Lionsgate Home Entertainment, out now

Michael Myers escapes from a psychiatric hospital to terrorise the babysitters of Haddonfield in this 40th Anniversary 4K release of John Carpenter’s classic.

Released serendipitously ahead of this Halloween’s direct sequel, Carpenter’s original shocker has never looked so good in 4K resolution, with stunning results from the HDR. One of the strengths of a fully-optimised 4K picture is the quality of its inky blacks, and in a movie like this there’s plenty of opportunity to savour the darkness of the shadows before Michael Myers emerges. Even in the opening the titles the logo and grinning jack o’lantern are vibrant and defined as the classic theme tune punches out from your amp.

There’s also a Blu-Ray disc which is a copy of the previous 35th Anniversary Anchor Bay release, featuring a commentary track with writer/director John Carpenter and star Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as the one-hour ‘The Night She Came Home!!’ featurette with Jamie Lee Curtis, an ’On Location: 25 years later’ feature, some trailers, TV and Radio Spots and the 10 minutes of additional scenes from TV Version which were used to boost the length.

Verdict: A fine Ultra HD transfer from what must have been a well-preserved print, we can now enjoy a blackness darker than Michael Myers’ soul and get to linger on that customised William Shatner mask in greater detail. It’s a shame that no new VAM was added for the 40th, but one assumes Jamie Lee and Carpenter were busy on their new incarnation. Oh, and the five black and white postcards are a nice touch. 9/10

Nick Joy