The Snake Woman (1961)

The film director Sidney J Furie made after DR BLOOD’S COFFIN, for the same company (Caralan Productions) and for even less money, gets a posh restoration release on Blu-ray on the Hammer Presents label.

In the wilds of Northumberland mad Victorian herpetologist Horace Adderson (John Cazabon) has been injecting his wife with cobra venom to ‘keep her sane’. She gives birth to a ‘cold baby’ called Atheris. When the baby grows up she’s played by Susan Travers. Atheris turns feral and goes to live in the Northumberland countryside, biting some poor chap to death once a month (not the same one each time, obviously). She also sheds her skin, five years before we saw the same thing in Hammer’s own THE REPTILE. Before we get to the climax THE SNAKE WOMAN also gives us a disgruntled low-budget Northumberland mob (the budget can only stretch to four torches), a mad old lady, voodoo, and cobras living quite happily in the North of England. 

Susan Travers would go on to be best known for playing Nurse Travers who gets smeared in sprout juice and eaten by locusts in Robert Fuest’s THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES while Furie would soon escape low-budget efforts like this and go on to direct THE IPCRESS FILE (1965). Screenwriter Orville H Hampton also wrote 1959’s superior THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE. His SNAKE WOMAN screenplay set the action in the United States which explains some of the discrepancies in the story’s relocation to the UK.

THE SNAKE WOMAN is all pretty rough low-budget stuff, but Heidi Honeycutt and Sarah Morgan do their very best in their commentary track to eke out worthwhile things to say about it. Hammer’s presentation is the best THE SNAKE WOMAN has ever looked on home video. Other extras on the disc consist of a trailer and an image gallery and that's it.

Sidney J Furie’s THE SNAKE WOMAN is out on Blu-ray on the Hammer Presents label on Monday 4th May 2026

Dr Blood’s Coffin (1960)

The ‘Hammer Presents’ label strikes again! This time it’s with a UK blu-ray release of one of director Sidney J Furie’s early movies, one that boasts a great title, some lovely locations, and Hazel Court.

People are disappearing in the small Cornish village of Porthcarron (actually the small Cornish village of Zennor). Could the recent arrival of local GP Dr Blood’s son Peter (Kieron Moore) have anything to do with it? We don’t have to wait long to find out, but we do have to wait rather longer (almost the entire film, in fact) to see the zombie promised by the posters. 

Was this the first colour zombie picture? That’s one of the many things discussed by Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons in their accompanying commentary track which, chatty, convivial and fact-packed, is worth the price of the disc on its own. The zombie himself (Paul Stockman) is brought back to ‘life’ in a climactic surgery sequence that involves a transplant with a rather floppy-looking heart, but medical accuracy is hardly the point of this or we wouldn’t have Dr Blood performing open heart surgery on people while they look at him.

As mentioned on the commentary, there’s not really enough here for a 90 minute feature, with the most shocking thing being that the Cornish weather stays nice for almost the entirety of filming. Hazel Court plays the zombie’s (still-living) wife and helps to up the acting quality in a film that also boasts genre favourite Kenneth J Warren. Nathan Juran supplies the script, Buxton Orr the music, and Furie manages a number of nice setups, all making the film worth watching if you’re a fan of the above. 

Hammer’s disc gives us the film in two aspect ratios - 1.66:1 and 1.85:1. They are listed as ‘UK and US versions’ but apart from the screen shape there’s no identifiable difference. Apart from the commentary you also get a trailer and an image gallery which is worth perusing for its wealth of publicity material for a film that’s not that well known.

Sidney J Furie’s DR BLOOD’S COFFIN is out on Blu-ray on the Hammer Presents label on Monday 4th May 2026

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 4K (2026)

“Essential for Horror Fans”

Following its release in UK cinemas in January, Nia DaCosta’s direct sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 YEARS LATER (2025) is now getting a 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD disc release from Sony. When DaCosta was initially announced as director concerns were expressed in some quarters that she might not be able to successful follow Boyle’s combination of horror and satire tinged with outright comedy. However it’s a delight to report that, if anything, THE BONE TEMPLE contains even more extreme horrors than its predecessor while skimping not a jot on the heavy dose of satire in returning screenwriter Alex Garland’s script.

