6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.1 |
Sarah and Jillian are best friends growing up in the small town of Goshen, Indiana. Suddenly one day Jillian disappears, leaving Sarah with only a journal and a cryptic video message sent from her cell-phone. Distraught, Sarah delves into the secrets surrounding her disappearance. Aided by Jasper, the resident computer geek who secretly adores her, the two plunge into Goshen's dark secrets uncovering corrupt police, jilted boyfriends, a mother driven mad by loss, and an unsolved string of child abductions. The final truth they unearth will rock the town to its foundations.
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Tania Raymonde, Jon Gries, Paul Wesley (II), Shannon HoltThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Joining the glut of techno-centric teen chillers like Pulse and One Missed Call, Elsewhere casts a brooding eye on the corrupting and depersonalizing effects of online social networking. Far from horror, however, the film is planted firmly in the thriller camp, and is paced more like a police procedural than a brisk romp through the macabre. Considering writer and director Nathan Hope’s background as DP for the long-running television series C.S.I., this is unsurprising. Casting clever teens in lieu of cops, the story brings homicide investigation to the after-school set, with occasionally inspired but generally predictable results.
Director Nathan Hope has ample experience behind the camera, and considering the film's paltry $500,000 budget, Elsewhere doesn't look as bad you might expect. However, inconsistent may be the best word to describe the quality of this 1.77:1 1080p AVC transfer. Colors are generally bold and saturated, but as a whole, the picture lacks depth and does little to beckon you into the screen. Some scenes are sharp, like an early sequence of the girls applying make-up, with sufficient detail and no telltale signs of edge enhancement. Others sporadic scenes, however, are soft to the point of distraction. Grain is present and strong throughout, especially in night scenes, and slight banding can sometimes be seen in the color gradients surrounding bright light sources. I did notice that the blacks, while strong, occasionally crushed detail. The biggest offender, though, is the sporadic presence of white and black flecks throughout the duration of the film, a defect that seems inexcusable for such a recent production.
Elsewhere's DTS 5.1 HD-MA track is similarly inconsistent. Dialogue is crisp and adequately presented, but the rear channels languish from lack of use. Aside from mild ambience, soundtrack cues, and the occasional piercing stab, they remain quiet, leaving the sound field thin and occasionally barren. LFE, however, is well incorporated and gives the few action heavy scenes appropriate heft and throb. It's a matter of preference, of course, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the score. One particular motif contains compressed and distorted guitar tones that sound like your kid brother recorded them on his laptop. Another piece riffs a little too heavily on the ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma percussiveness of the Friday the 13th films. All said though, the audio portion of the AV package is suitable and works moderately well in conjunction with the film.
In an age of broadband, this collection of special features harkens back to dial-up. Elsewhere includes a mildly interesting commentary with director Nathan Hope and producer Vincent Palomino, six throw-away deleted scenes, a photo gallery, theatrical trailer, and a short, run-of-the-mill featurette entitled The Road to Elsewhere, in which the director discusses the origins of the script and cast members ruminate on what it all means. All special features are presented in 480i standard definition.
While I admire director Nathan Hope's attempt to make a film that implies its horror, rather than brutally and gratuitously exploit it, I can't help but wonder who the target audience is for Elsewhere. ADHD teens will likely be bored by the flick's slow pace, while more mature audiences will roll glassy eyes at its generalities and hum-drum moralizing. Ultimately, if the film somehow presented itself to me in the form of a Facebook friend request, I would most likely, and with very little deliberation, click ignore.
2020
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