Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Die! Die! My Darling! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 22, 2020

Note: Mill Creek has released 'Die! Die! My Darling!' as part of a twenty film Hammer Horror collection and shares a disc with both Stop Me Before I Kill. The film was previously released in a two pack with Maniac (also included in this collection). This disc features nearly identical video and a new lossless soundtrack.

Bride-to-be Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) was once engaged to a young man named Stephen who was tragically killed before their wedding date. She's now promised to a young man named Alan (Maurice Kaufmann). But before the two join in wedlock, Patricia decides to visit Stephen's mother, Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead), to help her, and herself, say goodbye to a to-be-closed chapter of her life. In Mrs. Trefoile Patricia finds a peculiar woman. She quickly learns her host is not only deeply religious but also fanatical about her beliefs. Lengthy Biblical recitations, deeply personal inquiries, and various admonishments come to define an increasingly hostile relationship that may not see Patricia leave her hostess' home the same, either physically or emotionally.

Die! Die! My Darling! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This Blu-ray release of Die! Die! My Darling! features the exact same transfer found on the 2018 Mill Creek release, with the major exception of aspect ratio: the film is now presented at 1.85:1 rather than the old Blu-ray's 1.78:1-framed transfer. Everything else is identical. Below is a reproduction of the video review text from the 2018 disc:

Beyond the fairly steady, but only occasionally intrusive, speckling or scratches, Mill Creek's Blu-ray presentation of Die! Die! My Darling! is very strong. Filmic, nicely detailed, and richly colored, the presentation impresses for the duration. It maintains a modest grain structure that helps accentuate fine object details and helps render skin, clothes, and natural environments with structural stability and confidence. Image sharpness and textural complexities are stalwarts throughout the 96-minute runtime, showing off faces, clothes, and environments -- natural exterior details as well as woods and furnishings inside Mrs. Trefoile's home -- with steady and intimate clarity. Color saturation is strong, black level depth is as well, and flesh tones appear accurate. No significant encode artifacts are present. This is a quality presentation from Mill Creek.

Die! Die! My Darling! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek's previous Blu-ray release of Die! Die! My Darling! included an LPCM 2.0 uncompressed soundtrack. This Blu-ray includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless encode. There are no real audible differences at work. Dialogue remains a foundationally solid component, presenting with good front-center imaging and commendable detail. Music can't quite escape the center imaged area, at least not fully to spread its wings over the entire front side. Clarity is passable, though. The same may be said of atmospheric supports: good detail but not much expansion. This is a perfectly fine audio track given the material's age, the lack of channel expansion, and the original sound elements.

Die! Die! My Darling! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are included, and neither were there any to be found with the previous release.

Die! Die! My Darling! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Die! Die! My Darling! fits into the preconceived Hammer mold, but if this box set has taught anything it's that there may not be a "Hammer mold." But this is a moody, somewhat atmospheric film that doesn't rewrite any genre rules, but it is a serviceable character-based Chiller that gradually spirals out of control, ending, of course, in some bloodshed but not before properly setting the stage for conflict between its main characters. It's fairly standard stuff but a decent escape into slightly chilling cinema territory. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray does deliver sturdy video and capable audio. Worth a look.