‘Rabbit Hole’: Season 1 Blu-Ray Review – Kiefer Sutherland Feels At Home In Entertaining Conspiracy Thriller

In RABBIT HOLE, nothing is what it seems when John Weir, a master of deception in the world of corporate espionage, is framed for murder by powerful forces with the ability to influence and control populations. The series stars Emmy® Award winner Kiefer Sutherland as private espionage operative John Weir, who finds himself in the midst of a battle over the preservation of democracy in a world at odds with misinformation, behavioral manipulation, the surveillance state, and the interests that control these extraordinary powers.

For thoughts on Rabbit Hole: The Complete First Season, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/c93nHMgCOAU?si=PQuvJtVhH9SUcbZ4&t=3760]

Video Quality

Rabbit Hole: The Complete First Season comes to Blu-Ray with a terrific 1080p presentation that makes you cheer that this was not kept to a DVD-only release. The series is filled with sleek cinematography and textured environments that are presented with perfect clarity on this disc. Many situations could have potentially been a hazy blob if not for the crispness of high definition. Black levels are very deep and never lose the edges of any of the objects in the frame. Colors from the environments and clothing radiate off the screen. No instances of compression artifacts crept up during the viewing. From the more brightly lit scenes to the prevalence of darker, shadowy sequences, the skin tones and facial details are impeccably rendered in a way that brings the most nuance out of the cinematography. Paramount delivers everything you want from a modern series in high definition. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that is quite exciting. The score brings an essential element to the atmosphere that permeates the room on this track. The series offers up some thrilling moments that bring some activity to the low end that is appreciated. Dialogue primarily stays fixed to the front center channels and comes through clearly at all times. The track does a nice job of making sure neither sound effects nor the music ever overpowers any exchanges. This show allows for some robust environmental effects that keep the surround speaker filled with precise sounds. There is some welcome ambient activity in the rear channels. This series has been given the robust audio presentation it deserves. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• Digging The Rabbit Hole: A ten-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the themes of the show, the facets of the characters, how it plays with the paranoia of our society, and more.

• The Look Of Rabbit Hole: An 11-minute piece in which the creative team discusses the stylistic references for the series, the use of lighting to explore deeper layers of the themes, the production design, the props made for the series, the costumes, and more. 

• Stunts: An eight-minute look at the stunts throughout this season, how each character fares with the fight scenes, and more. 

Final Thoughts

Rabbit Hole may not be up to the level of the best conspiracy thrillers, but it proves to be a pretty entertaining outing for its (now) one-season run. The pacing is breathless throughout, giving you just enough to get a handle on what is going on before heading to the next location and twist. The tonal balance is not always executed perfectly, but largely the series succeeds in exuding fun. Kiefer Sutherland is in a less serious 24 mode that suits him well, but it is Charles Dance who ends up stealing the show. For a show that is a pretty low-stakes investment, it delivers what it needs to. CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount have released a Blu-Ray featuring a gorgeous A/V presentation and a couple of deleted scenes. If you like twisty thrillers, you could do much worse. Recommended  

Rabbit Hole: The Complete First Season can be purchased on Blu-Ray directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers. 

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.