Evil Dead Burn 4K (2026/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Passenger (2026/Paramount Blu-ray)/Rise Of The Super Tromettes (2025/**)/The Screaming (2000/Visual Vengeance*)/Sweet Meats (2024/*both Troma/**)/Watch Me Sleep (2023/Wild Eye DVD/**all MVD)

4K Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: X/B+/B-/B-/B/B- Sound: A-/B+/C/B-/B/B- Extras: B/D/C+/B/B/C+ Films: C/C+/D/C+/C+/C

Now for a slew of new horror releases, most on the weak side...

The Evil Dead franchise turns itself on its head with Evil Dead Burn 4K (2026), another relentlessly violent entry in the series that falls more in line with the 2013 reimagining. Sam Raimi's original trilogy remains untouchable, as this latest installment trades much of the franchise's trademark humor for an abundance of gore and scares. Unfortunately, the biggest problem lies with its characters, who aren't particularly likable to begin with.

In the original Evil Dead series, we were all rooting for Ash (Bruce Campbell), a character who evolved from a mild-mannered everyman into a chainsaw-wielding, time-traveling demon slayer. Here, however, we're given a cast of characters who are difficult to sympathize with, making their increasingly gruesome fates feel less impactful.

Following the loss of her husband, a grieving woman seeks solace with her in-laws, hoping to find comfort in the aftermath of tragedy. However, as her family members transform into bloodthirsty Deadites one by one, she discovers that the vows she took in life may very well survive into death.

The film stars Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand and Maude Davey.

Evil Dead Burn is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with HDR10, an HEVC / H.265 codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems; 48kHz, 24-bit) sound mix. The presentation is solid with a nicely layered sound mix and a crystal clear HDR image that makes this disc definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of the film.

Special Features:

Evil Dead: Blazing the Trail while introducing a daring new vision, Director Sebastien Vanicek and his crew explore how Evil Dead Burn honors the franchise's ever evolving legacy

The Hot Shot: Evil Dead Burn's One-Shot Sequence - Dive into Evil Dead Burn's most gripping scene as cast and crew detail the intense focus and synergy required to create the complex one-shot sequence.

and This One's Gonna Burn - Explore the fire-fueled chaos of Evil Dead Burn by witnessing how the stunts and effects teams brought the film's physical horror to life.

Evil Dead Burn isn't quite as fun to watch as Evil Dead Rise, the previous entry, and didn't fare as well with fans and critics as the former either. While there are some fun gory bits throughout this, the film would have done better with more humor and if it didn't take itself so seriously.

Andre Ovredal's Passenger (2026) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount. This PG-13-rated supernatural thriller centers on a vengeful spirit haunting the open highway. While the narrative isn't particularly original, the film delivers several effectively constructed, tension-filled sequences that make it an entertaining watch.

A couple embarking on a cross-country road trip narrowly avoids a fatal accident. When they pull over to assist the other party, they unknowingly attract the attention of a malevolent spirit that attaches itself to them. As the supernatural terror intensifies, the couple discovers that their only hope of escaping its deadly grip is to return to the location where the entity was killed, if they can survive long enough to get there.

Andre Ovredal is a genre filmmaker who, in my opinion, doesn't receive nearly enough recognition. While his films haven't always been major box-office successes, each has offered something interesting and worthwhile for genre fans. His breakout feature, The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), was an excellent supernatural thriller, followed by the atmospheric Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) and The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023).

Unfortunately, I would consider Passenger the weakest of the bunch. Its narrative borrows heavily from familiar supernatural horror conventions, particularly films like The Ring (2002), making much of the story feel predictable. Nevertheless, Ovredal's ability to build suspense and create an unsettling atmosphere helps elevate the material, resulting in a reasonably entertaining thriller despite its lack of originality.

The film stars Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, and Melissa Leo.

Passenger is presented in 1080p high definition on 2K Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and audio mix in lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) sound, which works well, but would likely work better in 4K.

No special features sadly. Do better Paramount!

Passenger isn't horrible and not without some interesting moments, but overall the ghost isn't really that memorable nor is the film on the whole.

Troma Entertainment unleashes another Z-grade exploitation outing with Rise of the Super Tromettes (2025), an ultra-low-budget romp that caters primarily to the studio's devoted cult following rather than mainstream audiences. When a mysterious virus sweeps through Tromaville, infecting its male population, the Super Tromettes must spring into action and race to uncover a cure. Embracing the outrageous, anything-goes spirit that has long defined the Troma brand, the film is clearly aimed at viewers with an appetite for the bizarre and unapologetically lowbrow.

