Re-animator 4K (1985)

"Fantastic 4K Restoration of an All-Time Classic"

Second Sight have produced a gorgeous, extras-packed edition of Stuart Gordon's classic film of H P Lovecraft's story for RE-ANIMATOR's 40th anniversary, and are releasing a new 4K restoration of the film as both a limited edition UHD / Blu-ray combo and separate standard UHD and Blu-ray editions.

Medical student Herbert West, fresh from a gory fracas in Zurich, joins Miskatonic Medical School to continue his research into the reanimation of dead tissue on the sly with the assistance of his slightly unwilling colleague Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott). However his reagent doesn't work terribly well, except in the worst possible case, and soon he has to deal with his recently decapitated research rival and lecturer Dr Carl Hill (David Gale) who has designs on Megan Halsey (Barbara Crampton) the Dean's daughter and Dan's girlfriend. 

A frenetic, frenzied approach to adapting Lovecraft that skilfully adds generous doses of humour and sex to produce a work of manic genius on a par with Herbert West himself, Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR made deserved instant stars (at least in the exploitation world) of some of its cast. Along with George A Romero’s contemporaneous DAY OF THE DEAD it also elevated the reputation of both mad scientist and zombie movies to new levels. The nifty screenplay takes the essence of Lovecraft’s story (something Gordon and screenwriter Dennis Paoli would later do successfully with DAGON, their adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth) and deftly turns something pretty turgid (try reading it) into one of the classics of the genre. 

        Gordon works wonders with an obviously small budget (rehearsal time and Gordon’s theatre experience helped) and credit should be given to Richard Band’s score which, while derivative in places (especially that main title theme), hits just the right note of twinkle-in-the-eye ‘you won’t believe what’s coming next’ so many times that he can be forgiven the steals from Bernard Herrmann. But the film belongs to Jeffrey Combs, who in his performance as Herbert West created an icon of modern horror – one who refreshingly could talk, didn’t solve all his problems with a machete, and had actually been to university. Even if he had been thrown out for making his professor’s eyeballs explode.

REANIMATOR has always looked a little grainy (and a lot grainy on VHS transfers) but Second Sight's 4K restoration is a thing of beauty. Even if you have every other version of REANIMATOR on disc, in fact especially if you do, you're going to want this to marvel at what a terrific restoration job has been performed, with clearer image, more vivid colours and deeper blacks with no picture noise. Really excellent.

New extras kick off with a commentary track by Eddie Falvey who literally wrote a book on the film and knows his stuff, offering a fact-packed track that's well worth a listen. Mike Muncer provides a 10 minute 'primer' video essay on H P Lovecraft using THE THING, FROM BEYOND and others as illustration. Reanimator at 40 has Combs and Crampton in conversation with producer Brian Yuzna for 45 minutes, and there are new interview with editor Lee Percy (15 minutes) and actor Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (14 minutes). Legacy & Impact is 18 minutes in which film-makers Joe Lynch, Mike Mendez, Nicholas McCarthy and others talk about the impression the film made on them. 

Older extras include Barbara Crampton in Conversation - a record of her 2015 Frightfest interview with Alan Jones (37 minutes) and Nucleus Films' Guide to Lovecraftian Horror from 2016,  nearly hour long piece in which Chris Lackey guides you expertly through the sub-genre. Reanimator Resurretcus is an Anchor Bay piece with cast and crew from 2007 (69 minutes) and oldest of all are interviews from 2002 with Gordon and Yuzna (49 minutes), writer Dennis Paoli (11 minutes), composer Richard Band (15 minutes) and Fangoria editor Tony Timpone (5 minutes). Also included is the 'Integral Cut' which runs 104 minutes, 23 minutes of extended scenes, one deleted scene and the usual trailers, TV spots and still galleries. Second Sight's limited edition also comes with a 120 page book with new writing on the film, six art cards and a slipcase to keep it all in.

 

Stuart Gordon's REANIMATOR in 4K is being released in a limited edition UHD / Blu-ray combo as well as standard edition UHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 15th September 2025

Whispering Smith Hits London 4K (1952)

It's time for another British movie obscurity to get the posh 4K UHD and Blu-ray treatment from Hammer studios, from the period when they specialised in B movie programmers and radio spin offs before hitting the big time with horror.

