Second Sight, out now

A troubled young man, who believes himself to be a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and religious cousin in a small Pennsylvania town.

George A Romero’s 1976 vampire classic is resurrected with a gorgeous new UHD transfer in Second Sight’s impressive limited edition.

Martin (an excellent John Amplas) is a troubled young man who may or may not be a vampire. He’s certainly a predator – stalking, drugging and then exsanguinating his victims – but is he the nosferatu that his relative believes him to be? It’s a question that we ask ourselves across the film, particularly when Martin experiences what appear to be monochrome flashbacks to an unexpected past.

For this new UHD 4K restoration, Second Sight have enlisted Director of Photography Michael Gornick to supervise and approve the rich HDR10 transfer. While there’s some noticeable grain, there’s a crispness to the picture, and the stagey fake blood has never looked so crimson.

In addition to two archival audio commentaries by George A Romero and various creatives, there are new commentaries by horror aficionados Kat Ellinger and Travis Crawford. There’s a new, feature-length documentary (including location tour) and interview with composer Donald Rubinstein, the trailer, TV and radio spots and more. The limited edition release has a book with new essays, original soundtrack CD five character art cards.

Sadly, there’s no restoration of the Argento-supervised ‘Wampyr’ cut with score by Goblin, so you’ll have to hold on to your 2010 Arrow DVD. And there’s also the prospect of a future release of the recently-discovered 3.5 hour director’s cut.

Verdict: An excellent, multi-format UHD release of the regular cut of the movie with all the trimmings. Whether it will be seen as the definitive release, time will tell. 9/10

Nick Joy