Streaming may be convenient, but physical media is forever.
Here are five upcoming horror releases you don’t want to miss this month.
“IT: Welcome to Derry” Season 1 – May 5
The first season of “IT: Welcome to Derry” will be released on Steelbook 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 5 via Warner Bros.
Serving as a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s IT films based on Stephen King‘s classic novel, the series goes back to 1962 to trace the origins of the murderous, shape-shifting entity known as Pennywise.
Special features:
- Inside Derry – 3 extended behind-the-episode featurettes
- Fear the Other – Featurette exploring the societal dynamics of 1962 Derry, Jim Crow, the Red Scare, and the government trespassing on indigenous lands
Muschietti developed the show with Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs. Fuchs serves as co-showrunner alongside Brad Caleb Kane (“Crystal Lake”).
Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, and Rudy Mancuso star, with Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as Pennywise.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review, “The cast is as tremendous as the production design, and the ’60s setting inspires new angles to exposing the rot beneath Derry’s Norman Rockwell-like facade. But there’s an almost empty artifice to it all, just fresh window dressing on a familiar story we’ve already seen and know how it ends, especially as the horror takes its time to escalate.”
Uzumaki will be released on Blu-ray on May 6 exclusively from Australia’s Umbrella Entertainment for $55.
Adapted from the manga by Junji Ito, the 2000 Japanese horror film is also known as Spiral.
Special features:
- Audio Commentary with Critic and Japanese Cinema Expert Amber T (new)
- Audio Commentary with Author and Filmmaker Elijah Thomas (new)
- Audio Commentary with Director Higuchinsky
- The Man Behind the Spiral: Interview with Manga Artist Junji Ito (new)
- Sounds of Kurôzu-cho: Interview with Composer Keiichi Suzuki (new)
- Uzumaki: Manga to Film Comparison by Rubén Pajarón Pereira (new)
- The Spiralling Madness of Uzumaki: Video Essay by Cinema Nippon (new)
- Behind The Scenes of Uzumaki
- Mr. Saito’s Camcorder Footage
- Trailer
Also included:
- 48-page book of behind-the-scenes material and essays by Norio Tsuruta and James Balmont
- Custom illustration rigid case and slipcase by That Gomach
- 8 art cards
- A3 reversible poster
In the quiet seaside town of Kurouzu, strange occurrences begin to plague its residents, Snail-like mutations, twisted behaviors, and an unshakable fixation on spirals. As the town descends into madness, schoolgirl Kirie and her friend Shuichi struggle to escape the tightening grip of an ancient, inescapable curse.
Higuchinsky directs from a script by Takao Nitta. Eriko Hatsune, Fhi Fan, Hinako Saeki and Shin Eun-kyung star.
Ginger Snaps will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital on May 19. It’s #39 in Lionsgate’s Vestron Video Collector’s Series.
Featuring artwork by Chelsea Lowe, the 2000 Canadian werewolf movie is presented in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR.
Special features:
- Audio Commentary with Director John Fawcett
- Audio Commentary with Writer Karen Walton
- The Pact: Ginger Snaps Forever Featurette (new)
- Ginger Snaps: Blood, Teeth, and Fur Featurette
- Growing Pains: Puberty in Horror Films Featurette
- Making-of Featurette
- Creation of the Beast
- Being John Fawcett
- Cast Auditions and Rehearsals
- Production Design Artwork
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
Death-fixated teen sisters Ginger and Brigitte are attacked one night by a creature drawn to Ginger’s first menstrual period. Bitten by the creature, Ginger soon exhibits sudden aggression and bizarre transformations that convince Brigitte her sister is turning into a werewolf… and that Ginger’s embrace of her liberating new condition may be terminal.
John Fawcett (“Orphan Black”) directs from a script by Karen Walton. Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, and Mimi Rogers star.
The Haunting will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on May 26 via Scream Factory.
The 1963 adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been restored in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision.
Special features:
- 4K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
- Presented in Dolby Vision
- Audio Commentary with Director Robert Wise, Screenwriter Nelson Gidding, and Actors Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn
- Audio Commentary with Actor and Writer Tracy Letts and Film Critic Sean – Fennessey
- Audio Commentary with Dr. Karen Stollznow, Matt Baxter, and Blake Smith of Monster Talk
- Theatrical Trailer
Dr. John Markway, an anthropologist with an interest in psychic phenomena, takes two specially selected women to Hill House, a reportedly haunted mansion. Eleanor, a lonely eccentric with a supernatural event in her past, and the bold Theodora, who has ESP, join John and the mansion’s heir, cynical Luke. They are immediately overwhelmed by strange sounds and events, and Eleanor comes to believe the house is alive and speaking directly to her.
Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) directs from a script by Nelson Gidding (The Andromeda Strain). Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn star.
Terror Train will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on May 26 via Kino Lorber.
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the 1980 slasher has been scanned in 4K from the 35mm original camera negative with HDR10.
Special features:
- Audio Commentary by Film Historians Paul Corupe and Jason Pichonsky
- Audio Commentary by Film Historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- Interview with Director Roger Spottiswoode
- Interview with Uncredited Writer Judith Rascoe
- Interview with Composer John Mills-Cockell
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
It’s New Year’s Eve and a group of college co-eds have planned a masquerade bash aboard a chartered train. What they didn’t plan on was that a costumed psycho would crash the party and begin slaughtering the guests one by one!
Roger Spottiswoode (Tomorrow Never Dies) directs from a script by T.Y. Drake. Ben Johnson, Hart Bochner, Timothy Webber, Anthony Sherwood, Vanity, and David Copperfield also star.
Which movies are you adding to your collection this month? Let us know in the comments!
Peruse our archive of must-have horror releases.
