This year has been a bumper year for Horror. The collected fears of a mid-2020s audience have taken in the contemporary liminal eeriness of the world, as well as the revisited and reborn hauntings of old favourites. A new generation of Horror filmmakers has boldly come to the fore, with the big screen graduation of a number of celebrated YouTubers. It’s always a good time to be a Horror fan.
As we get closer to October and its bevy of spooks, we start to make our lists of what to watch as the nights draw in. These often include the very best new Horror, along with a couple of genre classics. There really is something for everyone here, and today we’re taking a look at what’s on offer on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD.
Find all the titles and all the great offers available now and check below for our thoughts on some of the films on offer.
The HeyUGuys Guide to Thrills that Chill
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Nia DaCosta’s brutal addition to the enduring 28 Units of Time Later franchise was a real surprise. It deepened the film’s ongoing lore, offered a faint light in the franchise’s ultra-violent darkness, and grabbed audiences from the first scene and never let go.
Ralph Fiennes gives a performance unlike any other in his career, and around this calm and chaotic centre Jack O’Connell’s band of bizarre misfits go to town. We spoke to Danny Boyle at the film’s premiere for his opinion on what Nia DaCosta brought to the film series.
Weapons
Zach Cregger’s Oscar-winning film was a standout last year. You never knew where it was going, nor what malevolence was at the heart of the disappearance of Mrs. Gandy’s third-grade class in the middle of the night. Cregger is a new Master of Horror, and Weapons is his boldest and most accomplished vision thus far. His Resident Evil film, out last week, is also something of a banger.
The Wicker Man
A true classic, worthy of its 4K restoration. Once seen, never forgotten. Its power, like that of its contemporaries (The Exorcist and The Omen to name a couple), does not dull once you know its secrets. Robin Hardy guides Edward Woodward through an increasingly dizzying journey through the fictional Scottish island of Summerisle. Christopher Lee is proper dapper in this too. A must-see. A genuine Horror classic.
The Long Walk
This adaptation of one of Stephen King’s most nihilistic visions has been decades in the making, and it was worth the wait. It is the relationship that grows between Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson as they take the titular jaunt (which is longer than you think…) that grips you as a viewer. The awfulness of the underlying theme and the lazy apocalypse that has spawned this annual event is built incredibly well into the tapestry of the film.
It is brutal, touching and an emotional slog. It may be a long walk, but it is well worth it.
Sinners
There was such a reaction to Ryan Coogler’s Vampire film that it’s almost impossible that you’ve not already seen it. The 4K release that’s part of this promotion is indeed the best way to watch the film at home, not least because the Oscar-winning work of cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw is so good you find yourself transfixed by the composition, colours and evocative use of light throughout the film.
It’s a barnstormer. One of the very best Horror films of the 21st Century, and probably the best mainstream film to be released in 2025.
Send Help
Oh, we had such a good time with Sam Raimi’s Send Help earlier this year. Raimi’s razor-edged playfulness has always elevated his work, but here Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are perfect conduits to carry the crazy all the way to the end credits. McAdams in particular seems to be having a ball, and as the film reveals its sneaky secrets, you never quite know what’s around the corner.
Scream 7
The perennial slasher film came back this year with some old friends, and some more grisly kills. Neve Campbell and Kevin Williamson return to bring the heritage of the Scream series back to the fore, with the daughter of Sidney Prescott finding herself the target of the latest owner of the Ghostface mask. It made a mint at the box office, and one of the highlights for us was catching up with the voice of Ghostface Roger L. Jackson on the red carpet at the World Premiere in the US.
Want to hear Ghostface give you a HeyUGuys!? Click below…
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
The hunt is on, and there’s no time to breathe as the sequel to Ready or Not picks up right after the credits rolled on the first film. Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton are the quarry of The Council, and the creative team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are clearly enjoying a bigger budget and fan expectation.
There is a large amount of kick-ass in this film. Bring it on.
Primate
Oh man… this one was a shocker. We’re big fans of director Johannes Roberts, but even we didn’t see this one coming. We’re also old enough to remember the ’80s rabies scare, and the slew of terrible films that came out featuring poor hungry dogs with soapy water dripping from their jowls. This is, thankfully, a far, far better prospect than those attempts to bring rabies back to the big screen.
It IS gruesome however. It’s not as if it makes a secret of this. But be warned, this is not one for the gore-conscious, or decapitation-averse. It is, also, a lot of fun.
IT: Welcome to Derry: The Complete First Season
Bill Skarsgård is a handsome man, there’s no denying it. But man, did he ever overdose on the nightmare fuel when he signed up to out-creep the legendary and sadly late Tim Curry as the new face of Pennywise the Clown. The companion series to the recent IT films is a genuinely gripping tale, told with reverence for its source material as well as seemingly setting out to be the root of millions of core fears for its audience. It’s brutal and gory and gets under your skin like few other shows.
Insidious: The Red Door
Leigh Whannell and James Wan’s creepy franchise is given new life in its fifth instalment. Patrick Wilson steps behind the camera to mark his directorial debut with this film, and there’s a lot of life left in The Further if this film has anything to go by. If you’re deep into the Insidious lore then this will be Creepy Christmas morning for you – but don’t just take our word for it – we sat down with the director himself to talk us through The Further and beyond.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Young cinema goers, not alive when Francis Ford Coppola unfurled his luxuriant adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale, may struggle to imagine the furore that greeted this film on its cinematic arrival. It was a lush, theatrical romantic epic, with surrealistic touches and a magnetic central performance from Gary Oldman. It is a sensual sensory experience with Wojciech Kilar’s dense and dreamy score. It is an experience. Watch, indulge, be captivated for life.
