Pandorum—Anchor Bay (Blu-ray)

Movie: 2.75
Picture/Sound: 4.5/4.5
Extras: 3.5

Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It's pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the ship. They can't remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission? With Lt. Payton staying behind to guide him via radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower ventures deep into the ship and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft's shocking, deadly secrets are revealed...and the astronauts find their own survival is more important than they could ever have imagined.

When I first saw the trailers for this I thought it could be a mix up of Event Horizon and Pitch Black. That analogy isn’t too far off if you throw in a little 28 Days Later. Even so it is entertaining for what it is and there are some genuinely creepy moments here and there. While it isn’t one of the more original sci-fi thrillers of late, it wasn’t a total disappointment.

Anchor Bay delivers a solid Blu-ray transfer for this really dark film. While it doesn’t have the nearly unwatchable darks of AVP2, there is still a lot of really dark sequences throughout this that may have weaker contrast display owners a bit frustrated. The film has a stylish look and I didn’t notice any issues with detail, depth or compression. The soundtrack can be a bit loud at times with some jolting dynamics that do a better job scaring you than anything in the film. Surrounds add a lot of ambiance and the discrete effects add to the atmosphere.

This Blu-ray also includes a digital copy of the film for your portable device and some production features that take an inside look at the creation of the film and its story. You also get some deleted scenes, a feature commentary and trailers.

A bit cookie cutter in some respects, Pandorum manages to be pretty good nonetheless. The cast carries most of it and this Blu-ray presentation does quite a good job with the material. Worth a rent.

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