“Premonition” DVD Review
Following The Lake House, Sandra Bullock stars in yet another time-traveling/time-bending flick, this time done in the now standard PG-13 horror style. Thankfully, it’s not the same as those other PG-13 horror movies that have crept up. This one is actually a bit more psychological in nature, and relies less on those “jump” scares that populate the majority of horror movies seen today. Instead, it invokes confusion, doubt, and suspension of disbelief . And, surprisingly, it works quite well. Premonition came and went in theatres, and made a nice amount of change, but I’m sure it’ll find an audience on DVD.
Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) has a beautiful house, a loving husband and two adorable daughters. Her life is perfect, until the day she receives the devastating news that her husband Jim (Julian McMahon) has died in a car accident. When she wakes up the next morning to find him alive and well, she assumes it was all a dream, but is shaken by how vivid it felt. She soon realizes it wasn’t a dream, and her world is turned upside down as the surreal circumstances lead her to discover that her perfect life may not have been all that it appeared. Desperate to save her family, Linda begins a furious race against time and fate to try and preserve everything that she and Jim have built together.
In a nutshell, the synopsis above is pretty much what the movie is. There’s even some soap opera-esque tactics thrown in as Linda’s life begins to unravel. However, it all works because of the premise of the movie. We have to suspend our disbelief to believe that this ordinary woman, with no explanation given, can suddenly see the future. And with any movie like this, there are plot holes. However, the movie tries hard to make everything connect, making any plot holes seem nonexistent.
I think apart of the reason why I enjoyed the movie is the initial confusion. For the first half hour of so, everything is jumping back and forth. People are introduced with no information, events are mentioned that haven’t happened, things that seemed unimportant initially have a deeper meaning, and there’s a couple shocks (one of which including a startling revelation with one of the Hanson daughters). It’s a good movie that keeps you on your toes, trying to piece the movie together before it rolls to an end after a mere 96 minutes. The movie’s short running time makes it move at a frantic pace once the storyline and bizarre occurrences start to happen.
And besides, any movie that features both Peter Stormare and Jude Ciccolella has got to be cool, right? They don’t have the biggest parts, but they are integral to the story.
Sony has released this film in separate Full Screen, Widescreen, and Blu-Ray formats. For this review, Sony provided me with a Full Screen version. So, while I can’t exactly comment on the image quality in terms of cinematography and such, I can say that the movie has a great transfer. It looked crisp and clear, and I noticed very little artifacting. The movie uses many different color schemes and filters, and does each justice. However, the audio is a bit uneven. Sometimes the dialogue is inaudible, which is either due to the mumbling or the actors or the iffy soundtrack. You should likely check the settings on your system if you have a similar problem. But don’t worry, this only happens in a few scenes, with the remainder being loud and crisp.
And how are the bonus materials on the disc? The standard DVD release includes an audio commentary with the director and Sandra Bullock, deleted scenes with optional director commentary (including an alternate ending), a Bringing Order to Chaos featurette, a Real Premonitions featurette, blooper reel, and a host of previews. That’s pretty much it. Nothing of any real substance, but if you’re interested in what drew the cast and crew to the project, and some science behind the “Premonition” thing, you might find the extras interesting.
At the end of the day, I’d have to Recommend this movie. Premonition is a great flick to watch with friends, your significant other, or just by yourself. Without even realizing it, you’ll be processing the movie, trying to figure out just how the whole movie will unfold (so having a friend or two with you could help). I want to add that it’s probably for the best if you avoid any TV spots or trailers for the movie. It’s probably too late, but if you can, avoid them. You’ll understand why when you see the movie. If you want a good movie to try and pick apart and decipher, then give Premonition a spin.
Premonition is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.