A Cure For Wellness - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

A Cure for Wellness

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Gore Verbinski is a bit of an interesting man. He was once a punk rock teenager who hung up his guitar to chase a life of film and acting, but found his niche mainly in directing said films. Most of us know him from the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, but he has a unique taste that seems to span quite a few genres. It took quite a bit of digging into my memory to remember that he directed the quirky action film The Mexican, as well as the bizarre animated film Rango, and even the horrifying flop that was The Lone Ranger remake (truly an abominable film). But this is not the first time that Gore has dabbled in horror. 15 years ago he gave us a deliciously creepy remake of the Japanese film Ringu (The Ring), which is easily one of my top 20 horror of all times (I have to have a top 20 list, as there are WAAAAAAAY too many horror movies for me to be stuck with only 5 or 10). Color me intrigued when I saw the trailer for A Cure for Wellness and felt a very distinct Lovecraft vibe to what few minutes of footage was available. The movie ends up being a little more underwhelming as I would have hoped, but I truly think that this is a film that’s going to grow on you the more you watch it.

Gore pretty much spoils much of where the film is going right from the trailer, but I highly suspect that it was intentional. After seeing the film two different times I have this gut feeling that this is more of a film that is experienced through the subtle changes of body horror and emotional reactions along the journey rather than any mind-bending twists or shock horror moments in the movie. It’s a very distinct impression of “the journey is the answer” vs the standard use of surprises to push the narrative along. Dane DeHann (The Amazing Spiderman II) is a young business executive named Mr. Lockhart who is sent to bring back a high-level executive in his firm from a wellness center in the swiss alps after a mental breakdown (or so it seems). Upon arriving at the castle like center Lockhart notices that something is VERY wrong with the place. Everything seems overly nice and sweet, but with a weird underlying sensation of something being “off” in the subconscious. The center is run by the charming Dr. Volmer (Jason Isaacs), who does his very best to put Lockhart’s mind at ease, but after a tragic car accident Lockhart soon finds himself trapped in the asylum like place with no way out.

What seems (to Lockhart at least) like an innocent stay soon becomes a fight for his very sanity, as the young executive finds himself questioning his sanity and the very existence of himself. The only comfort and clues to an escape from the seemingly innocent madness is a young girl named Hannah (Mia Goth) and her strange, but familiar, connection to Dr. Volmer and this whole psycho ward that Lockhart has gotten himself into.

A Cure for Wellness got literally THRASHED during its theatrical run by critics, and I can understand why. It’s not a movie that speaks to most mainstream audiences and speaks more to the horror fans who like something more sensory than gory. More like H.P. Lovecraft than Wes Craven, if you would. In fact, that was the very first thing I thought of when I saw the movie theatrically. The similarities to the master of horror are pretty obvious if you know where to look. The gothic locations, the sensory horror rather than violent blood and guts, mixed with this sickening feeling of constantly being off center and at odds with what is going on. As I said, I can understand why it got thrashed by mainstream critics. It’s a very polarizing film that will either attract, or repulse you with its slow paced journey of the macabre.

Verbinski’s latest effort does take some effort to hang on to the story. It’s not a short 95 minute slasher where you gain all the info you need to know in the first half hour. The movie has you very carefully watch as piece after piece of the puzzle is revealed, in a very steady buildup to a creepy ending. Much like Lovecraft, Verbinski didn’t hide his intentions. Everyone is VERY aware that the wellness center is a trap (except for Lockhart that is), and that Jason Issacs Dr. Volmer is going to be the villain. It’s not the point to be surprised by that, but it’s actually a focal point of how the story progresses. We all know the ending, but the film works backwards and places the clues along the way to build up the WHY as being the primary focus of the journey. The results are usually good, but Verbinski and crew sadly leave a few threads hanging that just leave the viewer feeling a bit frustrated. The rest is near flawless though. The progression from hardnosed business executive to terrified patient within the ward is amazingly creepy, and the dreamlike sequences of narcotic horror that he experiences adds to the suspense as the audience second guesses what is real and what is in his head. Some of the questions are left blank intentionally, and some of them are just meant to tantalize and teas the viewer, setting up a sense of gothic horror in the third act that is mostly sensory rather than necessary to the plot.




