Although it should not have been as innovative of a concept as it ended up being, Blumhouse Productions shook up Hollywood starting a little over a decade ago by producing inventive horror films with a very economical budget that could turn a profit very easily. In an age where studios are racing to establish franchises, Blumhouse is operating with a profit margin that other companies can only dream about. Not only is the company very economical in their spending, but they also try to remain fairly creative in their filmmaking. They are not infallible by any means, but their track record for quality features is remarkably strong. With over a decade under their belts, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has collected ten of their essential titles in one value-priced collection. Take a look at some of the incredible films that are included below. 

The Purge (2013)

If on one night every year, you could commit any crime without facing consequences, what would you do? In The Purge, a speculative thriller that follows one family over the course of a single night, four people will be tested to see how far they will go to protect themselves when the vicious outside world breaks into their home. In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity—including murder—becomes legal. The police can’t be called. Hospitals suspend help. It’s one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking.

The Purge is a franchise that has really embraced the full potential of its concept as the series has progressed, but the initial entry should not be discounted in any way. Blumhouse is known for keeping budgets lean and stories tight, and The Purge takes the wild concept and focuses it in to make a really tense home invasion thriller. One of the most notable aspects about the film is the level of acting talent they have in Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey. The subsequent films have a lot more action, but it is hard to top these two in the acting department. This movie provides some really incisive social commentary while remaining an engaging narrative from beginning to end. If anything hampers the film, it is the maddening character choices from the character of the son (Max Burkholder), who was also pretty annoying in Parenthood, but even that does not ruin the film. This film is a great first entry into this messed up universe that sadly does not seem too far away from reality. 

Ouija (2014)

In Ouija, a group of friends must confront their most terrifying fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board. Stiles White directs the supernatural thriller that is produced by Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller (The Purge, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th) alongside Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity and Insidious series, The Purge), Bennett Schneir (Battleship) and Hasbro. Juliet Snowden and Stiles White wrote the script.

Ouija is the weakest entry in this pretty solid collection of films. Based on what I read about its sequel, and knowing it was directed by the incredible Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), I would have been much more excited to have that film included in the set while fully understanding why it was not. Ouija is not a bad film per se, it is just really bland and typical of what audiences came to expect from PG-13 horror films. Watching this film is like marking off a checklist of plot developments that you know they have to hit along the way. Ultimately, the film just has an issue building any sense of palpable dread during the titular activity when they are attempting to contact spirits. The film relies heavily on unearned jump scares that play as lazy rather than thrilling. The standout aspects of the film are the strong lead performance from the wonderful Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel), and a brief but supremely effective appearance from Lin Shaye (Insidious), as the weight of her past performances bring with them some tension in your chest. I was not mad I watched this one when the credits started rolling, but I cannot imagine it sticking with me for much longer. 

The Boy Next Door (2015)

Jennifer Lopez leads the cast in The Boy Next Door, a psychological thriller that explores a forbidden attraction that goes much too far. Scripted by Barbara Curry, The Boy Next Door is produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, Lopez and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas of Nuyorican Productions, Benny Medina of The Medina Company and John Jacobs of Smart Entertainment.

The Boy Next Door is another one of the weaker entries in this collection, but it definitely has more to offer than the previous film. You know what you are going to get when you fire up a film like The Boy Next Door, and it mostly delivers what you want from such an undertaking. While there are definitely elements that are barely above a decent Lifetime movie, strong performances once again elevate a lackluster script. Let’s be real, the presence of Jennifer Lopez makes most things better. That is not to say that she has not made any bad movies, far from it. But Lopez has an effortless charm and charisma that she brings to her performances that keeps you glued to the screen even when you know what you are watching is not great. She simultaneously brings legitimacy to the film while having a knowing gleam in her eye that says she knows this is supposed to be trashy fun. Appearances from Kristin Chenoweth and John Corbett also work in the film’s favor, as it can use all the acting talent it can get. The film could have stood to be a bit more over-the-top campy fun, but you still get what you need from it at the end of the day. 

Unfriended (2014)

What starts as a seemingly innocent online prank produces a sequence of events that spirals out of control. During a routine group video chat, high-school friends are terrorized by an unseen figure. The anonymous intruder implicates each of them in the death of an acquaintance, revealing damning secrets and transforming trusted allies into wary adversaries. Forced into a sordid “game,” the teens try to figure out who is behind the mysterious threat, but all signs point to a power from beyond the grave.

