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Dark Tide (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Revolver Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (30th April 2013). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Kate is a shark expert whose business has been failing since a shark attack killed a fellow diver under her command. Once dubbed "the shark whisperer," Kate is haunted by the memory of the attack and unable to get back into the water. With bills piling up and the bank about to foreclose on Kate's boat, Kate's ex-boyfriend Jeff presents her with a lucrative opportunity to lead a thrill-seeking millionaire businessman on a dangerous shark dive - outside the cage. Battling her self-doubts and fear, Kate accepts the proposal and sets a course for the world's deadliest feeding ground - Shark Alley.
Video
 Revolver Entertainment release "Dark Tide" on blu-ray at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 using an AVC-MPEG 4 encode. To be honest, it's a little bit of a mixed bag, but there is more good than bad, with noticeable differences in general sharpness between above water shots and underwater shots, likely caused by filming conditions more than anything else.
So let's start with the bad. Unfortunately there is some mild judder, edge enhancement and aliasing on a couple of occasions although it isn't noticeable to the point where your enjoyment of the film is particularly tainted. The underwater scenes are sometimes overly murky, resulting in a loss of detail and lack of sharpness due to the transfers softness, particularly on the diving suits. On the other end of the spectrum, all scenes that take place above water have a much better look to them - and some look simply excellent. Skin tones appear to be spot on, the waves of the water in the storm have a great clarity to them and panoramic shots give a real sense of being out on the water and have a good level of detail and sharpness to them. Overall, the film has a natural look and is certainly more than acceptable - better than what DVD could possibly offer.
Audio
There are two audio options available here: - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - English LPCM 2.0 Stereo I watched the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is rather good, though not spectacular. Directionality is strong throughout, with surrounds used to good effect for the sounds of waves crashing or the feeling of being underwater. The score does well to pull the viewer in for the more tense moments - a difficult job when the dialogue struggles to get your attention no matter how sharp and clear it sounds. Volume levels are well balanced and there is no sign of any form of damage or cause for concern. It's the highlight of the disc. A quick listen to a couple of scenes in the LPCM 2.0 Stereo option showed this track to also be sufficient, but the 5.1 is certainly the better of the two. Unfortunately, no subtitles have been included for the deaf or hard of hearing.
Extras
None whatsoever.
Overall
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