Synchronic Blu Ray Review (Well Go USA)

Synchronic is a 2019 science fiction film directed/edited/produced by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring, The Endless, V/H/S Viral, The Twilight Zone, Moon Knight, and Resolution). It was written by Justin Benson (Wrecked) and shot by Aaron Moorhead (Straight Outta Oz, All Hallows’ Eve 2, Dating a Zombie, and Death of the Dead. It was produced by David Lawson Jr. (Spring, The Endless, V/H/S Viral, Resolution, 68 Kill, After Midnight, She Dies Tomorrow, The Devil Incarnate, and Trash Fire). It had it’s world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It grossed $1 million at the box office.When New Orleans paramedics plus longtime best friends Steve (played by: Anthony Mackie from Marvel Cinematic Universe, 8 Mile, The Hurt Locker, and The Night Before) and Dennis (played by: Jamie Dornan from Fifty Shades Trilogy, Robin Hood, The Fall, and Wild Mountain Thyme) are called to a series of bizarre, gruesome accidents, they chalk it up to the mysterious new party drug found known as Synchronic at the scene. When Dennis’s oldest daughter Brianna (played by: Ally Ioannides from Into the Badlands, Parenthood, and Elementary) suddenly disappears, it changes everything. His home life with Tara (played by: Katie Aselton from Bombshell, Legion, The League, and The Gift) starts to fall apart. Steve gets some terrible news about his declining health. He puts it all on the line when he stumbles upon a terrifying truth about the supposed psychedelic that will challenge everything he knows about reality after diving deep into a dark investigation on it which includes dangerous looters (played by: Bill Oberst Jr. from Circus of the Dead, 3 From Hell, Hell’s Kitty, Death House, and DIS)!!!!I am a huge fan of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s previous work. I actually reviewed The Endless when it was first released and I loved the other two before that one. Synchronic is still independent like all of their other features but it does have a slightly bigger budget and it has more than a few familiar faces from various bigger mainstream projects. I’ll be real like always, I prefer Spring, The Endless, and Resolution over this one. I personally think it’s Benson and Moorehead’s weakest film so far in their small impressive filmography. Maybe I was expecting too much compared to the past movies but Synchronic fell short for me but it was still better than most science fiction productions out there especially when it comes to the low budget and independent scene. The script was solid for the most part but it was kinda all over the place. Synchronic has more than a few sub-plots that distract and take away from the main story here which was actually interesting. It teased the concept but it kinda got more personal with the leads on their current issues in their lives plus they threw some random crazy shit to add some more entertaining elements to it. The production design, music, and visual fx were great especially for what they had to work with when it came to the budget. This easily could have been passed on as a bigger feature due to it’s high quality on every level. Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan have solid chemistry as the leads here. When it comes to acting, it’s some of their best work so far in their careers especially Mackie. This one has a good supporting cast that you recognize a few of the actors from other work like Katie Aselton, Bill Oberst Jr., Ally Ioannides, and Benson/Moorehead regular actor Shane Brady (The Endless, V/H/S Viral, and Spring). It does have some pacing and flow issues due to it going to random spots at times which is my biggest complaint about it. It goes from various things like family drama, time travel, drug scene, weird religious cult, health issues, a terrible trip with a dog, a detective angle to it, crazy action, and society just going wild from all of this. The ending was interesting, I am still not sure how I feel about it to be honest. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead keep their original streak going with Synchronic but it wasn’t executed as well as the previous ones, I just wish it was a little more consistent but I still enjoyed it for what it was. It had some real interesting moments that definitely make it worth seeking out for at least a one time watch. I’d recommend streaming ot renting it before considering a purchase because it’s not for everyone. I honestly don’t understand some of the extreme hype.praise for it especially Synchronic being called one of the best of it’s year on many respected lists but don’t get me wrong it was still solid!!!!Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Well Go USA! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks amazing on blu ray. You can not tell this was a low budget production by just watching it. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead deliver excellent cinematography plus high quality production design with this one. The visual fx are very impressive and shine here. English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks have a killer boost to them especially during the madness that takes place in this. All of the dialogue is crystal clear and the music is elevated. It has English SDH subtitles. Let’s discuss the special features from Well Go USA! It has an “Audio Commentary” with directors Justin Benson,Aaron Moorhead, and producer David Lawson Jr. They chat about their experience, it’s origin, the cast, characters, story, concept, music, and it’s production. They bring up that it was first written in 2015 near some of their earlier projects that got made before this one. They go over the main actors for this. They mention and joke around about some of their more known work. They recommend a few books every once in awhile. They focus on the visual style. They go into great detail about some of the most important scenes in this. They tell some hilarious stories about the production. They point some stuff that was cut from the final version. They joke about feeling pressure on this commentary because they recently noticed that they were being reviewed on it also. Guess what guys? It’s true but you did a fantastic job here on it. They are very passionate about this production and it shows here. They have so much fun while discussing their work here and it’s full of jokes. These filmmakers and friends have some amazing chemistry. I usually only listen to commentaries when it comes to work here, I generally don’t check them out on stuff I just buy for my collection but I always make sure to listen to anything these guys do because it’s always top notch. I hate to say it but this is probably better than the actual movie. I already listened to it twice since I owned it. “Making Of” is a little over 15 minutes. It has interviews with directors Justin Benson,Aaron Moorhead, actors Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, and Ally Ioannides. They chat about the cast and their characters. They bring up some similarities that they share with them. They talk about their experience and the concept here. They focus on the awesome visual fx for the production and some of the more difficult material in it. They mention locations and important scenes from it. “Previsualization” is a little over 8 minutes. It has an intro from the directors. It has some footage shot planning the feature and pre-visual material with the final product comparing the two. These two were beyond prepared for this bigger project and this is a cool behind the scenes look into it. It has almost 3 minutes of “VFX Breakdown” and it gives you a little inside look into making this. It has a little over 1 minute “Deleted Scene” and an a little over 1 minute “Alternative Ending”. I definitely see why both of these didn’t make the final cut for this but it’s still nice extras to have. It has a “Teaser” and full “Trailer” for the film. It also includes a slipcover. I am giving blu ray copies of this away for free along with Max Cloud for my current contest/giveaway on both Facebook and Instagram. It’s available everywhere right now. CHECK IT OUT!!!!