This horror movie may not have won an Oscar – but we can’t wait to get it into our TV test room
When I first watched the horror-tinted trailer If I Had Legs I’d Kick You last year, I was quickly counting down the days until UK cinemas.
Earlier this week, the day finally arrived where I got the chance to watch it on the big screen.
And my waiting really paid off. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You it is not for the faint of heart, every second filled with stress and anxiety that cannot be relieved.
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It follows Rose Byrne’s Linda, a burnt-out mother struggling to conceive a child with a chronic illness. When the roof of her house bursts and floods the room, she and her child are forced to stay in a hotel where the world begins to collapse.
The film is incredibly claustrophobic, and the camera rarely leaves Linda’s face during the runtime. The first scene, for example, includes a slight zoom in on our character’s face as she talks to her daughter’s doctor. We are allowed to enter every movement of his mouth, every cracked word and see him in every vulnerability.
That’s a good test of the detail levels of your home theater screen, as it may look too soft or go the other way to appear overly cropped.
Early in the morning, Linda again worries about the hole in the ceiling of her wet apartment. Staring into the abyss, this is a good way to test your TV’s black levels, as most sets can display this as a dark gray rather than a deep black.
Bright lights also begin to swirl in the dark, challenging the system’s switching capabilities.
The film was recognized in one category at the Oscars, with Rose Byrne receiving a nomination for best actress, although she lost to Jessie Buckley for her underwhelming performance. Hamnet.
Byrne (best known for his comedy in Brides) carries the film, however, with her complex portrayal of a woman who feels alone and ultimately feels she was never meant to be a mother.
There doesn’t seem to be a physical 4K release If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is coming anytime soon, but the Blu-Ray collector’s edition is expected to ship in May from the A24 store, complete with Dolby Atmos support. We’ll be ordering the disc if it can challenge the latest TV and AV kit, thanks to its excellent picture and sound offerings.
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