The horror genre has changed significantly throughout the last decade. Minus a few supernatural flops, like this year's The Unholy, only studio-proven IPs (Halloween, The Conjuring, Saw, etc.) receive the red carpet rollout in theaters. The rest typically head straight to VOD or the $5 DVD bin at Walmart. With so many new low-budget horror films, it can difficult for me to keep up with all the release dates. RLJE Films released the occult-thriller SON (Not Rated; 98 minutes) to DVD and Blu-ray on May 18th. If I hadn't received a press release, I wouldn't have even known about this movie, which stars Andi Matichak, who co-starred in 2018's Halloween and will appear in its sequel Halloween Kill later this year.

SON is written and directed by Ivan Kavanagh. Andi Matichak plays Laura, a young mother willing to go to great lengths to protect her eight-year-old son David (Luke David Blumm) from the devil-worshiping cult she had barely escaped from many years prior. Despite attempting to move on with her life, she cannot run away from her nightmarish past.

After the cult fails to kidnap David, he becomes extremely ill, suffering from violent psychosis and convulsions. With the authorities and the cult hot on the pursuit, Laura flees with David and commits unspeakable acts to keep him alive and delay the inevitable.

If you're looking for Blu-ray specs, then you need to look elsewhere because RLJE Films sent me a DVD screener. For a DVD, the picture quality and sound quality are decent. The only special features include Interviews with the Cast and Crew of SON and Deleted Scenes.

Final Thoughts

SON offers nothing new to the occult horror sub-genre. The overall plot is generic at best, and many viewers will feel like they have already seen this before. For me, the script is the main issue. There are way too many plotholes, and the terrible ending left me scratching my head. Typically, I don't mind using my imagination to fill in loose ends in a movie, but for SON, it's just lazy writing. Now don't get me wrong, I don't completely hate this film. Andi Matichak gives an emotional performance as a mother who will do anything to protect her child. She carries the entire damn film by herself. The cinematography was pretty good and helped set up the creepy atmosphere. Lastly, I did enjoy the score by Aza Hand.

Overall, SON is a generic occult thriller that depends too much on its leading actress to carry the film's predictable story. It's a one-time watch for me.