Blu-Ray Review: The Visitor

By Brad Henderson

Bat shit crazy. Those are the three words that sum up The Visitor most easily.

Drafthouse Films has brought us some fantastic films over the course of the last couple of years: Bullhead, Klown, The Act Of Killing, I Declare War, and many others. They also are dipping into older films that are “lost” or just need a better release such as Miami Connection, Wake In Fright, Ms. 45, and most recently, The Visitor.

I’ve owned The Visitor on VHS for a very long time. I first saw it when I was just a kid and I didn’t get it. Hell, I don’t get it now, but I do appreciate it much more. Personally I think The Visitor is an odd release for Drafthouse Films but I do love the direction they are going in with their company. We obviously need more companies that do this sort of thing.

Still, remember what happened with DVDs when they first came on the scene? There was a huge quality difference from VHS. Old classics started coming out and they looked better than ever. We also got a slew of horror films that were extremely hard to find on VHS finally get a DVD release and they looked great.

Then other companies started releasing old horror films but the discs were of shitty quality so they looked like a copy of a copy of a VHS transfer. I hope that sort of thing doesn’t happen to Blu-Ray but I have a feeling it won’t. Sure, we have transfers that are not so great, but it all depends on what the studio gives these distribution companies to work with.

I’m happy to tell you that Drafthouse Films is one of those companies that takes pride in their releases and does one hell of a job getting things together for the amount of money you spend on their product. Now, back to The Visitor.

Aside from being bat shit crazy it is probably one of the most bizarre films you will ever see. I’ve seen the film about three or four times and I still don’t know what the hell is going on in some parts. To be honest, those are the best and most memorable parts. Drafthouse Films does give us the longer cut which I think is what was released everywhere but the US.

The VHS I have is only 96 minutes and this Blu-Ray is 108 minutes. Certain scenes are longer and more is explained. The 96 minute version sets up a few things that never are explored in the film and just leave you staring blankly at the screen, but with this new release we get to understand a little more than we did (if you saw it in the past) than before. It’s still bat shit crazy, though.

Along with a great transfer on the Blu-Ray, Drafthouse Films did a few interviews as well including Lance Henriksen, the cinematographer, and the screenwriter, so we get to hear some details about the film along with their perspectives. Yes, the extras are a little weak but it is The Visitor.

One thing I do love about the film is how it feels a little bit like a science fiction Giallo flick. It has the same weirdness as science fiction but with the editing and the music it feels like an old Giallo film most of the time. I’m not sure if anyone else feels that way but the similarities to Giallo make The Visitor even more strange, as well as putting a different spin on things.

The Visitor is a great edition to the Drafthouse Films catalogue and makes it even more diverse than it was. Out of all their releases this is by far one of the most entertaining and unforgettable. It’s definitely not the best movie but it is one that will leave you scratching your head and thinking it was bat shit crazy.

The Visitor was released on Blu-Ray through Drafthouse Films and Cinedigm on March 4.