Shut In (DVD) : Review

Film

A widowed child psychologist, Mary (Naomi Watts), lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. As a winter storm arrives, she struggles to rescue a young boy, Tom (Jacob Tremblay – Smurfs 2, Room), before he disappears forever.

With Mary’s son, Stephen (Charlie Heaton), suffering after a horrific car accident, that killed her husband Doug (David Cubitt).

Shut In is a thriller, but it is a little lacking on the tension and thrill side of things. The plot, whilst not complex, is one of interesting, even if coupled with a few too many convenient facts. Mary fails to see a few things that are right under her nose, possibly blinded by guilt, or her own despair over her family situation. She is also hell bent on helping Tom. So much so, that this too puts her in jeopardy. Mary is helped, albeit remotely via video call, by fellow psychologist Dr. Wilson (Oliver Platt) who is helping her about as much with her son, as much as with her own personal issues.

The contained events of the film do make for an entertaining story, despite its numerous, and obvious flaws. So much so, that while it is perhaps not too easy to be out-guessing the main plot, it does seem rather predictable when one finally reaches the great reveal.

Shut In, is a middle of the line psychological thriller, that is perhaps a bit light on the thrills, and bit too obvious on the psychology. Still, it does make for some escapism, and will entertain along the way.

Disc

The disc is of a decent technical quality overall, with a main feature that falls in the middle, meaning like for it would likely vary, and have a fair amount of subjectivity.

Shut In is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video is encoded at a high average bitrate. There are no visible artefacts on screen, nor any visible colour bleed. Detail is maintained to a fair degree in darker scenes.

Viewers with the necessary hardware or software could sale up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.

Audio

Audio is presented via a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, with a 2.0 downmix available.

Dialogue is clear via the centre speaker, with the weight of the soundtrack carried by the front channels. There is not a vast amount of use for the surround channels, other than a few scenes where they serve to expand the on-screen world, and further draw the viewer into the story.

Navigation

Navigation is simple, and easy to follow. The main menu provides text links to play the main feature, scene selection sub-menu, and a link to a setup sub-menu.

The scene selection sub-menus comprise of ten colour, still thumbnails. These are small, and numbered, but not labelled, meaning there would be an amount of guesswork involved when trying to navigate to a specific part of the main feature.

The setup sub-menu allows for selection between Dolby Surround and Dolby Stereo audio options.

Bonus Features

There are no bonus features on the disc, with even the usual autoplay trailers at the beginning of many disc missing here.

 

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb