Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Following the suspicious death of their mother, sisters Anna and Alex become entangled in a deadly battle of wills when their father becomes engaged to Rachel, their mother's former caretaker. As the two sisters investigate Rachel's questionable past, they are confronted with ghostly visions, terrifying nightmares and deadly consequences.

It was only a matter of time before we saw a US remake of the popular Korean horror film, A Tale of Two Sisters. When I first saw the trailer for this one I was a bit concerned that the film would lose its tone to the over stylization that seems to plague American horror releases. Ultimately this adaptation isn’t too bad, but it lacks the quiet tension of the original. They also over used some of the more intense visuals of the original. Still, the movie has some great twists and plenty of atmosphere. While I wouldn’t call it one of the better horror remakes out there, it didn’t fall nearly as short as I was expecting.

Another outstanding HD presentation from Dreamworks. The photography is gorgeous in this film and the Maine countryside provides a lush backdrop. Contrast levels are solid and I loved the shadow detail on display. Fine object detail is excellent and the image has a solid sense of depth and dimension that is nearly up there with the best the format has to offer. The color palette has a very natural quality with great hues and plenty of bright punchy tones. I didn’t notice any distracting artifacts in the encode and the print is in pristine condition. An outstanding video presentation.

The TrueHD 5.1 mix is choked full of great moments of dynamic range that will definitely get some jumps from the audience. The mix is very ominous with great use of the surrounds and subtle cues to keep you on edge. Surrounds add a lot to the overall atmosphere. Bass extension is impressive at times but not quite as aggressive as some other films in this genre.

Extras include a behind the scenes look at the production with interviews and some deleted scenes. You also get an alternate ending for the film and some trailers.

I didn’t have high hopes going into this one but it held up pretty well in the end. I still prefer the far creepier original though. Dreamworks has done a fantastic job with the presentation though making this an easy recommendation for a late night rental.