Doomsday Blu-ray

There’s no doubt about it—Doomsday is gross, especially when the baddies burn one of the goodies alive and start carving him up for dinner. Blu-ray amplifies the grossness, boosting the wet squelch as bodies are run over and heads are chopped off (which happens quite a lot). But where Universal shines in only its second Blu-ray release is the special features. Users can bookmark their favorite bloody scenes with the U-Control feature and are invited to click for more information throughout the movie; with Reaper Virus Files, viewers can learn about the characters and history of different aspects of the story, and with Tech Specs, info on star Rhona Mitra’s gorgeous Bentley and the movie’s myriad weapons are presented. Plus, various behind-the-scenes footage, featurettes and interviews can be watched with picture-in-picture. It’s a good use of Blu-ray’s capabilities.

Shelf Talk: Doomsday’s target audience is the early adopter crowd, young males who will appreciate the fast action, manic fights scenes and Mitra’s skin-tight black outfit. Doomsday wasn’t huge at the box office, but with the slow DVD release month, it stands to overperform in the home market. At $40, though, the Blu-ray version might take a backseat to the standard-def with more mainstream viewers.