Drag Me to Hell: Collector's Edition - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Back in 2009, the brilliant filmmaker Sam Raimi journeyed back to his horror roots and made a fun-as-hell horror-comedy film called Drag Me To Hell. For those of you who don’t remember who Sam Raimi is, movies like Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, The Spider-Man Trilogy, and  are some of his accomplishments. Raimi and his brother and frequent collaborator Ivan Raimi had an idea for a horror film called The Curse, but when Raimi booked the gig, that film was put on hold for the next decade. After Spider-Man 3 was released, Sam and Ivan went quickly back to their idea to work on a low-budget horror film again, which turned into Drag Me To Hell.

If you’ve seen the British horror film Night of the Demon, you’d see some good similarities between the two, but Sam wanted to make a movie about a pleasant and very nice individual who makes one bad decision out of their very own greed, which comes back to haunt them most horrifically. Drag Me To Hell centers on a young woman named Christine (Alison Lohman), who is a sweet and well-mannered loan officer at a bank. She’s kind, funny, and has a good boyfriend she loves (Justin Long). Her boss at the bank is always riding her to make the “hard decisions” to keep bank profits up and not allow people who need help with extensions or past payments. Christine doesn’t agree with this sentiment, but when an elderly gypsy woman comes in and kindly asks for an extension on her house, Christine does not allow it to impress her boss and gain a small promotion.

The old gypsy woman, played perfectly by Lorna Raver, curses Christine to hell for eternity. The rules are that Christine is now in possession of a button from the gypsy woman and must pass the button along to someone else within three days or she will be devoured by demons in a fiery hell below forever. Of course, none of this seems believable, but when strange and terrifying things start happening, Christine must try to make things right. The film is rated PG-13, which for a horror movie on Sam Raimi’s watch, isn’t the way to go, but Raimi wanted to do something different and rely on psychological horror rather than a ton of gore. But when there's gore, it's effectively used to sometimes hilarious heights. 

Needless to say, Raimi succeeded here on all levels. His ability to show shadows behind doors or evil footsteps lurking is highly suspenseful and works in each scene here. The more potent scares are in your face and downright terrifying, which might leave you nervously laughing at any moment. With the horror genre, Raimi perfectly inputs his comedic genius that rallies behind that of ‘The Three Stooges’ and some other off-beat dark humor, which is such a delightful and delicious mix of dialogue and gore. The performances are all solid, but the person who stands out is by far Lorna Raver as the old gypsy woman.

Raver is a stage actress who is sweet and kind, but in this film, she is ugly, ruthless, and scary as hell. It’s a great transformation and Raver just jumps into the deep end with her character and never swims back to the edge. At its core, Drag Me To Hell is a tale of morals and ethics, where you might be a sweet and kind person, but even one slip-up and come back to bite you. It’s a damn fine message and premise that will make you laugh and hide under the covers with the lights on. This is how you make a horror movie correctly.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Drag Me To Hell curses itself to 4K + Blu-ray in a three-disc set from Scream Factory. One disc is the 4K disc that houses both the theatrical and Unrated versions of the film. The other two Blu-ray discs include one or the other versions. The new 115-minute doc is on Blu-ray Disc 2. The artwork features the original movie poster of Lohman screaming with hands from hell reaching up for her. There is no insert for a digital code.

Drag Me To Hell recites the incantations that allow it to be released in a brand new 2160p UHD 4K image with Dolby Vision. Bob Murawski and director Sam Raimi approved this new 4K scan from the original DI Film Negative. This video presentation is a great upgrade from the already wonderful 1080p Blu-ray version.

