- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (24Hz)
- Audio Codec: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit)
- Subtitles: English
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: B (Region-Locked)
- Certification: 18
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: StudioCanal
- Blu-ray Release Date: August 13, 2012
- RRP: £19.99
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Livid (Livide) is a macabre twist on the haunted house genre from co-directors/co-writers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury. Filmed to create effective amounts of atmosphere, thrills, and “jumps,” the film centers on Lucie (Chloé Coulloud), a young in-home caregiver in the misty seaside town of Brittany who is on her first day on the job. Assigned to care for Mrs. Jessel (Marie-Claude Pietragalla), who lay in a cerebral coma in her desolate and isolated mansion, Lucie learns from her trainer of the woman’s past as a top dance instructor who lost her mute daughter many years ago and has a treasure hidden somewhere in her house. When Lucie tells her fisherman boyfriend William (Félix Moati) and his brother Ben (Jérémy Kapone) the story of Mrs. Jessel’s treasure, the three decide to go back to the mansion and search for the riches. It leads them into a horrifying adventure that becomes increasingly supernatural.
As a horror film, Livid works well throughout the majority of the film. It is haunting, atmospheric and has a fair share of scares with just the right amount of gore. As it becomes increasingly visceral and explores the back story of Mrs. Jessel is where the story tends to lose focus a bit, becoming somewhat confused and too slasher-oriented.
With that being said, the creators here have put together one of the more intriguing horror villains (and I won’t mention who lest I should spoil any surprises) in the haunted house sub-genre I have seen in a while and it is difficult not to love the general moodiness of this film.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Livid was shot in high definition using the Panavision Genesis HD camera and Panavasion Primo lenses. In this AVC/MPEG-4 1080p encodement from StudioCanal, the image does have a nice filmic quality in some of the brighter scenes, but it is certainly overwhelmed by video noise in the mostly dark, shadowy scenes. I have no doubt that this has more to do with the original production than the transfer and that what we are presented with here looks pretty much like the original source.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Livid has been given a lossless French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack that effectively creates an eerie, ambient atmosphere with an engulfing soundscape of sounds that draw you into the the dark and creepy haunted world. The sound is dynamic with extended lows and natural sounding highs.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
The extras offered here aren’t really necessary viewing.
- Behind the Scenes (1.78:1; 1080i/50; 00:17:19) – This is just about 20-minutes of B-roll
- Interviews (1.78:1; 1080i/50):
- Julien Maury & Alexandre Bustillo (00:05:50)
- Marie-Claude Pietragalla (00:07:53)
- Catherine Jacob (00:03:24)
- Felix Moati & Jeremy Kapone (00:03:37)
- Trailer (2.35:1; 1080p/24; French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Livid draws you into its horror and even though it is a little uneven, it is still a film worth watching for fans of the haunted house genre. This Blu-ray from StudioCanal is a solid release with good picture quality and atmospheric lossless sound.
Additional Screen Captures
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Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.co.uk
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
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