The Row Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)

The Row is a 2018 horror film directed by Matty Beckerman (Alien Abduction, American Satan, Isolation, & The Experiment). The anxiety of rush week turns into sheer terror when sisters of a sorority are slain & turned into dolls by a serial killer. New pledge Riley (played by: Lala Kent from Dudes & Dragons, Vanderpump Rules, One Shot, & The Mentor) & her best friend, Becks (played by: Mia Frampton from Bridesmaids, Tammy, Make It or Break It, & That’s What I Am) must endure late night hazing rituals as the murderer watches. Riley uncovers some terrible secrets about her mother & her past with the same sorority Phi Lambda that she is trying to join. She meets Nina (played by: Jennifer Titus from from Reprisal, Rock Paper Dead, Zoombies, & Cheerleader Massacre 2), Miller (played by: Shea Buckner from Reprisal, Escape Plan 2, Gotti, & Animal Kingdom), Carter (played by: Dylan Sprayberry from Teen Wolf, Man of Steel, & Left Behind: Vanished – Next Generation), Villiers (played by: Colin Egglesfield from Reprisal, Rizzoli & Isles, Vice, & Melrose Place), Celeste (played by: Natali Yura from Reprisal, Dead Trigger, & Tri sestry), & various other suspicious new people on the campus. Her father Cole (played by: Randy Couture from The Expendables trilogy, UFC, The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior, & Ambushed) is a cop & he’s trying to save his daughter before she gets turned into a doll like all the others! Can they stop this insanity before the perfect girl is created from all these victims????

The Row reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, Valentine, & all those other slashers made around the same time. Unfortunately, it’s rare to get a quality slasher film these days. The Row was actually better than expected & I was happy with the final product. The slasher sub genre doesn’t have much competition in 2018 so it probably makes me appreciate this more than I should. It delivered on most of what you would want in this type of flick. It had plenty of hot chicks & it featured some gory moments. It was very tame when it came to sex & nudity. Some of the kills seemed rushed & almost like they weren’t sure if they were going for a hard PG-13 or R at the time. A few of them were brutal & it’s kind of visuals that you want to experience from something like this. I thought the look of the killer could have been better but I’ve seen much worse before so it was okay I guess. It’s simple but it works & doesn’t come off corny or anything like that. The acting here definitely won’t win any Oscars anytime soon but it did it’s job & kept me entertained the whole time. As far as the script goes, it was very predicable & I seen every twist a mile away. Make sure you watch after the credits. It had it’s flaws but overall I had lots of fun with this & I would definitely check it out again. RECOMMENDED for Slasher & Suspense/Thriller fans!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from Lionsgate! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks really good on blu ray! The cinematography from Jamie Barber (Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, Demolition Man, Evilspeak, & Space Jam) really elevates the whole overall production for this: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is very clean, the suspense plus thrills are amped up, & the soundtrack has a huge boost to it. It also includes English, Spanish & English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” from director Matty Beckerman. He is very passionate about this project. He covers all kinds of subjects here & does a scene by scene track for the most part. He chats about the cast & his experience working with them. He mentions this was made in 12 days with no money. He tells story on how he found the right mask & look for the killer in the film. He brings up a possible sequel being made for The Row. For a solo track, he keeps the information going without much of a pause so it has a nice pace to it. “Making The Row” is a little over 6 minutes. It has interviews with director Matty Beckerman, cinematographer Jamie Barber, actors Lala Kent, Randy Couture, Natali Yura, Shea Buckner, Mia Frampton, Dylan Sprayberry, Lexi Atkins, & others. They talk about The Row & their experience on the production. They chat about each other & their appreciation of all their work on this. It a nice little promotional piece. It also has a trailer for the film & various others from Lionsgate. It has a Digital copy & a slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, check it out!!!!