Nine Miles Down/Knife Edge (Blu-ray) (2009)

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    Icon Entertainment have combined two b-grade thrillers, Nine Miles Down, and Knife Edge, into a single disc Blu-ray package with no other extras. Nine Miles Down looks good, and starts off well, but does get bogged down with a lacklustre script and wooden acting. Knife Edge has the more interesting story and script but is again let down by the lead actors and a less than stellar video transfer. Overall this package is worth a look if you can find it at a discount price.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Knife Edge (Blu-ray) (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	94:32
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Anthony Hickox
Studio Distributor	Seven Arts Icon Entertainment	Starring	Hugh Bonneville Joan Plowright Natalie Press Lorcan O'Toole Matthieu Boujenah Miles Ronayne
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	Box	Music	Guy Farley

"The Perfect House. The Perfect Husband. The Perfect Murder"

     Emma (Natalie Press) is a successful Wall Street trader with psychic abilities who returns home to England with her apparently successful designer husband Henri (Matthieu Boujenah) and their young son Thomas. Henri has secretly bought a huge country mansion to house his young family and Emma looks forward to leaving behind her stock trading days and become a house mum. Soon after arrival Emma’s slacker brother Andrew (Lorcan O'Toole) makes an unwelcome appearance to complain about the inheritance due to Emma which is under the trusteeship of family friend Charles (Hugh Bonneville). Andrew has squandered his share of the proceeds and is resentful that his sister is now successful, independently wealthy and due to receive a large stipend from the family estate. Events soon become even more unsettling for Emma as she has visions of a past murder and her son makes an imaginary friend called Tobias. Her husband Henri is also hiding a secret which begins to tear apart the happy façade of their marriage. Following the appointment of the vaguely mysterious nanny Marjorie (Joan Plowright) events begin to spiral out of control with the atmosphere of menace finally descending into sheer terror and a fight for survival.

     In writing and directing Knife Edge Anthony Hickox has borrowed heavily from other accomplished psychologically based horror/thriller movies. The house and contents are reminiscent of Amityville Horror, one scene is a direct take from The Shining and the plot twists like Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. In main characters Emma and Henri we have adequate performances, if not totally convincing. The two never seem to have any chemistry together and Press in particular is a rather bland heroine. On the other hand veterans Bonneville and Plowright show us how acting should be done in the classical English way, with O’Toole a very accomplished cad. Fortunately out of these components Hickox has crafted together a commendably capable thriller which harks back to the days before gore and excessive blood became a requirement. This is no Hitchcock masterpiece but nevertheless the ninety minutes are sufficiently absorbing to offset any negatives.

     Knife Edge is the second movie included as a double-header disc along with Nine Miles Down.

Video

     This film is presented in its cinematic 1.78:1 aspect. This is an adequate transfer but no improvement on DVD quality. Blacks were good and there was no trouble in differentiating objects during night and dimly lit scenes. Colours were also good although outside scenes in particular had a washed-out palette possibly contributed to by the rather gloomy looking weather. Flesh tones were a bit patchy with facial close ups in particular showing variations of colour across the features. There was quite a bit of digital noise throughout although it was noticeably better in the infrequent bright outdoor scenes.

     Overall the video quality is rated as good. The picture detail was sharp enough but somewhat noisy. There were no film artefacts. This is a dual layer disc but I could not see the layer change using my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     This audio track overall is very good. The default DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 at around 2,100Kb/s delivers a good soundstage with directional effects quite well used. The alternative Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 at around 900Kb/s is very similar to the DTS offering and so I would not prefer one over the other.

     This is mostly a dialogue driven movie so fortunately the audio synchronisation was fine and voices were clear and easy to understand. There were no clicks or dropouts or any other audio problems that I noticed. The movie score by Guy Farley complements the on screen action well and never intrudes. The front sound stage was very good with main voices coming from the centre channel and effects used appropriately from all directions. Surround channel use was appropriate and complemented the action well. The subwoofer was used discretely and complemented the effects well.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured looping audio with static background.

    This Blu-ray twin movie offering does not seem to be duplicated elsewhere however there are Knife Edge movie only versions available on Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 DVD. If you have a blu-ray player then I think this version would be the best option.

     Knife Edge borrows heavily from numerous classical horror movies but fortunately carries it off rather well. Director Hickox uses all the clichés typical of a ghost/thriller movie including sinister characters, creepy dolls, bumps in the night and well timed thunder storms to keep the viewer on edge without descending into an orgy of blood letting (although there is a fair bit towards the end). There are no extras as such however I'd class this movie as recommended if you can find it at a reasonable price.

     The video quality is good. The audio quality is very good. Extras are confined to the "bonus" movie Nine Miles Down.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Nine Miles Down (Blu-ray) (2009)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	86:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Anthony Waller
Studio Distributor	Seven Arts Icon Entertainment	Starring	Everett De Roche Anthony Waller Kate Nauta Adrian Paul Meredith Ostrom Amanda Douge Anthony Waller
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	Box	Music	Andrew Fisher Stephen W. Parsons

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (2304Kb/s) English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (3254Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

"Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil..."

