Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die is an American superhero action film, and is the second sequel to Sam Raimi’s Darkman, and was released direct-to-video in 1996. Just like the second film, this movie was directed by Bradford May, a television director and cinematographer who also served as the director of photography. Raimi also served as an executive producer on this project.
Dr. Westlake continues on his quest for the key to creating a permanent liquid-skin formula to repair his burned face and hands. He is approached by Dr. Bridget Thorne, one of the physicians who saved his life during his brutal attack at the hands of Robert G. Durant. Thorne claims that she wants to help him discover the key to his liquid skin, and also repair his nervous system, allowing him to regain some of his sensory loss. Using a laboratory set-up that Thorne has, Westlake is finally able to devise a small amount of permanent liquid skin, which does not break down in sunlight as his previous tests have.
Die, Darkman, Die was released onto DVD in 2004 as part of the Universal Studio Selections. The DVD contained absolutely no bonus material, or even a main menu (although there were still chapter selections). On August 7, 2007, all three films were released in a box set by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. And on November 7, 2017, Shout! Factory released a Special Edition Blu-ray of the film, featuring an all new audio commentary with director Bradford May.
The Film Itself (3/5):
Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die is the finale of the series, and is a film that is a hell of a lot better than the previous. Still, it’s not as good as the first, not only does this film bring the series to a close, but answers a few questions that come up as you watch through the trilogy. This movie, it’s definitely a campy, fun action flick, there isn’t really anything that’s really great about it storyline wise.
Picture Quality (5/5):
Even on their less popular titles, Scream Factory continues to not disappoint in the work that they put into making a release available to people. Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die looked really damn good as it played out across my movie room television, being able to clearly see and understand everything as the movie played onward; I was able to really gain an appreciation for the work that the restoration crew put into this release. Even in the lower-lit scenes, I was able to see everything clearly and understand what was happening without any additional focus required.
Audio Quality (3/5):
Packaged with a DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo audio track, Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die offers an extremely clean and clear audible experience for its viewers. While the track is not immersive by any means, and you can tell that those who worked on it didn’t really put a lot of work into the audio track, the cleaned up audio does offer a slight original feel that I had when I first watched this film years ago. Personally speaking though, I would’ve loved to have seen an optional 5.1 audio track available with this release. It may have not been possible from the source material, or that they didn’t want to put too much more work into the release of a lesser known title; it is hard to say. But, the sound quality of this release was clean so I can’t really complain all that much.
The Packaging (3/5):
Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die comes packaged in your standard single-disc Blu-ray amaray case. Inside that case is the standard Blu-ray copy of the film; the disc featuring artwork that is relative to the film and varies from the art of the case. Unfortunately, this Scream Factory release does not feature a reversible case art like most do, but the newer case art does a great job at encompassing the film at hand. There are no DVD copies of the film included nor are there any digital copy redemption pamphlets. There are no slipcovers available with this release.
Special Features (1/5):
The Blu-ray release of Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die is unlike any other Scream Factory release that I’ve personally had the pleasure of experiencing. I say that because while there are some additional features that have been provided, they are extremely minimal and offer absolutely no insight into the work that went into making the film available, both past and present. Included in this release is:
- Theatrical Trailer
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo
Subtitles
English SDH
Runtime
Original Film: 87 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Generally speaking, I’m really glad that I did pick up Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die on Blu-ray as it was another step into the direction of completing the trilogy on Blu-ray. Sadly, the film itself is a completely unnecessary release, even in its original form as the second and third films could’ve been combined to make an even better finale to the character. The overall visual and audible presentation of the Blu-ray release were really nice, the picture quality was right up to the standards that I would’ve expected for a Scream Factory release. However, the audio track left more to be asked for, despite being clean and clear. There are some nice special features that have been provided, however they aren’t even close to being on par with the standard Scream! Factory release. If you’re considering grabbing this release for your library, while I would definitely recommend it, I’d highly recommend waiting for it to go on sale.
