Haunter [Blu-Ray]
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Stephen McHattie, David Hewlett
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-Ray & DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
Plot Summary:
The ghost of a teenager who died years ago reaches out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate.
‘Haunter’ takes the ever popular haunted house concept and crafts it into something truly original and unique. I’m going to be very careful as not to reveal many
elements of the film here as I went in with no real knowledge of it and absolutely loved it so I would recommend doing the same if you are able to. It throws a sort of ‘Groundhog Day’ element into the mix with the haunted house element and then twists a few other basic areas around and we are presented with what I felt was a pretty wonderful film. It has its chilling and terrifying moments, and some very adult themes but surprisingly steers away from the gore for the most part and very little bloodshed is present throughout which I felt was a very smart move and really helped to accentuate the other elements of the movie.
The film is directed by Vincenzo Natali, who previously directed such films as ‘Cube’ and ‘Splice’ in addition to a number of others. Natali does a tremendous job here and handles this unique and visually stunning film wonderfully. Abigail Breslin does a more than capable job in the lead role and continues to prove she has some true talent as an actress and won’t be one of those who simply die out of Hollywood following their noted child performances. The stand out performance in this one I would have to say is that of Stephen McHattie who is properly terrifying and sadistic in his portrayal of the films unsettling and unknown wanderer (credited as The Pale Man).
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Haunter’ is presented in a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation on this one looks quite phenomenal as a whole. Every aspect, edge and corner of the beautiful scenery and set designs look sharp and detailed, and the over exaggerated colors that so uniquely distinguish this film are on gorgeous display here and really shine. Everyone should be very satisfied with the high definition video presentation on this Blu-Ray release.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features an uncompressed 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack which sounds quite remarkable. It does an impressive job of balancing the quiet and loud elements and all of the eerie noises come out of the quiet with ample force to cause you to jump out of nowhere. The unsettling noises and beautiful score sound stunning and clear as can be, plus when things start getting a little hectic this soundtrack certainly isn’t afraid to utilize those rear channels and does a tremendous job of amplifying the overall vibe of this one as a whole. I’m pretty certain that most folks should be quite thrilled with this lossless multichannel soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘Haunter’ contains some surprisingly unique and informative bonus features. Included on the release are two different commentaries, one with the director and the other with the writer of the film. Also included is the trailer and most notably I felt was ‘The Complete Storyboards’ for the film by Vincenzo Natali which I thought were a great addition to this Blu-Ray release, especially considering the absolutely gorgeous and gloomy atmosphere and surroundings of the movie.
Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10
‘Haunter’ is now available to own on Blu-Ray & DVD from IFC Midnight & MPI.