"The DVD" Movie Review

Cody Clarke is a filmmaker that never ceases to surprise me. With his new film, The DVD, he breaks all the walls to bring us something new and visionary. The DVD is an interactive experience. While most dvds have the main film with the option of watching bonus features, Clarke's film requires you to watch all the bonus material because each one tells a part of a much larger story. It's actually a brilliant idea, one that the average moviegoer will sadly either not understand or just won't care to try to understand. I actually enjoyed the experience personally. It made me feel like a private investigator reviewing found footage to try to figure out what happened to Courtney Tane.

The DVD is very perspective driven. The positives and negatives will completely rest on your outlook and what you like personally. One could say that there's not enough character development for Courtney while we get more than plenty for William and Sai. It's pretty obvious from the start who the antagonist is, but the question being asked isn't who did it, it's what happened. I personally think that the character development is exactly what was intended. Yes, there should be a level of care and compassion for Courtney's character and I felt that the deeper I delved into each section of the film. The more I saw of her the more attached I became.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the mystery aspect wasn't all that mysterious. As I said before, it's obvious who the antagonist is and it's pretty easy to guess what this person did before you reach the end. That's not to say that the overall experience was bad or disappointing because it certainly wasn't.

The DVD is definitely worth viewing and, if it's not your cup of tea then it is what it is. I, however, personally recommend this film and do ask that you listen closely, and watch EVERYTHING. Don't skip any commentaries or "bonus features" because you could be skipping vital clues. I give the film a 3.5 out of 4.