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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Beneath The Darkness

    Featured In Issue 165, March 2012

    Picture2.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score1.5
    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):
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Some violence and language
    (Retail Price):
    $29.97
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    96
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2011
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    02/28/12
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Martin Guigui
    (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):

    In Beneath The Darkness, Ely (Quaid) is a well-respected mortician in a town where he was once a herald high school football star. Among the kids, however, he is legendary for a more sinister reason—rumors that his house is haunted. The truth is, the town leader murdered his first wife and his lover and now lives in the house with his wife's embalmed corpse. This pillar of the community is actually a fresh-and-blood monster who buries his victims alive; a sociopath who befriends adults and police while openly flaunting his murderous intentions to the youth. He will kill anyone who threatens to expose him or his now seemingly perfect marriage. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette (HD 02:38) and the trailer.

    The 1080p AVC picture is mediocre, with generally blown-out imagery in numerous scenes and elevated black levels that decrease contrast. As a result, shadow delineation appears washed out. Color fidelity also suffers and appears overall desaturated. Resolution is generally good during close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture, but overall is soft. Also apparent is slight grain and noise. This is a mediocre visual experience with poor contrast and density. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack features a haunting orchestral music score that provides effective ambiance but whose high-frequency response is severely rolled-off. Overall, though, the focus is frontal with a mixture of subtle-to-aggressive surround envelopment. Atmospherics are generally subtle. Deep bass is restricted as well to a few music segments and sound effects. Dialogue is generally wanting in spatial integration. Overall, this is an undistinguished soundtrack experience. (Gary Reber)

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