Drag Me to Hell (Blu-ray) (2009)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Selection of short production diary features
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	98:51
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Sam Raimi
Studio Distributor	Ghost House Pictures Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Alison Lohman Justin Long Lorna Raver Dileep Rao David Paymer Adriana Barraza
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$24.95	Music	Christopher Young

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (4608Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) English for the Hearing Impaired Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 (2304Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

"Even nice people can go to hell - in high definition"

     I reviewed the DVD of Drag Me To Hell previously here, so this review will focus on the technical aspects of this Blu-ray release and what it offers as compared to the DVD.

Video

     This film is presented in its cinematic 2.39:1 aspect using a 1080p/VC-1 transfer. I am pleased to say that this is an excellent transfer which really brings to life the vision of director Raimi. The DVD transfer was very good but this Blu-ray raises the bar in every aspect. Colours are exceptional and vibrant with a rich hue in many scenes such as at the wake, or decidedly cool as in the cemetery scenes. Christine's geyser nose bleed is an exaggerated crimson red but skin tones are totally natural. Best of all are the blacks and shadows which totally lift the dark scenes and give them new life without any hint of crush. Witness for example the climactic grave digging scene where everything is crystal clear despite the darkness, cascading water, grime and mud. Facial close ups reveal every pore and wrinkle and hair in total clarity. The intrusive little fly that invades Christine is so finely detailed that you'd swear it was real. I really struggled to find any faults with this transfer, but when looking closely there was some grain in background scenes. This video transfer is amongst the best I've seen and is almost perfect.

     English subtitles are available as an option and are mostly displayed on the unused lower portion of the display. They are therefore very easy to read and appear accurate enough.

     This is a dual layer 50gb disc and I did not notice the layer change using my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The default audio track is in glorious DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with accompanying Dolby Digital 2.0 at 256 Kb/s. There is also a LPCM 2.0 track at 2304 Kb/s for the visually impaired. I listened to the DTS-HD track in its entirety while sampling the other tracks randomly. To say this experience brought a huge smile to my face is an understatement. If you really want to showcase high definition surround sound then throw this disc in the player and pick a scene - say around the thirty two minute mark - and prepare to be mightily impressed. The directional effects are outstandingly clear, forceful or subtle as required, and most important of all - appropriate. Dialogue is crystal clear and always in synch with the video. Thumps and crashes are loud and physical and coming from all directions, accompanied by the subwoofer which growls along most of the time. When the demon Lamia enters the scene the LFE track really gets going with thunderous bass seemingly coming from all directions. There is a lot of action in front and behind with swirling winds, shrieks and growls surrounding you at times. Even in chaotic scenes such as during the wake, every crash, bump, scream and thump is perfectly clear and distinct. You'll truly be wondering if your equipment and furnishings will be able to cope with the aural assaults.

    The movie score by Christopher Young is suitable intense and accompanies the action on screen very well indeed. Needless to say but the 2.0 tracks offer no comparison - although they are serviceable enough.

     This audio track is reference quality.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured looping audio with animated background.

    The previous DVD reviewed included trailers which are not presented in this Blu-ray, however the following "Production Video Diaries" are identical in content. All feature 1.78:1 video aspect with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 192 Kb/s. Both sound and video quality is excellent.

Intro (1:32)

    Introduction by Justin Long to the "production diaries" extras.

The Bloody Nose (2:38)

    How the spurting blood nose effect was created. A cleaner's nightmare.

Inside The Psychic World (2:50)

    Set and prop design for the studio of psychic Rham Jas.

Makeup Effects (2:13)

    Transforming Lorna Raver into the demented gypsy woman Sylvia Ganush.

Justin Long Profile (2:36)

    A focus on Justin Long's contribution to the movie.

Alison In Mud (3:05)

    Production and prop information on Alison Lohman's mud "bath" scene. Looks like fun!

The Nightmare (1:54)

    The Ganush nightmare puppet scene. Alison Lohman initially struggles to suppress laughing but the maggot vomit sobers her up.

Alison's Wirework (2:13)

    Alison Lohman's wire stunt where she is thrown around the room.

The Parking Lot Fight (1:44)

    Lorna and Alison fight it out in the car with no holds barred.

The Goat (2:48)

    No animals were hurt in the filming of Drag Me To Hell. Billy the goat was too cute to sacrifice so an animatronic goat was substituted.

Set Tour: The Great Room (2:45)

   Set and prop design for the "great room" of the mansion. Includes some background to the fire jig scene.

Puzzle Car (1:36)

    Creation of the Ford Focus car which could be pulled apart depending on what was required in the scene.

Dragging Her To Hell (2:48)

    The special effects created for the film's conclusion.

Sound Design (2:59)

    Sound mixer Marti Humphrey and others discuss how sound effects were melded into the film and also a closing farewell from Justin Long.

     This Blu-ray is the "Unrated Director's cut" which has slight differences to the theatrical version and includes different cuts and angles of the cat murder scene, vomited blood during the nosebleed scene, and a more intense fight between Christine and Mrs. Ganush. It is also nine seconds shorter than the theatrical version. The US distributer has used both theatrical and director's cut version on one disc, but includes a digital copy of the unrated version on separate disc. Also on the US disc is BD Live as an extra with the production diaries remaining the same. Languages included are French and Spanish with subtitles for English, French and Spanish. The UK version seems to include both the theatrical and director's cut on the one disc with the addition of BD-Live included as an extra. The US version seems to be the pick of the bunch if you can pick it up at a reasonable price and your player can handle the region coding.

     Drag Me To Hell on Blu-ray is a wonderful enhancement to a great film. The scares and laughs are mixed quite liberally with the gruesome scenes so over the top that they really don’t offend. Both video and audio quality is outstanding and reference quality however the extras are disappointing in that they offer nothing more to anyone who already has the DVD. A commentary and "making of" featurettes would have been a very welcome addition - but I guess we'll have to wait for the "ultimate director's edition" (or whatever they'll call it) for those. If you are fan of Drag Me To Hell and already have the DVD then I'd whole-heartedly recommend that you get this Blu-ray. Even if you are not a fan of Raimi, and have no interest in the movie itself, then it's worth hiring just to experience the video and audio - assuming you have a suitable audio and video system to demonstrate its capabilities. Overall I’d class this Blu-ray as a "must have" if you like the genre and highly recommended if you're just a casual viewer.

     The video quality is excellent. The audio quality is excellent.

    Extras are disappointing for Blu-ray.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall