Shadow People (2013) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Matthew Arnold
Starring: Dallas Roberts, Alison Eastwood, Anne Dudek
Rated: PG-13/Region: A/2X40/1080p/Number of disc: 1
Available from Anchor Bay
Back in the 1970s several patients in an experimental sleep study reported seeing shadowy intruders. These patients – and hundreds of others – died in their sleep soon after. Doctors called the phenomenon ‘Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome’. They refused to discuss the shadows. Now a struggling late-night radio host (Dallas Roberts of THE GREY and “Rubicon”) and a skeptical CDC investigator (Alison Eastwood) have begun researching a disturbing new outbreak of shadow sightings and sleep fatalities. Could this be a case of paranoid hallucination or are these victims literally being scared to death by actual nightmare creatures? Anne Dudek (“Covert Affairs” “House M.D.”) and Mariah Bonner (THE SOCIAL NETWORK) co-star in this supernatural thriller based on true events documenting the authentic existence of SHADOW PEOPLE.
Shadow People is a movie that has a great idea and a cool concept behind it, but sadly it fails on delivery. The movie sadly only maintains its creepy for about fifteen minutes before it becomes every other ghost story you’ve seen on a straight to dvd release. After that part of the film it somehow loses the eerie and creepy factor it has by doing everything like every other film you’ve seen. I really hate the fact it goes that route because people who have died in their sleep isn’t a joke and the mystic of that really gives the film an edge that it sadly dulls away for the most part, literally.
The film has a great male lead in Dallas Roberts as our radio host, Charlie. I just wish the man had more to work with because a great idea and lead just needs a great script to make a new classic. The potential was here, but being dull and too by the numbers can put the damper on that fast. And so it does here in this movie. As for the transfer, well it at least looks great for what it is. The movie also adds in a few different camera and styles for overall presentation, shame the end results wasn’t better because all the tools are clearly here, just unused.
– “Shadow People – More to the Story” Feature
