Killing Floor, The (DVD)

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But eventually the ludicrous plot undermines the decent acting and effective atmosphere. In the movie's first half, the tension rises acceptably as we begin wondering just what in the heck is going on with David's world. But then seeming coincidences build on seemingly more coincidences; and when we start to unravel the plot complications, they seem less and less plausible. Uninvited and unwelcome people come and go in David's apartment as though the elevator to his living room were permanently open to the public and had a welcome sign on it. And story twists, false clues, and misleading information abound. It's one of those movies that asks us to accept everything as crystal clear and oh-so-real, yet we can see in an instant that none of it makes any sense and could never happen in actual day-to-day life because it's all so preposterous and far-fetched.

By the time the characters in "The Killing Floor" arrive at a pig farm with a hatchet in hand, I'd say even the most patient viewer will have lost all interest in the silly goings on. However, if you think the film might interest you, be aware that the ratings board gave it an R for "violent and disturbing content, language, and some sexuality." Those are probably its best points.

Video:
The video engineers at ThinkFilm do everything they can to make the film look as good as possible on DVD, but I doubt they had the best material to work with. They use a high-bit-rate, anamorphic transfer for the widescreen, 1.85:1-ratio movie, yet the best they can do is replicate some bright, deep, vivid colors. In the meantime, definition suffers, as it is a bit on the soft side; darker scenes look murky, sometimes admitting little inner detail; and a mild but obvious grain adds a touch of grittiness to almost every frame.

Audio:
There's not much to say about the audio. ThinkFilm reproduce the sonics in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0, but there isn't a lot of difference between them. Dialogue makes up the bulk of the soundtrack, so what you get in both cases is mainly center-channel activity. There are a few subtle ambient sounds in the surrounds, things like crowd noises, and a little nondescript background music. Not even the frequency range or dynamics provide much cheer. Fortunately, the midrange is clear, clean, and quiet, so there's nothing to complain about, really.

Extras:
There isn't much to speak of in the extras department, either. There's a two-minute theatrical trailer in anamorphic widescreen and a trailer gallery for five other ThinkFilm releases. That's about it. There are also sixteen scene selections but no chapter insert; English as the only spoken language; Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.

Parting Shots:
I wish "The Killing Floor" had gone in a halfway believable direction instead of weirding out on us and getting all harebrained and exaggerated at the end. The movie sets us up for a really killer payoff and then wimps out with a resolution so absurd, it just leaves us saying "Oh, come on...!" Nevertheless, the movie builds a reasonable sense of forboding in its first half, and that's better than a lot of films offer.