I was fully convinced that Unfriended was going to be a terrible movie, which is why I avoided the film for so long. Thankfully, this set forced me to finally watch it, and I was greeted with one of the most exciting surprises I have had in a while. Taking place entirely in the course of a Skype call, Unfriended lulls you in by showcasing teenagers that act like real teenagers. They are cracking jokes at each other’s expense, they are talking over one another and generally displaying the carefree attitude that youths are afforded. You almost forget you are watching a horror movie until the unknown entity shows up and things get mountingly more creepy. This movie manages to make waiting for someone to type back one of the most tension-filled activities you can experience. When the movie gets violent, and it does get pretty brutal, it does not linger. The film is more calculating by giving you a quick glimpse of carnage and letting your brain fill in the rest. I could have watched hours of this, but it feels perfectly paced at under 90 minutes in length. If you are like me and have been avoiding this one because you thought it would be another mindless teen horror film, do yourself a favor and give it a chance. It’s a blast. 

The Visit (2015)

When Becca and Tyler are sent to their grandparents’ farm for a weeklong stay, they quickly discover something is not right with the elderly couple. Faced with strange rules and increasingly frightening behavior, the children soon realize it will take all their wits to make it home alive.

The Visit came out at a point where confidence in M. Night Shyamalan was at an all-time low as the goodwill he had built up with classics like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable seemed like a distant memory in the wake of misfires like The Happening and After Earth. Thankfully, Shyamalan eschewed another big budget project and went back to his roots to deliver his best work in a decade. While found-footage films have become a bit played out, The Visit used the shooting style to its narrative advantage, carefully doling out reveals and scares as the mystery of the grandparents built to a thrilling climax. All of the actors feel very natural in their performances, with special attention to the older actors who deliver performances that are quite unsettling. Shyamlan became too associated with providing a twist ending in a way that felt unfairly detrimental to his films. He does play in that arena once again, but the payoff feels exciting in a way that it had not for the longest time. I am so glad this film came along to rescue this obviously talented director from the unsteady path he was going down. 

Split (2016)

Heralded as “one of his best films – period” (Alex Welch, IGN), M. Night Shyamalan returns to the screen with SPLIT. Kevin Crumb’s (McAvoy) fractured mind has revealed 23 personalities, but one remains dangerously submerged, set to materialize and dominate the others. McAvoy delivers “the role of his career” (Peter Debruge, Variety) as Kevin reaches a war for dominance among all those that rage within him, threatening his stability and impacting the survival of everyone around him.

Without the narrative rejuvenation of The Visit, it is doubtful we would have gotten something as creatively daring as Split from M. Night Shyamalan. This film is just so much fun from beginning to end as Shyamlan does what he knows best; he starts with compelling characters and builds a thrilling narrative around them. While it would be easy to focus on the obvious draw of the film, let us focus on the other shining star of this tale. Anya Taylor-Joy has proven time and time again that she is one of the most exciting young actresses in Hollywood at the moment, and she gives an intricately nuanced performance that anchors the emotional stakes of the film. You need a performance like hers to go toe-to-toe with the masterclass in acting that James McAvoy is delivering in the various roles. It was never going to happen, but the fact that he did not get nominated for some major awards feels like a major slight. This movie just sails along so beautifully with no fat on it to slow down the momentum. Not only has Shyamalan provided a stellar standalone film, he was able to knock audiences sideways in the way he connected the narrative to his previous works. This is one of the best features to come out of Blumhouse. 

Get Out (2017)

Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya, Sicario), a young African-American man, and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams, “Girls”), a young white woman, have been dating for several months, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate at her family’s upstate home with parents Missy (Catherine Keener, Captain Phillips) and Dean (Bradley Whitford, The Cabin in the Woods). At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

Get Out is a film that is undeniable in its brilliance. This debut from Jordan Peele smashed expectations as it became a box office phenomenon and ultimately an Academy Award nominated film, with a Best Original Screenplay win for Peele. This is the film America needed in 2017, as we were coming out of the mind boggling presidential election and racial tension continued to be on the rise. Peele provided a story that was so incredibly smart in the way it confronted racial dynamics, including the myriad of ways that racism manifests itself in our culture. Not only was the film a searing critique of society, it was a genuinely effective horror film brimming with respect for the films that came before it. The sense of dread and unyielding tension from the opening moments of the film to the end credits is palpable. Daniel Kaluuya may not have been a complete unknown before this, but his iconic performance catapulted him to the level of work he always deserved. The conversations that blossomed out of Get Out are almost as important as the film itself. A lot of white liberals loved the film, but, if they really understood the movie, they had to confront the fact that they still unintentionally make the lives of people of color more difficult and they must try to rectify their ignorance by truly listening. This film transcends what it means to be a great film. This is one of the most important films to come out of the last decade. 