Rating:

Rated R for disturbing violent content and images, sexual content including an assault, graphic nudity, and language




Video:

No matter what your opinions on the film itself, 20th Century Fox knocked this one out of the park visually. Thanks to Gore Verbinski’s meticulous attention to visual details makes for a simply sumptuous Blu-ray experience. Originally framed in 1.85:1 theatrically, Fox brings the disc to home with a beautiful looking 1.78:1 AVC encoded disc that leaves nothing to the imagination. The sweeping shots of the Swiss wellness center look amazing, and the light green filter applied to the movie gives off a sickly glow that resonates with the sickening feeling that the movie provides. Whites are brilliant and dazzling, while fine detail is resplendent. You can see everything from the razor burn on Dane DeHaan’s face, down to the grime under his fingernails when digging around underground. Black levels are deep and silky, with incredible shadow detail, even in underwater shots that only show a GLIMPSE of banding (which is rare, as underwater shots are notoriously hard on displays when it comes to color banding). My only grumble is that of a first world nature. It has to do with the fact that Fox didn’t see fit to give this a 4K UHD release, as the film’s visual beauty just screams for 2160p resolution and HDR.






Audio:

Just as magnificent as the sparkling videos is a reference quality DTS-HD MA 7.1 track. My first world problems sensor laments the fact that there was no Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, but the 7.1 mix is absolutely impeccable. The film really engages all channels with a ton of ambient energy that places little tinks in the cement, or allows drops of water to sound eerily accurate over your shoulders. The somber and creepy music flows throughout the entire track with a soft presence that never really calls attentions to itself, but acts as the fuel that keeps the narrative moving forward along with the visuals. Vocals are crisp, and well maintained in the center channel, while the mix employs a dynamic range that isn’t overly aggressive but somehow manages to give nuances to each whisper and scream equally. LFE is tight and impressive, sending deep pulsing beats throughout the runtime and still managing to seem unassuming and restrained at the same time. It’s a perfect sounding track and I really can’t see any major way it could be improved.
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Extras:

• Meditations - Featurette
• The Score - Featurette
• Deleted Scene: "It's Wonderful Here" (a.k.a. Embryonic Sequence)
• Optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles

Final Score: ​

A Cure for Wellness is a fascinating, if not slightly different, horror film for 2017. I absolutely loved the abstract use of sensory horror and Jason Isaacs as the villain everyone loves to hate. I’m usually not a fan of Mia Goth, but she knocked it out of the park here. My only real complaint is that it’s a bit of a confusing film on first watch, and needs multiple views to really come into its own. I’m rating it a 3.5/5 as of NOW, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the more I watch, the more I may crank up rating. Well, I guess I should say that it’s not my ONLY complaint. I do feel that Dane DeHaan was a little bit strange for the role of Lockhart. He seems more sinister than he is, and the ending left me with this feeling that he didn’t fully grasp his role in the film. 20th Century Fox did an absolutely INCREDIBLE job with the audio and video specs, but the extras are sadly a bit lacking. Definitely worth checking out if you have even the slightest interest in off the beaten path horror films. Although be warned It's definitely geared towards an adult audience as there are several rather disturbing scenes that tend to veer away from blood and gore and more into the sensation of "oooo, that's just creepy and wrong". So people sensitive to that type of material be warned.
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Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Justin Haythe
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Hindi, Urdu, Hungarian, Thai, Turkish DD 5.1
Studio: Fox
Rated: R
Runtime: 146 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 6th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Interesting Watch

 

[JBrax]

We rented this one Wednesday and I thought it was great. Although I must say one scene made me a bit uncomfortable. It actually had me Googling Mia Goth's age. It had a bit of Hostel meets Shutter Island feel to it. Great review and a good watch but a bit of a warning label for some viewers.

 

[Michael Scott]

We rented this one Wednesday and I thought it was great. Although I must say one scene made me a bit uncomfortable. It actually had me Googling Mia Goth's age. It had a bit of Hostel meets Shutter Island feel to it. Great review and a good watch but a bit of a warning label for some viewers.

lol, I know the scene you're talking about. Again, another piece that REALLY had me feeling like H.P. Lovecraft influenced Gore's artistic palate. DEFINITELY part of the "yup, that's one of the warnings in the MPAA rating for sure", but luckily not taken TOO far as it really could have gone. It's a factor that really makes you love to HATE Jason Isaacs character and prove he's one disturbed villain. I made a note of it in the review to warn more sensitive audiences

What's bizarre is that Mia is dating that knucklehead Shia Labeouf

I have liked it better each time I've seen it, and I suspect that my rating may go up a bit after watching it a third time.

and I like the reference to Shutter Island, I can see the comparison in tone now that i think about it.

 

[JBrax]

Yes, I discovered that when Googling her name. I suppose they have the same "artistic" vision. I don't even know what to think about Shia anymore? He's either completely off the rocker or he lives his life as one giant publicity stunt. Maybe a mixture of both but he's definitely taken an extreme hard right on his career path.

