The Transition - Blu-ray

Content: It was a real shock for buddies Bob (Matthew Amyotte), Chris (David Patrick Flemming) and Ev (James Gilbert) when they found the body of their friend Tyler's (Stephen Chambers) mother Pauline at his house, and then were also attacked by a completely distraught Tyler. Some time has passed since this incident. Tyler was in psychiatric treatment and should now find his way back to normal life. That's why he's asked Bob, Chris and Ev, along with their buddy Jimmy (Glen Matthews), to spend a weekend together at the remote cabin in the woods where they experienced so many good things as teenagers. It's a place from better times where Tyler wants to scatter his dead mother's ashes. In fact, he seems to be getting better and the initial tension quickly dissipates. But a mysterious force field has built up in the woods around the house, apparently responsible for Tyler's mental breakdown and now having a fatal effect on the psyches of the other young men as well...

The Canadian mystery thriller The Transition may not be a landmark of its genre. But what director Evan Kelly has managed to pull off here with fairly simple means is really something to behold, especially as a feature film debut. Even if the story itself is not entirely new, but at least parts are strongly reminiscent of Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, Kelly and his screenwriter Josh McDonald have also brought in some pretty good ideas of their own, which make the whole thing pleasantly exciting. The performances from the cast are on fairly decent, if not exactly award-worthy, humor. But even if some scenes come across as a bit woodenly acted, the actors still leave a really good impression overall.

The film gains a lot of atmosphere from the locations in Nova Scotia, Canada, which increases the tension considerably. The snowy forests look beautiful on the one hand, but on the other hand they also radiate a menace that is hard to escape as a viewer. The visuals can also benefit from the fact that they don't necessarily look like a typical low budget production. Cinematographer Christopher Ball has really done a first-class job here.

To admit, especially towards the end, the story no longer lives up to its good ambitions and gets a little too convoluted to be able to captivate. And some of the dialogue scenes in the first third are a bit long. But if you like small, atmospheric mystery thrillers with light sci-fi elements and don't necessarily need a fast pace and too much gore, The Crossing can be recommended to you. Worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The Blu-ray's image is absolutely clean and has a very high overall sharpness to offer, especially in the brighter exterior shots. In the numerous interior shots, there may be minor point deductions here and there in terms of detail presentation. But overall, the picture leaves a consistently positive overall impression even with its atmospheric coloring. There's not really anything negative to be said about the sound either. While the tonal action is fairly unspectacular for long stretches, a few well-done sound effects and atmospheric ambient noises ensure that the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix comes across as pleasantly lively. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray has only the trailer for the film and other program tips from Tiberius Film to offer.

Conclusion:The transition is a fairly successful mystery thriller with horror elements, which its low budget is rarely visible. Filmed in Nova Scotia, Canada, the snowy landscape alone makes for a depressingly fascinating atmosphere. Even if the script has some logic holes and the production is not entirely free of clichés, there are still some really good ideas in the directorial debut of Evan Kelly. For those who like to give small indie horror flicks a chance and who don't need a lot of blood to be well entertained, this technically well-realized disc can definitely be recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp