6.9 | / 10 |
Users | ![]() | 0.0 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 4.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 4.0 |
Needing a break from their busy lives, a group of young professionals living in Hong Kong decide to take a few days off and spend some time relaxing on a quiet and secluded island. After arriving at their rental property, one of the friends (who has the ability to see ghosts) begins having terrifying visions of people who have taken their own lives by inhaling burning charcoal. To make matters worse, the group of friends starts to receive cryptic messages on their pagers. Soon, the horror of the property begins to reveal itself and the group has no choice but to try to survive the night before falling victim to the evil that awaits them.
Director: Billy TangForeign | Uncertain |
Horror | Uncertain |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | ![]() | 2.5 |
Video | ![]() | 4.5 |
Audio | ![]() | 4.0 |
Extras | ![]() | 3.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 4.0 |
Evil Spirits? A suicide epidemic? Haunted beepers? Surely 2000’s “Dial D for Demons” is a horror film, but director Billy Tang has other ideas for the screenplay (credited to Kai Cheung Chung), intending to offer a roller coaster ride of emotions, reactions, and enemies as the story details a deadly night for five characters trying to enjoy time inside a Hong Kong vacation house. Mayhem is meant to break out in the endeavor, but such wonderful chaos doesn’t arrive, as most of the feature attempts to transform a lukewarm mystery into something suspenseful, while the personalities involved are mostly generic, missing definition to help viewers get involved in the developing nightmare. Comedic touches are also difficult to digest, as the helmer isn’t entirely sure what tone to go with in the picture, preferring to follow every whim. “Dial D for Demons” is more a drag than a thrilling fright film, unable to achieve much in the way of tension and characterization before unleashing a last act expositional dump that’s too much for the effort to handle.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as "Scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative." Detail is excellent during the viewing experience, exploring textured skin particulars and fibrous clothing. House interiors retain sharp decorative additions, and exteriors maintain depth. Colors are alert, handling bright primaries on costuming choices, especially beach wear, and the vividness of evil reds is secure. Cooler hues on ghostly activity are sharp, and greenery is distinct. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is excellent, preserving dark sequences and shadow play. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in good condition, with some brief evidence of damage and a few hairs.
The 5.1 DTS-HD mix remains alert, assisting ghostly activity with active surrounds. Sound effects involve plenty of movement, delivering several separation and panning effects, and general evil intensity is understood. Dialogue exchanges are clear, handling more excitable performances without slipping into distortive extremes. Scoring supports with a defined synth sound, and musical moods offer a decent level of immersion. Low-end isn't challenged in full, but violent activity and house movement carries some weight.
"Dial D for Demons" treats the characters so wildly, with humor prioritized in the first two acts of the endeavor. This changes in the climax. Suddenly, all these screaming, panicking people are meant to be taken seriously, as the writing offers concern for their aching hearts. Such sincerity doesn't take, and a last-minute dive into the origin of evil is more overwhelming than illuminating, as far too much screentime has passed for the script to suddenly start showing interest in what's actually going on inside the house. "Dial D for Demons" becomes bottom-heavy and unintentionally ridiculous, aiming for a shocker conclusion that needs extra time to marinate. The cast does what they can with the assignment, going hysterical as much as possible, putting in some effort to sell a haunted house story that's ultimately quite unsatisfying. There's no revelatory punch at the end of the film, just exhaustion and a feeling that the production never quite settled on what kind of story they wanted to tell.
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