5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A teenager is placed on house arrest while his mother is traveling for work.
Starring: Keir Gilchrist, Stella Maeve, Maestro Harrell, Grace Phipps, Peter StormareHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 21% |
Supernatural | 16% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
What would make a teenager blanch more, being confined to his house or being confined to his house without the internet? For most teens, it would be a no-brainer, and the second option would in many teens’ minds no doubt be the stuff of some horror film. And that is exactly the setup of Dark Summer, a fitfully effective lo-fi effort from director Paul Solet (Grace) which posits a teen named Daniel (Kier Gilchrist) who is put under house arrest after having cyberstalked his classmate Mona (Grace Phipps). While ostensibly being monitored by a no nonsense parole office (Peter Stormare), Daniel manages, with the help of his friends Kevin (Maestro Harrell) and Abby (Stella Maeve), to reestablish contact with the internet and indeed with Mona herself. When Mona apparently commits suicide, suddenly Daniel finds himself confronted by all sorts of unexplained phenomena and it seems the stalking tables have turned.
Dark Summer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb lists this as having been shot digitally with the Arri Alexa EV, and while the image is generally decently sharp, the ubiquity of dim lighting repeatedly subverts attempts to deliver more than a baseline of fine detail quite a bit of the time. Other sequences are either lit unusually or color graded, further diminishing fine detail. The few outdoor shots pop a bit better, with good color and sharpness.
Dark Summer's lo-fi ambience means that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix isn't the most impressively immersive horror soundtrack in recent memory, but there are enough startle effects which, as cliché ridden as they may be, deliver the sonic goods. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range relatively wide (though not as huge as in some horror blockbusters). For the record, there is also a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix provided as well.
Dark Summer delivers a few chills along the way, but at least some of them are kind of cheap scares. The film has an impressive mood, but it functions more like a sketch than a fully realized painting. Technical merits are generally very good and the supplemental package quite commendable for those considering a purchase.
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