I Kill Giants (2017) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2017
Running Time	106:10
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Anders Walter
Studio Distributor	Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Madison Wolfe Zoe Saldana Imogen Poots Sydney Wade Rory Jackson Art Parkinson
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	?	Music	Laurent Perez Del Mar

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Twelve year old Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe) is a troubled young girl. She wears bunny ears to school and is convinced that her small town on the Atlantic coast of the US is threatened by giants. Barbara tests various concoctions of her own devising for their effectiveness in attracting and baiting giants, places traps in the forest outside the town and has placed protective runes and charms around the town, the school and the abandoned goods train yards. Not surprisingly she is bullied at school, especially by bigger girl Taylor (Rory Jackson), and has no friends, at least until new girl Sophia (Sydney Wade) arrives at school after moving from England. Barbara lives in a big house overlooking the bay with her older brother (Art Parkinson) and her older sister Karen (Imogen Poots) who is trying to look after her siblings as best she can while holding down a job.

     School psychologist Mrs Molle (Zoe Saldana) tries to help Barbara, but she is a difficult person to get through to; Barbara herself knows that she is wacky, but she is on a mission and believes that time is running out. The only person she starts to relate to is Sophia, and Barbara initiates Sophia into giant lore and shows her some of the traps, and protections, she has placed. Sophia is attentive, but unconvinced, and her friendship of Barbara is not unnoticed by Taylor. As Mrs Molle continues to delve into Barbara’s psyche, and gets closer to discovering the truth, things come to a climax for Barbara during an unseasonal Atlantic storm as the giants come ashore.

     I Kill Giants is based on the 2008 comic series illustrated by J.M. Ken Niimura and written by Joe Kelly, who also wrote the film’s screenplay. The film is the first feature by director Anders Walter, although he did win a best short film Oscar in 2014 (shared) for Helium. I Kill Giants is another film about a disturbed preteen and it has been compared regularly in reviews to A Monster Calls (2016), and certainly there are similarities. One difference, however, is that the protagonist, and indeed all the characters in I Kill Giants except for a couple of minor players are female, which gives the world of Barbara a different perspective.

     Films about young people, like I Kill Giants, succeed or fall on the performance of the main character and it is easy to say that Madison Wolfe is wonderful and convincing as a determined, pert yet very vulnerable, young girl while Imogen Poots is also good as the sister doing her best to try to understand Barbara and to hold the family together. Zoe Saldana is the name actor in the film but in truth does not have a lot to do; apparently Halle Berry was in line for the role but was not considered bankable enough!

     For a lot of the time the palate of I Kill Giants is dull and muted; while there are a few brighter scenes, including at school, but for the most part there are dark clouds over the town, the bay and the sea, which is grey, while the forests are shrouded in mist. Inside Barbara’s house it is also dull while her sanctuary on the beach, as well as her den lit by candles, is dark. The giants when they come are also dark creatures; they don’t look particularly realistic, but we are dealing with a fantasy film here so that should not be a problem.

     I Kill Giants takes its time to get around to what is disturbing Barbara and the climax during the storm is a bit iffy, but generally I Kill Giants, anchored by the performance of Madison Wolfe, is a thoughtful, well-made film about loss and growing up that should hold your interest.

Video

     I Kill Giants is presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It is NTSC and 16x9 enhanced.

     As noted above, the colour palate of I Kill Giants is generally dull and muted; it seems to be winter along this coast although this is not stressed. Interiors are also quite dark, which does affect the shadow detail on occasion although the set decoration within Barbara’s den is very detailed. Close-ups are strong. There are flashes of colour, mostly red, during some giant sequences when the brightness also varies deliberately. Blacks are solid, skin tones natural. I did not see any obvious marks or artefacts.

     No subtitles are provided.

     The layer change at 48:23 resulted in a slight pause just after a scene change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio is English Dolby Digital 5.1 at 384 Kbps.

     Dialogue is clear. There is ambient sound, such as the waves on the beach, forest noises and music in the rears and surrounds. In the forest there are also loud, sudden noises, giants’ growls and during the storm there is thunder, waves crashing on the shore and a distorted giant’s voice, providing an enveloping experience. The subwoofer added boom to the thunder, storm and the waves, and giants’ footsteps. The score by Laurent Perez Del Mar was effective without being memorable.

    Lip synchronisation is fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Nothing. The programme starts when the DVD loads.

     I cannot find any reviews of the US or UK DVDs of I Kill Giants. The US Region A Blu-ray has a short making of (5:39), an anatomy of a scene (4:52), chapter 1 of the comic in 1080p and a photo gallery. If the US DVD has the same extras, which it may not, it would be marginally the better option.

     The theme of I Kill Giants is not unusual but the focus on a young girl, as opposed to a boy, gives the film a different perspective – boys hunting and killing giants (or dragons) as a way of avoiding the disturbing reality of their world is probably expected, a girl less so. The film is thoughtful and well intentioned, while Madison Wolfe gives an impressive performance. I Kill Giants is certainly one to check out at if the subject appeals.

    The video and audio are fine. There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall