Insomnia 4K (1997)

Second Sight are giving their extra special treatment to director and co-writer Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s Nordic Noir thriller starring Stellan Skarsgård, and which was remade a few years later by Christopher Nolan with Al Pacino in the lead.

Police officers Jonas Engström (Skarsgård) and Eric Vik (Sverre Anker Ousdal) come to the north of Norway to investigate the murder of a 17 year old girl. Engström is considered brilliant but a cloud hangs over him because of his sexual relationship with a witness in a previous case. A trap is set for the killer but it goes wrong and Engström mistakenly shoots Vik dead. His seniors believe the killer did it but a full investigation is ordered, meaning that as well as catching the girl’s killer, Engström now has to cover up his involvement in Vik’s killing as well.

A dog dies as part of Engström’s cover up. I’ll put that up there now because I know there are people out there who will want to know. In the Nolan version Pacino’s character comes across a dead dog but here Skjoldbjaerg is keen to blur the line between cop and criminal with Skarsgård’s performance, and while Engström is good at getting the job done he’s also ruthless, self-serving, and inappropriate with some of his female acquaintances. INSOMNIA is a cold, very blue (literally) film and if you’re a fan of Nordic Noir and haven’t seen this you’ll definitely want to add it to your list.

Second Sight’s 4K UHD / Blu-ray limited edition combo set comes with a commentary from Erik Skjoldbjaerg and co-writer Nikolaj Frobenius (in English, in case you were wondering) which is scene-specific. Other extras include interviews with Skjoldbjaerg (29 minutes), and producer Petter J Borgli (who explains why their names aren’t on the US version, 10 minutes). Alexandra Heller-Nicholas provides a 12 minute video essay analysis of the film, and there are three Skjoldbjaerg short films: Spor (17 minutes), Close to Home (31 minutes and made while the director was in the UK) and Near Winter (34 minutes).

The limited edition also comes with a 120 page book with new essays, six art cards and a rigid slipcase to keep it all in.

Eric Skjoldbjaerg’s INSOMNIA is out from Second Sight in a limited edition 4K UHD / Blu-ray set as well as standard edition separate UHD and Blu-ray releases on Monday 25th May 2026

Soldier 4K (1998)

Director Paul W S Anderson’s big budget Kurt Russell-starring SF actioner SOLDIER, a film that went straight to video in the UK back in the day, finally gets a whistles and bells 4K release from Arrow Films.

We’re in the world of BLADE RUNNER. It’s not specifically spelled out but there are clues which are confirmed in the extras. Todd (Russell) has been literally been trained from birth to be a soldier, as we see in the film’s opening sequence. He’s been victorious in battle many times (check out his commendations in the bottom right hand corner of the profile we are shown) but now his kind of operative is on the way out, to be replaced by Jason Isaacs’ elite genetically engineered commandos, the most massive of which is Caine (Jason Scott Lee).

Dumped on a garbage planet, our hero discovers a community that includes Sean Pertwee and Connie Nielsen. He tries to fit in but is eventually banished for not being as successful as the others would like. However, Jason Isaacs is on his way with his new task force to unleash havoc and Todd is going to have to save them all.

SOLDIER looks expensive, boasting massive sets, impressive military vehicles, and Michael Bay levels of explosions. It’s admittedly all a bit one-note and for a film many of its praisers consider to be ‘SHANE in space’ there’s far less concentration on character and a lot more on hardware. That said, it’s an entertaining B movie and would have looked (and sounded) great on the big screen it didn’t even reach in the UK.

Arrow’s 4K restoration is director approved and really allows you to see the amount of detail that’s gone into both the production design and the explosive stunts. Director Anderson and co-producer Jeremy Bolt provide an excellent (archival) commentary track and they’re joined by Jason Isaacs about 43 minutes in. 

Extras new to Arrow’s disc include a bunch of interviews with actor James Black (10 minutes), 1st a.d. Dennis Maguire (13 minutes), associate producer Fred Fontana (10 minutes), production designer David L Snyder (14 minutes), the VFX team (19 minutes), Danny Stewart who wrote the making of book (7 minutes), and film historian Heath Holland who offers a reappraisal of the film (12 minutes). There’s also a five minute piece on the VFX with commentary by FX supervisor Craig Barron.

Other archival extras include the electronic press kit consisting of featurette (7 minutes) and 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage, plus a bunch of tiny interviews (some less than a minute) with the cast. You also get trailers, a still gallery and the limited edition also comes with a booklet with new writing on the film, plus a reversible sleeve.

Paul W S Anderson’s SOLDIER is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 27th April 2026

The Mask (1994)

Arrow Video are releasing, in limited edition Blu-ray and UHD sets, a 4K restoration from the original camera negative of the film that cemented Jim Carrey's star status and introduced the world to Cameron Diaz.

