Veld (1987) | Region-Free (Blu-Ray) | English Subtitles

Title: The Veldt (1987)

Alternate Title: Вельд (Veld)

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror

Plot Synopsis:
In a dystopian future, the Stone family—Michael, his wife Linda, and their children Peter and Wendy—live in a technologically advanced home equipped with a virtual reality nursery that materializes their thoughts. The children become obsessed with an African veldt simulation, leading to escalating tensions within the family. As the boundaries between reality and illusion blur, the family’s relationships deteriorate, culminating in unforeseen consequences. The film weaves together elements from Ray Bradbury’s short stories, creating a narrative that explores the dangers of overreliance on technology and the loss of human connection.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Nazim Tulyahodzhayev
• Writer: Nazim Tulyahodzhayev
• Cast:
  • Yury Belyayev as Michael
  • Nelli Pshyonnaya as Linda
  • Gogi Gegechkori as Hernando
  • Tamari Skhirtladze as Cora
  • Henrikas Kurauskas as Colonel Stone

IMDb Link:
The Veldt (1987)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Kaleb – ★★★½
   “Turns out Ray Bradbury was really into TNG & wrote a story about the Holodeck. If you enjoy Elaine Bass’ ‘Quest’ and Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’ you’ll feel at home here. Visually and sonically this film is perched higher than your cat’s favorite resting spot. Unfortunately, the scan I watched, though it was high quality, the print itself had been badly damaged. It was still easy to appreciate the unique lighting that felt both ultra-realistic & otherworldly as well as the blue screen technique that looked so good I thought it was rear projection. It was too damaged and washed out in other places to truly experience what you knew was missing though. Hopefully, I was either too daft to find a better copy or one will be released in the future.”
2. viewer 🛸 – ★★★★½
   “Fragmented, though constantly beautiful and creepy. The opening sequence with knights in blood-caked armor, a man with a pig’s head, and twin moons peered through tree branches (or suns? the colors are so washed out on this VHS rip it’s difficult to be sure, and what kind of world is this anyway?) give way to train headlights, African plains, violent lions devouring their prey, familial turmoil, juxtapositions of new and old… A sort of holodeck where the children conjure up nightmarish landscapes at the heart of their strangely decrepit, almost gothic home — walls and doors all rough, grimy, and/or shiny and black, with nary a window bringing light. The VR machine is glitched, and from it howling bestial screams emerge, as if the house itself is haunted. The film is a dark, surreal, and unsettling exploration of technology and its impact on human relationships.”
3. Nikola Gocic – ★★★★
   “The film’s bleakly beautiful visuals of washed-out and sepia-tinged colors seem to be inspired by ‘Dead Man’s Letters’ released only a year earlier, and are perfectly suited for the post-apocalyptic setting in which the bioorganic and the mechanical are inextricably intertwined. The narrative is fragmented, reflecting the disintegration of human connections in a technologically saturated world. It’s a haunting adaptation that stays with you long after the credits roll.”

Meta Description:
“The Veldt” (1987), directed by Nazim Tulyahodzhayev, is a Soviet science fiction horror film that explores the consequences of advanced technology on human relationships, adapted from Ray Bradbury’s short stories.