Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Dial D for Demons Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 23, 2025

Evil Spirits? A suicide epidemic? Haunted beepers? Surely 2000’s “Dial D for Demons” is a horror film, but director Billy Tang has other ideas for the screenplay (credited to Kai Cheung Chung), intending to offer a roller coaster ride of emotions, reactions, and enemies as the story details a deadly night for five characters trying to enjoy time inside a Hong Kong vacation house. Mayhem is meant to break out in the endeavor, but such wonderful chaos doesn’t arrive, as most of the feature attempts to transform a lukewarm mystery into something suspenseful, while the personalities involved are mostly generic, missing definition to help viewers get involved in the developing nightmare. Comedic touches are also difficult to digest, as the helmer isn’t entirely sure what tone to go with in the picture, preferring to follow every whim. “Dial D for Demons” is more a drag than a thrilling fright film, unable to achieve much in the way of tension and characterization before unleashing a last act expositional dump that’s too much for the effort to handle.

Workplace blues test the patience of employees PJ (Terence Yin) and Pently (Lee Ann). They’re a pair of office lovers trying to keep their relationship a secret, while PJ deals with his wife, who’s away in the United States, leaving Pently frustrated. Billy (Jordan Chan) is their boss, and he’s not well- liked, also handling girlfriend Gabriel (Joey Meng), who’s looking to support their combustible union, urging her boyfriend to turn to Christianity for help. The foursome magically win a chance to spend the weekend at a luxury Hong Kong vacation home, joined by friend Sammie (Alice Chan) as they embark on their adventure, excited to experience time away from the real world and play on the beach. As the trip commences, relationship issues flare up, raising tensions, and Billy’s clairvoyant abilities start to emerge, sensing an evil spirit in the area. This poltergeist eventually arrives, targeting the vacationers while they scramble for safety, unable to escape their surroundings as they deal with one another.

Charcoal-based suicide plays a major role in “Dial D for Demons,” as the picture opens with a scene depicting a despondent young woman electing to take her life in an unusual way, laying down in her bed while fumes fill her bedroom. This act of self-termination returns later in the story, which has to juggle various characters competing for screen time, including Billy (nicknamed “Bully”), who has the ability to see ghosts, though nobody in the feature seems to really appreciate just how strange that is. Billy’s a troubled guy, dismissing others and he's habitually argumentative, dealing with Gabriel, who, for some reason, is devoted to him, attempting to bring out his best. There’s PJ, who’s openly cheating on his wife, unable to fully break things off with his spouse and commit to Pently, and she’s remarkably patient during the standoff. Sammie isn’t much of an addition, used to beef up peril as the team embarks on their vacation house experience, thrilled to finally get away from it all.

“Dial D for Demons” touches on dark ideas, but the director maintains a cartoon energy to the first two acts, keeping performances cranked up, and conflicts are as broad as possible. A mystery commences with the arrival of cryptic messages on pagers, putting the gang on high alert as they start to sense something isn’t right about the dwelling. Most of this terror is captured by the production through low-angle cinematography, keeping up with “cheek peeks” as the females panic in tiny shorts, which adds to the confusing mood of the endeavor. Horror is meant to break out, but “Dial D for Demons” maintains a frustrating distance from scares, preferring a more frantic sense of interpersonal crises and escape attempts, finding the gang soon trapped in surreal happenings at the house, unable to break free from this strange prison.

Dial D for Demons Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as "Scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative." Detail is excellent during the viewing experience, exploring textured skin particulars and fibrous clothing. House interiors retain sharp decorative additions, and exteriors maintain depth. Colors are alert, handling bright primaries on costuming choices, especially beach wear, and the vividness of evil reds is secure. Cooler hues on ghostly activity are sharp, and greenery is distinct. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is excellent, preserving dark sequences and shadow play. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in good condition, with some brief evidence of damage and a few hairs.

Dial D for Demons Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD mix remains alert, assisting ghostly activity with active surrounds. Sound effects involve plenty of movement, delivering several separation and panning effects, and general evil intensity is understood. Dialogue exchanges are clear, handling more excitable performances without slipping into distortive extremes. Scoring supports with a defined synth sound, and musical moods offer a decent level of immersion. Low-end isn't challenged in full, but violent activity and house movement carries some weight.

Dial D for Demons Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features podcasters Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon.

• "Not One of Those Movies" (13:01, HD) is a video conference interview with actor Terence Yin, who was still in the early stages of his career when he was cast in "Dial D for Demons." A second-generation actor, Yin elected to follow his parents into the Hong Kong film industry, finding employment quickly. Memories from the shoot are shared, including time around director Billy Tang, who offered an education in the ways of remaining economical while working with film. Locations are recalled and genre moves are dissected by the interviewee, who praises "Dial D for Demons" for its fun factor, remaining simple and effective, also tapping into popular suicide methods of the day. Yin covers the span of his career, bouncing between Hong Kong and China for years before settling down. He also defends the picture from exploitation classification, identifying its theatrical release and entertainment value.

• "The Bloody Legacy of Billy Tang" (9:58, HD) is a video essay by Samm Deighan.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:56, HD) is included.

Dial D for Demons Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Dial D for Demons" treats the characters so wildly, with humor prioritized in the first two acts of the endeavor. This changes in the climax. Suddenly, all these screaming, panicking people are meant to be taken seriously, as the writing offers concern for their aching hearts. Such sincerity doesn't take, and a last-minute dive into the origin of evil is more overwhelming than illuminating, as far too much screentime has passed for the script to suddenly start showing interest in what's actually going on inside the house. "Dial D for Demons" becomes bottom-heavy and unintentionally ridiculous, aiming for a shocker conclusion that needs extra time to marinate. The cast does what they can with the assignment, going hysterical as much as possible, putting in some effort to sell a haunted house story that's ultimately quite unsatisfying. There's no revelatory punch at the end of the film, just exhaustion and a feeling that the production never quite settled on what kind of story they wanted to tell.