act, but it feels as if the movie doesn't know what to do with it. The ending feels and looks like to came from another movie. It feels completely tacked on, but, somehow, it's actually more satisfying than the rest of the movie.

However, the biggest problem with The Revenant is the length. At 110 minutes, the movie is at least 30 minutes too long, if not longer. This feels more like a work-print, where final editing has yet to take place, than a finished product. Prior has done various jobs behind the camera but this is the first film he's directed in over a decade. The inclusion of dream-like, slow-motion shots and redundant scenes makes for a film which is too loose for its own good. If things had been tightened up and this had played at the kind of pace seen in Evil Dead 2 it could have actually been the immediate cult classic some are making it out to be.

The movie began making the festival rounds in 2009, but didn't get any kind of wide release until now. When that happens, there's typically a reason. I don't know if the world has been crying out for a zombie buddy-cop-like movie, but The Revenant tries to answer that call. The movie has good intentions, but it simply can't deliver the goods. Most director's cuts are longer versions of the movie, but this one needs a shorter cut.

The Revenant would make a good double-feature with Hysteria...for at least one scene, on DVD courtesy of Lionsgate. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer had been enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is fairly sharp and clear, showing only minor grain and a few defects from the source material. The image is dark at times -- the action is always visible, but the darkness can't be ignored. The colors look OK, but they are somewhat washed out at times. The image is a little flat and some shots look soft. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The track contains some nice stereo effects which alert us to sounds off-screen. The surround sound effects come to life during the action sequences and gunfire fills the speakers. A few scenes provide noticeable, but not strong, subwoofer effects.

The Revenant DVD contains a few extra features. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director D. Kerry Prior. This is followed by the CAST COMMENTARY which features David Anders, Chris Wylde, Louise Griffiths, and Jacy King. "Making Of" (13 minutes) is an odd piece which contains on-set footage which is accompanied by some fake James Earl Jones/Roscoe Lee Browne narration. The featurette is farcical, as it offers ideas like a conspiracy against Prior. We get a lot of behind-the-scenes footage here, but we don't really learn much about the film. The DVD contains five DELETED SCENES which run about 13 minutes. As the film is already too long, this is really hard to believe. Three of the scenes offer alternate cuts of Bart's trip to the hospital. The extras are rounded out by a PHOTO GALLERY and a TRAILER.