Below 4K Ultra HD Review

2002 submarine horror film Below from director David Twohy (Pitch Black) is a claustrophobic thriller set during World War II. The submarine USS Tiger Shark picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack and brings them onboard. Among them a female doctor Claire (Olivia Williams) and the German patient under her care (Jonathan Hartman). It is not long before things start to go wrong on the boat and suspicion falls on the rescued and begins to run rampant through the crew. Strange happenings and an event right before the rescue lead some to believe the boat is haunted. Claire begins her own investigation into the acting commanding officer Brice (Bruce Greenwood) who seems to be becoming more unhinged as their journey continues.

There is a long cinematic tradition of the submarine thrillers, from the recent Netflix Original French film The Wolf’s Call (2019) to U-571 (2000), and the Jack Ryan entry The Hunt for Red October (1990). Below makes a strong case for being one of the better entries, even with such classics as Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) in the mix. The film has a fantastic balance of horror with the usual fear of enemies, in this case Nazis, and risk of mutiny.

Twohy, working from a screenplay he co-wrote with Lucas Sussman and Darren Aronofsky (Mother!), crafts an edge-of-the-seat thriller with a stunning visual palette even in the confined space, using chiaroscuro lighting to create a noirish sense of horror. Flashes of half-seen objects, and an aural atmosphere that uses every foley effect to get spines tingling and hairs on your arms raised.

The cast, led by Bruce Greenwood (TV’s The Fall of the House of Usher) and Olivia Williams (TV’s Dune: Prophecy), with a surprisingly reined in performance by Zach Galifianakis as Weird Wally, do an amazing job conveying the danger, fear, and paranoia permeating the crew.

Purchase Below 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

The Video

Below comes from a brand new HDR/Dolby Vision master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. The film is presented in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. The included Blu-ray is taken from the same new 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative and uses an HD master.

Starting with the good first, the Dolby Vision grading is spectacular on this release. Highlights are blazing, with exceptional contrast between the inky black shadows and bright whites. The colors, like green and red indicator lights are very vivid, the torch lamps and flares used really ‘pop’. For the bad, while there is a nearly insane amount of detail and clarity in the image, I cannot shake the feeling that everything looks too crisp, too sharp, like it has been artificially refined. There is grain noticeable, which stays controlled throughout the film, and the scenes underwater and some of the VFX shots on the surface show their age with lower quality CG, making scanlines visible and the stagnation of the clouds and the sky very noticeable. That said, the artificiality of the crispness, the harshness of the textures has, me bringing me the rating down on this. Some people may enjoy it others may not.

The Audio

Below comes with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mixes. The 5.1 mix is bombastic and dynamic with extended lows, lots of directional panning through the channels picking up all the little sounds inside the submarine and the sounds of the deep sea and clanging of the sub, plus clear dialogue.

The Supplements

Kino Lorber has not included any new features on this release, but what is here is interesting. I am not usually a fan of audio commentaries loaded with so many people, but this one is pretty good.

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary by Director David Twohy and Actors Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Zach Galifianakis, and Nick Chinlund

Blu-ray Only Special Features:

• The Process: Featurette (SD; 00:12:24)
• Deletes Scenes w/Optional Commentary by David Twohy (SD; 00:08:19):
  • Creepy Comic
  • Hot Fish
  • Red Flare Ending
• Below – Trailer (SD; 00:02:27)

The Final Assessment

Below usually does not rank as one of the best Submarine films, but that needs to be reassessed. This is a fantastic movie that hits all the right notes, looks great, and has great performances from its cast. Recommended.

Below is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray December 17, 2024 from Kino Lorber

Purchase Below 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R (for language and some violence)
• Studios & Distributors: Protozoa Pictures | Dimension Films | Kino Lorber
• Director: David Twohy
• Written By: Lucas Sussman | Darren Aronofsky | David Twohy
• Run Time: 105 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH