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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( 57:18)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • Animated menus
  • Music video - Beautiful by Joydrop
  • 2 Interviews - Cast and Crew, Characters
Attraction (Rental)
Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 92 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Matthew (Matthew Settle) and Liz (Gretchen Mol) have just broken up, but Matthew is having trouble dealing with it. So much so that he is stalking Liz by sleeping outside her house and following her around everywhere. Liz's friend Corey meets Matthew in a bar one night and asks if she would mind if they started seeing more of each other. Predictably Liz says yes, and dismisses the issue. But Garrett (Tom Everett Scott from An American Werewolf in Paris) is disturbed by Matthew's behaviour, so he then starts stalking Matthew. It's sort of a "who's chasing who?", with a good concept, but it just doesn't quite hit the target. But then wait for the twist... no, it's not written here, get the movie and find out for yourself.

Attraction is a fairly mediocre B-grade thriller that just doesn't stand up in comparison to others out there on the shelf. It is a small release title that didn't make it to many smaller video stores due to the film's lack of quality. Without a wide Australian theatrical release, the film is even less known and could be taken from the shelf if there is nothing else to watch. An American Werewolf in Paris is of a similar grade to this, and even stars one of the actors! Plus its a weekly hire now. It's your choice.

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

The video is presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

The image is very sharp throughout the feature, yet does show slight signs of edge enhancement at times.

The colours are magically rendered with solid blacks and great shadow detail. Large portions of the film are in dark areas and look great on screen. Colours are rich, yet not vibrant due to low lighting, but still look lovely on screen.

This is a dual layered disc with the change occurring at 57:18. This is a superb layer change, one of the neatest around, along with the one on Innocence.

There are, unfortunately, large amounts of grain on screen. This isn't terribly distracting, just rather annoying to see. There are no film artefacts, nor any MPEG artefacts. Well two out of three ain't bad, isn't that how the song goes? Well the grain makes up for the other two.

There are two dialogue tracks - a Dolby Digital 5.1 and a Dolby Digital 2.0 English track. Both sound great, with the 5.1 track winning in the end.

Surround usage is fairly low, as is that of the subwoofer, which is sad for this genre. Oh well, not much you can do about it. The surrounds are mainly used to carry Graeme Revell's (Three To Tango) score which suits the genre very well.

Dialogue is clear throughout on both audio tracks, and is easily audible. There are no audio sync problems either.

The soundstage is fairly empty given the genre, with the extra surround channels giving a slight enveloping experience. Both tracks are adequate, but for this style of film so much more could have been done.

The commentary track is Dolby Digital 2.0, and is discussed later.

There are a few extras, of fairly low quality in general. The menus are animated with audio, and are aesthetically nice.

The Audio Commentary is very boring, with large portions of silence. The bits that are said shouldn't have been. Silence might have been a better option.

The Cast and Crew Interviews are stock standard questions about the film and don't offer much insight into the actors. They are presented in the aspect of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

The Character Interviews are deleted scenes that were cut from the film.

The Music Video is Beautiful by Joydrop and suits the genre of film. This song is also used for the menu audio.

The Trailer is great at introducing the story without giving too much away. It is in the aspect of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

A could-have-been-better thriller with a little guts that has a nice video transfer excpet for the grain, a pleasant enough audio transfer without enough surround audio and a pack of mediocre extras. For a B-grade thriller, it hits the target, but there are better ones around.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Do you like B-grade thrillers? If so, you may be attracted to this..."
    - Martin Friedel
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Nowa DS-8318
    • TV:
          TEAC 68cm CTV
    • Speakers:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Centre Speaker:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Surrounds:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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