DeepStar Six 4K (1989)

        Studio Canal are releasing director Sean S Cunningham’s underwater monster movie in 4K on UHD, Blu-ray and Digital. It’s a film made in ‘the year of the Sub-genre’ as one of the commentaries cracks on here, when six films with similar subject matter made it into release, including James Cameron’s THE ABYSS and George Pan Cosmatos’ LEVIATHAN. 

Compared with those, DEEPSTAR SIX is at the lower budget end of the spectrum, with a cast of TV standbys (BJ and The Bear’s Greg Evigan, Nancy Everhard from lots of stuff), Ronn Carroll from Cunningham’s original FRIDAY THE 13TH (“Miss - we didn’t find any boy”), Matt McCoy from POLICE ACADEMY 5 & 6 and Miguel Ferrer (ROBOCOP and Twin Peaks and the biggest name of the lot here).

The titular undersea base belongs to the navy, which is looking at the best place to set up some nuclear missiles. The ideal spot turns out to be on top of a cavern so they blow it open and release an enormous prehistoric monster that we get to see in all its glory towards the end of the film.

“The water is as much the monster” says Cunningham in one of the archival extras, probably because it was also quite a bit cheaper, and it does mean that for much of the running time the crew are fighting against flooding and collapsing submersibles rather than fighting the enormous beastie. That said the model work is Gerry Anderson-level quality and therefore very endearing and the monster, when we finally get to see it, is so impressive that it shows up the rather small set it’s supposed to be skulking in.

Studio Canal’s disc comes with an impressive four commentary tracks, the most recent being from podcasters James G Chandler and Ash Hamilton, and the most entertaining being from screenwriters Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller who both sound “fairly merry”. There’s also a 2001 commentary from Cunningham and visual FX supervisor James Isaac, and a fourth commentary track is a mixture of a 35 minute interview with composer Harry Manfredini and tracks from his music score.

Other extras include a set of interviews with FX men Mark Shostrum, Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero (22 minutes), stars Greg Evigan and Nancy Everhard (17 minutes) and stunt coordinator Kane Hodder (13 minutes) all from 2020. There are also archival extras from 1989 including behind the scenes footage (4 minutes), cast and crew interviews (4 minutes), the 1989 press kit, stills, trailer and TV spots. The disc also comes with four art cards.

Sean S Cunningham’s DEEPSTAR SIX is out on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and Digital on Monday 8th June 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

Excalibur 4K (1981)

 

“Impressive, Definitive, Essential”

John Boorman’s unique, stunning retelling of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is getting a 4K restoration release as part of a three disc set from Arrow Films.

There’s nothing quite like EXCALIBUR, a film that took a markedly different approach to the King Arthur movies that both preceded and followed it, emphasising the mythic aspects and deliberately setting it ‘out of time’ (to use Boorman’s words) rather than giving it a traditional medieval setting. The film boasts a glorious, otherworldly look (thanks to both Boorman and DP Alex Thomson) and has a cast that does the subject matter justice, playing up the dramatic while never descending into pulp parody. 

It’s by no means a perfect film. At 140 minutes it’s a bit too long and it does have a tendency to be a bit overly pompous at times (two things that spoiled its chances at the box office in 1981), but considering this is essentially the unique vision of one man, John Boorman can be forgiven for not getting it exactly right, and for not catering to the mainstream too much.

So what’s on Arrow’s set? Disc One has the film in 4K and in the correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Of course, being clearer means you can see the grain a lot more so some may wish to hang onto their Blu-ray copies for nostalgia’s sake. We get the previously released archival commentary from the director, plus two new ones. The first is from Brian Hoyle, author of The Cinema of John Boorman, and he very sensibly does his best not to repeat what the director says on his own commentary. Second is film-maker David Kittredge who at the time of recording was completing his documentary Boorman and the Devil and who talks more about how the film fits into Boorman’s oeuvre as a whole. 

