The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 22, 2020

The Snorkel is currently only available in the twenty film Hammer Ultimate Collection.

Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) believes he’s pulled off the perfect crime. He’s murdered his wife while it’s believed he’s away. He sets the scene to appear as if his victim committed suicide; there’s no note but the room was sealed from the inside. Police find no traces of him, but little do they know he’s hiding under the floorboards and breathing in his tightly confined space through air tubes attached to a snorkel. When his stepdaughter Candy (Mandy Miller) arrives, she immediately suspects Paul, believing he’s responsible for her father’s death some time ago. The authorities are taking the scene at face value, but as Candy pokes around to prove her case she may very well find herself to be Paul’s next victim of another perfect crime.

There's little mystery in play. The audience is privy to Paul's plots from the outset. The joy comes in Candy's efforts to unravel the mystery where the police cannot. While she's doing that, the film follows Paul living his life, now unhindered by his wife and carrying on as if completely innocent of the crime. The interactions between the characters are subtly electric; the tension and the feelings, both deeply rooted and superficial, are palpable. Performances are solid enough to carry the film. The picture moves at a brisk pace, unencumbered by any dead weight scenes that don't advance story or character in some meaningful way.

The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The picture is fairly attractive as it is. Grain is present and very aggressive; viewers preferring a clean image will not like the look of this one, but purists should enjoy the natural, albeit busy, structure. The picture is very sharp in total, offering high clarity definition to various textures through nicely appointed homes, clothes, and faces. Sharpness wavers only slightly, leaving a few backgrounds looking a hint smooth. Mild macroblocking shuffles through some backgrounds, too, though never to such a degree as to handicap the image. The black-and-white grayscale satisfies through the range, beginning with impressively crisp whites. There's not a lot of nuance through the midrange. Black levels fluctuate from time to time, even within the opening minutes, appearing deep and true in one shot and plainly lifted in another. Overall, however, the picture favors the former, showcasing more natural blacks and shadows. There are no egregious examples of print deterioration on display (i.e. no distracting scratches or speckles).

The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack delivers the film's modest sound design well enough. Most of the material images to the middle. There's little stretch even to music, which enjoys good foundational detail even without much stage engagement. The track offers some simple atmospheric effects that help to set the scene in various shots, mostly outdoors. These match the music for detail quality and spatial limitations. The good news is that dialogue images to the middle, too, and finds that same level of good foundational clarity from start to finish.

The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The Snorkel contains one extra: an audio commentary track with Writer/Producer Phoef Sutton, Writer/Film Historian Mark Jordan Legan, and Screenwriter/Film Historian C. Courtney Joyner. The participants explore some interesting factoids in film history as The Snorkel hits on some particular styles. It also covers essential story beats, performances, Hammer films, and so much more that's both directly related to the film and which could be categorized as ancillary factoids that might hold interest for the casual listener.

The Snorkel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Snorkel asks its audience to put itself in its hero's and villain's shoes. The audience is in on Paul's secret from the beginning, and watching his scheme slowly unravel and Candy's hunches prove true are where the film finds its value. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is a solid if not unspectacular. The picture quality is a bit on the grainy and gritty side but it's sharp and well versed in preserving its roots and presenting its black and white imagery as well as can be reasonably expected. Audio is cramped in the center but clarity satisfies. A good commentary track is included. Recommended.