Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

The Superdeep Blu-ray Movie Review

How low can it go?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 20, 2022

Attempting to fuse the most memorable parts of The Thing, Event Horizon, and maybe even The Descent, first-time writer/director Arseny Syuhin's The Superdeep delivers pretty great practical effects... but otherwise fails miserably in a way that's hard to put into words. After all, what good is gooey gore when it's saddled with a non-sensical story and a broken script? And not in the "so bad it's good" way, either: The Superdeep feels like it was run through a English-to-Russian translator -- and then back again, maybe more than once -- before the final draft was stamped.

After a harrowing black-and-white prologue, The Superdeep properly introduces lead character Anya Federova (Milena Radulovic). Conflicted about her part in the development of a new vaccine for Russian military forces, she is escorted by Colonel Yury Morozov (Nikolay Kovbas) to the Kola Superdeep Borehole -- a real-life scientific drilling project that began in 1980 but was closed in 1995 -- where otherworldly sounds were heard before 20 people disappeared from its secret underground research facility. Additionally, the project's head of research, Dr. Dmitry Grigoriev (Vadim Demchog), was accused of hiding an as-yet-unknown disease... hence Anna's involvement. Tasked with retrieving samples, she will be the new head of Russia's Military Biological Defense Institute if she succeeds. Together with a group of soldiers, they set out to discover who -- or possibly what -- is waiting for them several kilometers below the surface.

It's a decent enough premise and, with the right approach, could have made for an enjoyable trek through familiar cinematic territory (and admittedly, injecting some supernatural lore into real-world events can be pretty fun in the right context). But nope, The Superdeep falls flat on its face from the first scene onward, as patches of its scattershot story are spelled out ad nauseum with extremely forced narration that, like much of its dialogue, just doesn't sound like how actual humans talk. Quite literally speaking of which, now's a good time to note that The Superdeep is a purely Russian production with almost all English dialogue, save for the background signage and a couple of local news clips. Some of its characters attempt a decent Russian accent, some not-so-decent, and some not at all. (At first I thought RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray -- which actually lists the disc language as "English, Russian" -- had two separate audio tracks and I had mistakenly chosen an English dub.) But according to all sources -- and of course, the fact that most of the mouth movements match perfectly with that English dialogue -- it apparently really is supposed to sound that way. Trust me: when I say the dialogue is broken, it's to the point that The Superdeep's story is almost impossible to follow from a base-level plot standpoint. And this should, by all accounts, be a simple movie to follow.

A big ol' olive branch should be extended to the SFX team, though: even if you don't care about The Superdeep's plot (and believe me, you won't), some of its practical makeup and creature effects are outstanding, enough to make you wish they showed up in a better movie. As it stands, The Superdeep feels like one of those school group projects where one kid clearly did all the work. But enough with the dead horse: RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray at least provides solid A/V support and a featurette that focuses on the only interesting part of this otherwise weak import.

The Superdeep Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Framed at a rather odd 2.66:1 aspect ratio (which is supposed to add to the claustrophobia, but really just interferes with most of its vertical compositions), The Superdeep nonetheless looks very good on RLK Entertainment's Blu-ray. Although this fusion of live action, CGI elements, and impressive practical effects does show a few seams, it's a mostly well-integrated picture that sports decent fine detail, deep black levels, and well-saturated colors. As expected, much of it takes place deep underground with moody lighting and, within those boundaries, it offers a suitably dark atmosphere that doesn't suffer from obvious compression issues or other digital defects. And while The Superdeep doesn't leave a massive visual impression besides for its practical effects, it nonetheless plays well on the small screen.

Note to videophiles: a limited edition 4K Mediabook was also released in Germany last year by Koch Media.

The Superdeep Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Despite my strong reservations about The Superdeep's goofy dialogue, this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix packs quite the sonic punch and establishes a heavy, occasionally unsettling atmosphere. Conversations are usually front-and-center save for those in larger, cavernous interiors, with nice prioritization in group settings. (With that said, a few lines have obviously been overdubbed, but it's not clear if this was due to recording issues or other reasons.) Of course, the real standout here is surround activity that arrives in the form of ominous background noise and the original score, both of which work in tandem to reasonably envelop even the most modest home theater setups. It's a fine effort, all things considered, with the only possible room for improvement being a full-blown Atmos mix.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and the lone extra (which, unlike the film, is entirely in Russian). They actually sit inside the 2.66:1 frame, which is great for projector owners.

The Superdeep Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with deceptively cool cover art, an embossed foil slipcover, and a promotional insert. Bonus features are minimal and only cover the effects, which is probably a good thing.

• The Superdeep SFX by Galaxy Effects (7:21) - This short-form featurette follows several members of the acclaimed Moscow-based effects house, who offer some insight into their creative process via a few sketches, test images, finished characters, sculptures, and more. It doesn't go into enough detail to be truly revealing, but those who appreciated The Superdeep's creatures will want to give it a spin.

The Superdeep Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arseny Syuhin's The Superdeep is framed around a looming supernatural mystery, but the version we've gotten for home video via RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray is the real head-scratcher. Why the broken English dialogue? Does a top-secret Russian-language track exist? Was it cut from a longer version? Like its confusing story, these questions may never be answered... but hey, the creature effects are outstanding and, for tolerant sci-fi horror fans, that might be enough. They'll be mostly pleased with this Blu-ray, which serves up solid A/V specs and a short featurette about the film's most (only?) memorable element. Try before you buy, unless its low price proves to be too tempting.