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Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: February 19, 2013.
Director: Paul Ziller
Cast: Adrian Pasdar, Stefanie von Pfetten, James Morrison, Jesse Moss
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Directed by Paul Ziller in 2011 and originally shown on the SyFy channel, Seeds Of Destruction follows a scientist named Frame Marcos (James Morrison) who inadvertently discovers that there exists special sort of plant that can create air and that reacts with senses that are uncannily like our own. Of course, this discovery soon reaches news agencies around the world and before you know it, criminal types are out to exploit it. In a deal to buy some of the plant's seeds, a man is murdered and when he's murdered, he drops those seeds he was pushing and those seeds hit the ground.
Can you guess what happens next? Yes you can. Those seeds grow, and they grow quickly. As the plant starts to take over and grow over top of anything and everything around it, two environmentalists named Joe (Jesse Moss) and Kate (Luisa D'Oliveira) see it in action. Realizing that this plant poses a very real threat to all of humanity and knowing full well that they're in over their heads, they contact a scientist named Jocelyn Snow (Stefanie von Pfetten) and a tough talking government agent named Jack Taylor (Adrian Pasdar) to help them save the day.
Jesse Moss as Joe is the star of the show this time around. He, more so than anyone else in the cast, actually infuses a lot of personality and enthusiasm into his role and honestly seems to be having a really good time with it. It's not completely infectious, but it does help this otherwise tepid made for TV offering to rise ever so slightly above its SyFy counterparts in terms of entertainment value. The rest of the cast? Well, Luisa D'Oliveira is gorgeous and Stefanie von Pfetten equally foxy, so the movie has that going for it. Granted, the ladies sort of sleepwalk their way through the movie but at least they look nice doing it. Pasdar and Morrison are passable if unremarkable though that's got as much to do with the characters being typically thin maybe a bit more than it does their acting skills.
Heavy on CGI effects of questionable quality, Seeds Of Destruction looks a step or two below your average episode of Doctor Who in this department but at least some of the plant design is interesting enough to look at. The story doesn't offer up a whole lot in the way of unexpected twists and turns nor is it ever in the least bit scary or tense but it does occasionally manage to provide some amusing, pulp style entertainment. It goes at a pretty good pace and as far as inoffensive background viewing goes, it's fine. It's thoroughly unremarkable and not in the least bit memorable but, you know, every once in a while as you're working on something else or playing with your dog you'll look over and mutter to yourself, 'oh shit, that guy just got killed by that giant computer generated plant' and then you'll probably go back to playing with your dog.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The feature was shot in HD and is presented here in AVC encoded 1080p 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. Black levels are generally pretty strong and detail is generally good. Some of the CGI work looks a little goofy in spots and there are occasional bursts of aliasing that are hard not to notice from time to time but if this is, overall, a very good looking transfer. Colors are reproduced very nicely throughout each episode and detail and texture go far beyond what standard definition is able to provide. All in all, the material here looks very nice indeed.
The English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track provided for the feature is also good. Overall, this track has some good bass response and a fairly hefty low end going for it. The high end borders on shrill from time to time but these instances are pretty rare and generally it sounds stable. Surround activity is pretty constant with the action scenes not surprisingly having the most going on in that department. Dialogue stays crisp and clear and is never hard to follow while the really wide spectrum of sound effects used throughout the movie adds some fun to the proceedings. Optional closed captioning is provided in English with removable subtitles offered in Spanish.
Aside from a static menu offering scene selection, there are no extra features at all on this disc.
The Final Word:
Seeds Of Destruction is pretty much exactly what you've come to expect from these made for TV SyFy movies - tepid entertainment. It doesn't challenge you, it doesn't offer you much food for though and it doesn't really break any new ground at all. It was made quickly and cheaply and without any sort of A-list cast and with a reliance on heavy CGI work. But it's watchable enough and the Blu-ray looks and sounds alright.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
