Cold Comes the Night Blu-ray Review

Sony's presentation of "Cold Comes the Night" in 1080p with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio showcases an adept use of AVC MPEG-4 encoding, delivering a visually impressive experience. Detailing is meticulous, from the myriad minute shards of shattered glass to the granularity of gravel and the nuanced textures on faces and clothing. Image clarity stands out, allowing viewers to perceive astonishing lifelike accuracy, even highlighting subtle features like Alice Eve’s distinct eye colors. The color palette dominantly features cold blue and gray shades, complementing the film's somber tone. Occasional bursts of vibrant colors, such as the bright orange jacket or flashing police car lights, punctuate the overall scene with striking contrast.

The Blu-ray's black levels are consistently deep and true, capturing the dark ambience of the night scenes with precision. There is no noticeable crushing, ensuring that shadow details remain discrete yet defined, likely a creative choice rather than a flaw. Flesh tones, while intentionally drained to align with the film's aesthetic, retain a natural appearance, further enhancing character portrayal. The presentation is free from technical imperfections such as noise or artifacts, indicating a robust encoding process.

Overall, despite the film's modest budget and less glamorous settings, the Blu-ray maintains a sharpness and clarity that underscore both the gritty realism of its environments and the stark beauty within the narrative’s visual coldness. The transfer's ability to accentuate minor details and handle color replication effectively ensures a high-quality viewing experience, making it a solid technical achievement for Sony.

"Cold Comes the Night" presents a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that, while not exemplary, provides a commendable and balanced listening experience. The film's dialogue-heavy nature dominates the front-center stage with exceptional clarity and precision, ensuring that every spoken word is delivered cleanly and without distortion. Environmental sound effects like the evocative blowing wind at the start of the film are rendered convincingly across the listening space, capturing the immersive ambiance effectively. The music score, subtly echoing across the front and rear channels, enriches the atmosphere with a fitting synchronicity that complements the film’s tone and mood. Action sequences including gunshots and car chases exhibit a natural presence, albeit lacking a bit in lifelike intensity.

Despite its subdued nature, the audio track maintains an accurate surround sound presentation by dynamically mixing ambient noises and soundtracks across different channels, offering a sense of spatial coherence. The low-frequency extension is particularly notable; it emphasizes the tension within the film, adding weight to Topo’s menacing presence with a solid bass response. However, it should be noted that while this soundtrack accomplishes its basic obligations well, it falls short of delivering an extraordinary auditory experience. Overall, "Cold Comes the Night" provides a reliable and balanced audio performance that aligns well with the film's overall aesthetic, ensuring that critical audio elements such as dialogue, ambient sounds, and action effects maintain their intended impact on the viewer.

The extras for the Blu Ray of "Cold Comes the Night" are limited but provide some additional context through a selection of deleted scenes and standard trailers. The deleted scenes, running 6:47 minutes in total, offer insight into some backstory elements and character motivations that were left out of the final cut. Although none drastically alter the plot, they provide intriguing glimpses into the characters. The disc also includes several previews for other Sony titles, which primarily serves to rewatch trailers that play initially upon disc insertion. Overall, the extras, while not extensive, add modest value for fans of the film.

Extras included in this disc:

• Deleted Scenes: Four sequences offer added backstory but are ultimately non-essential.
• Previews: Replay trailers for various Sony titles shown at disc startup.

"Cold Comes the Night," directed by Tze Chun, is a thriller that adheres to a familiar narrative template without offering much innovation or depth. It tells the story of Chloe (Alice Eve), a financially struggling single mother running a rundown motel, who becomes entangled in a dangerous quest for lost money led by a mysterious guest, Topo (Bryan Cranston). The film’s plot employs standard genre tropes—innocent caught in a web of crime, corrupt police, and double-crosses—leading to an experience that feels overly predictable and uninspired. Despite competent assembly, it lacks originality and fails to generate engaging tension, relying instead on formulaic scenarios and clichéd dialogue.

The cast's efforts help salvage the film to some extent. Bryan Cranston, known for his outstanding roles in "Breaking Bad" and "Drive," does his best with the character of Topo, although his performance is marred by a distracting Eastern European accent and an underdeveloped character arc. Meanwhile, Alice Eve bravely steps away from her usual roles to portray a desperate mother, yet she is constrained by a script that offers little room for emotional depth or character growth. Logan Marshall-Green's portrayal of the corrupt cop Billy is perhaps the weakest link, failing to convincingly convey the volatile nature the role demands.

"Cold Comes the Night" is ultimately bogged down by its by-the-book screenplay and uninspired storytelling. The film's lack of originality and real suspense makes it easy to forget almost as soon as the credits roll, despite the presence of talented actors trying to rise above the material. While it aims for character-driven tension over action, it falls short due to its unrelenting adherence to genre conventions and uninspired execution.

"Cold Comes the Night" is a straightforward thriller that settles into its genre's well-worn tropes without pushing any boundaries. Alice Eve takes center stage as a single mother battling to survive, while Bryan Cranston, despite being heavily featured in promotional materials, plays a minor, one-note role that seems quickly filmed. The narrative feels like an extended, grittier Lifetime movie with sporadic bursts of intensity but remains ultimately forgettable. There is a lack of creativity underpinning the story which, albeit competently directed, fails to elevate the material beyond serviceable.

The Blu-ray release by Sony offers a mixed bag. The video quality is exceptional, presenting a clear, crisp image that enhances the film's visual experience. However, the audio doesn't quite reach the same heights, coming across as unremarkable rather than immersive. The special features are disappointingly limited, consisting solely of a handful of deleted scenes that fail to add any significant value.

In conclusion, "Cold Comes the Night" is not without its merits—namely the solid performances by Eve and Cranston—but it ultimately falls short of being memorable or innovative. The Blu-ray's superior video quality is a lone highlight in an otherwise minimalistic package. This film might be suitable for a rental if you enjoy standard thrillers, but it's not a necessary addition to your collection.