With his Superman days apparently behind him, Henry Cavill moves on to new projects. 2019’s Night Hunter represents Cavill’s latest attempt to get past the Man of Steel.

After police arrest notorious serial killer Simon Stults (Brendan Fletcher), it appears that his reign of terror comes to an end. However, it soon becomes obvious that even behind bars, Simon can still create homicidal mayhem.

In the face of this renewed set of deadly attacks, Detective Walter Marshall (Cavill) teams with local vigilante Michael Cooper (Ben Kingsley). They seek to get ahead of the game and prevent additional murders.

As far as serial killer movies go, that seems like a promising premise. The twist that places Simon behind bars gives Hunter a neat spin on the subject matter.

In addition, Hunter comes with a high-quality cast. In addition to Cavill and Kingsley, we find professionals like Stanley Tucci, Alexandra Daddario and Nathan Fillion.

Alas, all these potential positives go splash down the toilet. Despite the possible ways Hunter could add to its genre, it winds up as a wholly ludicrous and derivative thriller.

Expect to see clear influences here. We see more than a few lifts from Silence of the Lambs, Split, Se7en and other serial killer tales.

I can’t blame the filmmakers for their willingness to borrow from the best, but Hunter becomes an ineffective experience. The story tends to plod and ramble, so it doesn’t present the drama and tension it needs to thrive.

It doesn’t help that the script often veers left for pedantic discussions of abuse, criminal tendencies and other moral lessons. Though well-meaning, these weigh down the tale and feel awkward.

Hunter also tries to provide a moving character tale, mainly via Marshall’s strained relationship with his teen daughter Faye (Emma Tremblay). Rather than add weight, these choices feel contrived and forced.

Throw in an absurd plot twist at the end and Hunter flops on most levels. Even with a strong cast and a few intriguing story elements, we get a sluggish, dull thriller that lacks the urgency it needs.

Night Hunter appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I thought the Blu-ray provided consistently satisfying visuals.

Sharpness was generally very positive. A smidgen of softness appeared in some interiors, but those instances were minor. Instead, the program demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy the vast majority of the time.

I witnessed no instances of jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes appeared absent. Source flaws also failed to interfere.

Colors stayed fairly subdued for the most part. The frigid Minnesota winter setting didn’t favor a dynamic palette, but the hues looked reasonably accurate and full, with a not-unexpected emphasis on teal and some orange.

Blacks were acceptably dark and deep, while shadows showed generally positive delineation. Overall, I found this to be a strong presentation.

As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Hunter, it worked pretty well. While the soundfield didn’t go nuts throughout the whole movie, it kicked into action well when it mattered.

During quieter scenes, the mix boasted good environmental material, and more active sequences delivered fine immersion and punch. The latter provided the muscle that we expected and used the five speakers in an involving manner.

Overall, audio quality appeared good. Speech came across as distinct and well represented. Music presented good dynamics via the score; the music was tight and full.

Effects came across as accurate and firm, with clean highs and deep bass. The soundtrack fell short of greatness, but it mostly served the film well.

No extras appear here – not even any trailers.

A largely silly stab at a serial killer tale, Night Hunter wastes a good cast. The movie borrows liberally from better films and never connects. The Blu-ray brings solid picture and audio but it lacks bonus features. This becomes a subpar thriller.