In Rites Of Passage, after anthropology student Nathan (Donowho) invites his class and professor (Dorff) to his family ranch to re-create an ancient ritual, and a few days of carefree partying, they soon meet his brother (Bentley) who exists in a mysterious, psychotic haze. With the ranch built on a sacred Chumash Indian burial ground, things quickly take a turn for the frightening. When a drug-fueled neighbor Delgade (Slater) forces them all to join in a crazed "rite of passage" their lives will change forever. (Gary Reber)
Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 06:43), the trailer, and upfront previews.
The 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture is brightly contemporary and nicely contrasted with a natural color palette and fleshtones. Hues are strongly saturated without being exaggerated. Blacks are deep and solid, and shadow delineation is revealing. Resolution is excellent throughout, with finely nuanced detail revealed, especially in close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. This is a visually bright, well-balanced experience that effectively captures the Southern California seaside setting. (Gary Reber)
The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is energetically crafted with a mixed music score of orchestral and rock. Atmospherics and sound effects tend to be frontal focused, with occasional surround aggression. In the more intense scenes, .1 LFE deep bass energy enhances the dynamics. Dialogue sounds generally integrated spatially. Overall, this is a pretty frontal-focused presentation with some effective moments of intensity. (Gary Reber)