Starting pretty much immediately where the previous film left off, we join young Spike (Alfie Williams) having been rescued by the ‘Cult of Jimmy’ and about to fight for his place among the followers of the group's cruel and (literally as we find out later) psychotic leader ‘Sir Jimmy Crystal’ (a mesmerisingly disturbing performance by Jack O’Connell). 

Meanwhile Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) the builder of the bone temple, is making inroads, DAY OF THE DEAD-style, into communicating with the infected, specifically a large brutal individual called Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) who he is able to control with large doses of morphine. But the world of the doctor and the world of Jimmy Crystal are about to meet, resulting in a climax in which not everyone will make it out alive.

Nia DaCosta’s 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is for everyone who thought Danny Boyle’s 28 YEARS LATER was way too lighthearted, coming across as it does like an extra grim episode of Terry Nation’s frequently exceedingly grim 1970s TV series Survivors. The emphasis here is on the insanity of many of the uninfected human characters, and it fully justifies the 18 rating it has been given by the BBFC with some wincingly effective torture scenes.

DaCosta also manages a few really stylish touches that show her effective CANDYMAN (2021) was no fluke. The sound editing deserves a shout out, too. Watch this with a good surround sound system and you’ll be convinced zombies are creeping up behind you. An essential film for fans of modern horror and an excellent entry in what is shaping up to be the best satirical horror film series of the 2020s. 

        Sony's 4K disc release includes an excellent commentary track by DaCosta who easily conveys the enthusiasm she obviously still has for the project. This is backed up by the 17 minutes of making of featurettes we also get in which she is interviewed along with Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland and others. There's a three minute blooper reel which is more people acting silly rather than making actual mistakes, and a one minute deleted scene.  

Nia DaCosta’s 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE is out now to buy on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and 4K UHD Steelbook

Soldier 4K (1998)

Director Paul W S Anderson’s big budget Kurt Russell-starring SF actioner SOLDIER, a film that went straight to video in the UK back in the day, finally gets a whistles and bells 4K release from Arrow Films.

We’re in the world of BLADE RUNNER. It’s not specifically spelled out but there are clues which are confirmed in the extras. Todd (Russell) has been literally been trained from birth to be a soldier, as we see in the film’s opening sequence. He’s been victorious in battle many times (check out his commendations in the bottom right hand corner of the profile we are shown) but now his kind of operative is on the way out, to be replaced by Jason Isaacs’ elite genetically engineered commandos, the most massive of which is Caine (Jason Scott Lee).

Dumped on a garbage planet, our hero discovers a community that includes Sean Pertwee and Connie Nielsen. He tries to fit in but is eventually banished for not being as successful as the others would like. However, Jason Isaacs is on his way with his new task force to unleash havoc and Todd is going to have to save them all.

SOLDIER looks expensive, boasting massive sets, impressive military vehicles, and Michael Bay levels of explosions. It’s admittedly all a bit one-note and for a film many of its praisers consider to be ‘SHANE in space’ there’s far less concentration on character and a lot more on hardware. That said, it’s an entertaining B movie and would have looked (and sounded) great on the big screen it didn’t even reach in the UK.

Arrow’s 4K restoration is director approved and really allows you to see the amount of detail that’s gone into both the production design and the explosive stunts. Director Anderson and co-producer Jeremy Bolt provide an excellent (archival) commentary track and they’re joined by Jason Isaacs about 43 minutes in. 

Extras new to Arrow’s disc include a bunch of interviews with actor James Black (10 minutes), 1st a.d. Dennis Maguire (13 minutes), associate producer Fred Fontana (10 minutes), production designer David L Snyder (14 minutes), the VFX team (19 minutes), Danny Stewart who wrote the making of book (7 minutes), and film historian Heath Holland who offers a reappraisal of the film (12 minutes). There’s also a five minute piece on the VFX with commentary by FX supervisor Craig Barron.

Other archival extras include the electronic press kit consisting of featurette (7 minutes) and 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage, plus a bunch of tiny interviews (some less than a minute) with the cast. You also get trailers, a still gallery and the limited edition also comes with a booklet with new writing on the film, plus a reversible sleeve.