Happy Death Day (2017)

A teenage girl, trying to enjoy her birthday, soon realizes that this is her final one. That is, if she can figure out who her killer is. She must relive that day, over and over again, dying in a different way each time. Can she solve her own murder?

This Blumhouse collection is filled with many intense films that get your pulse racing, so it comes as a welcome bit of relief that Happy Death Day is included to inject some levity into the proceedings. Acting as Groundhog Day for the horror audience, the movie embraces the inherent fun of the premise and exploits it to great effect. Anchoring the film is Jessica Rothe as the cursed protagonist Tree, a college student whose past loss has led to a current messy personality. It is hilarious and ultimately rewarding to watch Tree grow into the person she was always meant to be in the course of trying to figure out who wants to kill her. Rothe exudes so much charm in the role while delivering perfectly timed bits of comedy that make the film such a blast. Time loop films are a subgenre of film that I am down to watch pretty much anytime, and Tree has a pretty entertaining series of scenarios she traverses through day after day. The film is PG-13, but this was a project that never needed to be R in the first place, as the way in which they avoid showing the carnage from the creative kills in the movie works in its favor. This is another highlight for the team over at Blumhouse. 

Truth or Dare (2018)

Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) and Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) lead the cast of Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, a supernatural thriller from Blumhouse Productions (Happy Death Day, Get Out). A harmless game of “Truth or Dare” among friends turns deadly when someone—or something—begins to punish those who tell a lie—or refuse the dare…

Truth or Dare is a film that is admittedly not amazing, but it proves to tickle a part of my brain that kept me totally invested until the bitter end. I kind of hate that Blumhouse created this film by coming up with the title and telling someone to run with it, but I also respect it at the same time. Truth or Dare works for the same reason that a real-life game of truth or dare works; human psychology is a fascinating journey that will never cease to be compelling. There is something exciting about hearing someone reveal something that they have kept hidden away for so long. If hearing someone pick truth is thrilling, having them pick dare is doubly so. The film conjures up what I love about the Final Destination series as characters are put into dangerous situations and you are just waiting for them to be killed in some inventive manner. The cast as a whole is pretty strong in comparison to many films in a similar vein, and my love for Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) and Violett Beane (The Flash) definitely helped keep me on board. This film follows most of the main tropes that you would expect, but it somehow manages to remain entertaining. Once again, I know this film is not good, but it had enough elements that appealed specifically to me to enjoy it. 

Ma (2019)

Everybody’s welcome at Ma’s. But good luck getting home safe. Sue Ann (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer) is a lonely woman who keeps to herself in a quiet Ohio town. When a local teenage girl asks Sue Ann to buy some booze for her group of friends, she decides to make some new friends of her own and offers her basement for the kids to party. They just have to follow a few simple house rules: Someone has to stay sober. Don’t curse. Never go upstairs. And call her “Ma.” As Ma’s hospitality curdles into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma’s place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on earth.

Ma is a film that is better than it has any right to be. The basic premise is as campy as it gets, but having an Academy Award winning actress in your lead role brings a different dynamic to the proceedings. Octavia Spencer is an incredibly talented actress, and she brings an unhinged believability to the role of Ma that makes the poor decision making on the part of the teenagers more palatable. Do not get me wrong, I was still yelling at the screen when these dumb kids made their dumb kid decisions to party in a stranger’s basement…more than once. The performances by the younger cast members are good, but they are written to make ridiculous decisions to advance the plot. Spencer has become so associated with more respectable fare that it is truly transfixing to watch her engage in this crazypants mode. The other adult actors are putting in some serviceable work, including Juliette Lewis, Missi Pyle and Luke Evans. If anyone else with lesser talent had played Ma, I do not think this movie would have worked in the slightest. Ma is a fun film that really should have been a bad film, but the movie gods did this production a favor along the way. 