The film stars Elizabeth D'Ambrosio, Mercedes, Knotty Peach, and Jade Theriault.

Rise of the Super Tromettes is presented in 1080p high definition on 2K Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. The film is shot digitally and looks and shows its budget and limitations. This is supposed to be more guerrilla filmmaking in its execution and in that regard it succeeds.

Special Features:

Brand New Introduction Featuring Mercedes The Music and Lloyd Kaufman

Super Tromettes Assemble! Making-of Mini Doc

Mercedes The Muses' Totally Toxic Tour

The Troma Intelligence Test

See The Troma Team In Albania

and Coming Distractions.

This movie is bad even by Troma standards. Watch at your own risk!

Jef Leroy's The Screaming (2000) has landed on disc from Visual Vengeance, the film is mainly a satirical take of the religion Scientology.

Struggling college student Bob Martin (Vinnie Bilancio) rents a room from the mysterious and seductive Crystal Traum (Wendi Winburn), who introduces him to a New Age religious movement known as Crystalnetics. Initially skeptical, Bob finds himself drawn into the organization as his health and outlook on life begin to improve. However, when a detective warns him about a series of mysterious deaths connected to the group, Bob begins investigating its sinister origins. What he discovers is a bizarre nightmare involving murderous cult members, grotesque creatures, and a monstrous secret lurking behind the organization's seemingly benevolent teachings.

The film stars Vinnie Bilancio, Wendi Winburn, and John F. Goff.

The Screaming is presented in 1080p high definition on 2K Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) stereo mix. The image looks and sounds as good as it can on the Blu-ray format considering its low quality source materials.

Special Features:

Includes CD soundtrack of the original score by Jay Woelfel

Director supervised master from existing tape masters

Commentary with Tony Strauss of Weng's Chop Magazine

Screaming and Screaming Again: The Making of The Screaming

Composing a Cult Classic: Music Composer Jay Woelfel

Bonus feature: The Screaming: Reborn - director remastered alternate version of film

The Screaming: Reborn commentary with director Jeff Leroy, producer Dave Sterling and star

Vinnie Bilancio

Image Gallery

Original Trailer

The Screaming: Reborn Trailer

Visual Vengeance Trailer

Visual Vengeance Trailers

Folded mini-poster

'Stick Your Own' VHS sticker set - FIRST PRESSING ONLY

Reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art

and an Limited Edition O-Card - FIRST PRESSING ONLY.

The Screaming is cleverly written and pretty fun for the type of low budget film it is.

Ricky Glore's Sweet Meats (2024) is a low budget comedy from Troma that is a mix of country music satire and Sweeney Todd. Bobby Sweet is a country music legend and has been the world-renowned face of 'Sweet Meats' since establishing his first restaurant with his wife and eccentric staff. Sometimes a 'secret ingredient' should stay that way.

The film stars Ricky Glore, Timmy H. Barron, Eileen Earnest, Beth Metcalf as Victim, and Tatum Greenway.

Sweet Meats is presented in 1080p high definition on 2K Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. The film looks and sounds pretty professional for a film on the lower budget range and certainly for one that's under the Troma banner.

Special Features:

New Commentary Track

'The Grind' - The Making of Sweet Meats

Evolution of a Song: Writing the Music of Sweet Meats

Cast and Crew Feature-Length Interview

and Tromatic Extras.

This is actually one of the better releases I have seen from Troma in a long time and not bad if you enjoy cannibal comedy.

And finally, Watch Me Sleep (2023) is an intriguing low-budget British thriller that blends grief, violence, addiction, and supernatural horror into an atmospheric narrative.

The film follows Sean, a recovering alcoholic dealing with the death of his abusive mother. Unable to fully accept that she is truly gone, he pays a company to install a camera inside her coffin so he can monitor her grave after the burial. What begins as an unsettling way of confronting his grief soon becomes an obsession when the camera captures strange movement, scratching, and an apparent presence inside the coffin. As Sean continues watching, it becomes increasingly clear that something may be watching him back.

Written and directed by John Williams (not to be confused with the famous film composer), the film stars Darren McAree, Sarah Wynne Kordas, James Whitehurst, Zane Hopkins, and Katie Elliff.

Watch Me Sleep is presented on DVD in anamorphically enhanced, standard definition (480i) with a widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio mix. As expected from the format, the image exhibits a lot of compression in the image, but the digitally shot production generally holds up well despite its modest budget.

Special Features:

Trailers

Image Gallery

and an Original Trailer.

Watch Me Sleep isn't bad for a low budget horror production and its British flare makes it worth checking out if you're looking for something offbeat.

- James Lockhart

https://letterboxd.com/jhl5films/