     Thomas (Jack) Jackson (Adrian Paul) is a security guard hired to find out why a scientific drilling team in the Sahara desert seems to have disappeared. It doesn't take him long to discover that something is seriously wrong, especially if he'd seen movies such as The Omen or The Exorcist beforehand. In the base he uncovers the classical signs of demonic activity; that is, ceremonially sacrificed animals and strange wall scribbling in an unknown script. The dead body in cellophane is also a bit of a clue.

     After an unsound night’s sleep Jack finds that he is not alone after all. A very attractive scientist Dr. Jennie Christiansen (Kate Nauta), or JC for short, appears from nowhere and warns Jack that they must leave straight away as everyone is dead. Unfortunately for Jack his boss instructs him to stay until the authorities arrive, a development that JC is not happy about. Given no choice but to hang around Jack proceeds to inspect the drilling base to try and find out what happened to the other inhabitants. Oddly enough a flock of carnivorous birds constantly circling not so far away doesn't pique his interest enough to have an immediate look at what is occupying them. He does however find some recordings taken by the digging crew which reveals strange wailing and screaming noises emanating from the drill hole. Surely they couldn't have drilled all the way down to hell? The mysterious JC also doesn't appear on the staff list so is she really a base scientist, or something far more evil?

     When Jack begins to have strange visions and dreams of his dead wife he begins to wonder if he's actually going crazy, or perhaps been drugged. On top of this he develops a romantic attachment to JC which further clouds his grip on reality. Events deteriorate with Jack and JC ultimately engaging in a duel to the death where the hero and villain roles are not clear. Is Jack really crazy and is JC really a she-devil or just an innocent survivor? The final act of Nine Miles Down doesn't really conclusively answer these questions and ultimately it really didn't make sense.

     Director Anthony Waller has done a reasonable job with this movie however he is let down by the loose script and the average performances of both leads. Nauta in particular is rather wooden and delivers her lines as if reading off an auto-cue. Fortunately she looks good while doing so. Paul is somewhat better in the acting department but kept reminding me of Nicholas Cage (not a good thing). The special effects were quite limited but good enough for what was required. There were also plenty of frights and scares to be had to keep things rolling along so that the ninety minutes didn't drag too much. The drilling environment itself was also quite interesting with the deserted buildings and desert winds reminding me of a Sahara version of the Antarctic base in The Thing. Ultimately however, what began as an interesting foray into a psychological thriller finishes as a confusing muddle of dreams and reality.

     Nine Miles Down is the leading movie included as a double-header disc along with Knife Edge.

Video

     This film is presented in its cinematic 2.35:1 aspect. This is a very good transfer with clean sharp images throughout. Blacks were very good with the varying shades of black and grey easily defined. Colours were excellent especially in the outdoor scenes with the clear desert environment ensuring a crisp and bright palette. Flesh tones were also excellent with the freckles on JC's face and stubble on Jackman clearly defined. There was some digital noise evident although it was barely noticeably. Overall the video quality is rated as excellent.

     This is a dual layer disc but I could not see the layer change using my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     This audio track overall is excellent. The default DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 at around 3,500Kb/s delivers an excellent audio experience with plenty of directional effects and good utilisation of the subwoofer to add some thump. The alternative Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 at around 2,300Kb/s is very similar to the DTS offering and so I would not prefer one over the other.

     Dialogue was clear and understandable at all times and the audio synchronisation was fault free. There were no clicks or dropouts or any other audio problems that I noticed. The original music by Andrew Fisher and Stephen W. Parsons complements the on screen action well. The front sound stage was very good with main voices coming from the centre channel and effects used appropriately from all directions. Surround channel use was appropriate and complemented the action very well. The subwoofer was used effectively.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured looping audio with static background.

    This Blu-ray twin movie offering does not seem to be duplicated elsewhere however there are Nine Miles Down movie only versions available on Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 DVD. If you have a Blu-ray player than I think this version would be the best option although the DVDs have a range of extras available.

     Nine Miles Down had a lot of potential with an interesting plot premise and a couple of attractive lead actors. Ultimately though, it's the loose script and lead actors that let the movie down with neither Paul or Nauta really convincing as the security guard and scientist respectively. The script tries hard to keep the plot moving but ultimately loses itself about sixty minutes in. The final scenes raise more questions than answers and left this viewer ultimately unsatisfied. Nevertheless it's a fairly enjoyable romp with some nice eye-candy thrown in as a bonus. There are no extras apart from the "bonus movie" Knife Edge but I'd class this movie as recommended if you can find it at a discount price.

     The video quality is excellent. The audio quality is excellent. Extras are confined to the "bonus" movie Knife Edge.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Mike B (read my bio)
Monday, November 15, 2010

Review Equipment
DVD	Denon DVD-3910 and Panasonic BD-35, using HDMI output
Display	Panasonic TH-58PZ850A. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL).
Amplification	Denon AVR-3808 pre-out to Elektra Theatron 7 channel amp
Speakers	B&W LCR600 centre and 603s3 mains, Niles in ceiling surrounds, SVS PC-Ultra Sub

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