Blu-ray Review: Dis (2017)

An ex soldier named Ariel (played by genre legend Bill Oberst Jr.) strolls through a forest, unaware he is about to enter hell…or a very close approximation of it. You see, those trees hide one bad motherfucker that is cultivating a garden of magical mandrakes, and he needs killer kum to make those wicked weeds grow strong and tall!
While the above sinister synopsis may seem a tad light (and with a film that runs sixty minutes light plot can be expected) I can promise you that you are in for one hell of a fucked up ride with Dis. Let’s start off with the more refined side of things and offer praise for leading man Oberst Jr.; this dude is an acting powerhouse and always brings a sense of weight and realism to any role he plays, and this is no exception…hell he brings a ton of gravitas to the first twenty minutes of the film and he doesn’t even utter a word! Also of note is the cinematography by Rocco Rodriguez which creates a palpable sense of dread and desolation…now on to that “fucked up” biz I mentioned previous…
Are you easily offended? Well, if you say “no” let’s see if what Dis has to offer can make you change your opinion. We get onscreen ejaculation, torture, rape, shit, scads of nudity…I can safely say that a lot of it isn’t my bag, but damn I gotta admire Writer/Director Adrian Corona’s gusto in going full-on batshit to bring his hellish vision to the screen.
On the negative end, even at sixty minutes, the film’s pacing gets a tad sluggish at times. In the end it can make the picture a bit of a slog at times, but fret not as a new atrocity slaps your eerie eyeballs before you can get too bored.
As for bonus material on this Blu-ray, we get a short film, a brief glimpse behind-the-scenes of the film’s shooting, a still gallery, trailers, and an interview with Oberst Jr.
If you can stomach it, Dis is one hell of a journey for horror hounds that dig things on the pitch-black side…just be prepared to Clorox your eyes after the credits roll.