Pandorum

In Pandorum, two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It's pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the craft. They can't remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission? With Lt. Payton (Quaid) staying behind to guide him with a radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower (Foster) ventures deep into the spacecraft and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft's deadly secrets are revealed...and the astronauts find their own survival is more precarious than they could ever have imagined. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director Christian Alvart and Producer Jeremy Bolt; three featurettes: The World Of Elysium (HD 13:59), What Happened To Nadia's Team? (HD 04:30) and Flight Team Training Video (HD 02:45); 16 deleted and alternate scenes (HD 27:57); still galleries; the theatrical trailer; up-front previews; and a digital copy of the film.

The 1080p AVC picture is wonderful. This is an extremely dark film, with pitch black sequences punctuated with flashes of light and limited moments of scenes with normal color. Optimal viewing requires a display system with exceptional native contrast and a viewing environment with controlled light, preferably a black room. With such a display system, the picture is awesome, with inky blacks and scary shadow delineation. The variations in shadows and darkness are amazing, aided by a generally subdued color palette. The picture is stylized, with some sequences that appear muted in hues and others perfectly naturally hued. Instrument screens exhibit a blue luminescence, and green and yellow glow sticks permeate the darkness, which provides just enough light to define the spacecraft's environment of stark metallic textures. Pure color hues appear occasionally but are limited. Still, fleshtones are generally natural in appearance, given the environment. Resolution is impressive, particularly during close-ups of facial features and objects, such as bulkheads, and metal floor and wall plates. Fine details are visual during the faint light sequences, and the cinematic effect is impressively haunting. Dark creatures move rapidly in and out of the limited light and enhance the sense of terror. The picture is pristine and dimensional, which enhances the sense of realism. This is an extraordinarily dark film that, with a great display system and a controlled environment, is impressive and reference quality. Viewed in the dark, this is a terrifyingly visual experience. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is outstanding and exemplary of an enveloping holosonic® dimensional experience. The sound design is fabulously imaginative, delivering a constant soundscape of metallic and rumbling sounds that varies in degree of energy, depending on the scene's action. Bass extension is deep and solid in every channel, with below-25 Hz bass fully energized in the .1 LFE channel. The deep rumbling sounds of the spacecraft are haunting, and the overall solid low-frequency foundation provides exceptional dynamic impact. At times the bass is prodigious and could be system threatening on less-capable systems. The music score is secondary to the atmospheric and sound effects but nevertheless is well recorded and positioned, for a wide and deep soundstage that wraps deep into the surrounds. Sound effects are localizable everywhere within the massive soundfield. Dialogue is impressively integrated spatially and is perfectly natural sounding. You really feel that you are there, and the sounds are perfectly orchestrated to enhance the terror and give life to the horrific scenes. At times the SPL energy is full throttle, in excess of 105 dB! This is an exceptional soundtrack that exemplifies holosonic sound design. The sound is reference quality and remarkable! (Gary Reber)