Immaculate is set for release on DVD and Blu-ray on June 11.
Director Michael Mohan is facing criticism over scenes from his American psychological horror film “Immaculate” appearing overly dark on certain streaming platforms, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Mohan responded after a social media user complained about the film’s visuals being “comically dark” and shared screenshots illustrating the difficulty in seeing what was happening during streaming.
In his reply, Mohan expressed understanding for the concerns and clarified that the darkness was not intentional. “I know, man,” Mohan stated. “This was absolutely not done intentionally. We have no control over the compression specs of each platform.” He added, “It’s a real problem that truly bums me out, and after comparing them all, iTunes is the closest to what we wanted / brighter than the rest.”
Mohan’s situation highlights a common issue faced by filmmakers regarding compression, a process used to reduce the file size of a production for streaming services. Notably, filmmaker Christopher Nolan has also discussed his preference for DVD and Blu-ray over streaming due to concerns about image quality.
“At the time,” said Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director of “Oppenheimer,” “there’s much less compression — we control the color, brightness and all these things,” referring to DVD and Blu-ray. “Streaming is like broadcasting a film. We don’t have much control on how it goes out.”
Following its premiere at this year’s South by Southwest festival, Neon released “Immaculate” in theaters on March 22, and it was available on premium VOD platforms the following month. Starring Sydney Sweeney as a woman who learns about the horrors of a mysterious Italian convent, “Immaculate” is set for release on DVD and Blu-ray on June 11, according to The Hollywood Reporter.