The Squad is part horror, psychological thriller, and confusing. It is full of unanswered questions, with an ending that sort of falls flat. I really wanted to like The Squad, but honestly, with the issues I had with it, I having a hard time convincing myself that it is anything but all right. Read on to see if you agree…
Product Information
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 100 min
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Spanish), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Spanish)
LANGUAGE: Spanish
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A
RATING: NR
PRODUCTION DATE: 2011
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: After losing contact with a military base, a high mountain unit is sent to investigate. Upon arrival, they find only a woman in chains. Isolation and the impossibility of escape serve to undermine the soldiers’ judgment.
Tatlock’s Quick ‘n Dirty Review: Trapped in a situation, with no escape and past turmoil boiling to the surface. It would make any man go crazy and that is exactly what happens. Sadly, it is pretty much the only thing that happens. Any sort of horror this movie might have is small, but sometimes effective, but overall, this is one movie that keeps its cards close to its chest and does not bother to dish out much in the way of information or scares.
I will say the movie has a wonderful location for shooting, but for some reason the cinematographer decided to shoot the movie really tight, resulting in not being about to make out the beautiful scenery. Maybe the idea was the make the viewer feel claustrophobic, but I just felt like I could not make anything out.
One positive thing I do want to point out is that all the actor’s involved did a fantastic job. They sold the fear, tension and the strange situation they are put into. The only issue I had, was it was hard to make out who was who and hardly any of the characters have any sort of development done on them, which honestly is no fault to actor.
Blu-ray Opinion:
Scream Factory serves up a nice little Blu-ray package with a couple special features. The video looks wonderful, although my copy seemed to have some strange glitches happening throughout the film (pictured below). It never stopped the disc from playing, but it would either slow down or skip a frame or two. This might just be my disc, but fair warning, it could happen to you as well. As for the audio, it has two options, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Spanish) and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Spanish), with the option for English subtitles, which you can turn on or off.
The behind the scenes special feature is 20 minutes long, consisting of 4 segments, quickly going through the hard process of making this movie. It isn’t super informative, as it reeks of EPK like presentation, barely dishing out anything super informative, but it’s still pretty interesting to watch. The only other feature is the trailer.
Blu-ray Features:
– The Making Of The Squad (20 minutes)
– Theatrical Trailer (1:47)
Verdict: I enjoyed The Squad and for the most part, it is okay, but it has many issues. There are plenty of movies out there that have a similar story, with some good scares, but this one just isn’t scary enough. However, it does a good job serving up some nice psychological moments that tease with your head. The acting is great, but the characters are underdeveloped. I recommend checking the movie out and giving it a shot, but do not expect a masterpiece of suspense.
Rating:
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