Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Drag Me to Hell Blu-ray Movie Review

A woman in peril.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 31, 2023

Mostly built from Shout Factory's well-appointed 2018 Collector's Edition Blu-ray, Australian boutique label Via Vision offers their own two-disc take on Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell via this new Limited Edition import. Featuring basically identical A/V merits (aside from a few minor encoding differences), the differences here are swankier packaging and all-new extras on Disc 2, the Director's Cut. It's a half-step up rather than a definitive version, in my opinion, since Shout Factory's existing DC extras aren't included. Then, of course, there's the matter of price and availability...

For a synopsis and critique of the main feature, please see Dr. Stephen Larson's Blu-ray review linked above. I'm of a similar mindset in that Drag Me to Hell is not without its merits, but its issues with pacing and suspense make this a mid-tier effort at best. Still, I have a slightly bigger soft spot for it an have thus graded it slightly higher.

Drag Me to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For my money, both the Theatrical and Unrated discs look basically identical to those found on Shout Factory's 2018 Collector's Edition Blu-ray... and that's not a complaint, mind you. This is a fairly healthy presentation, although one that would have benefitted even more from a beefier encoding; based on the bit rate, there's probably a good bit of unused space on both dual-layered Blu-rays. Minor compression artifacts appear in the form of slight macro blocking and black crush, but those were issues I noticed on the Shout discs as well. Even so, I'll rate this one a half-point lower than our previous review, exact same transfer or not, if only because expectations have increased during the last five years. In a perfect world this would be a true 4K edition, but sadly fans will have to keep waiting for that.

Drag Me to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

One thing that can't be improved (aside from maybe a new Dolby Atmos remix) is the audio, which sounds identical to Shout Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray as it contains the same lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 tracks.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during both cuts of the main feature only.

Drag Me to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc set ships in a hinged keepcase; the familiar cover artwork is duplicated on a very rigid lenticular outer slipcase... sans rating logos, thankfully. Also tucked inside is a glossy black envelope with six art cards, approximately 5x7" each, depicting key scenes from the film. It's fairly nice packaging and should be familiar to those who collect Via Vision deluxe releases, even if there's more than enough room inside the keepcase for a nice booklet.

The bonus features are interesting indeed: Disc 1 (the Theatrical Cut) offers identical contents to Shout Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray, while the second Unrated disc features all-new extras produced earlier this year by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. (Please note that the supplements on Shout's second disc remain exclusive to that release.)

DISC ONE (Theatrical Cut)

• Production Diaries (35:09)

• Interviews with Sam Raimi, Alison Lohman, and Justin Long (33:37)

• TV Spots (1:34)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:12)

DISC TWO (Unrated Cut)

• NEW! Audio Commentary - This all-new commentary features cult cinema author Troy Howarth and Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson, who dig fairly deep to deliver a session that will appeal to lifelong fans of Sam Raimi and horror in general. Topics are fast and frequent and include Raimi's earlier work, the film's throwback elements, special effects and music, casting, social themes explored during the film, differences between the Theatrical and Unrated Cuts, and much more. It moves at a good clip and certainly doesn't fall into the traps of many "second-hand" commentaries, as there's very little narration or surface-level observations.

• NEW! Editing Drag Me to Hell (10:59) - Editor Bob Murawski sits down for a short but sweet interview, who speaks about his formative years in the industry, meeting Sam Rami via a friend who worked with the director on Evil Dead 2, sneaking a few cut scenes back into Darkman, co-editing Army of Darkness, and more.

• NEW! Channeling Drag Me to Hell (14:30) - Our next interview features actor Dileep Rao ("Rham Jas"), who speaks candidly about his then-new acting career, Avatar and other work, his successful audition for Drag Me to Hell, preparing for the role, learning from his past work, and even a little bit of metaphysics.

• NEW! Designing Drag Me to Hell (23:16) - Production designer Steve Saklad speaks about reuniting with Raimi after earlier work including The Quick and the Dead, a trip to Istanbul, original ideas he brought to the film, choosing the right materials, and more. It's a fairly in-depth piece with plenty of good information and even includes a few sketches and concept artwork, not to mention supportive clips from the finished film.

• NEW! Illustrating Drag Me to Hell (14:15) - Storyboard artist Christian Cordella, who also served as a prop designer for the film, talks about his love for Sam Raimi's films long before working with him, the highs and lows of a particularly eventful year in his life, adapting his visual style to suit the storyboard process, the importance of simplicity, working with prop master Ellen Freund, and more. Many storyboards are shown off too.

• NEW! Scoring Drag Me to Hell (21:48) - This interview with composer Christopher Young (which is different than the one on Shout's disc, although a few stories are repeated) talks about his numerous (and desperate) attempts to work with Raimi long before The Gift, contributing to several of the Spider-Man films, establishing a comfort level, the "anything goes" tone of Drag Me to Hell's score, and using kooky instruments.

Drag Me to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell was the director's understandable attempt to go "back to basics" after behind-the-scenes turbulence on Spider-Man 3 and, though I can't say it was an extremely successful attempt, fans of his earlier forays into straight-up horror -- such as the first Evil Dead -- may warm up to it more. It's still enjoyable in its own right, and readily available in HD from Shout Factory on their 2018 Collector's Edition Blu-ray. Via Vision's recent Deluxe Edition, limited to just 1,250 units, feels more like a sidestep: A/V specs are identical, and the only key differences are fancier packaging and a half-dozen all-new (and in my opinion, better) extras located on Disc 2. Die-hard fans will need both editions for the complete package, unless these new extras will be part of a definitive 4K edition in the future. Due to its high price and limited availability, though, Via Vision's import is only for those with money to burn.