Halloween: H2O

Halloween: H2O (1997)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adam Hann-Byrd
Extras: Documentary, Music Videos, Trivia Game
Rating:

“Halloween: H2O” is letterboxed at 2.35:1 in the disc’s non-anamorphic presentation. The picture is very clear, especially during the daylight scenes, and shows only a very fine grain at times, and no artifacting. The DVD transfer appears to be significantly brighter than the theatrical prints, resulting a very different visual feel of some key scenes.This may or may not have been the director’s original intent.

The audio, however, is another story. The DVD offers only a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix. There is no DTS soundtrack as listed on the package. The sound reminded me of a Dolby VHS tape. The dialogue is mixed very low, so the volume must be turned up to clearly hear what the characters are saying. Musical stings and sound effect on the other hand are mixed very loud for sudden scares. Unfortunately it does not create a balanced mix and can have you reachign to your remote control over and over again.

Just as the DTS track, the advertised audio commentary by Jamie Lee Curtis & Steve Miner and the film’s trailer are NOT on the DVD. Which leaves us with only three extras in what was supposed to be a “Collector’s Edition”. Although the film transfer is quite good, everything else on this disc leaves to be desired and at $39.99 this release has turned out to be a major disappointment.