Disc Two is a veritable treasure trove of excellent extras, starting with Neil Jordan’s 48 minute 1981 Making Of which has only been rarely seen previously. Boorman himself takes us through the film-making process and there are interviews with stars Nicol Williamson, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay, Paul Geoffrey and Helen Mirren, as well as DP Alex Thomson, choreographer Anthony Van Laast and armorer Terry English.

New extras include interviews with John Boorman and his son Charley (28 minutes), Neil Jordan (25 minutes), and art director Anthony Pratt (26 minutes). Howard S Berger provides us with a massive, career-encompassing interview with second unit director Peter MacDonald (75 minutes) and returns with his Flying Maciste brother Kevin Marr for a 30 minute looks at ‘The Death and Life of Cinematic Illusion’ in Boorman’s cinema. There’s also an excellent visual essay / interview about Boorman’s writing collaborators including Alexander Jacobs and Bill Stair but concentrating mainly on Rospo Pallenberg who gets to talk at length (38 minutes). Finally for disc two you get trailers and a still gallery, which includes the original screenplay by Pallenberg and Boorman. 

Disc Three opens with the ‘TV Version’, which will be something of a curio for UK viewers who got to experience EXCALIBUR in all its uncut glory when it premiered on Channel 4 back in the day. Apparently this is the version shown on US TV (aha!) and is twenty minutes shorter to remove ‘controversial content’. It was also the version shown in US schools (aha again!) whereas UK school-kids, made of sterner stuff, got to debate how Uther Pendragon could possibly have sex with Ygraine while wearing all that armour. Also on Disc Three is the 2016 documentary “Excalibur: Behind the Movie” which includes interviews with Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Nigel Terry, Paul Geoffrey, Cherie Lunghi, Clive Swift and all the Boormans.  Arrow’s set also comes with a perfect-bound book with new writing on  the film, a double-sided poster, a reversible sleeve and six art cards.

John Boorman’s landmark EXCALIBUR is out from Arrow in a limited edition three disc set (one UHD and two Blu-rays) on Monday 23rd February 2026

 

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

Outland 4K UHD (1981)

Arrow Films are releasing writer-director Peter Hyams' 1981 'space western' in a limited edition 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative.

At a mining facility on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, workers are going crazy and killing themselves. New marshal William O'Niel (Sean Connery) with the aid of the station doctor (Frances Sternhagen) discovers that the number of instances has risen dramatically over the last 12 months. Could the mine's increased productivity over that time have anything to do with it? And what about station boss Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle) and the members of O'Niel's force he is paying off? Can one man take a stand against the corruption on the station, even as hired hit men are on their way there to make sure O'Niel is no longer a problem?

Peter Hyams had apparently been lamenting the death of the western before realising that westerns had moved 'into space' which prompted the screenplay for OUTLAND. But there's much more to this than just HIGH NOON on a moon. The look and feel of the movie is very much informed by Ridley Scott's ALIEN of just two years before. Space has become less the domain of bold explorers and is now just another place to have factories filled with workers. You can also see how the look of OUTLAND informed James Cameron's subsequent ALIENS (1986) and indeed David Fincher's ALIEN 3 (1992). 

The model work and photography are excellent, complemented by Jerry Goldsmith's score. We all know Jerry Goldsmith was God in movie music, but he really did know how to nail the emptiness and yet at the same time the claustrophobia of space. Acting-wise it's Connery's show all the way but the rest of the cast ably support that.

Arrow's 4K comes with a new commentary from Chris Alexander that's my favourite kind - informal, chatty and feels like you're watching with a good friend. Peter Hyams' archival commentary is also on there and reveals he has a wicked sense of humour. There's a fantastic new interview with Hyams conducted by Howard S Berger that's 52 minutes long and has him talking about his career up to and including OUTLAND. Berger also interviews DP Stephen Goldblatt (29 minutes) and VFX supervisor for the Introvision process used in the film, William Mesa (34 minutes), and returns for a piece on 'Peter Hyams as Auteur' in which he argues the case well for those who don't already think the man deserves more recognition than he has so far had. 