Steve 'Whispering' Smith (Richard Carlson) comes to London for a holiday and almost immediately finds himself involved in the apparent suicide of Sheila Garde. Her father (who we never see) is convinced she was murdered and it's the job of his assistant Anne (Rona Anderson) to get Smith on the case.

After some initial reticence Smith ends up interviewing Sheila's lawyer Reith (Alan Wheatley), her best friend Louise (Greta Gynt) and her fiancé Roger (Herbert Lom). Eventually he uncovers a blackmail scheme that may have led to Sheila's death. Are all, some, or any of the above involved in it? You'll have to watch the film to find out.

Who Whispering Smith is meant to be in this film isn't entirely clear. The character was originally created by Frank Spearman in the early 1900s and was a railroad detective in the Old West. Alan Ladd and Audie Murphy played him in a 1948 film and subsequent TV series. Carlson's Smith is modern day and wears a trenchcoat although he does sport a cowboy hat in one scene.

WHISPERING SMITH HITS LONDON is middle-grade crime for the period. If you're a fan of the genre you'll work out where it's going pretty quickly and if you're a fan of this period of British cinema you'll likely have a lot of fun getting there. There are blink and you'll miss them appearances by Stanley Baker and Laurence Naismith and longer contributions from an almost showstopping Dora Bryan at the start (so much so you assume she's going to figure in the plot but sadly no) and Reginald Beckwith. Most fun for British horror fans will be had from Herbert Lom's marionette puppeteer who feels like a dry run for the character of Byron in the 1972 Amicus ASYLUM. 

Hammer's 4K UHD and Blu-ray double disc set contains two versions of the film. The second, titled WHISPERING SMITH VS SCOTLAND YARD is shorter at just over 77 minutes, with the UK version clocking in at 84. There's a commentary track on each - Jo Botting and Dave Thomas on the UK and Richard Holliss and Gavin Collinson on the US. Best amongst the other extras are a 28 minute piece from Chris Alexander on the film and Hammer at the time, and an excellent 29 minute piece on Herbert Lom in the 1940s and 1950s, in which William Fowler, Barry Forshaw, Lucy Bolton and Vic Pratt cover his career up to and including Ealing's THE LADYKILLERS. Pratt and Fowler return to discuss the differences between the UK and US versions of Whispering Smith and why (23 minutes).

Other extras include a black and white short film about the town of Bray, a ten minute segment of an audio interview with sound editor Alfred Cox, image gallery and censor cards. Like with all these releases you also get a book featuring new essays on the making of, Hammer's early crime period, more on Whispering Smith, Greta Gynt and Richard Carlson. It's yet another very classy presentation from Hammer and invaluable for students and enthusiasts of this period of British cinema.

WHISPERING SMITH HITS LONDON is out from Hammer on Monday 15th December in a limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray set

Dracula (2025)

"A Unique Interpretation"

A quite bizarre melding of elements from Francis Ford Coppola's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (which this film leans on heavily), Tom Tykwer's PERFUME, and the MINIONS movie, Luc Besson's singular take on the most famous vampire tale of all is getting a digital release from Signature Entertainment, with a Blu-ray release to follow.

Besson's new film keeps the Coppola prologue, suggesting that Count Dracula (here played by Caleb Landry Jones) began life as Prince Vladimir of Wallachia, a normal human being who at 'God's request' defeated the Turks only for his beloved wife Elisabeta (Zoe Bleu) to end up dead. Vlad curses God and vampirism happens.

Then the film fast forwards 400 years, relocating events to Paris and giving us possibly the best and most interesting part of the film. A vampire-hunting priest who is never named but is played by Christoph Waltz is called to a Paris asylum to help with the case of Maria (a very vigorous Matilda De Angelis) who is Obviously a Vampire. Meanwhile in Transylvania the worst Jonathan Harker ever ends up in Dracula's castle where the Count's ability to move food without touching it earns the 400 year old vampire a 'Nice!' before Harker continues with everyday chit chat.

