Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie Review

One of Brittany Murphy’s final films gets a muddled Blu-ray release.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater January 1, 2010

Hollywood has had plenty of fallen stars to eulogize over the past few years, but Brittany Murphy’s tragically early death last month was one of the most shocking. Like the loss of Heath Ledger, Murphy’s passing seems both unfair and unreal, as is the case anytime a young talent is unexpectedly extinguished. Unlike Ledger, however, who bowed out with an award-winning, maniacally inspired turn as the Joker in The Dark Knight, Brittany Murphy’s last few films— which include the low-budget thrillers Deadline, Across the Hall, and the yet-to-be released Abandoned—haven’t been among her most memorable work. Nonetheless, she leaves behind an impressive legacy, with unforgettable performances in Clueless, 8 Mile, Sin City, and Girl, Interrupted, among many others. Here, in the initially suspenseful but ultimately inert Across the Hall, she plays a Hitchcockian blond caught between two lovers.

Room 507

Based on a short film of the same name and expanded to feature length, Across the Hall is a neo-noirish thriller that tries, mostly unsuccessfully, to emulate the rollercoaster-like twists, turns, and narrative corkscrews of a Hitchcock movie. As if to recapture the musty essence of an Old Hollywood mystery, the film is set in the run-down, roach-infested Riverside Hotel, a seedy joint with rates that run, as the spooky porter (Brad Greenquist) reluctantly admits, “weekly, nightly, and…by the hour.” When bubbly blond June (Brittany Murphy) checks in, she takes the nightly rate, and humors the porter, who shows her to room 507 and tries to impress her with the hotel’s former glory (it was once visited by the ambassador to Estonia, he says whilst squashing a roach underfoot). Unbeknownst to June, her cuckolded fiancé Terry (Danny Pino) has trailed her to the hotel and checks into room 508, yes, across the hall, with a gun in his pocket and murder on his mind. Using his prominently featured Samsung cell phone, Terry calls his best friend Julian (Mike Vogel)—who is soaking in the tub, sipping a whisky and icing his bum knee—to ask for advice. Naturally, Julian tries to talk Terry out of doing anything rash, and says he’ll be right over to diffuse the situation. But—dum dum dum—is Julian already there?

It’s no secret who June is meeting at the hotel, as the film reveals her affair with Julian early on. The real question, then, is how—and if—the two illicit lovers will escape their sticky situation. Working with a script by Jesse Mittelstadt and Julian Schwab, first time director Alex Merkin builds his mystery non-linearly, jumping through time and from one perspective to another with the sole intent of pulling a fast one on us. And this is my main issue with the film; its mysteries superficially arise from editing instead of emanating from the characters and their conflicts. The plot is too cleverly constructed—especially the ending—and what few surprises the film springs on us seem blatantly obvious, and not just in retrospect. What’s also clear is that the expansion from a 16-minute short to a 93-minute feature relies on far more padding than the squeaky mattresses at the Riverside Hotel. The story has been injected with diluted and often tedious dialogue, most of it taking place over the phone between Terry and Julian. Some of the lines are laughably strained, like when Terry says, “I’m in room 508, non-smoking” as he defiantly lights up a cigarette. What passes for humor in the film—like the fustiness and social anxiety of the porter—doesn’t quite fit the otherwise serious tone.

Likewise, the three leads seem slightly off here, caught in that weird vortex between a poor script, a cheaply constructed set, and generally undeveloped characters. Danny Pino, of TV’s Cold Case, has all the intensity and indecision of a sad stoner, glumly fingering the trigger of a gun. Cloverfield’s Mike Vogel is more amped up, but his harried pacing to and fro feels like energy exerted in futility. The two are supposed to be best buds, but we never sense any kind of connection between them. It may be because she has less to do, but Brittany Murphy provides the film’s best performance, as June’s expectations for a romantic evening quickly descend into terror. Granted, in the light of her recent death, some of the film’s events are a bit unsettling to watch, but if there’s any reason to sit through Across the Hall, it’s her. Unfortunately, this cheapie thriller doesn’t have much more to offer.

Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

On Blu-ray, Across the Hall looks nearly as dingy as the Riverside Hotel, featuring a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's plagued with problems from start to finish. To begin, the image is almost consistently soft and indistinct. Fine detail is lacking even in close-ups, though longer shots fare much worse. Most of the film is shot in the gloomy hallways and rooms of the hotel, and wonky black levels prove to be a major issue. Shadow delineation is often extremely poor—detail- obscuring crush is rampant—and at the same time, blacks frequently have a washed-out, opaque and grayish quality. I'm sure at least part of the mucky, murky look is intentional—this is a seedy hotel, after all—but Across the Hall's color palette is as icky as they come, with dirty browns, grimy grays, and a sickly green pallor in Terry's room. The only bright color in the film is the red neon sign outside of the hotel that flashes through the windows. Skin tones are either yellowish or pallid, and the white balance seems slightly off throughout the whole film. Grain and digital noise commingle harshly over the darker parts of the image, and I also noticed the distinct blotchiness of banding on a few subtle color gradients, particularly surrounding light sources. Overall, the image simply looks cheap, and the poor lighting and uninspired cinematography are further hurt by a less than capable transfer.

Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Across the Hall's picture quality is sub-par, even for a meagerly budgeted production, the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is at least capable, if never actually impressive. This is one of those tracks where nothing really stands out negatively or positively. The dialogue is well prioritized and easily understandable, composer Bobby Tahouri's music is detailed—though somewhat lifeless and dynamically thin—and the sound effects, like the doors of an elevator repeatedly closing on a metal trash bin, are convincing and suitably unsettling. The rear channels get occasional engagement—mostly in the form of rippling thunder and pouring rain—but there's not much in terms of immersion. Basically, this is a workmanlike, dialogue-driven mix that gets the job done without any flourishes or theatrics.

Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Making of Across the Hall (SD, 12:36)
Fairly standard stuff here. Director Alex Merkin explains the origins of the story, and much time is devoted to how apparently awesome the short film that preceded Across the Hall is. What happened, then, in the transition from short to feature? There's also plenty of behind-the- scenes footage and a few cursory interviews with the actors.

Working with Director Alex Merkin (SD, 2:27)
"Alex Merkin is kind of like working with a brilliant frat brother," says Danny Pino, and really, that says it all. Mike Vogel and Brad Greenquist also say a few kind words.

The Call (SD, 2:16)
Here we see how the Danny Pino and Mike Vogel were—gasp—actually talking on the phone with one another when they filmed their phone call scene.

Working with Friends (SD, 2:22)
Danny Pino and Mike Vogel discuss how good of friends they are.

Trailer (SD, 1:47)

Across the Hall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The whole time I was watching Across the Hall, I kept thinking that it would make a great short, but that the material seems to be spread a bit too thin for a feature-length film. This, of course, was before I learned that it actually was a short film first, which makes sense. Brittany Murphy fans may be curious to see one of the late star's final performances, but I can't really recommend Across the Hall for any other reason.