Academic Josh Nelson gives us an 18 minute video appreciation of the film and we get the usual trailers and image galleries. Arrow's limited edition also includes a booklet featuring new writing on the film, a double sided poster and a reversible sleeve.

Peter Hyams' OUTLAND is out in a limited edition 4K UHD set from Arrow on Monday 3rd November 2025

A Nightmare On Elm Street: Seven Film 4K Collection (1984 - 1994)

Warner Bros. have released a box set of the first seven NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films on 4K UHD. That's because Warners currently own New Line Cinema, which was the company that produced and released the films in the US back in the day. Meanwhile, here in the UK, the films were released by Palace Pictures through the Odeon circuit, with new Graham Humphreys artwork for most of the posters (oh the memories).

There's also a posh steelbook collection that includes the films on Blu-ray as well (the standard set doesn't) and the covers for those are shown below. Each film benefits immensely from the 4K upgrade on UHD, but be aware that there are only a couple of new extras and those are on disc seven. However if this is your favourite franchise you're definitely going to want the films in this format. Let's take a look at each individual disc:

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

"Who would have thought Wes Craven would turn out to be America's answer to Dario Argento?" said Cinefantastique magazine when this was released stateside in 1984. Certainly this film is one of the most 'Italian' American movies there is, not just in the amount of blood splashed around, but in terms of its emphasis on imagery and emotional impact. Where Craven is immensely clever (and there are a lot of reasons to applaud in this movie) is that he gets away with having his cake and eating it too, such that he's able to fit all the weird dreamlike imagery into a cohesive logical narrative. It all works so brilliantly that one could quite reasonably argue that this was the most impactful and, ultimately, the best horror film of the 1980s. 

Warners' 4K disc finally gives us the chance to see the full version we all watched in UK cinemas and on CBS/Fox's VHS tape release (which was transferred open frame and still gives the most picture information) back in the 1980s (previous Blu-rays have used the censored US cut).

Extras are the same as for the Blu-ray (and not in 4K) including two commentary tracks (stars Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon, DP Jacques Haitkin and Craven on one, a total of 15 people on the other) as well as 15 minutes of 'focus points' ie bits of footage and talking head snippets, three alternate endings, a 50 minute making of, 22 minutes on New Line Cinema and a 16 minute piece on nightmares.

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

Released to almost universal disdain from horror fans and critics alike, FREDDY'S REVENGE has developed a cult following over the years, mainly from 'gayest horror film ever' enthusiasts. That's not enough to make this in any way a good film, though, and those who loved the first were understandably disappointed at this generic horror sequel, in which Freddy has become a boogieman who just wants to randomly kill people but he can't so he has to use Mark Patton because the boy has moved into Nancy Thompson's house. Or something.

What always looked like a TV movie does look a lot better on Warners' 4K transfer. Again there are no new extras, just the four featurettes available on the Blu-ray about the publicity (6 minutes), Heroes and Villains (7 minutes) the Male Witch (3 minutes) and Psychosexual Circus (4 minutes)

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

A huge hit on release, this one lays its cards on the table from the opening scene: dark photography and a return to the 'rubber reality' of Wes Craven's original where the line between dreams and reality is blurred, but never confusingly. Bigger and more impressive special effects cause this story of teen 'suicide attempts' to have an even bigger impact as Heather Langenkamp's Nancy returns from the original, now qualified in treating certain psychological conditions. Like in part 1, Langenkamp has to carry much of the film again here. Unlike in part 1, she's not quite as convincing, but the cavalcade of well-designed set-pieces, plus a returning Wes Craven to co-write the first draft of the screenplay, helped immensely to ensure this one's success.

ELM STREET 3's cinematography always looked rather dark and grainy. Warners' 4K greatly improves picture clarity without losing that grain and with zero picture noise even on high settings of brightness. Extras are the same as for the Blu-ray, ie 27 minutes of making of featurettes grouped together as 'Behind the Story' and a Dokken music video.

