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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    And Soon The Darkness

    Featured In Issue 153, January 2011

    Picture3.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score2.5
    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):
    Anchor Bay Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    BD22580
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Some violence and brief torture
    (Retail Price):
    $34.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    91
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2010
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    12/28/10
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Marcos Efron
    (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):
    Dolby TrueHD 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    In "And Soon The Darkness" Stephanie (Heard) and Ellie's (Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect "girl's getaway" to bask in the sun, shop, and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping, the girls get into an argument, and Stephanie heads out alone in the morning to cool off. But when she returns, Ellie has disappeared. Finding signs of a struggle, Stephanie fears the worst, and turns to the police for help. But the local authorities have their hands full already—with a string of unsolved kidnappings targeting young female tourists. Skeptical of the sheriff's competency, she enlists help from Michael (Urban), an American ex-pat staying at their hotel. Together they go on a frantic search for Ellie, but Stephanie soon realizes that trusting his seemingly good intentions may drag her farther from the truth. With danger mounting and time running out, Stephanie must find her friend before darkness falls. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include commentary with Director Marcos Efron, Editor Todd E. Miller, and Director of Photography Gabriel Beristain, a Director's Video Diary (SD 11:12), deleted scenes (SD 06:42), the trailer, and up-front previews.

    The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture exhibits a cinematic edgy, but natural appearance. Contrast is not always well balanced and at times, shadow delineation suffers. The color palette is warm and fleshtones are slightly pale and inconsistent. The picture appears low budget, with poor production values and generally soft photography. The rural countryside is natural enough, but the overall impact is not distinguished. Overall, this is an unremarkable picture experience. (Gary Reber)

    The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is conventional, with production sound dialogue that is generally pretty well integrated spatially. Dialogue is intelligible throughout. Atmospheric sound effects are effectively layered, to created a wide frontal soundstage and aggressive directionalized surround presence. Besides the atmospheric effects, the music score is aggressively enveloping. LFE energy also enhances the sense of fear and tension. This is a satisfying soundtrack that effectively enhances the drama. (Gary Reber)

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    I read Widescreen Review because it has had a consistent editorial perspective since its inception: a no-compromise approach to making home theatre the best that it can be. I have read the magazine cover to cover since Issue 2. Despite staff and reviewer changes over the years, thanks to Gary's leadership this perspective has never changed. As new technologies are introduced, Widescreen Review always provides in-depth analyses of not just the technology itself, but the political and industry forces that may be forcing compromises in its development. You have always sounded the clarion call to stop compression madness or any other madness that may force us to accept a home theatre experience that falls short of what it could be. Thank you!

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