Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie Review

You down with DMT?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 29, 2025

So, what do you do after 2002's brilliant but disturbing Irreversible? Follow it up seven years later with a nearly three-hour drug-fueled rumination on life, sex, and death, obviously. Enter the Void, released in 2009 to polarized audiences worldwide, is told largely from the perspective of a young man named Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), who's living in Tokyo as a small-time drug dealer and killed one night during a police raid. Initially presented in uncompromising first-person (complete with simulated "blinks"), Enter the Void later switches over its POV to simulate distant memories, floating vantage points in the afterlife, and more as Oscar's spirit apparently refuses to leave this world.

Director Gaspar Noe described Enter the Void as a "psychedelic melodrama", and as such it follows events and people from Oscar's life before, during, and after his death. There's his close sister Linda (Paz de la Huerta), who he pledged never to leave after their parents' tragic death during childhood. His friend Alex (Cyril Roy), who's just outside the club when Oscar is killed, winds up at rock-bottom from the fallout, and another friend Victor (Olly Alexander) had a hand in the police raid for reasons yet unrevealed. While these moments give Enter the Void a slightly soapy quality at times, it's largely driven by trippy sequences and creative POV shots -- many of them simulating an unsettling and/or trance-like state with the help of heavy visual processing and CGI -- but, like Irreversible, it rises far above its gimmicks to present viewers with a similarly challenging but ultimately unique and rewarding experience.

For a fuller synopsis and similar appreciation of Enter the Void, please see Casey Broadwater's review of MPI Media Group's 2011 Blu-ray. That release included Gaspar Noe's full-length Director's Cut, whereas this new Blu-ray from IFC Films (which appears similar to Arrow Video's 2022 Blu-ray, a disc I don't own and unfortunately hasn't been reviewed by us) also includes the U.S. Theatrical Cut of the film separately on Disc 2. Like Arrow's disc, one apparent change to the Director's Cut is that it now plays at 25 frames per second at Noe's request; this means it moves a bit faster than films shot in traditional 24 fps, reducing the runtime from 161 minutes to 155. For details about the version differences (which encompasses one reel of the film totaling roughly 12 minutes at 25 fps), please see this comparison. It's worth noting that this wasn't for objectionable content; Noe was given a maximum cut length in certain markets.

Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a production like Enter the Void, pristine video quality is simply not in the cards... and that's by design. This is an intentionally manipulated film that brings together scenes shot in Super 16mm and Super 35mm with stylized CGI that uses all types of trickery -- blurred edges, heightened grain, boosted color -- to tie everything together; the result can and will disorient viewers with a disarmingly dream-like (nightmare-like?) atmosphere that's several steps down from the clean, precise imagery typically associated with high definition content. In other words, it don't expect a 4K release anytime soon. That said, there are a few meaningful "improvements" to be found here compared to MPI's 2011 Blu-ray, including better-handed colors and a decently higher bit rate, as this dual-layered disc maintains a running average of over 30Mbps rather than sub-20Mbps on that older disc. It's still not always a pretty picture, as seen in these 20 direct-from-disc screenshots, but this newer Blu-ray is perhaps at least a little better looking than before. Yet I'll be perfectly honest here: it's almost impossible to determine where intentional problems end and accidental problems might begin, so please take my observations (and rating, for that matter) with at least one grain of salt.

One more note for prospective buyers: I can't directly compare this new release with Arrow's recent Region B Blu-ray for obvious reasons, but I would imagine they're fairly close (if not identical) in overall video quality.

Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is likely a direct port of the one found on MPI's 2011 Blu-ray, so please see the linked review for more details. Also, note that the optional lossless English 2.0 track and Spanish subtitles are not carried over here -- we just get the original 5.1 track and optional English (SDH) subtitles for both cuts.

Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a clear keepcase with reversible artwork; both discs sit on separate hubs. Although our database indicates a slipcover is included with the first pressing, I didn't get one so your mileage may vary. As for the extras, they include a couple of new ones alongside most of those created for MPI's 2011 Blu-ray.

DISC ONE - DIRECTOR'S CUT

• NEW! Audio Commentary - Film writer Elena Lazic serves up this feature-length track during the Director's Cut, speaking about her enthusiasm for the film and its construction while adding interesting technical details about how portions of it were put together. Other fundamentals are discussed as well, from the film's shifting perspectives to its reception in various international markets and Gaspar Noe's other work, and of course a few parallels are drawn along the way. While good information is shared here, Lazic's low-key speaking style and occasional pauses can be felt long before the 155-minute mark, which means it's for die-hard fans only.

• NEW! Sex and the Dead (15:44) - This comparatively more digestible new video essay by British film critic Chris O'Neill offers a summary and analysis of the film as a whole -- not necessarily exclusive to the Director's Cut -- and similarly dissects the film's themes, construction, and other such tidbits. While mostly entertaining due to its own visual tricks, those looking for an in-depth analysis may find it a bit too lightweight.

• Deleted Scenes (8 clips, 12:12 total)

• VFX Reel (11:09)

• Vortex Featurette (5:33)

• DMT Loop (2:12)

• NEW! International Trailers (2 clips, 3:24 total)

• U.S. Trailer (2:09)

• Unused Trailers (3 clips, 5:22 total)

• Teasers (8 clips, 7:12 total)

DISC TWO - U.S. THEATRICAL CUT

• NEW! U.S. Theatrical Version (2:23:09) - As detailed above, this theatrical cut of Enter the Void omits one reel from the Director's Cut (originally just over 17 minutes)... although it's really only about 12 minutes shorter since this version plays at a slightly slower 24 frames per second. Confusing, ain't it?

Enter the Void Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void is every bit as polarizing as his previous film Irreversible, and you might as well add in most of his entire life's work while you're at it. It's certainly not for everyone, but I found a lot of merit in its creative construction and the bold choices made to present viewers with a challenging film to pick apart. IFC Film's Blu-ray is certainly the most complete domestic release to date, offering a director-intended 25fps presentation of his preferred cut as well as the U.S. theatrical version and other new extras alongside some interesting legacy content. It's worth a purchase for fans, assuming they don't already own the presumably comparable Region B Blu-ray from Arrow.