Mild-mannered bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey) thinks he sees someone drowning but it turns out to be some detritus washed into shore, crowned by an old wooden mask. Stanley, whose interests include old Tex Avery and Warner Bros. cartoons, finds that if he puts the mask on he becomes a living cartoon character himself, complete with an anything goes potential for whatever he becomes involved with, which includes villain Peter Greene and his gang of bank robbers.

When THE MASK came out in 1994 its use of CGI effects, combined with Jim Carrey's still-fresh manic acting style, made the film feel very modern indeed. Watching it now it's still extremely entertaining, but the production design, acting, storyline, and above all the cartoonish HELLZAPOPPIN' style now lends it much more of an out of time, retro feel - a 1930s animated short given a live action 1990s makeover. Of course that means anyone loving this film (and there's a lot to love) will hopefully be moved to check out the Tex Avery cartoons that were their inspiration.

Arrow's disc comes packed with extras, including two commentary tracks, one with director Chuck Russell and the second with Russell, New Line Cinema head honcho (at the time) Bob Shaye, and six other members of the crew. New extras include interviews with Russell (21 minutes), screenwriters Mike Werb and Mark Verheiden and creator Mike Richardson (18 minutes), VFX supervisor Scott Squires (14 minutes), editor Arthur Coburn (7 minutes), actress Amy Yasbeck (13 minutes), choreographer Jerry Evans (10 minutes) and a video essay on Jack Russell terriers in cinema (10 minutes).

Archival extras ported over from previous releases include a couple of makings of (27 and 3 minutes), 5 minutes of cast interviews, 13 minutes on Cameron Diaz, and 10 minutes on dog training in Hollywood. Best of all is a 13 minute piece on Tex Avery's influence on the film, and two deleted scenes, one of which is the original opening where Vikings have travelled to 'the ends of the earth' to get rid of the mask, accompanied by Joseph LoDuca's music from ARMY OF DARKNESS. Finally, the set comes with a reversible sleeve, booklet, poster and six art cards. 

Chuck Russell's THE MASK is out from Arrow on 4K in limited Blu-ray and UHD editions on Monday 10th 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.

Diary of a Mayhem 2025 Day 3 - Saturday

Mag Mag

Young men are being haunted by the ghost of a girl whose size and physical appearance resembles Rob Zombie's version of the adult Michael Myers. When they reject her advances they end up dead with the eyeballs plucked out. But what's actually going on here isn't quite as straightforward as it initially seems, with the ultimate explanation for the hauntings reserved for the last few minutes of the running time. In between we are treated to a gleeful embracing of many J-Horror cliches, comedy monks and a dance routine that involves some bizarre sphincter artwork. If you're a fan of J-Horror you'll appreciate the references to previous genre films, but a lot of this can be enjoyed just as much even if you don't know them at all. 

Man Finds Tape

A found footage horror, but don't go scrolling away just yet. MAN FINDS TAPE is found footage shot (on the whole) by characters who are themselves film professionals, collated with CCTV footage and other nicely static sources that eliminate the wobble cam that plagues the worst of the genre. A man in a small Texas town discovers a video recording that shows a stranger in his bedroom when he was a boy. Then CCTV footage turns up of people suddenly falling asleep in the town high street and a van running someone over. It would be a shame to say any more, and indeed to suggest the horror authors whose work this film is most reminiscent of, but in a festival that hasn't had that much horror MAN FINDS TAPE helps to redress the balance very nicely.

Bulk

What's this one all about? Travelling the time streams, that's what! Ben Wheatley's new film acknowledges Philip K Dick, Alan Moore, Kurt Vonnegut and an awful lot of others at the end but to me this felt most like one of the Jerry Cornelius novels of Michael Moorcock, especially A Cure for Cancer. Agent Sam Riley is thrown into the time streams by Alexandria Maria Lara in search of a missing scientist whose Brane (sic) has exploded. This is where he meets Noah Taylor in a large number of roles, alters roles himself as does Lara and the three of them meet up, cross over and affect the outcome of the time streams while always coming back to the same house but in different rooms. Shot in black and white in academy ratio ('because it's best for faces' said Mr Wheatley) and making ingenious use of both new tech and old school model work. If you're not a fan of Mr Wheatley this is unlikely to convert you, and if you've seen everything he's ever done chances are you'll still be surprised by this one. Oh, and your mileage will undoubtedly vary as to whether it's your cup of tea or not. 

Event Horizon

This year's big screen classic, which if you haven't seen you should, as it's still Paul WS Anderson's best. 'Big, British and Bloody Scary', as SFX magazine called this tale of deep space exploration gone horribly wrong (and to a hell dimension) back in the day. And an excellent opportunity for those who missed it the first time round to experience it on the big screen. I was there opening weekend so I elected to retire early.