Grand Isle Blu Ray Review (Screen Media)
Grand Isle is a 2019 suspense thriller film directed by Stephen Campanelli (Momentum, Indian Horse, & Badland Wives). Campanelli has been Clint Eastwood’s camera operator since 1995, he has done over 23 projects with the legend including Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, American Sniper, The Mule, Absolute Power, Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, & Richard Jewell. It was written by Iver William Jallah (The Process) & Rich Ronat (The Rising Hawk, While We Sleep, & Charlie). It was produced by Alastair Burlingham (47 Meters Down, Machete, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Trauma Center, Primal, & The Strangers: Prey at Night) & David Gendron (Brightburn, Assassination Nation, Super Troopers 2, Mom and Dad, & Jay and Silent Bob Reboot). The psychotic drunk Walter (played by: Nicolas Cage from Mandy, Color Out of Space, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Between Worlds, & Vengeance: A Love Story) & his neglected flirtatious wife Fancy (played by: KaDee Strickland from The Grudge, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The Stepford Wives, & Girl, Interrupted) are fighting for their anniversary.
The tension starts building up between them as the night goes on. Buddy (played by: Luke Benward from We Were Soldiers, Dear John, Life of the Party, & Ravenswood) is a handyman assigned to fix their broken fence & he is bribed to do it before the bad weather hits for some extra cash leaving his wife Lisa (played by: Emily Marie Palmer from American Horror Story, Mercy Street, & USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage) plus newborn all alone. The couple lures the young stranger into their Victorian home to escape from a dangerous hurricane. Walter & Fancy both ask Buddy for some help, each of them has a different story about each other. As he digs deeper into this spoiled couple, he learns that there’s much more going on here. When the man is charged with murder by Detective Jones (played by: Kelsey Grammer from Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, The Expendables 3, & X-Men: The Last Stand), he must reveal the couple’s wicked secrets & demented games to save himself. Is he too late? or Will these real life monsters finally be exposed for their unspeakable acts????
Grand Isle is a dark suspenseful thriller focusing on three main characters. Oscar winner Nicolas Cage has been playing lots of batshit crazy roles lately & it honestly kinda fits his current personality so it works here. Cage knows exactly what to do when it comes to over the top acting & Walter is a very interesting role for the veteran performer. KaDee Strickland is nice eye candy & she is just as crazy as Cage in Grand Isle. The two make a wild couple that you definitely don’t want to have any interaction with. Cage & Strickland have solid chemistry, the tension is all the place with them. Kelsey Grammer has a smaller part here but I’ve never seen him in a role like this before. He ties everything together & helps tells the story of what happened during his interrogation. He had the best performance in Grand Isle, I would like to see more material like this from him in the future. The script had it’s fair share of twists & turns to keep you on your toes. It’s a little silly & cartoonish at times but it’s fun. There’s some really dark stuff here could have been developed into something crazier but it was kinda thrown in there at the end to build up the final confrontation. It goes into horror territory at times, it ends up more psychological than physical. This independent feature keeps you entertained & it’s worth checking out!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Screen Media! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer is very solid, it mainly stays to one location which is a nice one. The weather pushes the chaotic atmosphere. It has two audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 on this release. It’s the technical highlight of this disc. The dialogue is crystal clear, all the suspense is elevated especially the awful weather, & the music has a nice boost to it. The sound is better than expected on this. It also has English SDH subtitles. The only extras on the blu ray were “Trailers” from Screen Media. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
