As 2018 comes to a close I thought it would be a good time to share my favorite physical releases of the year. I am a big supporter of physical media and will continue to support it. I like owning my movies that I can hold, not in some cloud somewhere. I love box art. This year was a great year for exclusive Steelbooks at Best Buy. Some of them will make my list. In deciding the number I fell on the most obvious one, 18.
Number 12 is Sam Raimi’s return horror, and Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition of Drag Me to Hell!
Probably my favorite title to a movie ever, Drag Me to Hell is an awesome return to horror by my favorite director Sam Raimi. After bringing my favorite hero to life in three hugely successful Spider-Man films, Raimi unleashed Drag Me to Hell. Which was given a totally lame blu-ray on its initial release. It was a film that needed a special edition and thankfully Scream Factory delivered the goods.
Drag Me to Hell stars Alison Lohman as Christine, an ambitious loan officer at a bank. When Christine is in line for a promotion, her boss tells her she might not be tough enough to make the tough decisions. When a woman named Ms. Ganush comes into the bank to ask for more time on her loan, Christine makes the tough decision to not give her an extension, Ms. Ganush begs, Christine doesn’t relent. Ms. Ganush, in turn curses Christine, setting forth events even in Ms. Ganush’s death seem to have no effect on the curse placed on Christine.
Drag Me to Hell, is one crazy, funny ride. Raimi, like in all his movies injects a frantic all-out assault on your eyes and ears. His camera moves fluidly and with purpose. Raimi is also notorious for making movies that can be tough on his stars, luckily Alison Lohman is up for the challenge. Drag Me to Hell is one awesome horror movie.
The video on Drag Me to Hell is a solid looking picture. Blacks are inky and the blood is gooey red. There is nothing too spectacular in the transfer but Drag Me to Hell, looks good. Scream says that these are new 2k scans of the film and they look great.
Drag Me to Hell has one killer sound design. The blu-ray takes full advantage of brilliant sound design. From screams to goopy slime, Drag Me to Hell sounds great. A truly immersive experience.
Finally released with some groovy features after the disappointing initial release, Scream Factory packs Drag Me to Hell with some new features and carries over some old ones. The release also includes both the PG-13 and unrated versions of the film, with the unrated containing some new scenes and added gore.
There are some new “vintage” interviews with cast and crew, the highlight being Sam Raimi appears on this disc, which is a nice surprise since he wasn’t really in the previous release.
As far as new interviews you will find one with Alison Lohman, Lorna Raver who plays Ms. Ganush and last with composer Christopher Young.
Drag Me to Hell deserved a proper blu-ray release and Scream Factory delivered. The film itself is one hell of a ride that is a fun watch, especially with friends.
Film: A-
Video: A
Audio: A+
Extras: B+
Overall: A