Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Inspired by true events, this heart pounding, nail-biting frightener mercilessly explores our most universal fears, where simply opening the door to a stranger leads to a grueling night of terror one could never imagine.

This film is very reminiscent of the French horror film Ils, also known as Them. The film goes out of its way to put you in a constant state of tension and hold you there through the entire ride. I must say, they do a great job too. This is one of those horror films that are great REALLY late at night with all the lights off and your complete attention. It gets your mind going early on with its mood and atmosphere and will have you looking over your shoulder more than once. While I thought the ending was a bit of a letdown, I applaud their ability to provoke unease and tension throughout the entire film.

Universal delivers a strong HD presentation that features rich blacks and impressive contrast. The film takes place almost completely at night and in a very dimly lit house. Honestly, do people in horror films have a problem with lights?? Film grain adds to the raw look of the film and fine detail is better than average. The film’s color palette is slightly subdued and leans a bit to the amber side, but again this lends to the look and atmosphere of the film. Overall the visual side does a great job given the low lighting and high contrast displays are recommended for optimal results.

Horror/Thrillers are one place where sound design is crucial. The filmmakers here did a spectacular job with the 5.1 mix and deliver one of the best horror soundtracks I’ve heard as of late. The only one I can think of that is in the same league is the recent spook thriller, The Orphanage. Bass is very ominous and fills the soundstage perfectly while discrete sound effects float through the room and put you on edge the whole time. I love the discrete surround use of this soundtrack, at times the sounds are so realistic you’d swear it wasn’t the film. Dynamic range is incredible at times and will make you jump more than once. The film’s eerie score and soundtrack selections also go a long way in lending to the creepy atmosphere. This soundtrack is a perfect example of how to create and sustain a mood.

For this release you can chose between the unrated or theatrical cut of the film. I’m glad to see Universal start supporting this with both cuts. It was a feature lacking with their HD DVD support. This title is also BD-Live enabled which gives you access to the Universal page with trailers and some limited supplemental material. This will require the end user to register though so some patience is involved. Some deleted scenes are included as well as a behind the scenes feature that is in HD.

For a film that capitalizes on mood and atmosphere, this is a classic. This will have you feeling uneasy for some time to come after viewing. The end didn’t go in the direction I hoped for but overall I found this one to be one of the better additions to the genre lately. Definitely recommended for a good thrill ride.