South of Heaven appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect generally positive visuals here.
For the most part, sharpness appeared good. While the image occasionally felt a bit on the soft side during interiors or wider shots, the majority of the movie came across with acceptable to good delineation.
Jagged edges and moiré effects failed to appear. I also noticed no edge haloes nor print flaws.
In terms of palette, Heaven favored amber/orange much of the time, with some light teal as well. These hues lacked much pep but they seemed more than adequate.
Blacks appeared full and dense, while low-light shots gave us good clarity. This didn’t become a great image, but it worked fine most of the time,
Though not packed with action, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack accentuated the story. Most of the livelier moments related to vehicles or Jimmy’s job, but even those didn’t manage to use the spectrum in an especially vivid manner.
The film emphasized quiet ambience and not much more. A little gun violence popped up along the way, but not enough to make a real difference in the track’s overall impact.
Within those gentle confines, sound quality satisfied. Music was full and rich, while effects demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy.
Speech came across as crisp and natural. The mix didn’t do much but it seemed acceptable.
Two featurettes appear here, and Meet the Cast runs six minutes, 17 seconds. It includes comments from co-writer/director Aharon Keshales, producer Chadd Harbold, and actors Jason Sudeikis, Evangeline Lilly, Mike Colter, Jeremy Bobb, Thaddeus J. Mixson and Shea Whigham.
As implied by the title, “Meet” looks at cast, characters and performances. Some insights emerge but much of the program feels superficial.
The Making of South of Heaven goes for five minutes, 16 seconds and involves Sudeikis, Lilly, Keshales, Harbold, and director of photography Matt Mitchell.
“Making” covers story and development, photography, Keshales’ impact and other aspects of the production. Like “Meet”, “Making” becomes a decent but lackluster overview.
The disc opens with ads for Galveston and The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot. No trailer for Heaven appears here.
Every once in a while, South of Heaven perks to life. However, it plods too much of the time, and its talented cast can’t overcome all these slow spots. The Blu-ray brings generally positive picture and audio along with minor bonus features. This feels like a decent movie but not one that boasts the consistency it needs to succeed.