SON (2021) (Acorn Media International Blu-ray Review)

SON (2021)

Label: Acorn Media International 

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Cert: 15
Duration: 98 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1) 

Director: Ivan Kavanagh

Cast: Andi Matichak, Emile Hirsch, Luke David Blumm, Cranston Johnson, Blaine Maye

From director Ivan Kavanagh (The Canal) comes the satanic cult thriller Son (2021) which opens with pregnant mum Laura (Andi Matichak, Halloween Kills) on the run and avoiding a pair of men who seem to be chasing her. Hard cit to eight years later and she seems to be doing well, she's a teacher and her son David (Luke David Blumm, The King of Staten Island) seems to be a healthy and well adjusted kid. However, things begin to unravel when she awakens one night to find strangers surrounding her son's bed. She calls the cops, Paul (Emil Hirsch, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) and Steve (Cranston Johnson), but their investigation turns up no sign of anyone breaking into their home. We come to learn that when she was younger she had escaped a cult that was run by her father, and as she, and we the audience, begin to question her sanity we are treated to flashbacks to her time in the cult, which further cast doubt on her sanity. Her son David also becomes increasingly sick with a mysterious undiagnosed illness, and strangely the only cure - and a temporary one at that -  seems to be feasting on the flesh of human, and she being a loving mother is willing to do what she has got to do to keep him healthy. Son is not all that original, a cult thriller that juggles between 'she's nut' and 'oh yeah, it's satanic' with some cool gore, but it struggles to maintain it's own identity. I kept being reminded of better films of this ilk, and while it's not awful and is a pretty c-grade time waster, it's a bit too familiar and doesn't have it's own identity. I also was not a fan that the sound design is too geared towards cranking up the volume to illicit a jump. The region-free Blu-ray from Acorn Media offers a solid looking 1080p HD image with an uncompressed 5.1 audio track, plus a handful of extras including deleted scenes and cast and crew interviews.