Halloween season means another great batch of horror movies is coming to Blu Ray, and I get to have myself a film festival, so I can advise you on new possibilities for your own HD Halloween fests. 

Drag Me to Hell 

Well, this is a brand new movie and transfer so it’s all clear. You see all the detail in normal life settings to juxtapose the horror to come. The sterile bank office, the bright college campus, the posh family home and even the underground parking garage are clear and bright. You see detail in the wrinkles on the dashboard, which means you really see all the gross slobber, gooey maggots, bright blood sews and eye goo. There are a few gritty locations like the psychic shop and the gypsy hovel that are packed with detail, and then all the gore of decomposing spirits and possessed mediums.

Orphan

Surprisingly for a new release, Orphan is very grainy. The interior scenes are full of the speckly dithering I often notice in old movies dumped onto HD. The wintery outdoor scenes cover up the grain more and you see crisp snow, some gritty roadside detail, dirty snow and knots in tree bark. It’s better than film but definitely not pseudo-real life.

Grace 

Anchor Bay delivers another steller transfer for one of their little movies. Shot with a golden hue, the suburban locations glow. The sharpness is crisp, though you might see a little high definition grain. It feels more like the colors are so saturated, they can’t help but explode a little. You get details filling the wide screen and unreal colors to punctuate the horror.

Blood: The Last Vampire

This movie was all visual so it looks great on Blu Ray. It’s clear, crisp and bright. You might see tiny grains pop in and out of certain scenes, but every shot is fully detailed in the widescreen frame. CGI fantasy vistas are colorful and full of painted in detail, and the lighting glows. Some scenes are lit with one solid hue that still preserves the detail. The CG blood even blends in a little better in the Blu Ray version, although the flying vampire still looks silly.

Stan Helsing

Anchor Bay’s release of the horror spoof is another solid Blu Ray, although the source material doesn’t look as detailed as their theatrical film acquisitions. It looks more like TV, with clear picture and bright colors, but maybe not super gritty detail.