Sam Raimi's original cult classic, The Evil Dead, is coming to Blu-ray August 31st courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The 1981 gorefest is getting not one, but two new 1080p anamorphic transfers (one in 1.85 and one in the original 1.33 aspect ratio), as well as an upgrade to Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio. In addition to all the technical awesomeness, the Blu-ray will bundle extras from earlier releases (you can see the specs here) with a new commentary track featuring Raimi, producer Rob Tapert, and the Man himself, Bruce Campbell.

The lure of a spit-polished HD copy of the film itself ought to hold plenty of appeal for Raimi/Campbell fans, but the audio commentary should be a real treat as well. To give you a glimpse of what you're in for, we've got two clips below. In the first, Raimi, Tapert, and Campbell talk about casting the film. Then, in a strangely appropriate thematic bookend, Rob and Sam talk about how torturous the make-up was for those selfsame actors.

Finally, just a little bit of foreshadowing for you Evil Dead fans out there...y'all might want to keep an eye on the DVD section of CinemaBlend tomorrow afternoon. We've got a rather awesome surprise coming...