Category: Physical media

Madhouse on Blu-Ray from Eureka Entertainment

July 4th, 2026

Despite the absolutely iconic imagery of Vincent Price as Dr Death, Madhouse is a film that has somehow slipped by me. The new release from Eureka Entertainment was the perfect way to see it for the first time – in HD, followed by an introduction to by horror novelist Stephen Laws, a video essay by horror and gothic scholar Mary Going and audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle.

As always, Vincent Price was a delight to watch. Price was quite possibly the most handsome, charismatic and magnetic actor to ever grace our screens. And seeing him alongside the equally legendary Peter Cushing is always a good time.

I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but Madhouse is one the earliest meta, self-aware horror movies I’ve seen. Watching older genre films is always fascinating, seeing how much they have influenced other writers and directors. Surely Madhouse was a huge inspiration for Wes Craven when creating the genius work that is New Nightmare. I love anything that looks at film-making within film, especially from a 1970’s perspective.

Madhouse is a lot of fun and considering how much I’ve seen the image of Price as Dr Death over the years, I can’t believe I’d never seen the film. But this is why physical media is so important! New releases alert us to gems we’ve missed and now get to discover and enjoy and more importantly, in light of Sony’s nonsense this week, KEEP FOREVER!

It’s a beautifully shot film with wonderfully camp characters and performances. I really enjoyed it and definitely going to pick up the gorgeous limited edition Blu-ray next time I’m physical media shopping.

Thank you Eureka for sending me a screener copy. Madhouse is available on Blu-ray now from the Eureka website.
Diabolic – on blu-ray and digital 25th May

May 21st, 2026

Diabolic is a new religious horror, available in the UK from next week. After suffering terrifying blackouts, a young woman returns to the religious compound where she was raised. As she unravels the dark secrets of her past, an ancient ritual unleashes the vengeful spirit of a cursed witch.

I love horror about religion and I enjoyed Diabolic, because it’s the first time I’ve seen a movie focused around The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While I don’t think Diabolic does anything ground-breaking, it’s really interesting to see a horror set outside of the usual Catholic and Christian churches. All I know about the Mormon church, I learned from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and The Book of Mormon. So it’s safe to say, that’s not a lot!

Elise, played by Elizabeth Cullen who will star in Evil Dead Wrath, has escaped from a Mormon compound. She’s so desperate to rid herself of the blackouts that are seemingly caused by her trauma, she ill-advisedly returns to the community for a ritual to restore her memory. Nothing about this seems like a good idea, so it’s a little frustrating that not only Elise wants to go ahead, but her boyfriend and best friend come along for the ride. Strength in numbers, perhaps, but it is the first of many silly choices from the characters. The story is heavy on religious horror tropes, but I guess that’s what we’ve come to see.

What Diabolic does do really well, is give us beautiful sets and great practical sfx. It’s a really gorgeous film, with a lovely colour palette and atmospheric locations. I was really pleased to see so much practical work and it’s really effective – two of the things that are guaranteed to freak me out (as vague as possible – repeatedly banging your head and coughing up a hairball!) are present. And freak me out, they did. It was also really nice to see a queer storyline. I can’t speak to whether it was an accurate portrayal of the church’s response, or overall depiction of the church, but it added an interesting angle.

As predictable as the story felt at times, it’s still worth a watch to enjoy the visuals and experience a different type of religious horror. A solid 3 star movie!

Diabolic will be available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Monday 25th May. Thank you to Strike Media for letting me review the film!
The Devil’s Candy – limited edition 4K UHD & blu-ray release from Second Sight

May 18th, 2026

The Devil’s Candy is a dark, atmospheric, disturbing horror that doesn’t get the flowers that it deserves. With a metal soundtrack, powerful performances and haunting visuals, it is an absolutely beautiful film.

The second feature from The Loved Ones and Dangerous Animals director Sean Byrne, The Devil’s Candy fits firmly into a subgenre that I love – metal horror. Painter Jesse and his family move into an isolated, rural home and his sudden artistic inspiration comes from an unexpected source. Jesse and his daughter are metalheads – long hair, tattoos and headbanging on the school run. It’s always nice to see metallers in a film that feel authentic – not what a fancy dress shop says we look like. Ethan Embry, who plays Jesse, is a heavy metal fan himself so it really was an authentic performance. There is an incredible original score from Michael Yezerski and a bangin’ soundtrack featuring Metallica, Sunn O))), Pantera, Machine Head and Slayer.

