Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review

Feb 14, 2021- Permalink

The horror-drama Lovecraft Country, which combines paranormal and racist horrors, premiered on HBO in August 2020. Produced by show developer Misha Green, who co-produced with Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams, the series is set in the segregated Jim Crow America of the 1950s and draws inspiration from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft as imagined by writer Matt Ruff. Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season, which stars Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, Courtney B. Vance, and Michael K. Williams, has been released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. WBHE sent me a copy of the season for review, but as always, the views and opinions expressed below are my own.

The 1080p AVC-encoded set is in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The show looks great with excellent detail in clothing, hair, textiles, and facial features. The colour palette looks good and some of the outfits’ primary colours really pop. CGI creatures blend in well with the live action and black levels are deep and details still exist in the darker scenes. No sign of digital artifacts or compression issues. If you love a show, physical media will always be head and shoulders above streaming and cable TV in terms of video quality and this set just looks great.

On the audio side, we get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack with subtitles available for English SDH, Spanish, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish. The show makes great use of the surrounds, which is always good in horrors, as a bump in the night is scarier when it’s coming from behind you. The score is dynamic and dialogue is clear and centred. Your subwoofer adds dramatic heft and gets a workout.

The set comes with a digital code (U.S. only) and a small collection of supplemental materials. These include a look at the graphic novel being created within the show, a look at the series’ gothic elements, a looks at the production side and visual effects, an overview of the characters presented by the cast, and the craft of the series as explained by the crew.

Great actors, great themes and a great video and audio presentation means Lovecraft Country: The Complete First Season is highly recommended.