IMPORTANT QUALITY CONTROL NOTICE: This DVD I'm reviewing has an unusual issue I don't think I've ever encountered before. There's a series of trailers that automatically play when the disc is inserted into the player, as is often the case with DVDs, but the trailers on Catacombs endlessly loop around without ever ending at the main menu. I tried this DVD on all 3 of my DVD players: an RCA, an LG, and a Dynex portable. I also tried it on my computer using CyberLink PowerDVD. I encountered the same problem on each, and pressing the "Menu" button only started the trailers again from the beginning on all these players. I was able to access the Main Menu (for the movie and special features) on my Dynex portable DVD player only by skipping through the trailer tracks with the "Next" function. On my LG player, I had to go through the disc's content with the player's own interface. CyberLink PowerDVD allowed me to access the menu by choosing the "Root Menu" option from its controls as the trailers played on my computer. I could not figure out how to break the trailer loop, however, on my RCA player. Skipping through the tracks didn't work as it did on the portable player, nor did the menu functions on the player work as it did on the LG player. If my copy of the disc is typical, then buyer / renter beware: You might not be able to play this movie.

Technical problems aside, Catacombs was a so-so entry in the claustrophobic underground horror sub-genre. The best this genre has to offer recently was the excellent The Descent, one of my favorite horror films of this decade. Other recent films of the cavernous ilk include The Cave, a standard creature feature, and The Cavern, a godawful mess with one of the most tacky and tasteless endings in recent memory. Catacombs, quality-wise, lies somewhere in between the latter two films. It's not especially good, but it's competently made and provides a few genuine shocks along the way.

The film's main character, Victoria, travels from Baltimore to Paris after receiving a postcard from her sister, Carolyn, inviting her for a visit. Victoria has some issues, including a nervous predisposition, and she's on prescription meds. It probably doesn't help that Carolyn treats her like crap. Not only does she stage a prank scare for Victoria at her apartment, but she also insists on taking her sister, exhausted from a transatlantic plane flight that she couldn't sleep through, to a rave underneath the streets of Paris. At this rave, she's told a story about a devil cult who raises a child on raw meat in the catacombs they're in. Supposedly, the kid is now berserk and kills the unfortunates who get lost in the caverns. Inevitably, the police raid the rave, and in the panic, Victoria gets separated from her sister and companions, and gets lost. Much running and screaming and waving of flashlights ensue, as do sudden encounters with swarms of rats and bats, until the final ten minutes when we're given an implausible ending.

The best thing this film has going for it is its leads. Shannyn Sossamon certainly gives it her all in the lead role. As Victoria, Sossamon is convincing as the young American already on edge who is pushed over that edge during the course of the film's events. Popular singer Pink, here using the name Alecia Moore, does a good job portraying the rebellious sister. The notion of the two actresses being sisters definitely seemed plausible. In addition to the acting, the setting seems appropriately macabre. The cavernous walls are lined with skulls, which works well to set up the mood. On the commentary track, the filmmakers say the movie was made in Romania, rather than Paris, with Romanian actors, but the subterfuge works. Unfortunately, the script is rather standard, and while there are some shocks, the plot is rather ludicrous. Ultimately, I thought the film was passingly entertaining, but not memorable.

The DVD

Video:

On the back DVD cover art for Catacombs reads the following: "Letterbox 1.85:1 DVD Screen Format." And indeed, this is not an anamorphic DVD, which really surprises me. Every other Lions Gate horror film I own on DVD is 16x9, and I'm baffled as to why this movie is given such a limiting format. In addition, the picture quality is only average, with an annoying blue line appearing periodically on the far left and the far right of the movie image. Lions Gate, what happened?

Sound:

Unlike the substandard video quality, the audio on Catacombs was at least serviceable. There are two options: 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby Digital. I listened to the 5.1 track and felt suitably surrounded by the dialogue and effects mix. English and Spanish subtitles are also provided.

Extras:

Trailers for The Eye, Fear Net, Saw IV, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Killer Pad, Born Killers, and Boy Eats Girl play automatically before the menu. There's a link to these trailers in the menu system under an Also From Lionsgate option. Please see the first paragraph of my review for more comments on the trailers.

The director / writer team of Tomm Coker and David Elliot provide a lively and informative commentary track that should prove interesting to fans of the film.

A featurette called Inside the Catacombs runs six and a half minutes, and has comments from the actors and filmmakers interwoven with scenes from the movie.

Another featurette called The Making of "Blue Butterfly" with Violet UK covers the recording of a signature song for the film. It runs for almost six minutes.

Finally, there's a series of storyboard galleries with commentary by Tomm Coker. The gallery menu has the following: Main Storyboards, Deleted Scenes, Guest Artist, Meet the Goatman, Set Designs, VFX Boards, and Reshoot Boards. The commentary is insightful, but each storyboard option was relatively short, which would have made a Play All option nice.

Final Thoughts:

Catacombs is a watchable fright flick for hardcore horror hounds. Shannyn Sossamon's performance is pretty good, and the last hour of the film has a kinetic energy to it. Unfortunately, Lions Gate disappoints on the technical end of the DVD's presentation. Rent it if you're interested, but it's otherwise avoidable.

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