Drag Me To Hell - Limited Edition

As we’ve covered Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell a couple of times now, I will keep my thoughts brief only because I don’t have a whole lot to add to the conversation. It seems so long ago but there was a time when the Evil Dead franchise was effectively deader than the Deadite Army. Years of teases and failed starts with Raimi also understandably distracted by three Spider-Man films; fans felt we’d never see the Necronomicon on screen again. The closest we got to seeing prime Grade A red meat Sam Raimi horror comedy was 2009’s incredibly entertaining Drag Me to Hell starring Alison Lohman. 

When the film hit theaters we were treated to a PG-13 version of Raimi’s sensibilities and shockingly enough it worked. Obviously, true die-hard fans wanted to see more blood, guts, and viscera, but we still enjoyed it. Thankfully when the film hit home video we got that extra goop in a Director’s Cut. It wasn’t wildly longer or a different film, but it gave fans all that extra fluid that makes a Sam Raimi movie great. Now we’ve been hearing rumblings of a Drag Me to Hell 2 for a bit, I don’t know if that’s another Raimi DOA project or not, but I’m all for it. 

Here’s what we had to say in our previous reviews:

• Drag Me to Hell 2009 Blu-ray Review
• Drag Me to Hell 2018 Blu-ray Review

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Thanks to Australia’s Via Vision, fans of Drag Me to Hell are cursed with another awesome Blu-ray release. A two-disc limited edition set, we get a region-free BD-50 for the Theatrical Cut with a Region Free BD-50 for the Unrated Cut (and the bulk of the bonus features). The discs are housed in a standard blue multi-disc case with individual trays and no stacking. In addition to that, there is an envelope with art cards and the whole shebang is housed in a hardstock lenticular slipcase. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options.

Doing some disc flippity-flipping between these discs and Scream Factory’s 2018 set, if there’s a difference it’s very slight. According to the artwork the transfers are sourced from a 2K scan so I’d assume it’s the same one. While I’d love to see this film pick up a good and proper 4K release, I still can’t complain about the transfers for both cuts. 

For a more detailed analysis, here’s what Mr. E. had to say in his review from five years ago:

"Raimi's stylish horror comedy drags Blu-ray to hell for a second time with a gorgeous 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that is nearly identical to Universal Studios' previous release. However, this new remaster struck from a 2K digital intermediate (IMDb reports the original 35mm source was actually mastered to a 4K DI) still shows enough minor improvements to tempt fans for another séance.

Definition and resolution remain the same, exposing every nook and cranny of Christine's house. The tiny figurines decorating the background, along with the pictures and posters hanging on the walls, are plain to see, and viewers can clearly make out every scratch, dent and rust stain on Ganush's beat-up, yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. True to Peter Deming's cinematography, the HD presentation also displays excellent contrast balance with sparkling bright whites throughout, giving the horror flick an ironically quirky and joyously upbeat feel. On the other hand, a couple of the brightest moments, such as scenes with fire or flashes of lightning, run noticeably hot and wash away the finer details within those spots. But this is also present in the first BD from ten years ago and ultimately, a tiny complaint in an otherwise excellent picture.

Putting that aside, fans will note the improved brightness levels, providing the 2.40:1 image with superb, inky-rich blacks and an appreciable cinematic quality. There are beautifully distinct differences between the various shades in the clothing, hair and the many nighttime sequences while deep, opulent shadows penetrate deep into the screen, giving the frame a lovely three-dimensional feel, without every sacrificing the smallest detail or object in the background. The film's vibrant, colorful palette adds a vivacious and energetic atmosphere to the scares, delivering a cartoonish array of primaries and a full-bodied, warm collection of secondary hues that further add to the film's balance of horror and laugh-out-loud gross-out gags."

Likewise, on the audio side of the coin, it sounds to me like the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 tracks were used again here. Again, not bad at all. Sure, an Atmos mix would probably be incredible for this film considering how all of the spooky thumps and bumps are used to add tension, terror, and hilarity to the film. Like what Mr E. said in his review (linked above), if you have DTS Neural:X functionality on your setup, definitely crank that on. The added spacing and dimension around the channels and a little extra attention on the low end really give this current audio blend an extra kick. 

While the A/V is largely the same experience as before, Via Vision gives fans a reason to consider another purchase of this horror gem with a nice assortment of archival extras but sweetens the deal with a slew of excellent new extras. Toplining the new pack is a great audio commentary featuring Troy Howard and Nathaniel Thompson that everyone will want to listen to. Not resting on just a new commentary, the set also features some brand-new interviews. 

Theatrical Cut Disc

• Production Video Diaries (HD 35:09)
• Interviews with Sam Raimi, Alison Lohman, and Justin Long (SD 33:37)
• TV Spots (HD 00:50)
• Theatrical Trailer (HD 2:21)

Unrated Cut Disc 

• Audio Commentary featuring Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson
• Editing Drag Me to Hell - Interview with Bob Murawski (HD 10:59)
• Channeling Drag Me to Hell - Interview with Dileep Rao (HD 14:30)
• Designing Drag Me to Hell - Interview with Steve Saklad (HD 23:16)
• Illustrating Drag Me to Hell - Interview with Christian Cordella (HD 14:15)
• Scoring Drag Me to Hell - Interview with Christopher Young (HD 21:48)

All these years later (can you believe it’s almost been 15 years?!), Drag Me to Hell now feels like a sort of appetizer for the good and proper return of the Evil Dead universe. This terrific fright flick similarly plays with Raimi’s horror/comedy tendencies while charting its own course for demonic terror. It’d been a few minutes since I last saw this one and it was a joy to reconnect with it. And now fans have a good reason to add it to their collections (if they haven't already)! Australia’s Via Vision debuts its own deluxe limited edition offering up both film cuts, the same solid A/V as before, some slick packaging, and some excellent new bonus features to dig into. The previous set of extras felt rather thin but between a terrific new audio commentary and a slew of new interviews, this set is far more than just a simple repackage. Highly Recommended