Single White Female - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Single White Female

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Back in 1992 Single White Female got snubbed theatrically as most movie goers thought it was going to be a chick flick, or drama rather than a creeeeepy thriller in the vein of The Stepfather. Back then Fonda wasn’t exactly known for thrillers and horror movies, so skipping over it for those reasons seemed logical. I remember my brothers going out to see the film because they actually payed attention to the trailer and marketing materials, and then coming home raving about how much they loved it (although most of that seemed to center around a young Bridget Fonda showing some skin here, but when 16 year old boys go to see a movie, that’s kinda the only thing they see besides who shot up who). Years late I FINALLY got a chance to see the movie and was pleasantly surprised, but sadly I ended up losing my DVD copy in a move, so I was a bit excited to see that Scream Factory rescued the old film and have given it new life. Luckily they included a stellar video transfer to along with it, making the pot just a bit sweeter.

Finding out that her fiance Sam (Steven Weber) has been cheating on her with his ex-wife, computer programmer Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) is forced to kick out the scumbag and make do on her own. Even though she’s living in a rent controlled apartment in the snazzier side of New York, her business software side is not doing overly hot, and Allison needs a roommate to make ends meet. Putting out an ad in the paper nets nothing but disappointment and weirdos until Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) stumbles in. Sweet, demure, and shy, Hedra is warm and inviting and just ingratiates herself with her new roommate. However, things start going south quickly when Allison notices a few quirks about the girl. Shes’ a bit obsessive, seems to do things that intentionally put Allison in her debt, and there’s this odd sense of malaise going on.

I’m not spoiling anything at all by saying that Hedra is a nutter. Her weird quirks turn into full blown insanity, as the girl gets her hair down and starts dressing like Allison, and there’s the small fact that people near Allison end up dying. Now truly terrified for her life, Allison is up against a crafty (if not insane) young woman who’s obsession with being wanted very well may put her in the morgue along with the rest of the people around her.

Single White Female is fun thriller that still luckily holds up today. The 90s was NOT a good time for horror movies or thrillers, but this one actually was quite the eye turner, despite not doing gangbusters critically. It had the added benefit of having two of the hottest actresses at the time pairing off against each other, with Fonda exuding that sort of vulnerable charm that made her so adorably loved by fans back then. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives off one of the best performances of her life, going so far as to actually win an award for best villain in a film that year. She’s such a mixture of emotions that it’s hard to put a finger on just why she’s so scary, but it’s probably due to the fact that she plays an unhinged person eeeeerily well.

One way that Single White Female was such a shocker back in the 90s was due to the amount of gore and skin they showed on screen as part of the narrative. I’m not saying this was an 80s slasher or a modern day film in regards to sex, but back in the 90s it was not nearly so prevalent and was a bit of a head turner. I literally chuckled to myself that no one in that move seemed capable of wearing pants for more than 5 minutes, as underwear shots happened about as frequently as a scene change.

The film has a few problems with pacing in the middle act, but the once the third act gets going the movie is absolutely mesmerizing. I really love Bridget Fonda back then, as she was America’s sweetheart, but Jennifer Jason Leigh is absolutely jaw dropping in her performance as the unhinged Hedra. Watching her alone almost justifies the price of admission alone, and even though the film is really a 4 man show (there’s a few performances by notable actors of the day, but 90% of the movie is Allison, Hedra, Sam and Graham), it is a notable thriller in the 90s and for good reason.




Rating:

Rated R for strong sexuality, and for violence and language




Video:

I couldn’t find a statement from Scream Factory regarding a new master for Single White Female, but whatever source they used for this disc was in EXCELLENT shape. The first few moments of the film look really grungy and grainy (to be fair, that scene has ALWAYS looked bad, since the VHS days), but after that flashback with the two girls it cleans up very nicely. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a really new scan, as the film looks devoid of most print damage, speckles, and the grain structure is clean and well detailed. The image itself is a bit cool on the colors, with some rustic earth tones intermingled with blues and light reds. Facial details are incredibly accurate, showing off the little lines on Fonda’s face, as well as the little backdrops in her New York City apartment. The blacks are deep and inky, and I could see no major issues of crush of banding in said shadows. Overall, this is a great looking disc that does the film justice in more ways than one.









Audio:

Scream Factory’s 2.0 DTS-HD MA stereo mix is more than capable to keep up with the dialog heavy nature of Single White Female. The vocals are the primary focus of the mix, and the stereo track replicates said voices cleanly and clearly. The ambient noises of the apartment or the score are smooth and well balanced, with a mild amount of LFE baked into the more tension filled bits of the movie. I did notice a little bit of thinness on the high end of the track, but it never got scratchy or distorted when pushed.







Extras:

• NEW Audio Commentary with Director Barbet Schroeder, Editor Lee Percy, and Associate Producer Susan Hoffman
• NEW Interview With Director Barbet Schroeder
• NEW Interview With Actor Peter Friedman
• NEW Interview With Actor Steven Weber
• NEW Interview With Screenwriter Don Roos
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Single White Female still holds up as a solid thriller some quarter of a century later in the “creepy roommate” genre. It was kind of shuffled to the side back in 1992 due to the fact that so many people thought it was a chick flick, but has garnered itself a decent cult following over the years. Jennifer Jason Leigh delivers a knockout performance as the creepy roommate, and Fonda’s typical lack of acting is not too shabby. The film has some really great sequences, with the final act acting as the single best part of the movie. Scream Factory has given the film a really REALLY nice looking encode, as well as packed in a decent amount of extras for a non “Collector’s Edition” film in their lineup. Definitely worth a watch if you love thrillers.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky
Directed by: Barbet Schroeder
Written by: John Lutz (Novel), Don Roos (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 13th 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

Ah yes. This flick is creepy. For me, it's good Saturday afternoon "you might doze off, you might stay awake" movies. I thought it was fun. I'm actually a little surprised it hasn't made its way onto Blu-ray until now!

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I remember watching this one long time ago in the theater. Will revisit this one.

 

[Asere]

A classic! Watched it at the theater when it first came out. Love them ladies lol.
Thanks for the review!