Blu-ray Movie Reviews

It is honestly a RARE treat when Hollywood delivers a solid, mature horror film. It could be one of the rarest things we see on film today. New Line has delivered just that with The Orphanage. This movie just seems to do everything right. Mood, tension, terror, production, acting, script; all of the elements are just dead on. They didn't rely on gore or gimmicks to create an underlying tension that keeps you locked on from start to finish and the eerie photography and stunning sound design will have you at an unease that I find a rare commodity in this genre today. Why can't all ghost stories be half as good as this?

New Line continues to impress on the video front. While this doesn't have the spit and polish and uber sharp look of the latest popcorn fun on Blu-ray, the high bitrate VC1 encode does a great job with fine detail, film grain and dimension. This is a very dark movie. The image is very contrasty and stark in nature so don't look for a lot of color. Shadow detail is excellent, and thankfully the contrast levels are a bit more realistic than most of the films I'm seeing in HD lately. Blacks never have that clipped look. While this doesn't create quite as much depth and dimension, I think it helps with the atmosphere of the film. I did see some very slight clipping in whites from time to time, but nothing distracting.

Wow. That is one word that could describe this DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. I saw this film in a very small family theater (the only place showing it in my neck of the woods) and to say the audio presentation was disappointing there would be the understatement of understatements. Watching this in my home theater was a completely different experience and just goes to show how much sound design and a reference quality presentation of that design add to the experience. Dynamics are amazing in this film. From the ominous and explosive bass response to the unnerving silence, this track had my wife and I dangling. I can't count the number of times my wife jumped or squeezed my hand from the tension this mix affords. This track convinces you that you're sitting right in the room. From subtle sound cues from the rear soundstage to bass that seems to float above the soundstage, the 7.1 mix is an awesome demonstration of what all surround sound presentations should strive for. *No English dub is included

Extras are all delivered in standard def resolution but offer an interesting look at the production of the film. This includes production design and special effects. There is also a still gallery and a look at the film’s marketing campaign.

I can't recommend this one enough. One of the best examples of the genre in years is presented with a phenomenal reference quality soundtrack and a great video transfer. A must-own in my opinion.