BLU-RAY REVIEW

Darkness Falls

Featured In Issue 162, December 2011

Picture4.5
Sound5
WSR Score3.5
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):
Image Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
ID7508
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
Terror and horror images and brief language
(Retail Price):
$17.97
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
86
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2003
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
10/18/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Jonathan Liebesman
(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):
DTS HD Lossless 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):

As a young boy, Kyle (Kley) claimed to have seen the tooth fairy. He also claimed she tried to kill him. Now over twelve years later, Kyle has left the town that never believed him. He has also left behind the two people who thought he was telling the truth, his childhood girlfriend Caitlin (Caulfield) and her younger brother. And when evil again emerges in Darkness Falls, Kyle must return to do battle with the winged creature of doom he saw that night so many years ago. Because evil is back with a vengeance—and it's not leaving without Caitlin's brother. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the theatrical trailer.

The 2.41:1 1080p AVC picture is nicely photographed, with a naturally hued color palette with accurate fleshtones. Colors are rich and warm and strongly saturated, for a bold look. Contrast is excellent with deep, solid blacks, and revealing shadow delineation. Depth perception is also excellent. This is a terrific-looking picture that works well to dramatize the storytelling. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding, with effective jolts and bursts of high-impact SPL energy and deep, bold .1 LFE bass response in the sub-25 Hz frequencies. The low-frequency impact is impressive, with a natural sonic quality that sounds well balanced. The atmospherics and sound effects are really engaging and add tremendously to the suspense and horror. The surrounds are directionalized, as are all the channels in the soundfield, which, when fully energized, is impressively immersive. The music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage presence that aggressively extends to the surrounds. Dialogue manages to maintain good intelligibility and, at times, good spatial integration. This is a surprisingly excellent soundtrack that works well to heighten the excitement. (Gary Reber)