Spawn (1997)

Arrow are releasing, in limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray sets, the 1997 movie adaptation of Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn, here played by Michael Jai White. 

It's an origin story, depicting how expert Black Ops agent Al Simmons (also White) is tricked by his boss (Martin Sheen) and ends up being both burned alive and blown up. He ends up in Hell where he is offered a deal by an enormous late 1990s CGI devil called Malebolgia to lead the devil's armies against a forthcoming battle with Heaven or never see his wife again. Simmons, now Spawn, opts for the former but eventually comes to realise he is part of a greater plan to kill Sheen's character (who has also made a deal) and unleash a deadly virus on the world as part of the forthcoming apocalypse.

When SPAWN was released in 1997, its method of conveying narrative came as something of a shock with its rapid info-dump opening, noisy flashbacks and major characters (eg Nicol Williamson's force for good) dropped in with little in the way of introduction or development. Who would have thought such incoherence would become the norm for many a big budget effects-heavy 'blockbuster' in subsequent decades? Special mention should also be made of actor John Leguizamo who, with the character of Clown gave us perhaps still the most repellant and irritating screen interpretation of a comic book character to date. 

It's all very flashy, crashy and noisy and yet somehow tedious at the same time and ultimately, despite White and Sheen and a decent villainous turn from Melinda Clarke, SPAWN ends up as a very hard film to like. But if you do you'll be pleased to hear that Arrow's set comes with two discs with the director's cut (98 minutes) on disc one and the theatrical cut (96 minutes) on disc two.

All the extras are on disc one and all the new ones are worth the price of the set. A new commentary track by comics expert Dave Baxter is extremely illuminating about both the character and the comics industry in general at the time the film was made. The 1998 film-maker's commentary has also been ported over. Arrow have also included a batch of new interviews including White (16 minutes), Melinda Clarke and D B Sweeney (17 minutes), FX men Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger (20 minutes), music editor Happy Walters on assembling the soundtrack (10 minutes) and editor Michael Knue (17 minutes). 

Archival material from the 1998 release include a Making Of (22 minutes), a Todd McFarlane interview (20 minutes), plus storyboards, sketches and concept art. There's also the usual collector's booklet, reversible sleeve and double-sided poster.

SPAWN is out as a limited edition 4K restoration in both UHD and Blu-ray sets on Monday 6th October 2025

The Severed Sun (2025)

 

"Beguilingly Weird British Folk Horror"

Writer-Director Dean Puckett's THE SEVERED SUN, which is based on his own 2018 short THE SERMON is getting a digital release from Blue Finch.

In an isolated rural British community some time after an unspecified apocalypse, Magpie (Emma Appleton from LOLA and the first two episodes of THE WITCHER) kills her abusive husband, possibly while under the influence of a tall, taloned, glowing-eyed Beast (James Swanton). Following this, another abusive man in their village is killed, after which Magpie is accused by Andrea, the man's wife, (Jodhi May, also from Season One of THE WITCHER) of being a heretic. 

Magpie is almost hanged but is saved by the intervention of the community's leader and pastor (Toby Stephens) who also happens to be Magpie's father. However soon even he begins to realise that to control his flock he may have to sacrifice some of the members of his own family.

THE SEVERED SUN benefits immensely from gorgeous landscape photography, some beautiful compositions, and from not being shy of splashing the gore about where necessary. That plus its measured pacing means it could make an excellent companion piece on a double bill with Robert Eggers' THE WITCH (2015) and if you're a fan of that film then you may well like this, too. 

Those who want subtext with their folk horror won't have to dig too deep to find it, and there's an effective electronic music score by 'Unknown Horrors' that adds to the creeping atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia, one that's skilfully constructed to contrast with the backdrop of the wide open spaces of the story's setting (actually Bodmin in Cornwall). Here's a trailer:

Dean Puckett's THE SEVERED SUN is out on Digital from Blue Finch Releasing on Monday 6th October 2025. There will be selected cinema Q&A screenings from Monday 29th September

M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

"Preposterously Entertaining"

The sequel to 2023's highly successful M3GAN is getting a 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD release from Universal. While the original mixed the satire of a Black Mirror episode into what was essentially a pulpy piece of robot on the rampage mayhem, M3GAN 2.0 goes the 'everything bigger and crazier' route, coming across more like a cross between a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie and TERMINATOR 3.

Child robot companion M3GAN is 'dead', 'killed' after she went crazy and caused multiple murders. However, a new adult female robot threat has appeared in the form of A.M.E.L.I.A (Ivanna Sakno) who is busy killing anyone connected with the development of robot construction and programming. And that includes M3GAN's creator Gemma (Allison Williams).