Video Quality

Blumhouse of Horrors: 10-Movie Collection comes to Blu-Ray with the ten original releases of each film on their own disc. These films share a lot of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them as a group while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. Overall, these transfers represent the original intent of each project beautifully. Most of these films are not bursting with colors, but everything appears very natural from the greens of the foliage to the pops of color in the production design. Most of these films have a clean, straightforward digital transfer that remains strong, but films such as Unfriended and The Visit have a different visual style due to the style in which they were filmed. Where these transfers really shine is the impressive level of detail in even the subtlest aspects. Everything from the smallest facial details to the texture of the costumes and furniture are precisely detailed here. The picture is mostly clear throughout with only brief instances of murkiness and noise during a few darker scenes. Split and Get Out are probably the two strongest presentations in the set, while The Visit probably impresses the least. Some of these films sport luscious cinematography, and that is showcased pretty well here. Universal has done a consistently great job authoring their discs over the years, and this collection is no exception. 

Audio Quality

All of these films come with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that represents each film to the best of their ability. Environmental effects are a huge part of the Blumhouse experience, and these tracks bring these elements to life quite capably. The use of the rear channels to create a fully enveloping world works quite well. The dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the score where nothing gets lost in the track. Activity in the low end delivers quite a jolt during many of these presentations. Every film offers up varying levels of kinetic activity that is suitable for the story they are telling, but each one feels powerful in their own right. Each disc provides an audio experience that maintains a pleasing fidelity and is clear of any unwanted damage. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered  very strong tracks for films known for creating a creepy environment. 

Special Features

The Purge

• Surviving The Night – The Making Of The Purge: A nine-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the origins of the film, establishing the tone, the traits of the characters, crafting the house and more. 

Ouija

• The Spirit Board – An Evolution: A four-minute discussion of how the ouija board has factored into our history, which even includes a story about Abraham Lincoln. This brief piece also explores how people’s view of the board has shifted over the years. 

• Adapting The Fear: A four-minute featurette on how the team went about crafting the experience of engaging with a ouija board in a feature narrative. Members of the cast and crew share some of their personal experiences using a ouija board and how being on the set has creeped them out. 

• Icon of the Unknown: A four-minute featurette that attempts to explain some of the scientific thoughts on what happens when people use a ouija board, as well as some of the unexplained things that happen around the board. 

The Boy Next Door

• The Making of The Boy Next Door: A nine-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss wanting to make something relevant, the themes of the film, making the film visceral, working with Lopez as an actress and a creative, and more interesting details. 

• Deleted Scenes: Five scenes totaling ten minutes are provided here that feature additional scenes with Kristin Chenoweth, more bonding between Claire and Noah, Garrett (John Corbett) attempting to get back into Claire’s good graces and more. 

• Commentary Track: Director Rob Cohen provides a fairly standard track in which he discusses his desire to try making a lower budget film after a series of big budget features, the Blumhouse model of filmmaking, working with Jennifer Lopez and more. 

Unfriended

There are no special features present on this disc. 

The Visit

• Alternate Ending: A two-and-a-half-minute unused ending that does not resonate as much as the one we got in the theatrical version. It is still interesting to see what we could have gotten, though.

• Deleted Scenes: Ten scenes totaling nine minutes are provided here featuring additional scenes of the kids checking in with their mom, Tyler having to rub his grandmother’s feet, the kids noticing odd behavior from their grandparents and more. Nothing too essential, but it is nice to have for fans. 

• The Making of The Visit: A ten-minute featurette in which Shyamalan discusses the trajectory of his career prior to this film and how making this film felt like something of a rebirth. He also gives you insight into the making of this film from casting to production. This is one of the more stylistically slick featurettes of this sort that I have seen in a while. Very well done and informative.

• Becca’s Photos: An assortment of photos that were taken from the point of view of Becca. 

Split

• Alternate Ending: An unused ending is provided with optional introduction from director M. Night Shyamlan in which he discusses why he chose to go with what he considers a less brutal ending for the film. The actual 30-second scene is fine, but the decision to go with what is in the film was a wise one. 

• Deleted Scenes: Nine scenes totaling fifteen minutes with optional introductions from director M. Night Shyamalan are provided here featuring additional scenes exploring Casey’s detachment, a whole subplot with Sterling K. Brown, more scenes of Casey interacting with the various personalities and more. The Sterling K. Brown stuff would have slowed down the film, but it is such a treat to get to actually see this footage. Shyamalan is also very self aware when it comes to his work, and he offers up a lot of interesting insights. 

• The Making of Split: A ten-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the development of the film and how all of the cast members reacted to not having all of the pieces to the script. The insights into the characters and all of the production details are quite fascinating.

• The Many Faces of James McAvoy: A six-minute look at the acting challenge that James McAvoy faced during the course of the film and how each personality was treated as a full character. As everyone concludes, this film would not have worked as well without this amazing performance from McAvoy. 

