In Dark Glasses, an eclipse blackens the skies on a hot summer day in Rome – a harbinger of the darkness that will envelop Diana (Pastorelli) when a serial killer chooses her as prey. Fleeing her predator, the young escort crashes her car and loses her sight. She emerges from the initial shock determined to fight for her life, but she is no longer alone. Defending her and acting as her eyes is a little boy, Chin (Zhang), who survived the car accident. But the killer won’t give up his victim. Who will be saved?

For in-depth thoughts on Dark Glasses, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

Dark Glasses debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film really well. The movie itself has a natural color palette that makes somewhat of an impression, but it feels reserved compared to the early work from the master. There is a grand amount of detail and clarity even in the darkest sequences in the film including the extended finale. The carnage that pops up provides some gory visuals with great clarity. There is slight loss of detail in fast panning shots, but it is not a major issue throughout.

For a movie that ratchets up tension in darkness at various points, it is important to have deep black levels, which this thankfully does. There is some sporadic banding in some of the harsher gradients, but objects hold up pretty well in the shadows and retain their depth. There is no damage or digital noise detectable in this transfer. This is a good representation of the film that should please most audiences.

Audio Quality

The film comes to Blu-Ray with a steady DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Italian. There are optional English subtitles provided. The movie provides a formidable workout with environmental sounds bringing an unsettling atmosphere to the story. The low end of the track is particularly active during moments of violence, thrills and music. Dialogue and sound effects are balanced well with the music where nothing gets overshadowed in the mix. Surround channels get some nice ambient activity during the outdoor sequences. This track is precise and effective, and you cannot find much fault with how it brings this one to life.

Special Features

Behind The Scenes Of Dark Glasses: A six-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the production history of this film, the updates that were made to the script, the homages and themes within the film, the special effects work and more.

Final Thoughts

Dark Glasses is not the worst effort from horror master Dario Argento since he started going downhill in the ‘90s, but you also will not mistake it for anything from his prime. The biggest issue with this particular effort is the script itself with its two-dimensional characterization and clumsy handling of female empowerment. The protagonist is never made to be anyone you can relate to as you know next to nothing about her character before tragedy hits. There are a handful of exciting sequences here, but most will find it to be a plodding feature not worth a major effort to view. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a passable special feature. Unless you are in love with Dario Argento, it is probably best to sample this before buying.

Dark Glasses is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.