Dexter: New Blood Blu-ray SteelBook review

Mar 20, 2022- Permalink

Ten years after Dexter left our TV screens, everyone’s favourite police blood splatter expert and serial killer returns in Dexter: New Blood. This time we’ve left the warm, sunny beaches of Miami for the colder, snowier fictional small town of Iron Lake, New York, where Dexter lives under a new identity. He’s turned things around and his “ethical” serial killing is under control. Oh, who are we kidding here? Dexter’s “Dark Passenger” is back and so is his need to avoid detection. Paramount has now released Dexter: New Blood on Blu-ray and I had a chance to review the limited edition Steelbook version. Joining Michael C. Hall in the ten episodes are Jack Alcott, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Jones, Alano Miller, Johnny Sequoyah and Clancy Brown.

The 1080p AVC encoded transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The detail in the video presentation is great and checks all the boxes of hair and facial features, indoor and outdoor environments and textiles. The black levels are very good too and with many night and shadowy scenes we can still see what’s going on. The colour palette is bleaker (Iron Lake is not Miami) but the white snow is bright and the blood, of course, is rich and red. There are no digital noise or compression issues to speak of.

On the audio side, Dexter: New Blood has an English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack with English SDH subtitles. The surround usage is good for putting some of the unsettling ambient sounds and effects around you and there’s subtle use of low frequency sounds but it won’t overwork your subwoofer. Dialogue is clear, centred, and well-prioritized.

The 4-disc SteelBook edition that I’m reviewing features a snowy, menacing headshot of Dexter on the front cover. The back cover features an overhead shot of a snow-covered forest with a blood-stained road bisecting the image. The discs are on individual spindles and behind them there’s a photo of Dexter chopping wood with an axe. There are bonus materials on three of the discs. While three are just about two minutes long and give some brief info on the show, disc four has a half-hour look at the show’s legacy and production.

Obviously, you’ll want to have watched the previous Dexter series to be fully up on what’s happening in Dexter: New Blood. With an excellent video and audio presentation, Dexter fans old and new will be interested in this release.