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master (1988)

The most financially successful of the ELM STREET films is also the one that feels most like a 1970s EuroHorror in terms of style, thanks in great part to Finnish director Renny Harlin. Oh yes, this one skates dangerously close to not making a lot of sense, while at the same time delivering such a constant barrage of entertaining special effects pieces that it doesn't give you time to think about that while watching it. The survivors of DREAM WARRIORS are killed off and a script contrivance that's much better than the one used in FREDDY'S REVENGE allows the man of your dreams to go after even more victims. This was also the first series entry to be packed with pop songs (from the Chrysalis catalogue), now providing extra nostalgia value.

THE DREAM MASTER always looked a little bit foggy. Warners' 4K is a revelation and a big step up from the Blu-ray in terms of picture clarity and vividness of colour (the greens!). Pop in the Blu-ray and you'll see there's no comparison from the off. Extras are the same bunch of tiny behind the scenes featurettes: The Finnish Line (2 minutes), Krueger, Freddy Krueger (8 minutes), Hopeless Chest (4 minutes) and Let's Makeup (2 minutes). 

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 5: The Dream Child (1989)

Of course it all had to come crashing down at some point. While parts 2,3 and 4 were, if nothing else, all solid 'rock 'n' roll 1980s popcorn' movies, THE DREAM CHILD deserves points for trying to return to the darker tone of the original. Unfortunately none of it works. While there are a few attempts at bizarre dream deaths here the central theme of Alice being pregnant still feels wrong for this series, and the film as a whole takes itself much too seriously. The result is something that quickly becomes dirge-like and hard going. At least the 4K makes it look good, plus you get the option of the theatrical or uncut versions. Extras are as before, with 15 minutes of behind the scenes chat.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

Debates as to which was the worst of the series were pretty much settled by the release of FREDDY'S DEAD, which tries hard to get the series back into entertainment mode but instead comes across as a rather silly series of sequences inspired by Warner Bros. cartoons. It's a ramshackle affair that, despite being the most expensive movie so far, looks very cheap, and even the 4K doesn't help much. The three demons that possess Freddy still look like muppets about to break into song. You do get the option to watch the film with its 15 minute climax in 3D if you so wish, although with the price of the box set you would think they could have given you more than one pair of anaglyph glasses. Extras here include a piece on the effects for the climax (3 minutes), director Rachel Talalay (3 minutes), 2 minutes of Robert Shaye admitting this was the end for Freddy, and 45 seconds of Clive Barker. 

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

A very different beast indeed from its predecessors, writer-director Wes Craven returned to New Line to make this piece on the nature and purpose of storytelling, building it around the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise and the character of Freddy. His masterstroke was to have actual cast members (Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, John Saxon and look carefully and you'll spot Tuesday Knight and Jsu Garcia / 'Nick Corri' as well) and New Line execs Robert Shaye and Sara Risher play fictionalised versions of themselves, as well as featuring Craven himself. It's arguably the second best film of the series although apparently it made the least money, which is a shame. 

NEW NIGHTMARE always looked crisp and rich and Warners' 4K honours that such that you won't see such as big a difference as with the other movies but the improved clarity is still there. There are two new extras which together consist of 16 minutes of directors Jack Sholder and Chuck Russell, NEW NIGHTMARE DP Mark Irwin and Robert Englund discussing the ELM STREET phenomenon, filmed for this release. Other extras are all archival and include everything on the previous NEW NIGHTMARE Blu-ray (five tiny featurettes featuring Wes Craven) and the Welcome to Prime Time (50 minutes) and Conclusion (17 minutes) extras that were on the previous Blu-ray sets bonus DVD, the only thing missing being the two episodes of Freddy's Nightmares that were previously included on that.

The A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 7 film 4K collection is out now from Warner Bros. It's available in a seven disc standard edition UHD set, and also a limited edition steelbook set of 7 UHD discs and 4 Blu-rays, if you can find it.