Steppenwolf - Arrow Video Limited Edition

Steppenwolf begins with a quote from Hermann Hesse, from the unrelated novel of the same name, “How could I fail to be a lone wolf, and an uncouth hermit, as I did not share one of its aims nor understand one of its pleasures?” This is used to set up the duality of the film’s main character, a nameless ex-police officer played by Berik Aitzhanov. The nameless antihero is a classical trope and writer/director Adilkhan Yerzhanov takes him to the next logical evolution. Somewhere between a sadistic sociopath and a wounded soul seeking redemption, he embarks on a journey with a mostly mute woman named Tamara (Anna Starchenko), to help her find her kidnapped son.

The film takes place in a small town plagued with violence at every turn, in a lawless wasteland somewhere between Mad Max and The Searchers. The nameless antihero claims that in this world that they occupy, there’s simply no room for good deeds because no good deed goes unpunished. Still, he feels compelled to help Tamara find her child, fueled by his own need for revenge against the same people who are at least somewhat responsible for robbing him of his humanity.

Steppenwolf comes across as nihilistic, or at least it presents itself as such, but it’s more of a study of how a person can become that way. Steppenwolf is appropriately grisly and gory, steeped in nonstop misery and violence throughout its Stygian journey, but Tamara and her nameless guide through the nightmarish hellscape both learn from each other. I wouldn’t dare spoil the ending, but the film’s climax is nowhere near as cynical as its leadup would have you believe.

There’s a lot to admire about Steppenwolf, its production values and direction are both masterful. It’s the story, unfortunately, that succumbs to doldrums and drags. The film, sadly, presents us with a twisted, wicked world that these characters occupy and says very little about it. The griminess of the story’s setting feels, in a way, like an edge just for the sake of edge. We see our nameless antihero kill and maim his way throughout his trek for redemption, and he slaps around the woman who enlisted him with this task, endlessly throughout. The story begins to feel repetitive when we know what awaits us at each destination they reach: More and more bodies will pile up and Tamara will be in a simultaneous state of obliviousness and horror, only to be goaded into reaction with a couple of slaps across the face, only to choose the wrong one.

Steppenwolf is far from a bad movie, it’s just a frustrating one. When it’s good, it’s great. When it works, it’s a tremendous work of art. Far too frequently, it spends its time slumming it with the horrors of its near-apocalyptic setting without anything interesting to say about it. In those moments, where we see hordes of criminals gunned down by an invincible psychopath armed with only an AK-47, it feels like a hollowed-out shell of a 1980s Cannon picture. It’s just as dumb as any Albert Pyun movie, without any of the fun.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
For this review, I only had access to a check disc, so I was not able to view the packaging. However, from Arrow’s website, Steppenwolf arrives on Blu-ray in a single disc release, housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover. The reversible sleeve features original and newly-commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow and a booklet included inside the case includes interviews with Steppenwolf cast and crew members.

Very little information exists on filming techniques utilized for Steppenwolf, but I can say with certainty that it does look fantastic. For this release, Arrow has presented the film in 1080p high-definition video and all around it looks fantastic. Its filmic language utilizes muted, drab colors to an exquisite dramatic effect, but does allow colors to pop when needed. The ending nighttime sequence, where a metaphorical hell is symbolized through fire on the horizon, looks incredible. I have mixed feelings about Steppenwolf as a film, but as a technical product it is absolutely stellar.

My admiration for Steppenwolf’s technical achievements also extends to its audio presentation, a 5.1 surround mix encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA. This is a film with a very clever sound design that takes full advantage of having a rear soundstage, with action that takes place off screen audible in the satellite speakers—whether it’s offscreen gunfire or an approaching vehicle. The synth-y score, too, is wonderful and the entirety of the soundstage gets in on the action when it plays, enveloping the listener in an 80s-inspired dome of badassedry.

Arrow Video has assembled a number of great special features for this release, including an audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurette, a visual essay and even a whole other film, Goliath, from Adilkhan Yerzhanov.

• Audio Commentary - Critic and pop culture historian David Flint
• Reading Steppenwolf as a Transnational Post-Western (HD 22:43) - Visual essay by author Lee Broughton
• The Making of Steppenwolf (HD 15:01)
• Goliath (HD 1:33:13) - 2022 feature-length film from Adilkhan Yerzhanov

Steppenwolf is not a film for all tastes, nor should it be. It’s a challenging work that studies the divide between good and evil in a way that few films have before. It doesn’t sugarcoat its message or pull any punches in its portrayal of an “antihero” who freely uses violence as a means to an end. Whether you love the film or hate it, or have mixed feelings on it like I did, you won’t be able to deny that Arrow has a tremendous job on this Blu-ray release, with top-notch A/V stats and some great supplemental features. Altogether, Steppenwolf is Worth a Look.