Twisted
Paramount Home Video
Cast: Ashley Judd, Andy Garcia, Samuel Jackson, David Strathairn
Extras: Commentary Track, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes
Rating:
Boasting a promising cast, consisting of Ashley Judd, Andy Garcia and Samuel Jackson in the lead, Philip Kaufman’s new thriller ’Twisted’ sounded like an interesting genre entry. However, it turns out that the film is highly formulaic and offers no twists or surprises. If anyone takes only a few seconds during the film to think about the plot and the characters involved he will inevitable have figured out the true identity of the killer in this film. It is I really that predictable despite the fact that the filmmakers try very hard to push misleading hints, references and suggestions into the viewer’s face. If it weren’t for the quality cast, who make ’Twisted’ thoroughly watchable, this film would have been a major disappointment.
Paramountis offering up a meticulous DVD transfer once again. The image is free of defects or blemishes and holds a high level of detail at all times. Colors are absolutely natural-looking with faithful skin tones and saturated, vibrant colors. Black levels are solid, firmly rooting the image while maintaining good shadow definition at all times. No edge-enhancement or compression artifacts distract form the viewing experience.
The audio on the DVD is also as solid as a rock with an active and aggressive surround field that is engaged almost constantly. It is a dynamic mix that works to the film’s advantage, with a wide frequency response and good dynamic range.
A number of extras are included on the DVD as well such as an informative commentary track by director Philip Kaufman, a selection of featurettes about the making of the movie, the work of detectives and about using San Francisco as the movie’s location. Ten deleted scenes are also included further expanding on the characters.
’Twisted’ was not as good as I had hoped, but it wasn’t a huge disappointment either. It’s a formulaic who-dunnit cop thriller like countless others and has little that sets it apart. Still the solid cast makes it a thoroughly watchable experience.