The FBI inform her of this after they've broken into her house. After they leave it turns out M3Gan has been living in the electronic devices there. She convinces Gemma that she may be the only thing that can defeat A.M.E.L.I.A and ends up put into a 'Tellytubby' (her words) body before they set off to the party of tech billionaire Jemaine Clement who it turns out has become A.M.E.L.I.A's next target.

It gets considerably more convoluted and crazy after that with car chases, explosions, bizarre twists and ridiculous revelations and, of course, several female robot smackdown duels. The film does have a few things to say about AI but they take more of a backseat to the action than in the first film. Mind you, there are more filmic in-jokes this time around as well, with nods to Knight Rider, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS and even the music of Les Baxter for those of us who like to spot such things.

Universal's disc contains both the theatrical and unrated (a bit more splattery blood) versions with the unrated version being 48 seconds longer on the 4K UHD disc and 50 seconds longer on the Blu-ray presumably because of frame rates. Needless to say the 4K UHD offers quite the upscale on image quality compared with the Blu-ray.

Extras consists of four short featurettes which you should watch after the film as they contain spoilers (and no warning). These are an eleven minute making of, eight minutes on the practical effects, eight minutes on the stunt work and a five minute breakdown of the AI convention scene. 

M3GAN 2.0 is out from Universal on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on Monday 29th September 2025

Ick (2025)

"Manic SF Satire from the director of DETENTION"

The new film from director Joseph Kahn, whose BODIED (2017) and DETENTION (2011) were solid hits at London's Frightfest film festival, has just received a Digital release from Signature Entertainment.

The film opens with a rapid edit of scenes cut together like a movie trailer that moves so fast you may want to watch it twice before carrying on as we learn the story of high school football jock Hank (Brandon Routh) and his girlfriend Staci (Mena Suvari) who, 'sometime in the 2000s' split up after Hank broke his leg, Staci fell instead for Ted (Peter Wong) and Hank slid into alcoholism, getting a job as a janitor at the school where he was a student and eventually becoming a science teacher there because 'the English posts were all full'.

This is all played out against the background presence of the titular Ick, a kind of plant-based version of THE BLOB (1958) which is seen playing on TV at one point. No-one knows where the Ick came from but it seems to be slow growing and benign and is dismissed by the community it's slowly invading.

Then of course its growth suddenly speeds up to the point of going completely mental and consuming as many people as it can come into contact with. The military comes in and tries to contain the problem but the stupidity of the townsfolk "We are all entitled to our opinion!" means that soon our leads are on their own again with only Hank to save Grace (Malina Pauli Weissman) who might be his daughter, as well as anyone else who will listen. 

ICK is as fast paced as DETENTION and if you enjoyed that movie's combination of rapid fire editing and sharp witty dialogue then you're going to like this as well. The 'creature' is rendered with CGI but definitely has an old movie monster feel to it, at one point even exhibiting a pleasing 'climax of THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT' vibe on a football field, although Kahn has said he was actually inspired by Spielberg's JAWS (1975) and JURASSIC PARK (1993). Either way ICK is tremendous monster fun that you're going to love if this is your kind of thing. Here's a trailer:

Joseph Kahn's ICK is out on Digital from Signature Entertainment now

Creepshow 2 4K (1987)

The sequel to George A Romero's hugely successful 1982 CREEPSHOW (the series spinoff is still playing on Shudder) is getting a 4K UHD release from Arrow Films.

The first film boasted five Stephen King stories, and there were supposed to be five in this one but two (Pinfall and Cat From Hell) were removed due to budgetary constraints. The three that remain kick off with Old Chief Woodenhead, in which store proprietor George Kennedy and his wife Dorothy Lamour are threatened by three thugs who rob the place. But the giant wooden statue of a native Amercian that stands outside their shop comes to life and gets revenge for them. It's a slight story that takes up over 30 minutes of running time. The animation of the wooden statue is rendered nicely, but the kills are skimmed over and opportunities for suspense during the robbery neglected, with way too much time wasted on small talk at the beginning. 

Second is The Raft from King's Skeleton Crew collection. Four teenagers who go swimming in a remote lake are threatened by a bin liner-like something in the water that's hungry for human flesh. Some of the acting is a little ropey but the effects are decent and there's a good argument to be made for this being the highlight of the film.

The third story has Lois Chiles hitting and killing a hitch hiker in her rush to get home. Unfortunately for her the man won't stay dead. Almost all of this takes place on the road and builds to a satisfying denouement at Chiles' character's house. The stories are linked by some animated sequences that always looked cheap, especially on the big screen, and the lacklustre score by Les Reed and Rick Wakeman (plus one suspects some library tracks) doesn't help either.

Extras are all archival, including a commentary track with director Michael Gornick. Most are from the previous 2016 Blu-ray release and include interviews with screenwriter (in this case) George A Romero (11 minutes), Tom Savini (8 minutes), and actors Daniel Beer from The Raft (15 minutes) and the hitch hiker himself, Tom Wright (14 minutes). There's a 32 minute interview from 2004 with effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, Berger's memories of Rick Baker and six minutes of Behind the Scenes with Tom Savini, plus the usual trailers and image galleries. 

