RINGU 15

1998 ★★★★★ OUT 18

SEPTEMBER 4K UHD EXTRAS ★★★★✩ Commentary, Featurettes, Video essays, Poster, Booklet

Hideo Nakata’s 1998 chiller kickstarted the J-horror revolution of the early 2000s, and is a masterclass in creeping dread. Released in limited-edition UHD with a bevy of extras, it concerns a journalist (Nanako Matsushima) who investigates an urban legend about a cursed video tape that kills viewers. Infused with millennial fears of technological reliance and the loneliness that can ensue, Ringu remains unmatched in its capacity to get right under your skin, before delivering an ending that, well, just leaps from the screen.

CARLITO’S WAY 18

1993 ★★★★✩ OUT 25

SEPTEMBER 4K UHD EXTRAS ★★★★★ Commentaries, Documentary, Featurettes, Deleted scenes, Stills gallery, Booklet, Poster, Art cards

Ten years on from the excess-allareas thrills of Scarface, Brian De Palma and Al Pacino joined forces once again for this more wistful crime thriller. Initially overlooked by critics, its reputation has (deservedly) grown with each passing year, enough, it seems, to justify a second 4K release in just two years. Overkill? Nah, that’s Scarface’s thing. Instead, this new UHD justifies its existence with an expanded suite of extras, including insightful critical analysis and an interview with author Edwin Torres.

THE PSYCHO COLLECTION 18

Darkest shower…

1960-1990 ★★★★✩ OUT 25 SEPTEMBER 4K UHD

EXTRAS ★★★★✩ Commentaries, Documentaries, Featurettes, Stills galleries, Book, Posters, Art cards

You know what I think? I think that we’re all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out,’ says mummy’s-boy motel owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in Hitchcock’s ageless classic (1960), presented here in 4K Ultra HD with a ton of extras.

The three interesting sequels just prove his point. Directed by Hitch’s protégé Richard Franklin, Psycho II (1983) follows an apparently rehabilitated Norman as he’s released back into the community 22 years on – note the word ‘apparently’. With an Oscar-worthy performance from Perkins, a brilliant twist ending and enough slasher tropes to keep 80s horror fans happy, it’s excellent. Perkins himself took the directorial reins for the blackly humorous Psycho III (1986), which continues where Psycho II left off. Clearly possessive of the role that defined and, arguably, destroyed his career, he does a decent job, despite later admitting he wasn’t up to the task.

Ignoring II and III altogether, Psycho IV: the Beginning (1990) is an underwhelming TV movie directed by Mick Garris (The Shining miniseries) that takes Norman (played by Perkins and, as a child, E.T.’s Henry Thomas) back to the start. As Bates noted in 1960, ‘For all of it, we never budge an inch.’

THE VERDICT An extraordinary slice, or two, of horror cinema history, complete with diminishing-return sequels.

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE 18

1964 ★★★★✩ OUT 18 SEPTEMBER 4K UHD EXTRAS ★★★★★ Commentary, Documentary, Visual essay, Featurettes, Alternate opening, Galleries, Booklet, Poster, Postcards

A black-gloved killer cuts a bloody swathe through the models at a prestigious fashion house in Mario Bava’s influential proto-giallo. Upgrading Arrow’s out-of-print 2015 Blu-ray, the label’s Dolby Vision-enhanced 4K release brings yet more vibrancy to the coloursaturated photography, while also reframing the film at 1.85:1 (as opposed to the earlier disc’s controversial 1.66:1 aspect ratio). Pick of the generous extras is an illuminating chat-track from Bava expert Tim Lucas.

SLEEPY HOLLOW 15

1999 ★★★★✩ OUT NOW 4K UHD, STEELBOOK

EXTRAS ★★★✩✩ Commentary, Featurettes

Tim Burton’s gorgeous-looking take on Washington Irving’s classic story is thick with atmosphere as it gallops along, and now, in 4K, you can luxuriate in every swirl of fog or shiver of an autumnal leaf. Favouring eeriness and eccentricity over emotional investment, it sees Johnny Depp go full-kook as 18th-century New York police inspector Ichabod Crane, sent to the provinces to investigate why the locals are losing their heads. The extras are imported but ace, with Burton talking about Hammer, Disney and fairy tales.