After that we get a lengthy backstory for the Count. The irresistibility to his bite turns out to be because of a perfume he has developed, one the remarkable effects of which are demonstrated in a number of elaborate scenes that must have used up a lot of the costume (and dance) budget, before he finally gets to Paris and Mina Murray (Bleu once more), the inevitable runaround, and a climax that involves a big gun battle with soldiers and cannons.

Is Luc Besson's DRACULA any good? Or rather, is any of Luc Besson's DRACULA any good? Well, there's a bit of visual spectacle, a show stopping decapitation near the end that's a lot of fun, and the absence of Van Helsing (replaced by Waltz's priest) is an interesting touch. Purists will likely get a headache very quickly at the liberties that have been taken with the novel, while probably everyone will be scratching their heads at why Dracula has an unexplained army of comedy gargoyle minions. Those who stick with it can play spot the filmic 'influences' because aside from the three above there are plenty more, oh yes indeed. Likely to become no-one's favourite version of the story, Luc Besson's DRACULA is still probably worth watching once, if only out of sheer curiosity value. Here's a trailer:

Luc Besson's DRACULA aka DRACULA: A LOVE TALE is out on Digital from Signature Entertainment on Monday 1st December 2025, with a Blu-ray release to follow on Monday 22nd December 2025

Primitive War (2025)

"More Fun than JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH"

Signature Entertainment are giving a much-deserved cinema release to PRIMITIVE WAR, a low budget (around $7 million if reports are to be believed) affair that pits Vietnam soldiers against dinosaurs, has plenty of monster action, and even at 135 minutes won't have you zoning out the way this year's JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH did.

We're in Vietnam in 1968. After some shenanigans rescuing a couple of POWs from the Vietcong, a platoon of soldiers known as the Vulture Squad are recruited to investigate the mysterious disappearance of some Green Berets in a distant jungle valley. When they arrive they are surprised (to put it mildly) to find the place crawling with dinosaurs. It's all the result of some pesky Russian experiment with wormholes, or something, and the Russians are keen to prevent the US from discovering what they have been up to. This the stage is set for a massive smackdown between US soldiers, Russian forces, and several boatloads of dinosaurs.

What you want from a film like PRIMITIVE WAR is lots of dinosaurs and lots of action, and the film doesn't skimp on either. There's also a refreshingly large variety of dinosaurs on display, and while the explanation for what's been going on is hardly the stuff of hard science the film doesn't give you much space to ponder it. 

As a dinosaur movie PRIMITIVE WAR is faster moving and a lot more fun than JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH. As a military vs the monsters movie it's stratospherically better than Neil Marshall's THE LAIR (not difficult) but it's also more entertaining watch than Julius Avery's OVERLORD. The CGI is absolutely fine and while the characterisation is a bit thin in the first act by the climax you'll be able to list all the members of Vulture Squad and how some of them meet their ends. Of course you'll have to watch the film to see who makes it out alive. Here's the trailer:

PRIMITIVE WAR is on general cinema release in the UK through the Odeon, Vue and Showcase chains from Friday 28th November 2025

The Life of Chuck (2025)

"Moving, Uplifting, and Quite, Quite Lovely"

After a short stint in UK cinemas, Studio Canal have released writer-director Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Stephen King's novella (which you can find in his collection If it Bleeds) on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD.

It's not the easiest film to talk about without giving away spoilers, both in terms of plot and the cast members who pop up along the way, suffice to say that this is a story in three acts, told in reverse order. Act Three begins with a world on the brink of destruction. Earthquakes have destroyed California, Florida has flooded and the rest of the world has been subjected to the same kind of disasters.

During all of this, teacher Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) decides to make his way across town to see his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan). All around him are billboards and TV adverts thanking someone called Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) for 39 'great years'. But neither Marty, nor anyone he meets, has any idea who Charles Krantz is. However we will, and as the film progresses we begin to understand why he is so important to the people we have been introduced to.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK is very much the Stephen King of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION or STAND BY ME, and Mike Flanagan shows he is just as adept as Frank Darabont and Rob Reiner at telling the moving, bittersweet, ultimately uplifting tale of Chuck's life and exactly why it's so important. Flanagan fans familiar with his TV work especially will spot a number of familiar faces, and if you're fan of 1980s and 1990s cult cinema then there will be other actors you'll recognise, too.

