Cursed in Baja – Anchor Bay Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2024
Director: Jeff Daniel Phillips
Writer: Jeff Daniel Phillips
Cast: Jeff Daniel Phillips, Barbara Crampton, Finnegan Seeker Bell, Robbyn Leigh, Mark Fite, Kent Isaacs, Jose Conejo Martin

Release Date: December 10th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 80 Minutes 20 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $39.95

"Pirelli, an ex-lawman, travels to Mexico searching for the heir to a Los Angeles fortune, while confronting his own complicated past. But what he finds in Baja challenges him to the core." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Cursed in Baja comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.2 GB

Feature: 17.5 GB

Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are solid, and compression is very good. Also, there are some moments where the footage looks deliberately rougher than the bulk of the film.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English. Dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are removable English SDH and removable Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with screenwriter/director/lead Jeff Daniel Phillips titled Cursed in Baja: The Making Of (12 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Jeff Daniel Phillips.

Summary:

A wealthy family hires a former lawman and ex-convict reluctantly to search for their missing heir, last seen in Baja, Mexico.

Cursed in Baja is a story about past regrets and redemption. The protagonist previously worked for the same family, but it ended badly. His life has been in a downward spiral since that event, and just when he’s about to find peace, he’s drawn back in. That said, Cursed in Baja had all the elements that are synonymous with noir cinema.

Jeff Daniel Phillips is the creative force behind Cursed in Baja, and he has cast himself in the role of Pirelli, a former lawman. He delivers a strong performance that perfectly captures a character haunted by their past. In Cursed in Baja, the characters occasionally speak in Spanish without providing translations for the viewer. Though jarring at first, by leaving dialog untranslated, it puts the viewer into the protagonist's shoes. The rest of the performances are adequate.

Though Cursed in Baja is working with limited resources, it is a film that often exceeds said resources. The narrative has a lot of moving parts, and like pieces of a puzzle, they eventually come together. At 80 minutes in length, momentum and pacing are not an issue. Another strength of the narrative is how effectively it uses flashbacks to flesh out its protagonist. Ultimately, what begins as a crime story evolves into something more sinister that involves human sacrifice and a monster.

Anchor Bay Entertainment gives Cursed in Baja a first-rate release that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of informative extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer