Reindeer Games 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

2000 action thriller Reindeer Games by director   John Frankenheimer (1962’s The Manchurian Candidate) is what I call “the action-thriller version of Showgirls without the T&A”. With Ben Affleck, Gary Senise, and Charlize Theron starring and Frankenheimer behind the camera, one would think the ingredients for a great thriller were all there, but not so much.

Affleck is Rudy Duncan, a convict about to be released in two days doing time for grand theft auto. James Frain is his cellmate Nick Cassidy, also set to be released in two days. Cassidy has spent his time inside corresponding with a beautiful woman on the outside, Ashley (Theron), and reading Rudy her letters. But Cassidy is shivved in a cafeteria brawl before release and Rudy decides to pretend to be him when he sees Ashley waiting for Nick as he is released. Ashley’s truck driving, criminal brother Gabriel (Senise) and his cronies ambuss Rudy in the motel room he and Ashley are staying in. Believing Rudy to be Nick, they want him to help them rob a casino on Native American territory where Nick once worked and wrote to Ashley about.

The resulting story is one filled with so many questionable choices and plot holes it does not hold up well. There are many times where Rudy tells them he is not the guy they think he is, and it is obvious he is not – Gabriel still does not kill him. There are some points where other people are killed but, still, Rudy is allowed to live. There is a twist where someone is not who they say they are and another where one character makes a surprise appearance, which defies logic. The Santa suit robbery is completely ridiculous, such as when Affleck sets someone completely on fire by simply squirting some booze from a warter gun onto their cigarette lighter.

Frankenheimer does his best to infuse tension and thrills into the story, with some chase sequences, handheld cameras, and odd angles, but the thrills peter out due to the absurdity of the story itself.

The Video

The 4K disc of Reindeer Games is from a new 4K HDR/Dolby Vision master taken from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. It is presented in a 2.35:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. The high speed 35mm Kodak Vision 800T 5289 film stock looks crispy and natural in this transfer, with a thin layer of consistent grain. The Dolby Vision grading presents excellent, inky black levels and sparkling highlights with very colorful primaries that bring out the best of the Santa suits and casino scenes.

I checked the included Blu-ray with the Director’s Cut – the 4K disc is the Theatrical Cut only – and it looks like an old transfer, compete with the Miramax startup screen, and terrible ghosting and edge enhancement that can be seen right from the start around the buildings in the prison.

The Audio

Reindeer Games comes with a lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mix. I watched with the 5.1 mix but did sample some scenes with the 2.0. The 5.1 mix is very aggressive for a film from 2000 and has extended low end that sometimes sounds a little out of balance with the rest of the mix.

The Supplements

There are no new extras included and the Director’s Cut on the Blu-ray Disc only.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary by Director John Frankenheimer

Blu-ray-Only Bonus Features:

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (SD; 00:06:09)
• Reindeer Games Trailer (SD; 00:01:40)
• Changing Lanes Trailer
• Hollywoodland Trailer
• Snake Eyes Trailer
• The Challenge Trailer
• 52 Pickup Trailer
• Ronin Trailer
• In Bruges Trailer

The Final Assessment

This inconsequential thriller has one highlight, which is the charming Charlize Theron. The Kino Lorber 4K restoration is also very well done and looks brilliant on my G3 OLED. 

Reindeer Games is out on 4K Ultra HD January 21, 2025 from Kino Lorber

• Rating Certificate: R (for strong violence, language and sexuality)
• Studios & Distributors: Dimension Films | Marty Katz Productions | Kino Lorber
• Director: John Frankenheimer
• Written By: Ehren Kruger
• Run Time: 104 Mins. (Theatrical Cut) | 125 Mins. (Director’s Cut)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 1000 nits
  • MaxFALL: 188 nits
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 21 January 2025