Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives at the asylum for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, what starts as a routine investigation quickly takes a sinister turn. As the investigation unfolds and Teddy uncovers more shocking and terrifying truths about the island, he learns there are some places that never let you go.

One of the best films I’ve seen so far this year makes its way to Blu. Scorsese delivers a powerful thriller that has some great twists and turns and some honest chills. This film is perfectly cast and has some outstanding production values. It reminded me of the better thrillers of yesterday with some throwbacks to Hitchcock’s days.

This is a visually striking film with outstanding photography that really sets the tone and mood for the entire film. Contrast levels are outstanding and I loved the post production work done to give the film such a eerie mood. Colors are a bit awash and lend to the feel and fine object detail is impeccable at times. I noticed some occasional moments when the image flattens out a bit, but otherwise you can’t ask for much better from a Blu-ray. The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is also quite impressive with the chilling score taking center stage. The mix has plenty of atmosphere and some nice spatial presence, but I did notice some balance inconsistencies in some of the more dramatic sequences. Dialogue would occasionally lose to the sound effects in the sequence. Deep bass response is quite good and adds an air of ominous tension to the film. Overall an effective mix that adds a lot to the film.

Extras are a bit limited on this one and include two behind the scenes features that showcase the production and feature interviews with the cast and crew.

Scorcese delivers another powerhouse film and a rare dip into the thriller genre. The Blu-ray delivers the goods and this one gets my highest recommendation for a gripping ride.