Cujo 4K (1983)

        Lewis Teague's 1983 adaptation of Stephen King's novel gets an impressive 4K UHD upgrade from Arrow Films as a part of a new limited edition release. It will also include a collector’s booklet with new writing on the film and a reversible sleeve.

Cujo the St Bernard is out chasing bunnies when he gets his nose stuck in an old tree stump. Unfortunately it leads into a cave of rabid bats and before you can say Marilyn Chambers Cujo's had his nose bitten and he's developing a severe case of the runny eyes, the drools, and the being covered in what looks like mud.

This is bad news for Cujo's car repairman redneck owner (Ed Lauter) and his friend, and it spells trouble of the 'trapped in the car with her six year old son' kind for Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace), who finds herself under siege in her broken down old banger while a great big drooly powerhouse tank of a mad dog waits outside to get her, when he's not ramming the doors.

The early 1980s was the era of Stephen King adaptations. Most of them weren't very good, but CUJO actually is, thanks to good performances and a skilled team behind the scenes who went all out to make the best film they could. 

Arrow’s new limited edition set comes with two discs. Disc One is a UHD disc giving you the US theatrical cut in 4K. This is the version that was seen in the US in cinemas and then worldwide on TV screenings and subsequent disc releases. It includes the commentary track by Lee Gambin from Eureka’s 2019 Blu-ray release (now OOP) but Arrow’s disc goes two better by also including both the archival Lewis Teague commentary and the commentary with Teague and Jeff McKay.

Also on Disc One is a 2014 2o minutes roundtable discussion with Teague, Wallace, Danny Pintauro and Daniel Hugh Kelly, and also carried over from previous releases is the 47 minute making of, plus over three hours of interviews with Dee Wallace, composer Charles Bernstein, stuntman Gary Morgan, stuntwoman Jean Colter, casting director Marcia Ross, dog trainer Teresa Miller, visual effects artist Kathie Lawrence, and special effects designer Robert Clark. You also get trailers, TV and radio spot, and an image gallery.

Disc Two will be of great interest to CUJO completists as it gives us the International Cut. This is the version seen in cinemas outside the US (including in the UK) but which hasn’t had a physical media release since the days of VHS. And yes there are differences, with a shorter running time (about three minutes) and some different scenes. Disc two also carries over an archival Kim Newman interview in which he talks about Stephen King adaptations in general and CUJO in particular. It lasts nearly half an hour and is up to his usual excellent standard. Also carried over from the Eureka release is 100 minutes of Lee Gambin interviewing Dee Wallace at the Cinemaniacs and Monster Fest 2015 convention. It's slightly fuzzy and shot from one angle only but it's good to have.

The Bottom Line: Arrow’s 4K two disc set represents a substantial upgrade in image quality, carries over all the extras from the previous UK Blu-ray release, and has extra material from other previous releases as well. Excellent stuff.

Lewis Teague’s CUJO is out from Arrow Films on 4K UHD in a limited edition two disc set on Monday 12th October 2026

It Ends (2026)

        First-time director Alexander Ullom’s ultra low budget (it was made for under $100 000) creepy road movie is getting a UK digital release from Signature Entertainment.

Three twenty-somethings who have recently graduated meet up with their friend Tyler who has been in the army. Together they set off in their car to get some food. Their GPS suggests a short cut which takes them into a forest. When the cut turns out to be anything but short they turn around, only to be confronted with a dead end, on a road that has had no turn-offs. With no choice but to continue the way they were going, it soon transpires that both the road, and the forest through which it passes, seem to be endless. And there’s another problem. If they stop the car for more than 90 seconds they are besieged by hordes of people their own age who emerge from the forest and attack them.

As the miles click by they encounter other cars that have been left by the side of the road, their odometers reading over a million miles. Meanwhile inside the car they try to work out where they might be (the conclusion is either purgatory or hell) and why they might be there. As frustrations increase it looks like if their car does ever get to ‘the end’ then not all of its passengers will still be inside it.

Very much an art house horror piece, Ullom’s movie stands alongside other recent movies like TALK TO ME and OBSESSION in examining the concerns of an emerging younger generation, including an over-riding fear of aimlessness in the face of either not knowing what to do with their lives or being too afraid that what they do decide will be wrong. Apparently the director has claimed the film was his attempt to deal with his own depression and, while it is far from perfect, it certainly benefits from an integrity to its construction that runs a bit too long at 89 minutes, but is still certainly effective in its use of minimal resources to get you feeling sympathu for its young protagonists. Ullom’s next film, 4x4: THE EVENT sounds even more interesting with its plot of people fighting to the death but only allowed to use items they have bought online and had delivered to their homes, suggesting he’s a director to keep an eye on.

Alexander Ullom’s IT ENDS is out on Digital from Signature Entertainment on Monday 5th October 2026

Crushed (2025)

“Excellent, But Not For The Faint-Hearted”

After a successful international festival run last year, the latest feature from writer-director Simon Rumley (CROWHURST, FASHIONISTA, JOHNNY FRANK GARRETT’S LAST WORD and more) is getting a digital release through Grimmvision.

Daniel (Steve Oram) is a priest living in Bangkok with his wife May (Nattapohn Rawddon) and their ten year old daughter Olivia (Margaux Dietrich). One day Olivia goes to stay with a friend. The friend’s older teenaged brother shows them both an example of a ‘Crushing’ video, in which animals meet their ends beneath the boot heels of women in stockings. Don’t worry, you don’t actually get to see the kitten’s demise.

Needless to say the little girl is traumatised. The next day her own pet kitten goes missing and she wanders the streets looking for it until her parents pick her up. She then follows a boy (who has bought some small pets) to a dubious-looking house and sure enough she ends up getting abducted, with the plan being to sell her to a sex tourist.

Meanwhile Daniel and his wife are beside themselves looking for Olivia. Daniel in particular believes God will help them. However when the man who did take her is caught Daniel then finds it difficult to practice what he preaches and forgive his daughter's abductor.

CRUSHED is gruelling, serious material and that warning up the top there should not be taken lightly. That said, if you’re made of sufficiently stern stuff the film is excellent. The main plot-line is suspenseful and disturbing while the themes it addresses of what it is like to be a Christian and thus consider yourself tested by God and then to completely fail that test is something for plenty of post-movie discussion. Rumley’s direction makes clever use of a novel split screen technique and even cleverer use of a number of hymns, some played without the words but if you know them you’ll appreciate even more what a bitterly cynical film this is. Highly recommended, IF you can take it. Here’s the trailer:

Simon Rumley’s CRUSHED is out on Digital from Grimmvision on Monday 5th October 2026