Stack Those Shelves: The Best New Horror Blu Rays to Spook Your Halloween
Like Horror Blu rays? Physical media is having a comeback worthy of the undead rising from their graves. For years, collectors have been mourning the death of the disc, but it seems Halloween 2025 has other plans. With boutique labels digging up forgotten horrors and polishing them to 4K perfection, there has never been a better time to fill those shelves, scare your postman, and justify the amount of money you spend on plastic boxes. Here are five unmissable new releases to haunt your Halloween season.
Mikey (Treasured Films)
Once banned in the UK and whispered about like an urban legend, Mikey is finally being unleashed by Treasured Films. The 1992 cult chiller follows young Mikey, played by Brian Bonsall, a seemingly sweet boy who leaves a trail of tragedy behind every time he moves to a new home. His foster parents think he’s just misunderstood, but as the bodies pile up, it becomes clear that Mikey is less Leave It to Beaver and more Damien with a baseball bat. With a cast that includes Ashley Laurence from Hellraiser and Mimi Craven from A Nightmare on Elm Street, this is a prime slice of early nineties mischief and murder.
Treasured Films has gone all out with this UK debut, presenting a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative, plus a wealth of new and archival features. There’s a commentary from The Hysteria Lives duo, interviews with Mimi Craven and former child star Whit Hertford, a full documentary on the making of the film, and a video essay on killer kids in cinema. The first pressing includes a rigid slipcase with artwork by Graham Humphreys, a collector’s booklet, six art cards, and webstore exclusives like a reversible poster and a magnet for those who like their fridge decor murderous. Treasured indeed.
Laid to Rest (Last Slate Video)
Chromeskull returns to slice up the small screen once again. Laid to Rest was a standout slasher of the late 2000s that somehow never got a Blu ray release in the UK—until now. This grim, low budget gem follows a young woman who wakes up in a coffin with no memory of who she is, only to discover that a masked killer armed with a camcorder and an arsenal of sharp objects is hunting her down for sport. Bloody, brutal, and occasionally ridiculous, it’s everything you could want from a modern slasher.
Last Slate Video’s release gives this cult classic the love it deserves, featuring a new HD transfer, a making of documentary, a featurette on the torture porn era, deleted scenes, and interviews with director Robert Hall. It also comes with a slipcover, reversible sleeve and poster, plus collectible postcards for anyone who wants to send bloodstained greetings this spooky season.
Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2 (Last Slate Video)
You can’t keep a good killer down, and Chromeskull proves that in this follow up which cranks the carnage to eleven. Picking up right where the first film left off, the sequel turns up the violence, the gore, and the ambition, turning the masked murderer into a full blown horror franchise antihero. This one dives deeper into the shadowy organisation funding Chromeskull’s slaughter spree, adding a layer of intrigue beneath the arterial spray.
This Blu ray edition comes loaded with interviews with the cast and crew, a documentary on the making of the film, and even a music video for “Laid to Rest” by Secondhand Child. Last Slate Video once again includes a slipcover, reversible artwork, a poster, and four postcards. A perfect companion to its predecessor and proof that the slasher sequel still has plenty of blood left to spill.
The Return of the Living Dead (Arrow Video)
They’re back from the grave and ready to party. Dan O’Bannon’s 1985 zombie comedy classic has shuffled onto Blu ray and 4K UHD thanks to the fine ghouls at Arrow Video. Part punk rock horror, part splatter comedy, it follows a group of warehouse workers and punks who accidentally unleash a toxic gas that brings the dead back to life. What follows is chaos, carnage, and the single best reason never to hang out in a graveyard after dark.
Arrow’s release is an absolute monster of a package. Restored in 4K from the original negative, it includes multiple commentaries, documentaries on the effects, the soundtrack, and the legacy of the film, along with deleted scenes, trailers, and the full feature length documentary “More Brains.” The limited edition also comes with new artwork, a poster, a collector’s booklet, and a preview of the sequel comic Revenge of the Living Dead. It’s as comprehensive as you could dream of and a must own for every zombie fan.
Uncle Sam (88 Films)
Horror and patriotism rarely mix, but 88 Films’ glorious new edition of William Lustig’s Uncle Sam is here to prove otherwise. When a dead soldier rises from his grave on the Fourth of July to punish the unpatriotic, you know you’re in for a bloody good time. Featuring Timothy Bottoms, PJ Soles, and even the late, great Isaac Hayes, this is one of those films that sits perfectly between satire and insanity, like Maniac meets the fireworks display from hell.
The Blu ray has been restored from the original negative and presented in all its red, white, and gory glory. Special features include commentaries with Lustig, writer Larry Cohen, and Isaac Hayes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a featurette on the film’s explosive stunts. The first pressing includes an O ring slipcase and booklet notes for the collectors who want to salute this undead soldier in style.
So, there you have it. Five new physical releases to buy and enjoy just in time for Halloween. So grab your copies, get the pumpkin spice latte out and prepare for a spooky time.
