Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Struggling photographer Leon Kaufman's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer, Mahogany, the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters - ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.

To say Lionsgate botched this one would be an understatement. Clive Barker is a legend in the horror genre and adaptations of his literary works that are worth a crap are few and far between. This film is based on one of his short stories from The Books of Blood and is directed by Versus maestro Ryuhei Kitamura. Kitamura does a tremendous job of capturing the mood and terror of the original story and delivers one of the better horror movies out of Hollywood in quite some time. Lionsgate botched it by only releasing the film to bargain theaters scattered throughout the country making the film pretty much a direct to video release with no chance of wide success. Considering how bad the Saw franchise has become I was surprised they would treat a great horror film like this in this sort of fashion. Fans of the genre should definitely give this a look on Blu-ray.

The HD image has a very back and forth quality in terms of tone. Most of the more intense sequences have a very cool tone with little warmth and lots of contrast. Safer scenes take on more warmth and add more color to the imagery, especially in terms of gold and yellow. Fine detail is outstanding and the image has a very razor sharp look to it. Fine film grain is a bit overstated and some may not like the stylized look. I wasn’t that big a fan of the strong use of CG in some of the more intense sequences and with this transfer they really stand out. Still, this is a great looking HD presentation with plenty of style, detail and dimension.

The 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix does a tremendous job with soundstage and is one of the better 7.1 mixes I’ve heard in terms of spatial design and surround use. I loved the rich atmosphere and how it puts you on edge in the more intense sequences of the film. Dynamic range is impressive with great extension down low and the score really fills the soundstage. Dialogue is balanced nicely in the mix and tonal balance is very natural. A tremendous presentation from Lionsgate with this one.

Extras include a look at Clive Barker along with a production feature that looks at the gore sequences of the film. You also get a feature commentary with Barker and the film’s director. LOTS of trailers are also included and unfortunately you have to sift through all of them before the menu.

It is too bad to see how this film was treated during its EXTREMELLY limited theatrical run. It deserved a lot more. Lionsgate has done a great job with the A/V presentation making this a must see for Barker fans and horror fans alike.