Offspring / The Woman 4K Ultra HD

Back with a vengeance and an insatiable appetite for human flesh...Their Time Has Come Again. "Offspring" is based on the acclaimed novel and adapted for the screen by best-selling author Jack Ketchum, Offspring follows the survivors of a brutal flesh-eating clan that has resurfaced in the once sleepy town of Dead River, Maine. The locals are in for a rude awakening when they realize it's the same pack that the sheriff thought he'd killed off a decade ago. Just when they thought the nightmare was over, they're about to discover that the fight for their lives has only just begun. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director/Producer Andrew van den Houten and Digital Colorist Matt McClain; archive commentary with Writer Jack Ketchum, Director/Producer Andrew van den Houten and Cinematographer William M. Miller; eight featurettes: "Fly On The Wall: Filming Offspring" documentary (HD 42:40), "Meet The Makers" (HD 06;16), "First Stolen's Bailout" (HD 03:12), "Webisodes" (SD 17:42), "Audition Comparison" (HD 01:11), "Progeny: The Birth Of Offspring" (HD 20:47), "Restoration Comparsion" (HD 02:50) and Interview With Pollyanna McIntosh And Andrew van den Houtend (HD 14:21): archive Easter Eggs; image gallery and theatrical trailer.

The 1.78:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on Kodak film stock in Super 16 using the Arri camera system and sourced from a 4K Digital Intermediate restoration supervised and approved by Director Andrew van den Houten. The grain structure is smooth and virtually unnoticeable. The film is low budget and shot in natural seacoast environments of Dead River, Maine. The house and a car are supplemental enhancement to the extensive outdoor scenes. The killings by the mysterious flesh-eating family are largely during the night and include disturbing images of dead babies, bloody torsos, beheadings and brain-and intestines eating –– all graphic. The color palette is for the most part natural in the daylight scenes and some evening segments, but in the campfire light of the nomadic family's cave, the palette is heavily red tinted. During such scenes the palette is stylized. Flesh tones vary from natural to extreme reddish. HDR contrast is generally balanced with deep blacks, dark shadows, and generally natural white levels. Resolution is generally good, especially the makeup aspects of the distressed facial and bodily features. The imagery is that of a graphic blood and gore creep film –– an ode to the old shock horror, torture porn films. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel soundtrack is fairly haunting with an unusual synthesizer score that is aggressively directionalized and panned. The so-called music is enhanced with deep bass. Atmospherics sound realistic, such as the sounds of ocean waves pounding the sandy shoreline or the sounds of bugs in the night. Sound effects, such as gunfire, sound realistic. Foley sound effects effectively support the picture and the horrific encounters with the deranged cannibalistic family. Surround envelopment is aggressive. Fidelity is generally good. Dialogue sounds natural, even the grunt language of the cannibals, with generally decent spatial integration. This is an effective holosonic® soundtrack that delivers a horrific soundscape. (Gary Reber)