• The Filmmaker’s Eye – M. Night Shyamalan: A four-minute look at the creative process of Shyamalan from writing the script to getting the best performances from his actors. He seems like a really supportive director that inspires great work from everyone on the project. 

Get Out 

• Alternate Ending: A four-minute alternate ending that is much more bleak, but still really powerful. This comes with optional audio commentary from Jordan Peele in which he discusses why the ending changed after Obama left office to fit what the world needed. 

• Deleted Scenes: Eleven scenes totaling 23 minutes are provided here featuring Rose talking to Chris about being hypnotized when she was young, an unsettling game of badminton, several different versions of Rod arriving at the end and more. You can play these with optional audio commentary from Jordan Peele, who gives very insightful reasons why he chose not to include this footage in the film. All of these scenes are worth checking out. 

• Unveiling the Horror of Get Out: A nine-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the themes of the film, what drew everyone to the film, how Peele’s love of horror shined through on screen, how Peele excelled as a director and more. 

• Q&A Discussion with Writer/Director Jordan Peele & The Cast: A six-minute Q&A moderated by Chance the Rapper featuring Jordan Peele, Lil Rel Howery, Allison Williams and Daniel Kaluuya. Peele discusses how the story came about in the Obama era, and each cast member gets a chance to discuss their experience signing on to the project. This is a really fun supplement that offers up a slice of what it is like to attend a film festival. 

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Jordan Peele offers up a very informative and entertaining track in which he does an excellent job of balancing scene-specific analysis with larger thoughts on the themes of the film. Peele also reveals a lot of his inspiration from other horror films throughout the track. A very fun listen! 

Happy Death Day

• Alternate Ending: A two-and-a-half-minute unused ending that ends on a bit less of a positive note.

• Deleted Scenes: Three scenes totaling nine minutes that covers some of the material that was included in the film in an expanded way including a different version of Tree talking about her mom, another confrontation with Gregory and an additional walk of shame. 

• Worst Birthday Ever!: A three-minute featurette with the cast and crew discussing various elements of the film, how they tried to keep the film from being monotonous and how the actors had to be aware of where they were in the story when shooting the film. 

• Behind The Mask – The Suspects: A three-minute featurette exploring all of the different possibilities when it came to the killer’s identity. The creative team discuss developing the mask and how the Tree evolves throughout the film. 

• The Many Deaths of Tree: A minute-and-a-half long featurette which discusses all of the creative ways in which Tree dies and why they avoided showing her actually die on screen. 

Truth or Dare

• Game On – The Making of Truth or Dare: A seven-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss how the title of the film led to the story being written, the themes that are explored in the film, the human moments in the story, the traits of the characters and more. This is fairly standard but entertaining. 

• Directing The Deaths: A four-minute look at how each death scene was designed to fit the personalities of the characters. It is fun to hear the actors talk about their experiences dying on screen. 

• Audio Commentary: Co-Writer/Director Jeff Wadlow and Actress Lucy Hale deliver an informative track that features both anecdotes from the making of the film as well as some playful banter between the two. Nothing too wild is revealed, but it makes for a fun listen for fans of the film. 

Ma

• Alternate Ending: A two-minute unused ending that ends on a bit less believable note. I prefer the theatrical ending as is. 

• Deleted Scenes: Twelve scenes totaling eleven minutes of unused materials are provided here featuring Maggie and Erica settling into their new house and lives in a new town, an altercation with a hobo, a sex-ed seminar and more. 

• Creating Sue Ann: A three-minute featurette in which Octavia Spencer discusses playing a character unlike anything she has played before. The creative team also goes in depth on what makes Ma tick. 

• Party At Ma’s: A four-minute featurette in which Spencer talks how great it was working with director and friend Tate Taylor, what drew her to the project, the talented young cast and more. 

• Theatrical Trailer: A two-and-a-half-minute trailer that quickly establishes the tone of the film while only going a bit too far with the reveals. 

Final Thoughts

Blumhouse Productions is a company that has changed the cinematic landscape quite a bit over the past decade. Over this time, they have offered up audiences some of the most exciting horror movies to come out of the Hollywood system. The Blumhouse of Horrors: 10-Movie Collection offers up an incredibly solid collection of horror essentials with only a couple of misfires in the bunch. If you have yet to add some of these incredible films to your collection, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered a package with a great A/V presentation across the board and some compelling special features in one space-saving package at a really attractive price. Highly Recommended 

Blumhouse of Horrors: 10-Movie Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

Dillon Gonzales

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.