BLU-RAY REVIEW: CASTLE ROCK SEASON ONE
1/07/2019

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

OVERVIEW: TWelcome to Castle Rock, the small rural town carved out of the deepest woodland in Maine, in which many of acclaimed, best-selling author Stephen King’s most-loved works of fiction come to life. This forgotten little town is now the setting of one of television’s newest original series, Castle Rock. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Castle Rock: The Complete First Season on 4K Ultra HD™ ($44.98 SRP), Blu-ray™ ($29.98 SRP) and DVD ($24.98 SRP) on January 8, 2019. Consumers will be able to own all 10 episodes of the horror series’ exciting debut season along with exclusive bonus features. The 4K Ultra HD™ release will include Blu-ray as well as a Digital Copy of the series. The Blu-ray™ release will feature a Digital Copy of the series.

From Stephen King (Mr. Mercedes, It, 11.22.63) and J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Westworld, 11.22.63), Castle Rock is a new psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse. Castle Rock, which first premiered on Hulu, is an original story that combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of Stephen King’s best loved works, while weaving an epic saga of darkness and light that’s played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. Castle Rock has been picked up for a second season on Hulu.

“Castle Rock is a riveting and compelling psychological thriller based on elements of Stephen King’s most iconic works, beautifully shot and acted by an all-star cast,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, TV Marketing. She added, “We’re thrilled to release this exciting new series in stunning 4K UHD with HDR in addition to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital – all with newly created bonus content to take consumers deeper into the making of the show. This is a release that both hardcore Stephen King fans and more general genre enthusiasts will want to add to their collections.”

SYNOPSIS: The first season of Castle Rock follows Henry Deaver (André Holland, American Horror Story), a Death Row attorney who returns to Castle Rock, Maine, his hometown, after he receives an anonymous phone call from the infamous Shawshank State Penitentiary. The call is about a nameless young man (Bill Skarsgård, It) who is found locked in an underground cage that’s located in a long-abandoned cell block beneath the prison. Upon his discovery, the mysterious young man, with a sinister and unnerving presence, whispers Henry’s name. Curious about how and why someone left this boy imprisoned, Henry is drawn into the case and attempts to help him. But there are reasons why “The Kid” was imprisoned. And reasons why he should never be set free. Permeated with a sense of foreboding and dread, the haunting small town of Castle Rock is not willing to let Henry leave. Aside from now having to deal with the strange young man found in the prison, Henry is faced with the fact that his adoptive mother (Sissy Spacek, Carrie), who lives in Castle Rock with retired Sheriff Alan Pangborn (special guest star Scott Glenn), is struggling with the onset of dementia. Reluctantly, Henry stays to figure out just who “The Kid” is and how he wound up imprisoned under such appalling circumstances.

BLU-RAY: The show  is presented in widescreen in a 1.78:1 aspect ration preserving its television format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Supergirlital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English  subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (1.78:1) 

AUDIO:
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 – English, French Parisian, Castilian Spanish

Subtitles - Eng SDH, English, French,  Latin Spanish

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blood on the Page (New Featurette)

A Clockwork of Horror: Merging the styles of Stephen King & J.J. Abrams (New Featurette)

Inside the Episode: Severance

Inside the Episode: Habeas Corpus

Inside the Episode Local Color

Inside the Episode: The Box

Inside the Episode: Harvest

Inside the Episode: Filter

Inside the Episode: The Queen

Inside the Episode: Past Perfect

Inside the Episode: Henry Dever

Inside the Episode: Romans