Son
Director: Ivan Kavanagh
Stars: Andi Matichak, Emile Hirsch, Luke David Blumm
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love what RLJE Films and Shudder are doing with their movies. They’re not strictly holding on to the flicks for Shudder’s streaming site, but a good number are coming out to Blu-ray, and in the case of this movie, it’s coming out on disc in advance of it going to the streaming site. I am a big fan of choice and options, and so I love this. But how is this film in and of itself? Let’s find out.
Here a young woman is running from a cult. No spoiler there, as it’s pretty obvious. She gives birth to a son that she first says she doesn’t want, but then soon begins to love. Jump forward a few years; the woman and son are living their lives. Then the boy gets real sick and the doctors have no clue as to the cause. But as quickly as the illness comes, it goes away and life is good again, until the next time the boy gets dangerously ill. The mother thinks it must have something to do with her tragic past, but there is no evidence of this and she might not be the most reliable of narrators. So begins the mother’s quest to get to the bottom of the illness plaguing her son and to keep him healthy and safe no matter what.
Son is a very good movie, well acted by all and very well directed by Ivan Kavanagh. I like the characters so I honestly want them to get help and do well. I really like the “is she crazy or isn’t she” aspect of the mother, played by Andi Matichak, and her cop love interest, Emile Hirsch, is very likable. Even the child actor, David Blumm, is good in this, and that’s a godsend, as so much of the story and action revolved around him. The fear worked for me, the mother’s desperation seemed real, and the ever looming presence of the cult and the occult was well handled. Even if the final “twist” was a bit easy to see coming, and it was, that did little to take away from this movie, that’s how much I enjoyed it.
Let’s get to the extras that RLJE Films has put out on this new Blu-ray release. There is a very short (less than 5 minutes) collection of interviews with the cast and crew and then there is a smattering of deleted scenes. Well, that’s it, and yeah, that’s kind of sad, as a movie this good deserved more and I know the people involved with the film would have liked to do more for it, so what was the problem? As I said, that’s sad.
Son is a great movie and even with the lackluster Blu-ray release, I’ve still got to recommend this one just on the strength of the film alone. I do wish the disc release was shown more love, so maybe just wait for it to come out on Shudder to give it a watch, first. If you are a die-hard collector, like me, then I do recommend this Blu-ray. If you don’t have Shudder then I can also recommend it, as this film is too good to miss. But if you can watch it another way, you might just want to do that.