 

[Michael Scott]

Yes, I discovered that when Googling her name. I suppose they have the same "artistic" vision. I don't even know what to think about Shia anymore? He's either completely off the rocker or he lives his life as one giant publicity stunt. Maybe a mixture of both but he's definitely taken an extreme hard right on his career path.

from what I hear he had a REALLY warped childhood (his parents are bonkers), then it came to getting super rich, super fast with a few films and now that his career tanked (as he's not THAT good of an actor), he's a rich boy looking to fill his life with meaning and going completely over the net with some of his stuff. Kind of pitiable really. I kinda liked the guy before he went all egotistically nuts

 

[JBrax]

Yes, and to think he could have made a living off of the Transformers franchise alone. I personally think he's pretty talented as an actor but I'm probably in the minority with that opinion. My wife can't stand him. He reminds me of someone like Robert Downey Jr. whereas I can see him taking a similar career path. I could very well be off the rocker in my thinking though.

 

[Michael Scott]

hopefully he can get on track. From what I hear unless he goes bonkers with spending, he's set for 3 lifetimes over, so who knows what he's going to do.

Kind of like a reverse Daniel Radcliffe. both of them made OBSCENE amounts of money from their franchises, but each has taken a different path in life. Shia has gone nuts, while Radcliffe is going after passion projects and roles that really stretch him as an actor, even if the project isn't always fantastic. Supposedly he made $130 million from the HP franchise, and hasn't touched a penny of it thanks to just doing what he wants in the indie film department

 

[JBrax]

So safe to say finances won't be influencing his life choices. Probably not a good thing but, yes I hope he pulls it together.

 

[Asere]

It's definitely on my to watch list

 

[Sonnie]

I can't watch it... watched the trailer and NOPE... ain't gonna do it. I am NOT a horror fan and with any kind of weird goings on like some of what I saw in that trailer would make me cringe. I would have nightmares... yikes!

 

[Michael Scott]

It's definitely on my to watch list

lol, I had a sneaking suspicion this would be on your agenda

 

[Todd Anderson]

Looks like Redox is going to have this bad boy at some time down the road... I'm game for giving it a rental spin. Sounds interesting. I have a soft spot for the wacky and the weird.

Doesn't look like this is a definite must add to a collection?

 

[JBrax]

Looks like Redox is going to have this bad boy at some time down the road... I'm game for giving it a rental spin. Sounds interesting. I have a soft spot for the wacky and the weird.

Doesn't look like this is a definite must add to a collection?

It's definitely wacky and weird. No, I would suggest renting Todd.

 

[Michael Scott]

it's a very niche title Todd. It appeals to non mainstream horror fans more than anyone.... I would rent it first. I'm a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE horror nut and new EXACTLY what Verbinski was going for, but I fully understand that it's not something that will appeal to your average redboxer. That's not to knock it, as I really am starting to like it (watched it a 3rd time last night) even more than I did before, but I can't be under the impression that mom and pop redboxer is going to like it AS much. It's a polarizing film for sure.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm finicky when it comes to horror... but weirdly dig the niche films. Are we talking Neon Demon wacky territory? That's a film that definitely got a thumbs up from me.

 

[Michael Scott]

oh goodness no, that's more art house. This is cerebral sensory horror. MUCH different

 

[Todd Anderson]

LOL... swing and miss!!!

It did have some SERIOUS bizarreness at the end though. No?

 

[Michael Scott]

yeah, Refn definitely took it to the extreme bizarre at the end of that one.

 

[Leonard Caillouet]

I'm with Sonnie on this one. We'll leave the niche esoteric horror films to you guys. I watched a trailer last night thinking, maybe something out of my norm, but it looked a bit too far...

 

[Asere]

Hopefully I can make time to watch tonight.

 

[Michael Scott]

definitely looking forward to your thoughts. Yours and my horror tastes tend to overlap quite a bit so I'm honestly curious on your take

 

[JBrax]

I'm also curious as to what you think. Per the wife I'll be binge watching Orange is the New Black tonight.

 

[Asere]

Yes, I will let you guys know what I think. I did not get the chance to watch it last night. I will try and watch it this week or weekend. I can't wait I am sure its up my alley.

 

[Asere]

definitely looking forward to your thoughts. Yours and my horror tastes tend to overlap quite a bit so I'm honestly curious on your take

Mike, I really enjoyed the move but started to dose off during the last 20 minutes or so because we started to watch it late. I need to re watch what I missed. I can say so far the story was really good and superb acting. It kinda reminded me of the Leo DiCaprio film Shutter Island but different.