The Devil’s Candy is also visually stunning. The editing and cinematography masterfully juxtapose horrific acts with Jesse’s creative process. (The scene with the bathtub is just gorgeous.) The Satanic and religious imagery littered throughout is unsettling and works perfectly with the metal soundtrack and score. Dark imagery and dark music, paired with a loving family that feels full of light.

Ethan Embry as Jesse

The cast is small, but perfect. Ethan Embry is fantastic – he is able to balance the loving, devoted father and husband side of Jesse, with the “tortured artist” side without either ever feeling like a stereotype. The intensity of his performance is captivating and I think it’s Embry’s best role. Pruitt Taylor Vince is chilling as Ray, a genuinely intimidating presence who somehow elicits fear and sympathy. Shiri Appleby as Astrid and Kiara Glasco as Zooey are also brilliant as Jesse’s wife and daughter, anchoring him to reality.

Limited edition release from Second Sight

The ever-wonderful Second Sight have given The Devil’s Candy a beautiful release on limited edition 4K UHD & blu-ray, which you can preorder now and will be available from 25th May. There’s a fantastic commentary from Sean Byrne, interviews with Embry, Director of Photography Simon Chapman, Editor Andy Canny and Production Designer Tom Hammock. There’s also a vfx feature and two of Byrne’s short films, Advantage Satan and Work? The limited edition boxset also includes 6 art cards and a 120 page booklet of essays – one of my favourite things that Second Sight does with their releases. This is a 5 star movie, with a 5 star special release and I can’t recommend it more.

Thank you to Second Sight and Aim Publicity for sending me the release to review.
The Mummy (1959) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) on blu-ray from Second Sight

May 15th, 2026

Could there be a more perfect pairing than Second Sight and Hammer Films?! As someone who is working through the Hammer back catalogue, these releases are an absolute gift and a dream. Originally released on special edition, both films will be available on standard blu-ray from Monday 25th May.

The Mummy and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell are new films to me and it’s been great being able to watch them, immediately followed up by special features talking about the history of Hammer and the impact of the films. Both have fantastic performances from the iconic Peter Cushing, a highlight of my Hammer history lessons, as well as the incomparable Christopher Lee in The Mummy.

Of the two, The Mummy is my favourite. The neon green lighting is stunning and much more of a visual treat than the muted palette of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell. Terence Fisher’s take on two classic monster stories is interesting to see – I feel The Mummy has been far more influential on horror, than Frankenstein… The look of the Monster (good ole Darth Vader himself, David Prowse) is very different than other iterations I’ve seen over the almost 100 years of Frankenstein on screen. While this creation wouldn’t necessarily be my favourite of Frankenstein’s monsters, it’s nice to see Hammer doing something different. I definitely want to see the studio’s other Frankenstein stories!

The Franz Reizenstein score for The Mummy and the James Bernard score for Frankenstein… are both beautiful. They just don’t make film scores like that anymore. The music in both films is lush, atmospheric and absolutely getting added to my horror scores playlist. Both blurays contain special features about the scores, which is a delight. We don’t get extras dedicated to the score very often and when we do, it’s usually from Second Sight!

The new artwork from Graham Humphreys is gorgeous too. Beautiful additions to my physical media collection and more gaps in my horror history filled!

The Mummy and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell are released on bluray from Second Sight on Monday 25th May and available for pre-order now. Thank you to Second Sight and Aim Publicity for sending copies for me to review.

PR | GIFTED
The Coffee Table from Second Sight Films

April 25th, 2025

How beautiful is this Second Sight Films release of Caye Casas’ The Coffee Table?! 😍 This incredible, jam-packed blu-ray has some amazing extras (including a commentary from Zoe Rose Smith ) – pre-order from Monday 28th April 🙌🏻

It’s absolutely stunning – treat yourself to a copy!

Massive thanks to Second Sight and Aim Publicity for sending me this stunning limited edition to review 🖤 PR | Gifted