Grimm: Season Two - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 22 September 2013

{2jtab: Movie Review}

Grimm: Season Two

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Who’d have thought it?! Grimm survived the Friday night kiss of death time slot and NBC’s TV show guillotine. And it did it with so much fun and style that NBC executives had no choice BUT to embrace the Sean Hayes-produced creature-of-the-week show.

Welcome back to the supernatural world of bizarre beings like werewolves, rat people, ogres and the man christened by his Brothers Grimm ancestors to be the one who catches them all. NBC’s darkly-infused police procedural Grimm returns with a thunderously entertaining second season. It seems that heavy promotions do indeed work. In spite of its ever-moving day and time slot and a late summer season tease, the 22 episodes that make up Grimm: Season Two are a healthy snack pack of ghoulish fun which earned the show a bigger following and an early renewal.

Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) is an Oregon detective working homicide with the unique ability to see certain people the way they truly appear – as creatures. Nick is a Grimm, basically the keepers of peace in a supernatural world full of weird-looking beings, many of them of the dangerous variety. It is Nick’s job to keep Portland safe. He has help; however, from some of the more domesticated of the creatures. His friend Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) helps him solve some of the mysteries because he happens to be a blutbad, a German word meaning wolf-like creature.

But Nick and Monroe patrol the streets at a serious risk to anyone they are close to. For Nick, he must rescue his fiancée’s memory of him before it is too late. Things get even more twisted when his partner Hank (Russell Hornsby) is let in on his secret. It is with Season Two that Nick fully embraces his Grimm status and takes things seriously close to the edge. With the help of his partner and confidants Monroe and Rosalee (Bree Turner), Nick must face an ancient royal bloodline linked to the mysterious Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz), all while fighting to keep from losing the love of his life forever.

Written and created by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Stephen Carpenter, Grimm plows through its second season like an ace. It builds on the introductory themes of the first season like it should and expands the characters, making them more interesting and intriguing. The storyline isn’t deeply engrossing but genre television doesn’t really have to be; Grimm works best being frothy entertainment only. To have to read anything more into it would be a mistake. The series creators and its writers know this.

For fans of special effects and make-up prosthetics, Grimm continues to tweak its face-changing artistry from Barney Burman, Academy award winner for his work on 2009’s Star Trek. The make-up for a large variety of these woodland creatures is a nice blend of CGI and real prosthetics that hearken back to the cinematic monsters of yore. When Nick glimpses a creature for the first time, the audience sees as a CGI blurring of the actor’s face as it morphs into the creature. It was a bit chintzy in the first season but they seem to have the effect locked down one year later. The addition of some extra gore this season is a nice touch.

The growing pains are still there, but Grimm gets better and better with each new episode of its second season. These days, it’s a rarity that genre television shows actually gain viewers on basic cable. If you don’t already know, Grimm: Season Three premieres in late October only on NBC. Check this release out and then tune in to discover what happens next!

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: This title has not been rated by the MPAA.
Runtime: 990 mins.
Creators: Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf
Cast: David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell; Sasha Roiz
Genre: TV | Horror | Fantasy
Tagline: Not your usual suspects.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Because she ties him here to Portland, to me, and if she dies he could quit the force, he could leave, and I have put too much time and effort into him to allow that to happen."
Distributor: NBC
Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios
Official Site:
Release Date: October 28, 2011
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 17, 2013

Synopsis: In modern day Portland, Oregon, a police detective inherits the ability to see supernatural creatures.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Grimm: Season Two

Component Grades
Movie		Blu-ray Disc


Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - September 17, 2013
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Five-disc set (5 BDs); UV digital copy; Digital copy; BD-Live; Mobile features
Region Encoding: A/1

Digitally shot, Grimm’s 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation rarely disappoints. Fine detail is present, even when darkness descends, and facial close-ups are sophisticated. Textures in clothing and objects are rewarding. The make-up effects are especially strong. Every creature – whether hairy, scaly, clawed, wounded, or pig-like - is bursting with detail. The gore and blood splatter is not shy either. Color is significantly punched up and contrast levels are consistent. The earthy browns and deep greens are honest representations of the Portland area and are marked with punctured reds, and glowing orange tones from lamps. Nighttime sequences are full of inky blacks and deep shadows that sometimes get lost in the digital haze. Skintones are great throughout. As a bonus, the series has been given a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that does a good job at creating the spooky atmosphere the show's going for. It sounds much better than the audio that was used for the series' broadcasts. Giving the show a well-rounded, atmospheric surround presentation that keeps the listener engaged in what's happening on screen.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

Fans of the series will appreciate the supplemental items included on Universal’s 5-disc set. You get the deleted scenes for every episode, a fun gag reel, a good collection of webisodes, and a look at Monroe. There’s an exclusive look at an unedited episode, and two brief featurettes that talk about the monsters and the mayhem of the show. The initial combo pack release of Grimm: Season Two features a slipcover, five BD discs, an UltraViolet digital copy of the season, and a small bundle of collector cards.