Open
Grave (2014/Cinedigm Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: C-
Open
Grave starts out strong, with a man (Sharlto Copley from the
incredible District 9) is awakened in a large pit full of dead
bodies and does not remember how he got there. In a panic he cries
for help before a woman throws a rope down into the pit, allowing him
to climb and escape. The man eventually finds his way to a house and
discovers five occupants. A mute woman who doesn't understand
English, a German man and three Americans, none of whom can remember
his or her identity, although they do soon realize that they can
remember other aspects of their former lives (such as the ability to
speak other languages).
About
midway through, the film suffers from the usual fates of a bad zombie
movie. Main characters screaming back and forth at one another,
debating who is at fault, the quest to find a vaccination to numb the
disease causing the deaths, and an unwinding journey that ultimately
proves that the group was screwed all along. After the first
excellent twenty minutes, the film feels starts to become a bore - as
confused at what is happening as the characters are.
All
in all, the film feels like the first draft of a horror/ thriller and
not entirely complete or rewarding. The ending is pretty cliché and
all in all it feels much like the director Gonzalo López-Gallego's
previous film Apollo 18, which also had a decent premise that
missed the mark.
The
transfer on the disc looks fabulous, however, and is captured in full
1080p in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with a codec of MEPG-4
AVC. Audio on the disc is comparable with a lossless English DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track and a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
track. English subtitles are also on the disc with a total running
time of 102 minutes.
The
only extra on the disc is a Behind the Scenes Featurette, that is a
standard EPK with interviews and scenes from the film. Nothing too
fancy for special.
If
you are a fan of Zombie films like the Dawn of the Dead remake
or The Crazies, then this may be worth your time checking out.
If you are on the fence about these types of film, then you aren't
missing much by skipping it.
-
James Lockhart
www.vimeo.com/jamielockhart
