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Pack (The)
R2 - United Kingdom - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (27th February 2016). |
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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.*** Sit. Roll over. Play dead. On a remote farm in Southern Australia, hardened farmer Adam Wilson, discovers the last of his livestock have been mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs. His dreams of keeping the family business going are shattered, but nothing can prepare him for what will happen next. As night falls the feral pack of dogs begin to circle the farmhouse. With a taste for fresh blood, they launch their attack, stopping at nothing to get inside the house. Will Adam and his family make it out alive? Or will they fall victim to… THE PACK!
Video
Independent British distributor have released the low budget Australian creature feature "The Pack" on to DVD and digital only in the United Kingdom. They release the film in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and provide an anamorphic transfer in PAL format. Whilst it certainly isn't up to the standards we would generally see in the revered and fan favourite Video and Academy ranges, the transfer we receive is to a passable but disappointing standard. Although made with a low budget, there are a number of anomalies in the transfer. One of the more obvious is the consistent banding and posterisation on the walls and backgrounds (see 19:29 and 36:24 for two of the worst offending scenes). This generally happens in internal scenes whenever the camera is stationary and there is no sudden movement, but it does happen to skylines externally too. Colours are purposefully lifeless but skin tones are very inconsistent, with some characters going from pale, to red, within moments in the same scene. Blacks aren't quite as deep as they should be and there is some minor crush, but generally shadow details are noticeable if mediocre. Brighter colours during external daylight shots lack depth and pop, and whites sometimes look more like a dirty light brown. Facial close-ups lack sharpness and other details you would expect to see are inadequate. Whilst this transfer is lacklustre overall, in terms of the genre and budget, it lies a smidge below the average expected presentation. The feature is uncut and runs 84:35.
Audio
Arrow Films have provided a single Dolby Digital 5.1 track in the original English (448kbps). It is a pretty standard affair for a feature like this with most of the action focused towards the front of the sound stage, whilst the surrounds are utilised for the environmental effects including dogs howling in the night, winds whistling around the open spaces outside, and crickets chirping. The surrounds also make good use of the formulaic score by Tom Schutzinger. Dialogue is always clear but often flat sounding, and volume levels are consistent throughout. Channel separation is good, and the LFE makes itself known on occasion. As to be expected for such a new feature, there are no issues with drop outs, crackles, pops, or background hiss. Unfortunately, no subtitles have been included.
Extras
The only extra of substance here is a fairly short "Making Of" featurette clocking in at 7:35. We get to take a quick look at several aspects, from the visual effects, to what is is like to work with director Nick Robertson. This could've been done with being more in-depth, as the participants are all interesting to listen to, but this is still worth a quick viewing at the least. There are also some start-up trailers: - "Pay the Ghost" (1:36) - "Backtrack" (1:56) - "Honeymoon" (2:11)
Overall
I'm a big fan of creature features / animals gone bezerk, and whilst the relatively unknown cast are better than average for this sub-genre, the story and lack of constant tension left a lot to be desired. I recommend 2006's "The Breed" over this one, although they aren't really too similar apart from rabid dog aspect.
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