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The Waves of Madness
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (5th July 2025). |
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The Film
 "The Waves of Madness" (2024) The Elder of the Seas is a lavish cruise ship sailing across the ocean with hundreds of passengers. But the ship mysteriously veered off course and a distress call was sent. Rogue Agent Legrasse (played by Jason Trost) is sent on a mission not to look for survivors, but to grab intel from the ship and deliver it to his employers. Though he is notified that there may be others looking for the same target. He is the first to find and board the ship, which is mysteriously deserted. He first encounters a young woman named Francis (played by Tallay Wickham) who asks if she could follow him and be protected, as something sinister is lurking on the ship. She is also willing to help him with directions aboard. There are other survivors encountered, but along the way there are militia forces boarding the ship, as well as the mysterious entity that is devouring everyone on board… The main draw for audiences to "The Waves of Madness" is its uniqueness as being supposedly the first side-scrolling feature film, with the entire story being played out with the screen shifting left and right, as well as some instances of up and down such as with the elevator sequences. It is obviously taking inspiration from the world of video games, with most of the noteworthy action games of the 1980s and 1990s taking place in a side-scrolling environment before the 3D revolution came in the mid-1990s. While the visual style of a 2D environment with characters only being able to move left or right might be standard in the gaming world, this is something rarely found in cinema with the exception of specific scenes. The gimmick may be the main draw, but the film also takes inspiration from 3D video games like “Resident Evil” and “Alan Wake” with the exploration and horror/adventure aspects. Coupled with inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulu” and Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris" for the story details and the black and white visuals of the Universal Horror features of the 1930s, "The Waves of Madness" is a truly unique looking and feeling work. But are the gimmicks able to sustain the audience for an entire (fairly short) feature? What is also impressive is that the much of the production was shot inside a single studio apartment in Sydney, Australia with a primary cast and crew of three. Filmmaker Jason Trost took most of the duties as writer, director and star, his wife and actress Tallay Wickham, and cinematographer Markus Mentzer, with each also providing other technical work behind the scenes, with Trost doing almost all of the digital effects work in creating the visuals in post production after shooting everything on a green screen environment. There were some minor sequences that could not be filmed indoors, such as when they are on the speedboat and in the Mini car, as they obviously could not fit. There were also some shots done in Los Angeles, but it’s interesting to note what could now be constructed in the confines of one’s own home with today’s technology. For every hallway lamp, doorway, staircase, and other background item seen in the film, these were not created via computer, but using reference photos that Trost took on his own around the city of Sydney, places in the computer, layered and rendered to look like it was a prop or design of the ship’s interior. Other effects such as flashes from gunshots to blood effects and more were also created digitally in the post production phase, all entirely by Trost. He admittedly is not an expert in digital compositing and flaws are seen, such as walking speed and background movement not fitting entirely perfectly, and some shots having too much blur and fog to mask the flaws it is trying to cover. The monster itself does look fairly weak in creation. The tentacled creature is probably the worst looking aspect of the production and that is a shame, in a similar fate to "The Giant Claw" (1957) in which the buildup to the monster’s reveal fell extremely short of expectation. But if it all looked too real, it may have not given the same sort of DIY aesthetic as well. As for the story itself, it certainly feels closer to a video game rather than a film, with the audience seemingly being in control of the main character of Legrasse and his weapons, while Francis is the tag-along character that needs to be protected in order to reach the next levels. It certainly plays in video game logic such as why the characters don’t move in other directions, how only little information is given about the organization Legrasse is working for, as well as the slow reveal about Legrasse’s character and his past. The narrative is not particularly strong and the dialogue is also on the stilted side, but there is still charm to be felt in the production itself. It is extremely limiting to have only two main characters and only a few brief moments that other characters are on screen, including in the flashback segments. The production, including the credits and the post credits scene runs very lean at 68 minutes, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome, but there are some scenes that felt padded. This includes the opening with the cruise patrons which doesn’t flow quite well. (Though in the commentary, it is stated that the opening is invoking game tutorials, which flows a bit differently compared to the rest of the game.) It’s not the most in-depth story, but like many video games, it’s all about how it plays. With a small budget of $20,000 and with a minimal cast and crew made up mostly with friends and family, "The Waves of Madness" is a fun example of independent filmmaking with a unique style that plays with its homages of cinema and gaming, but one should not expect it to become a particular trend for films to come. That may be a good thing, as it sticks out as being something entirely different from the rest of the crowded cinematic landscape. It may have its flaws, but there is still fun to be had. The films was first screened at the Nightmares Film Festival on October 18, 2024, where it won Best Thriller and Best Cinematography Awards. Umbrella Entertainment (now rebranded as of June 2025 as just Umbrella) helped with the financing of the production and have now released the film on the Blu-ray format. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella presents the film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The production was shot in 8K resolution and downscaled for editing, where portions could later be zoomed in, cropped, or manipulated in lower resolution while still keeping sharpness. Transferred to HD, the production is an unusual one to assess, as it has a digitally filtered look throughout, with faux film grain, layers upon layers of digital effects such as fog and shadows as well as black and white grading of the feature. Greyscale is the important point and it is certainly great with a crisp image with fine detail to be found in the tones. The greys are always consistent, there are no issues of compression, and the image is great from start to finish. The film's runtime is 68:26.
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo A lossless stereo option is the sole audio track included. It is unusual that a modern feature would not have a 5.1 or surround audio track, but it does make perfect sense that a 2D world environment would only have 2 channel audio with panning effects from left and right throughout. The audio also excellent, with effects such as gunfire and explosions, the background music, and dialogue all being well balanced. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature in a white font.
Extras
Audio Commentary with director/writer/actor Jason Trost and actor/producer Tallay Wickham Trost and Wickham sit together for this full length commentary, as they discuss about the opening scene shot last with their friends and family, the inspiration from PS1 games, the use of layering digital photos for the backgrounds, the adding of grain and blur, the use of prop guns, the difficulties with the limited environment for shooting, and more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Behind the Scenes" featurette (20:40) This is an excellent featurette which has Trost talking and narrating over footage of the shoot, from the greenscreen apartment they used, having to work in a small environment, the use of computer generated backgrounds with examples of layering uses, scenes of the limited outdoor shooting, miniature work, and more. Trost gives great information on the work that went on behind the scenes which does not overlap with the film commentary above. A clip of the featurette is embedded below, courtesy of Jason Trost's YouTube channel. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Elder of the Seas Cruise" promo (1:38) Presented here is the faux promo for the cruise ship, featuring testimonials from passengers. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.35:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Trailer (1:09) The original trailer from Umbrella is presented here. It has been embedded below, courtesy of Umbrella. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.35:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles The amount of extras is actually pretty light, with only about 90 minutes of content including the audio commentary. But the quality rides over quantity here, with information packed content in the commentary as well as the well edited and well made featurette.
Packaging
The disc is packaged in a standard clear keep case with a reversible cover. The only difference being the opposite side not having the Australian M rating logo. The packaging states region B only but it is in fact region ALL. There is also a limited slipcover and a booklet available exclusively at the Umbrella Webshop, limited to 500 copies. The booklet has new writing by Jason Trost on the making of the film. Although he has a full commentary and also narrates the featurette, there is still a great amount of exclusive information on the behind the scenes and its release in the text.
Overall
"The Waves of Madness" is a fascinating homage to gaming and classic horror on a small budget and a tiny crew, filled with creativity. There are flaws with some of the pacing and the story, but it is still an enjoyable experience with the fairly short runtime. Umbrella gives it a great Blu-ray release, with a great transfer and great extras. Recommended.
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