Studio Canal's disc comes with an 18 minute making of featuring interviews with Flanagan and some of the principal actors, and there are more in depth interviews with Hiddleston (14 minutes), Ejiofor (10 minutes) and Mark Hamill (9 minutes). There's also a Mike Flanagan commentary. The presence of both his and Stephen King's name may make you prepared to be scared but instead THE LIFE OF CHUCK is, for those old enough, like a very touching episode of The Twilight Zone. No shocks, just a lovely story well told by a master craftsman, ably assisted by talented cast and crew. Excellent stuff. 

Mike Flanagan's film of Stephen King's THE LIFE OF CHUCK is out now from Studio Canal on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD

A Desert (2025)

 

"Filled with Insidious Menace"

Blue Finch are releasing director Joshua Erkman's A DESERT, a film that could sit comfortably alongside Rose Glass's LOVE LIES BLEEDING in the offbeat desert noir genre. 

Alex (Kai Lennox) is a professional photographer famous for 'The Death of the New West', a book of images of abandoned towns and landmarks that are now crumbling and rotting. Hoping to repeat his success he sets off into the desert intending to deliberately lose himself in a maze of ghost towns and lost places that will form the subject of his next book.

Unfortunately he spends the night at a rundown motel where he meets the psychotic Renny (Zachary Ray Sherman) and his 'sister' Susie Q (Ashley Smith). Soon Alex has vanished and his wife Sam (Sarah Lind from A WOUNDED FAWN) employs private investigator Harold (David Yow from UNDER THE SILVER LAKE)  to find him, with ultimately horrific results.

A DESERT could be described as 'slow burn', but that would be by people for whom plot progression is the maxim by which movies should be judged. The film takes its time to allow you to drink in the gorgeous landscapes and the very real ghost towns that are the subject of Alex's obsession, such that we begin to understand his desire to capture them on the very old fashioned camera he lugs round with him. At the same time the film manages to convey a sense of creeping dread pretty much from the outset. The climax is suitably bloody and overall A DESERT is a fine entry in the offbeat desert noir genre.

A DESERT is out on digital from Blue Finch Releasing on Monday 24th November 2025

Horror of Frankenstein 4K (1970)

Studio Canal are releasing a 4K transfer of the one Hammer Frankenstein not to feature Peter Cushing as the Baron. It was originally released on a double bill with SCARS OF DRACULA which Studio Canal are also releasing on 4K at the same time, so you can recreate your very own 4K HD double bill of these two at home. If you want to. 

Rather than carry on from the high of the previous year’s FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED, Hammer Films decided to reboot their franchise and go back to remaking the film that started it all, employing original screenwriter Jimmy Sangster to write (with Jeremy Burnham), produce, and direct. The result gives us a smarmy young Baron (Ralph Bates) whose drunken womanising git of a father (George Belbin) dies, allowing Frankenstein Junior to embark on a witless attempt to literally build a monster by numbers while seducing 1970s starlets. The result lumbers about for a bit before suffering an ignominious fate, leading to a final freeze frame shot of the Baron, who looks about as upset as someone who has just received an especially large and unexpected gas bill.

  The joys to be found in this one are mainly in the character roles. Dennis Price and Joan Rice are a delight as a grave robbing husband and wife team, and Jon Finch, inexplicably not cast as the Baron (now there would have been a Frankenstein for the 1970s) but in a far less interesting bit part as a policeman. Even composer James Bernard sat this one out, with soon-to-be Master of the Queen’s Music Malcolm Williamson (BRIDES OF DRACULA and CRESCENDO) stepping in instead. However if you fancy a little bit of black comedy with your Hammer horror this may suit. 

Archival extras include a Jimmy Sangster / Marcus Hearn commentary track and interviews with lead actress Veronica Carlson (14 minutes) and the monster himself, David Prowse (5 minutes). There's also a ported over making of (18 minutes), a stills gallery and trailer. New material is limited to a conversation between critic Clarisse Loughrey and actor / writer Isaura Barbé-Brown (34 minutes) who are very diplomatic about the film's shortcomings, and a 64 page book which features new writing on the film, the original press kit, and two posters.

Hammer's HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN is out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Studio Canal on Monday 24th November 2025