Set 10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD finds him living under an assumed name in the fictional small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger inevitably beckons. The cast also stars Jack Alcott (THE GOOD LORD BIRD), Julia Jones (The Mandalorian), Alano Miller (Sylvie’s Love), Johnny Sequoyah (Believe) and Clancy Brown (BILLIONS®, The Crown).
For in-depth thoughts on Dexter: New Blood, please see my colleague Michael Cook’s review from its original television debut here.
Video Quality
Dexter: New Blood comes to Blu-Ray with an eye-popping 1080p presentation that pushes the format to its limit. The series is filled with intricately detailed settings and gorgeous cinematography that is presented with perfect clarity on this disc. From the more brightly lit scenes to the numerous darker, shadowy sequences, the skin tones and facial details are incredibly rendered in a way you could almost mistake this for a 4K disc. Colors from the blood and costumes pop off the screen alongside the varied stark landscapes. Black levels are very deep and never betray the objects on screen. No instances of compression artifacts crept up during the viewing. This is an immaculate presentation that perfectly showcases a beautifully shot series.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that is quite lively. This series engages in some truly immersive environmental effects that keep the surround speaker filled with distinct sounds. There is some nice ambient activity in the rear channels, especially during moments where tension is building to a nice payoff. The dialogue primarily stays in front center channels and is reproduced clearly. The track does a good job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers dialogue. The series music from Pat Irwin brings an essential element to the series that fills up the room on this track. In certain moments, there is some heft to the low end that is appreciated in a series such as this one. This track has a substantial dynamic range that should please fans of the series.
Special Features
CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount have provided Dexter: New Blood with an optional sleek new SteelBook that is truly lovely in person. The front artwork is a close-up of Dexter’s face in the falling snow, and the rear features snow-covered trees as a car pulls up to a house with a trail of blood behind it. The interior sports a still of Dexter chopping wood in the snow. An unboxing of the SteelBook can be found here.
- Why Now?: A two-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss why they wanted to return to the property and where the characters are almost a decade later.
- Dissecting Dexter: New Blood – Deb Is Back: A two-minute look at how the character of Deb fits into this new iteration of the series and the dynamic between the siblings.
- Dissecting Dexter: New Blood – The Kill Room: A two-minute look at the kill room Dexter has fixed up for this next chapter.
- All Out On The Table: This 30-minute featurette begins with a “Spoiler Alert” before the cast and crew delve into the characters, reveal some juicy behind-the-scenes moments, and breakdown all the elements of the finale. This is the only substantial featurette in this package, but it gives you a lot of compelling information.
Final Thoughts
Dexter: New Blood gives the creative team behind America’s favorite serial killer a chance to redeem themselves after a much derided series finale. Everyone mostly rises to the occasion with only a few new stumbling blocks along the way. There is no denying that it is wonderful to see Michael C. Hall back in this role wrestling with the morality of his existence. These ten episodes are very entertaining and a worthy addition to the Dexter legacy. CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount have released a new Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a couple of decent special features. Not only this, but they have given an option for a SteelBook packaging which collectors should really treasure. If you are a fan of the original series when it was at its best, maybe it is time to return to the world? Recommended
Dexter: New Blood is currently available to purchase on Limited Edition SteelBook Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment 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.
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