        Arrow's limited edition set also includes a comic book with the omitted story 'Pinfall', plus a booklet featuring new writing on the film. 

CREEPSHOW 2 is out on 4K UHD from Arrow on Monday 29th September 2025

Object Z (1965)

 

Fans of classic British SF television rejoice! The BFI are releasing, in a dual format (Blu-ray and DVD) set, OBJECT Z, an obscure Rediffusion (for that read ITV) six part science fiction series that, according to the press material, hasn't been seen since its original broadcast in 1965. 

Astronomers spot a mysterious object heading towards earth. They can prove it's not a comet, and deduce it must be an asteroid, which is likely made of one of two things: rock or metal. A first attempt to destroy it fails when the planned rocket goes off course. The second hits it and does nothing. And it looks as if the asteroid is definitely going to hit the earth.

Construction of shelters begins immediately, but there's only going to be enough time to save a quarter of the UK's population. Meanwhile religious leaders are convincing their parishioners not to help build the shelters as the asteroid is a sign from God and to attempt to save themselves would be blasphemous. Elsewhere a 'Britain for the British'-type lunatic has formed his own 'Action' political party and is causing riots at the worst possible time. Sound familiar?

No-one dealt with the threat of impending apocalypse like the British. In fiction we had books like Charles Eric Maine's The Darkest of Nights and The Tide Went Out, in cinema we had Val Guest's THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE and on TV we had The War Game, Threads and, prior to those, Object Z. I've only summarised the first couple of episodes because to say any more would be spoil something that's utterly engrossing for its six 25 minute episodes. Even ten minutes from the end of the final instalment you'll be wondering how they can possibly wrap it all up, but they do.

Extras on the BFI's disc include a commentary on every episode, in each case from somebody different which keeps things very fresh. So in order we have Jon Dear, Dick Fiddy, William Fowler and Vic Pratt, Elinor Groom, Kevin Lyons, and Celia Bannerman (who is in the show itself) and Toby Hadoke. There's also seven minutes of edited highlights of missing TV show Sierra 9 with Vic Pratt accompanying commentary, and episode one of the Object Z shooting script. The first pressing also includes a booklet with new essays by many of the people who provide the commentaries above.

OBJECT Z is out from the BFI in a dual format DVD & Blu-ray release on Monday 29th September 2025

Corpse Bride 4K (2005)

"Stop Motion With Devilishly Excellent 4K Detail"

Warner Bros. are releasing Tim Burton's animated movie CORPSE BRIDE on 4K UHD in standard, steelbook, and a posh collectors' edition that has the steelbook, two double-sided posters, eight characters sketch cards, four storyboard sketches stickers, and a 'Corpse Bridge' zine.

Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) is due to be married to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) in the chapel of Pastor Galswells (Christopher Lee). But Victor fluffs his marriage vows and goes off to the nearby creepy Tim Burton forest to practice. Unfortunately when he does get them right the corpse of Emily (Helena Bonham Carter) rises from the dead, considers herself married to him, and drags him down to the underworld.

Meanwhile, as Victor has disappeared, the slimy Barkis Bitten (Richard E Grant) offers to marry Victoria himself, and of course he has a hidden agenda. Will Victor get back topside, possibly with aid of a skeleton with a Michael Gough voice? Are there plenty of songs? Does Victor get reunited with his deceased pet dog Sparky?

You can probably guess the answers. While CORPSE BRIDE isn't perhaps quite as good as NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS it's still a delightful, charming piece of Burton-style Gothic. Warners' new 4K transfer allows you to see a lot more detail on the puppets (and indeed their costumes) and the voice roles include, as well as the above, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley and Jane Horrocks, with Danny Elfman  providing an excellent score and some memorable songs. 

The UHD disc comes with two new extras - The Minds Behind Corpse Bride (9 minutes) and Corpse Bride Reflections (6 minutes), both of which have screenwriter John August, producer Allison Abbate and co-director Mike Johnson discussing the film 20 years on. The rest of the extras are a bundle of ported over little featurettes from 2005 includingInside the Two Worlds of Corpse Bride (4 minutes), Making Puppets Tick (7 minutes), The Animators (7 minutes), Pre-Production Galleries (14 minutes and fascinating if you're into how the puppets went from metal frames to film), Tim Burton: Dark Vs Light (4 minutes) Danny Elfman Interprets the Two World (6 minutes) and two good pieces on the voice cast: Voices from the Underworld (6 minutes) and The Voices Behind the Voice (8 minutes).

Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE is out on 4K UHD and Digital from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in standard, steelbook and collectors' editions on Monday 22nd September 2025