Paul W S Anderson’s SOLDIER is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 27th April 2026

Innerspace 4K (1987)

Director Joe Dante’s comedic take on FANTASTIC VOYAGE, and the film he made in between EXPLORERS (1985) and THE ‘BURBS (1989), is getting a 4K UHD and Blu-ray release from Arrow.

Washed up pilot Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) agrees to take part in a miniaturisation experiment in which he, inside a special submersible, is going to be injected into a rabbit called Bugs (well, this is a Warner Bros. picture after all). However, bad guy Victor Scrimshaw (Kevin McCarthy) and bad girl Margaret Canker (Fiona Lewis) plan to steal the miniaturisation technique so shifty character The Cowboy (Robert Picardo on top silly voiced form) can sell it to the highest bidder. When the robbery goes wrong Tuck ends up injected into supermarket assistant manager and hypochondriac Jack Putter (Martin Short). Will Jack listen to the voice that is now actually in his head and help Tuck get back to normal size?

According to a number of the (very good) extras on this disc, INNERSPACE started life as a straight idea but thanks to a complete rewrite by Jeffrey Boam (THE DEAD ZONE) and the efforts of all concerned, it became on Oscar-winning (for its special effects) comedy. While the script is funny and Joe Dante is no stranger to making things entertaining the real key to the success of INNERSPACE is its cast, especially Quaid and Short who only have one scene together but nevertheless have a dialogue chemistry that sparkles. The part of ‘the girl’ is played by Meg Ryan just before she got famous and her star quality is obvious as well. Combine that with familiar faces from the Dante repertory company and cult film fans will have a ball.

Arrow’s disc comes with two commentary tracks. The first is from 2002 and features Dante, producer Michael Finnell, VFX master Dennis Muren, and actors Picardo and McCarthy. Think you’re good at spotting Dante’s in-jokes? Well there are some here that completely passed me by but they’re all pointed out in this engagingly chatty track. Author and critic Drew McWeeny provides a brand new commentary that is as respecting of Dante’s work as it is enthusiastic and provides a nice ‘fan’ track to go alongside the film-makers’ one.

Other extras include a brand new hour-long making of featuring Dante, Finnell, Muren, Picardo and others where some of the material from the commentary is understandably repeated, while the VFX are gone into in greater illustrative detail. There’s 24 minutes of Joe Dante’s personal behind the scenes footage from the film and 20 minutes of footage from ILM. You also get storyboard galleries, continuity polaroids, production stills and a poster gallery. Arrow’s limited edition also comes with a booklet with new writing on the film, a double sided poster and reversible sleeve.

Joe Dante’s INNERSPACE is out on 4K in individual UHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 27th April 2026

The Man Who Haunted Himself 4K (1970)

Studio Canal are releasing Basil Dearden’s final film as director (The Persuaders! two episode combo MISSION: MONTE CARLO doesn’t count) in a new 4K restoration on UHD, Blu-ray and Digital. Apparently it was star Roger Moore’s personal favourite of his films and it’s not difficult to see why.

Driving home from work on the M4 one day Harold Pelham (Moore) crashes his car and ends up in surgery where, for a moment, his heartbeat fails to register on monitoring equipment. Then there are two, then there’s one again. Discharged from hospital Pelham goes about his normal life but soon something odd starts to happen. 

People claim they have seen him in places he’s never been, including Julie (Olga Georges-Picot), who also claims she has entered into a relationship with Pelham. As the strange incidents mount up Pelham seeks the aid of a psychiatrist (Freddie Jones all hair, shades and bow tie). Is Harold mad or is there really someone impersonating him? Or is what’s actually happening even stranger than that?

Previously filmed for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series as The Case of Mr Pelham, the screenplay here does a reasonable job of opening up the story to feature length. The staging of the opening accident is excellent, with a low slung camera attached to the side of the car being something that might have quite possibly influenced a young George Miller. Most noteworthy of all is Roger Moore who really gets to demonstrate a range that many jokers of the period claimed he didn’t have. Pelham isn’t the most likeable of characters but as his world crumbles we start to feel real sympathy for him.

