Anything for Jackson Blu-ray Review

Reverse Exorcism Classic

Anything For Jackson may well become a new cult classic in horror circles. The masterful horror saga from SHUDDER is the best genre movie released this young decade. The new horror masterpiece arises from a wicked tale of Satanists messing with dark forces beyond their control.

The terrifying Satanic nightmare sees a pregnant woman kidnapped by an elderly couple, looking to bring their grandchild back with an ancient occult ritual. Hoping to bring the child’s spirit back from the other side, the ritual summons far more than they can handle alone.

… hardcore fans need to cherish movies like Anything For Jackson

Dr. Henry Walsh (Richings) and his wife Audrey (Shelia McCarthy) are practicing Satanists. Desperate to bring back their deceased grandson Jackson, they kidnap a young pregnant woman. Their diabolical plan involves invoking an ancient ritual they believe will put Jackson’s spirit into the woman’s unborn baby. Evil visions of other spirits begin invading their home and the couple starts questioning if the ritual worked as intended.

Fantastically frightening with well-placed scares and characters with impressive depth, Anything For Jackson is wonderfully creepy and effective. The strong ensemble cast is headlined by terrific performances from genre stalwart Julian Richings and Shelia McCarthy. The nightmarish and macabre neatly come together, successfully weaving elements of Rosemary’s Baby with Misery. Disturbing, crisply paced and memorable, Anything For Jackson starts out strong and continues building towards an unforgettable climax.

Anything For Jackson is an amazingly crafted genre film by director Justin Dyck. It’s a stunning achievement for a subject in horror that has been covered before with varying degrees of success. The sinister thriller takes its characters seriously and doesn’t forget making them convincingly authentic with real inner lives. The movie pays off the intriguing premise with a rousing finale that is dark, nasty and wild.

The larger Hollywood studios have largely abandoned intense horror filmmaking, so hardcore fans need to cherish movies like Anything For Jackson. The Satanic shocker is gruesome, infernal fun. This is a can’t miss for fans of films like The Omen and The Exorcist.

Video

The limited, flat palette is an excellent mood-setter in Anything For Jackson. The solid, consistent 1080p video has a pleasing contrast. The new film has minor issues with shadow delineation and occasional softness. The 2.35:1 widescreen presentation has decent clarity and fine definition, if a bit rougher in select spots. Picture quality dips slightly during special effect sequences. Close-ups reveal razor-sharp detail and a tight focus. It’s an unfiltered presentation befitting a recent video workflow.

Released by RLJ Entertainment on a BD-25, the AVC encode has a few small issues. Macroblocking is evident in a couple of the darkest scenes. A hint of banding creeps into the frame on occasion.

Audio

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio serves up immersion and nice atmosphere. The strong sound design and discrete mix amps up when possible with an expansive soundstage front to back. Separation and dialogue reproduction are nicely done for a horror movie with a real gritty edge. The musical score meshes well with the movie’s foreboding mood and plays into the usual horror idioms.

Optional English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles play in a white font inside the scope presentation.

Extras

Disappointingly, RLJ Entertainment includes no special features. The Blu-ray does have a slipcover available.

SHUDDER Promo (00:31 in HD)

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