The Girl on the Train 4K (2016) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

Rachel Watson is a divorcee who takes the train to New York city every day. The train passes by her old house where she used to live with her ex-husband. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she witnesses something that changes everything she thought about the couple. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. TV reports deliver the shocking news that Megan is missing, and Rachel wonders if she is somehow connected to her disappearance.

The Girl on the Train 4K (2016) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
The Girl on the Train was photographed on film but reportedly finished at 2K. This 2160p/HDR-enhanced 4K upscale looks fine, though simply viewing it without performing a direct comparison with the Blu-ray didn't result in any kind of immediately perceptible jump in quality, at least going by recent memory alone. On comparison, though, the UHD appears substantially darker, the UHD's defining quality. The HDR-enhanced colors result in deep skin tones and the darker filtering gives the movie something of a more sinister underpinning. Would-be brighter colors are certainly significantly less vibrant. The movie's climax, which takes place outside and in the daylight, looks entirely different with greens held much more in reserve and a splotch of blood against a lighter surface (look at the 1:42:48 mark) much more reduced in punch and vibrancy. Details tend to look a bit more firm on the UHD, though not by any significant margin and usually only really obvious in close-up; the darker contrast doesn't necessarily eat or eliminate fine detail but it's not as noticeable an increase at medium distance as it is in any of the film's up-tight close-ups that showcase pores and other skin details with a firmer, though not substantially so, level of intimate texturing (see Megan's face at the beginning of chapter two). Black levels, however, appear a little less deep, pushing mildly bright where the Blu-ray holds much firmer (1:33:56). Technically, it's fine. Visually, it can be argued that the Blu-ray looks "better" for its more robust color palette, though the UHD does give what is a tonally dark movie that much more visual support.

The Girl on the Train features a DTS:X soundtrack, though its overhead engagement, even as mere support pieces, is minimal at best. Indeed, the track never really differentiates itself from a more basically structured 7.1 mix, favoring the basic 7.1 layout but delivering a couple of very minor, at best, additional bits of overhead bonus into the stage. General qualities are terrific. Music is fully engaged around the stage, emoting with plenty of clarity, width across the front, and wrap into the rears. The film opens with lightly identifiable train sounds that grow in proximity, volume, placement in the stage, and clarity, until a sudden rush of the familiar rattling sound enters the stage, complete with a positive low end support and fine sense of movement. Atmospherics are nicely engaged throughout as the opportunities arise; a busy restaurant in chapter four, a light fall breeze in chapter nine, and woodland ambience in chapter 18 are all pleasantly rich and realistic in stage saturation and placing the listener in the middle of the locations. Dialogue is the main factor in the movie, however, and it's unsurprisingly clear and precise, playing from the front-center and always properly prioritized over surrounding elements.