The Dolby Vision allows the color palette to breathe in this horror story that begins with a fantastic pattern of somewhat muted browns and golds that mix with green trees and other green shrubs within the mansion. Once the supernatural forces kick in, bright amber and fiery reds appear bold and rich. From here, the color extends to realistic tones with beautiful primary colors popping everywhere. One of the best uses of color here is red, specifically during the pristine sequence set inside the bank where everything is sterile and white with a hint of blue. When that nose starts to spew blood, the red is almost fluorescent and contacts nicely with the otherwise vague environment. Black levels are very inky and rich, providing excellent nighttime and dark, parking lot sequences that elevate the blue and grey hues within the darkness. And of course, the final few seconds of the film reveal an amazing cavalcade of red orange, and yellow colors from beneath the Earth that looks incredible.

The detail is crisp and vivid showcasing a ton of wonderful details in the actors' faces and costumes. Closeups reveal amazing textures in the latex suits and masks, along with individual hairs on the goat and faces. Beads of sweat and blood also look wonderful. The bug vomit sequence is exquisite and the gooey entrails are beyond satisfactory. The CGI effects can look a little iffy in this new 4K image since its picture is o much better than the 2009 visual effects but that shouldn't hinder the score. There are no issues to speak of here, making this video the best it has looked since its theatrical release. 

There is no new Dolby Atmos track here, but rather the same lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix from a previous release, which is still very good. This is one of those horror films that utilizes every horror noise perfectly. Doors creaking open, footsteps from around the room, growls and demonic sounds, as well as harsh winds blowing, are all robust and loud. Each of the horror sounds has excellent directionality and packs a punch when one of the characters is hurled at the wall or taken down.

There are plenty of moments where the scene is eerily quiet, but then a big boom of sound comes across the soundscape and scares us completely. It happens often and is very effective. Ambient noises of people talking at the bank or in the train station, as well as some other supernatural forces all sound great. The score always adds to intense and horrific situations and is quite memorable without drowning out any other sound aspect. The bass kicks in throughout the entire film and will rumble through the walls. The dialogue is clear and easy to follow and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and shrills.

There are about 200 minutes worth of extras here, one being 115 minutes long in the form of a brand new documentary with new and old interviews with some of the crew and two cast co-stars of the film. It's a great documentary, however, if one is going the distance here, pay the money and have Raimi, Long, and Lohman come back to discuss. 

• Pardon My Curse (HD, 115 Mins.) - A brand NEW feature-length documentary about the making of the film is a joy to watch. Unfortunately, the major players are not involved, except with a few older interviews, however, some of the crew have come back for new interviews and discuss making the movie from its inception, how everyone met to its release, and the aftermath. There are tons of on-set footage mixed with interviews here. 
• To Hell and Back: An Interview with Actress Alison Lohman (HD, 13 Mins.) – In a brand new interview, Alison Lohman talks about working on the film, her stunt work, performing with the other actors, and working with Sam Raimi. There is some onset footage included.
• Curses!: An Interview with Actress Lorna Raver (HD, 16 Mins.) – The very sweet Lorna Raver discusses working on the film. She’s never been in a horror movie before, but talks about how she brought the character to life. She loved it and even did some impressions of her character in the interview. Onset footage is included.
• Hitting All the Right Notes: An Interview with Composer Christopher Young (HD, 17 Mins.) – The composer of the film talks about making the music for the movie, his influences, how he’s worked with Raimi before, and the right feel for this comedy/horror masterpiece.
• Still Gallery (HD, 2 Mins.) – A collection of production photos and shots from the film.
• Video Production Diaries (HD, 35 Mins.) – A collection of on-set footage and behind-the-scenes featurettes hosted by Justin Long. These are fun to watch and give us a glimpse into how the film was made, but it’s all too brief. You'll want more from this. 
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 Mins.) – Trailer for the film.

This 3-Disc Drag Me To Hell 4K Collector’s Edition is worthy of an upgrade. The image and audio itself are far better since both cuts of the film are separated on two discs, allowing for more room to breathe. The film still holds up after all these years and is equally terrifying and funny with some excellent performances. Sam Raimi has perfected the art of the scare and makes us laugh without crossing into silly territory. The new extras are all worth watching, while the old one is still fun to watch and imported over as well. Highly Recommended!