Blu-ray

This sequel to the prequel to Paul Anderson's 2008 remake takes the Death Race concept on the road in order to unleash the heavy metal carnage in Africa. The result is both stupid and misogynistic (as you can see, leading lady Tanit Phoenix essentially plays a pair of breasts squeezed into a tight leather costume) – and yet it still manages to entertain more than this played-out franchise has any right to. The Blu-ray itself makes quite an impression with its sun-bleached AVC 1.78:1 1080p visuals and impactful DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio (since when did DTV sequels sound this good?), not to mention a reasonable set of bonus features.

Following the success of Re-Animator, director Stuart Gordon once again joined forces with actors Jeffrey Combes and Barbara Crampton to tackle another H.P. Lovecraft tale.

Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller star as a trio of high school misfits who… Zzzz… Oh, sorry, I must have nodded off there. It's not that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a bad film per se. But, while it is competently acted and directed, there's no denying that it feels almost identical to the numerous other Hollywood coming-of-age dramas that you'll have seen a hundred times before. The BD's AVC 1.78:1 1080p encode boasts a surprisingly heavy (if authentic) layer of grain, while the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is mainly given over to dialogue and '80s pop songs. Modest extras include a pair of chat-tracks.

Marion Cotillard delivers yet another electrifying performance in this heart-wrenching French drama from the director of A Prophet. She plays a killer whale trainer who loses both of her legs in an accident and then becomes involved with a self-obsessed single father who scrapes a living competing in illegal kickboxing fights between temporary jobs. This hi-def outing conjures up some crisply detailed AVC 2.40:1 1080p imagery as well as an involving DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. An hour-long Making of… documentary, visual effects reel and commentary are among the disc's excellent bonus features.

When Chris (Steve Oram) takes his new girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) on a caravanning holiday, what was initially planned as an 'erotic odyssey' through Yorkshire soon turns into a murderous rampage.

This generically-titled shocker claims to be 'Based on a true story'. But while one of the bonus features makes it clear that the pre-credit sequence has its basis in a supposedly real event, the rest of The Possession is so blatantly derivative of William Friedkin's 1973 horror classic that it might as well come with a label that reads 'Based on The Exorcist'. On a more positive note, the sheer quality of The Possession's AVC 2.40:1 1080p encode and DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix ensure that it won't disgrace your home cinema should you choose to give this Blu-ray a spin.

A young boy with the ability to talk to the dead finds himself battling zombies and a witch's curse in this 3D stop-motion film. While ParaNorman is frequently funny, beautifully animated and shows a real love for the horror genre, it also lacks that spark of life that marks out a truly great 'toon. And, while the film looks excellent when presented 'flat', the 3D incarnation of the disc's MVC 2.40:1 1080p encode is rather more hit-and-miss due to the dark nature of the visuals. Otherwise, the disc scores pretty well with a boisterous DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and plenty of behind-the-scenes extras.