Studio Canal’s 4K looks excellent. Don’t worry too much about the picture noise on the menu screen - this settles down nicely for the main feature. New to this disc is an 12 minute interview with well-known actor Kevork Malikyan (who has brought his copy of the screenplay with him) who plays Pelham’s butler Luigi. Other extras include a ‘Masters of Horror’ segment in which directors Joe Dante and Stuart Gordon discuss the film (18 minutes), an audio commentary ported over from the 2024 Imprint release from genre experts Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons that’s up to their usual high standard and in which they point out a number of significant visual touches as well as discussing the source story / novel, an interview with Moore’s PA and friend Gareth Owen (16 minutes), a 2024 making of that features Freddie Jones (33 minutes), storyboards (including the opening car crash sequence) and 36 minutes of Michael J Lewis score for those who don’t own the now long out of print promo soundtrack CD. Collectors will want to know that the disc doesn't contain the 2005 commentary track with Roger Moore and Brian Forbes, so you may want to hang onto your Network or Kino Blu-ray for that. The disc also comes with four art cards.

THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF is out from Studio Canal in a new 4K restoration on UHD, Blu-ray and Digital on Monday 27th April 2026

The Nightcomers 4K (1971)

There were worse directors in the 1970s than Michael Winner, but probably none with such a high profile who courted controversy so often and who frequently had major studio talent at his disposal. A typical Winner work from that period is THE NIGHTCOMERS, which Studio Canal are releasing in a new 4K restoration on UHD, Blu-ray and Digital as part of their cult classics line.

THE NIGHTCOMERS is a prequel to the Henry James story (actually more of a novella) The Turn of the Screw, which was filmed with great success as THE INNOCENTS in 1961 by Jack Clayton. Part of the reason both that film and the book it’s based on work so well is because so much of what happens is not explained and is, essentially, unknowable. What THE NIGHTCOMERS sets out to do is explain everything which, as well as being redundant, it doesn’t do half as well as it probably could.

When the parents of Flora (Verna Harvey) and Miles (Christopher Ellis) are killed in a car accident, they are left alone at remote Bly Manor with only the cook (Thora Hird), governess Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham) and handyman Peter Quint (Marlon Brando) for company. Jessel and Quint are engaged in a sado-masochistic relationship that’s witnessed by the children and which they then reproduce in their play, which is where everything starts to go really wrong.

Part of the problem with THE NIGHTCOMERS is that you know what’s going to happen, but that would still have left space for an interesting story that could have played with the ideas of 'were the children / weren’t they affected by the behaviour of Quint and Jessel' and indeed what exactly it was that the two adults got up to. The film might also have worked better had it been told more from the children's point of view. Unfortunately with the casting of Marlon Brando in the lead, THE NIGHTCOMERS instead veers dangerously into becoming The Peter Quint Show. There’s at least one lengthy sequence where the actor has obviously been allowed to go ‘full Marlon’ and while it is, as Kim Newman says in his extra on here, an acting masterclass, it doesn’t really belong in a film like this. 

It’s also hard to accept why Stephanie Beacham’s Miss Jessel Hooks up with Quint or takes part in his bizarre sex games as she seems to reap little benefit from it. Beacham is far better in the scenes without Brando, where she delivers a more nuanced, sympathetic performance. The child actors are rather stilted and it’s obvious Winner’s forte was not in directing children.

Studio Canal’s 4K disc comes with a new 19 minute Kim Newman talking head piece which is very informative. Carried over from the Imprint release is a 29 minute featurette of interviews with surviving crew members (including SFX ace John Richardson and first assistant director Michael Dryhurst) and if you’re looking for on-set gossip about Mr Winner this is the place to go. You also get a video essay from Kat Ellinger on film interpretations of Turn of the Screw (19 minutes) and two commentary tracks. Contrary to what Kat Ellinger says in hers there is no Michael Winner commentary on this disc so hang on to your Kino region A Blu-ray if that’s a favourite (if nothing else Winner's commentaries do tend to be...er...winners). There’s also a very informative ‘nuts and bolts making of’ commentary from Alain Silver and Jim Ursini. Finally there are the usual trailers and the disc comes with four art cards. 

Michael Winner’s THE NIGHTCOMERS is out in a new 4K restoration from Studio Canal on UHD, Blu-ray and Digital on Monday 27th April 2026