BLU-RAY REVIEW

Poltergeist 3D

Featured In Issue 200, October 2015

3D Picture5
Picture5
Sound5+
WSR Score4.5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
2321058
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$$27.99
(Disc Type):
BD-50
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
94/101
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
(Direct-To-Video Release):
(Disc Release Date):
9/29/2015
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Gil Kenan
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(Subtitles):

This is a modern re-make of the spine-chilling cult classic Poltergeist. It contemporizes the 1982 classic about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces. When terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and hold the youngest daughter captive, the family must come together to rescue her before she disappears forever. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the theatrical cut in 3D, theatrical extended cut in 2D, an alternate ending (HD 01:46), a gallery, theatrical trailers, upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 2.40:1 1080p MVC 3D picture is a conversion from 2D to 3D performed by Legend 3D. The quality is excellent, with realistic dimension and perspective. The sense of image depth is superb, with realistic spatial relationships within the suburban home and on the exterior within the neighborhood development, lined on one side by power lines. The build-up to the intense thunder and rainstorm is effectively presented in 3D with superb dimensionality that captures pouring-down rain and wind-blown trees. Sporadically, as the frightful visuals intensify, so do the special effects in 3D, at times, projecting out of the screen and always displaying impressive depth. The color palette is nicely saturated with vibrant and rich hues, which at times intensify as the haunting progresses. Fleshtones are naturally rendered. Resolution is excellent throughout, with fine detail evident in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The detail is exceptionally well rendered and incredibly realistic. This is a fantastic 3D visual experience that effectively intensifies the horrific lashing out of the Poltergeist intrusion. The 2D version is just as excellent, with even more thrills featured in the extended cut not shown in theaters. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack really delivers, with an intense dynamic presence that erupts in bursts of energy, enhanced with deep .1 LFE support. Atmospherics and specials are nightmarish and effectively intensify through to the exhilarating climax. The impact is scary, really scary. Deep bass at times extends to sub-25 Hz frequencies. Dimension-wise, the atmospherics and special effects are aggressively directionalized, which enhances their effect throughout the soundfield. The music score is beautifully recorded, with exciting dynamics. The music stretches wide and deep across the soundstage and extends aggressively to the four surrounds, for effective immersive envelopment. The added two channels project an exciting spatially dimensional soundfield. Dialogue is nicely integrated spatially throughout. This is a terrific holosonic® soundtrack that delivers dynamic energy and is a three-dimensional, enveloping, reference-quality experience. (Gary Reber)