Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		5.0

Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 1, 2020

This Mill Creek Blu-ray release of 'Rosewood Lane' is currently only available as part of a double feature with 'White Noise 2: The Light.' That film was previously released by Universal in 2012. I did not review, nor do I have access to, a copy of that disc; see below for non-comparative reviews of this disc's A/V qualities.

Radio talk show host Sonny Blake (Rose McGowan) is picking up the pieces of her life after her alcoholic father's death. He supposedly tumbled down the basement stairs but it soon becomes clear that foul play may have been involved. As Rose attempts to get her father's business in order at his home, she encounters the creepy, black eyed paper boy (Daniel Ross Owens) who stalks her both in person and on the air, creeping around and intruding in her life while also calling her show and reciting nursery rhymes. As Sonny's world closes in, violence follows her every move, and hope seems to dwindle, she has no choice but to confront a terrible reality at the hands of a deranged psychopath.

For a full film review, please see Brian Orndorf's writing accompanying the original Universal disc here.

Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rosewood Lane's digitally photographed picture appears very flat and smooth, pasty looking but clean and clear as it is. The picture is generally fine at-a-glance, showcasing oftentimes solidly intimate and revealing skin details and clothing cues, though there are many times when skin appears terribly pasty and artificial, lifeless and plastic and unnaturally smooth. The picture has an air of artificiality about it. Colors are drab. The film is predominantly dark, taking place in low light and nighttime locations with frequency. Here there's deep black levels but murky details within; crush is sometimes prominent. The picture's most egregious visual sin is banding, which appears dense and with much frequency. There are countless examples where backgrounds simply become wavy masses of undefined mess, playing in stark contrast to the clean and smooth elements in the foreground. Noise is not overly problematic, even in the more intense low light scenarios. This is not a particularly attractive image. Note that the picture is here encoded in the AVC format; the older Universal disc utilized the antiquated VC-1 encode.

Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rosewood Lane's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack does deliver a capable listening experience. The audio presentation is largely fine, with good stage commanding depth as necessary. The track folds in general ambience here and there, such as ringing phones and chatty people at a community center in chapter three. Large musical cues hit appropriately hard, while more general Horror motifs find good clarity and stage extension to both sides and rears. Action scenes satisfy with solid low end push, excellent stage placement, and good clarity through the range. Dialogue is clear and maintains solid prirotization and firm front-center placement.

Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included with this Blu-ray release of Rosewood Lane is the film's Trailer (1080p, 1:55). Note that the Universal disc does include a 30-minute making-of, so for fans interested in a meaty supplement will want to be sure to pick that disc up instead of this one.

Rosewood Lane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rosewood Lane builds a nonsensical story that offers scant purpose and little narrative draw. The characters are stale, the scares bear no fruit, and there's a struggle to connect with the content at both ends, whether considering character construction or story detail. The movie is a directionless mess that's neither scary nor engaging. It's barely coherent, unruly in construction, poorly performed, and will leave audiences wondering why any film would so blatantly waste 90 minutes of their time. Mill Creek's all but featureless Blu-ray does include a solid enough 5.1 lossless soundtrack, but the 1080p video transfer is not particularly good, though much of the issue seems to stem from the source. Skip it.