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Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Crime > Murder > Prison > Australia > Convict (2014/Indie Rights/MVD Visual DVD)

Convict (2014/Indie Rights/MVD Visual DVD)



Picture: C Sound: B- Extras: D Film: C



Convict (2014) is a typical prison drama/action film directed by Australian filmmakers David Field and George Basha. The film follows the story of War Veteran Ray (played by George Basha) who is pulled away from his fiancee and ends up in prison, where he is pushed to his physical and mental limits under the reign of an evil Prison Warden who will stop at nothing until he has broken all of his inmates. The film is very bleak and dark, so don't be expected to be uplifted at its finale. It truly shows the evil of prison and the heartlessness that some men possess.


The film is pretty thematic as I've read, similar to the filmmaker's 2009 feature film named Combination, with is also thick in thematic subtext. Here, the guise of prison is more of a commentary on conflicts between the characters dealing with race, violence, and different cultural differences - all of which are pretty commonly found in these sort of prison films. The film stars George Basha, David Field, Millie Rosie Heywood, and Richard Green.


I found it to be well made from a production standpoint and not without its moments, but ultimately a predictable film that will appeal more to fans of gritty Australian cinema or prison movies in general. Of course, there are moments were the male prisoners have to sexually abuse other men and scenes where violence takes over and they become unhinged that adds to the feeling like we've seen it and been there before.


The film is presented on DVD in standard definition with a 1.77:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The color correction of the film, specifically in outdoor scenes are very blown out and on DVD, some shots even look a bit out of focus. The film could definitely benefit to a HD upgrade as many shots also have a loss of detail, but a Blu-ray seems to have been issued, so...


The underwhelming DVD menu and capture selection scenes may make you cringe, however the worst part is that the only extra here is a trailer.


If you like violent prison films, then you may enjoy this. I found it to be stereotypical of the genre, the cycle and predictable.



- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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