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Fallen Soldiers
R2 - United Kingdom - 101 Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (14th July 2015). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and Extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Europe 1815. War rages across the continent. Fallen Soldiers tells the story of a British soldier trapped behind enemy lines. A young noblewoman’s coach is hijacked and her husband murdered by a desperate British soldier. At gunpoint, the soldier spins her an outlandish tale of plagues, conspiracies, and dead men returning from the grave. Wounded in battle, John Cross, has lost the will to fight and has resigned himself to seeing out the remainder of the war in a military hospital. But against his will, John’s superior officers send him out into no-mans land to investigate rumours of a strange plague that is ravaging the area. Captured by the French, John's companions are deliberately exposed to the disease. Together they escape, but one by one his friends succumb to horrific deaths only to come back from the dead, and John is forced to fight for his life. The discovery of a secret French outpost reveals a terrible plot to resurrect fallen French soldiers, but imprisoned once more, John meets a strange prisoner who reveals the real truth behind the disease. In a race against time, John must make the ultimate sacrifice to stop the man behind the conspiracy.
Video
Independent distributor 101 Films have released the low budget British horror film "Fallen Soldiers" in the United Kingdom using the original aspect ratio 2.35:1. The transfer is anamorphic, and looks good for the genre/budget, if very inconsistent between scenes. Director Bill Thomas has worked on some pretty big films in the props department, including "Fast & Furious 6", "Guardians of the Galaxy", and "Into the Woods". Although he has directed some TV documentaries and shows, this is his first full fictional movie, and it is obvious he has brought his knowledge of the art department with him, as the sets and costumes here look far better than the budget would suggest. The details on these sets though, vary wildly from scene to scene. Some locations look great, with more minor details inside the horse cart among the highlights, especially in the black fabric at the back of the cart. The unfortunate thing is, the level of clarity and detail can then all but vanish, and even the difference between two camera angles of the same scene can differ wildly. In one instance at the beginning, one shot shows the foliage as very dark, and then we cut to another angle and the greens are bright and vivid. Thankfully these moments are few, and I imagine this inconsistency is down to budgetary constraints. Shadow detail also varies scene to scene but can look excellent, as seen at 55:11 where smaller details in darkened areas are abundantly clear. Black levels are generally fine, but do edge towards grey at times, whilst lighter colours in external scenes offer no problems. There is no damage to the print, and no notable issues with aliasing or banding. There is some minor posterisation at 64:50 in the background, and some scenes do seem a little noisy, but overall? This looks better than your average film for the genre in this budget range, and the often excellent cinematography goes some way in helping. The feature is uncut and runs 81:14.
Audio
Two audio options are included: - English/French/Flemish Dolby Digital 5.1 - English/French/Flemish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo For my viewing, I opted for the English/French/Flemish Dolby Digital 5.1 track which was adequate and had some promising moments. The film is quite dialogue heavy, and all speech is easy to understand. Unfortunately, some of the ADR is a little obvious, and on occasional the dialogue just sound a little clunky. The surrounds are generally rather quiet, though there are some very nice subtle effects at times, like the airy swirls of light drafts coming through the cold rooms. The score by Carl Harms is suitable tense and atmospheric, if a little formulaic. There are no issues with drop outs, pops, or crackles, and there is no background hiss. As with the transfer, this is a better track than your average low budget horror. English subtitles are included for the non-English dialogue only and can not be removed.
Extras
First up, we have an audio commentary with producer Jason Emery, director Bill Thomas, first assistant director Kiera Thomas, writer Ian Thomas, and actors Zachary Street, Adam Gould and Robin Gould. It takes ten minutes or so before the participants find their feet, but when they do, Bill Thomas and Jason Emery lead a fairly humourous track. It isn't particularly in-depth about the technical aspects, but there is enough here to keep budding film makers interested (where ADR was required due to frequent planes flying overhead). There are some good anecdotes, and I did enjoy the way they laughed at their own mistakes (a white arm when everything else is caked in mud, someone walking in the background etc). They obviously enjoyed themselves making the film, and that enthusiasm rubs off into the end product too. Worth a listen. We also have a "Making Of" featurette which clocks in at 16:52. This features some b-roll footage, on-set photos, and finished scenes interspersed with interviews on a couch with various cast and crew members. They cover most of the main aspects, whether it be the general production or the make-up effects. There is some good information here, but not quite in-depth enough for my liking. Worth a watch for those who enjoyed the film though.
Overall
Director Bill Thomas has the rare ability to make a very low budget film look as though it cost much more to make. The cast is good for the genre, and there are some interesting ideas. As a whole though, not all aspects of the film quite gel and the cover art makes it look as though there is far more horror than what there is. A/V quality is gratifying, and the extras add good value to the release. I would say it is worth picking up if you're a genre fan.
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