Unleash the Fear: A Comprehensive Guide to John Carpenter’s 4K Blu-ray Collection for Halloween

In The Mouth of Madness Limited Edition is one of two John Carpenter films with new 4K Blu-ray editions launching soon. When a popular horror author goes missing, his publisher hires an investigator to find him. But things quickly become a bit more complicated than expected, as it turns out the author is trapped inside Hobb’s End–a fictional location of his own creation. This Limited Edition bundle from Arrow Video is packed with bonus features, plus a brand-new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound support. It also includes several physical collectibles that are exclusive to this version. Here’s what’s included:

• Physical collectibles:
  • Reversible sleeve with exclusive artwork
  • Double-sided fold-out poster
  • Collector’s book featuring new essays from multiple authors
• Special Features:
  • Audio commentaries
  • 8 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Behind-the-scenes footage

It’s worth noting that In the Mouth of Madness: Collector’s Edition is also available in a standard edition Blu-ray that’s on sale at Amazon for just $18. This version is available now and has the same special features, though it lacks the physical collectibles and 4K presentation.

The other pre-order is for the Vampires Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Blu-ray launching November 4. The film follows master vampire hunter Jack Crow (James Woods) as he tracks down the vampire Jan Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) and attempts to stop him from finding an artifact that would allow all vampires to walk safely in the sunlight. It’s not Carpenter’s best-reviewed film, but its bloody action and fun special effects have made it an enduring cult classic. This new version comes with a 4K cut of the film with Dolby Vision and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 support, plus a few extras, including:

• Steelbook case
• Special Features:
  • Audio commentaries
  • 6 Featurettes and Interviews

While this upcoming steelbook is arguably the coolest way to add Vampires to your collection, an existing Vampires 4K Blu-ray is available on Amazon for $24.

While not his first film, Halloween (1978) is the movie that put Carpenter on the map. The horror film inspired countless slasher flicks and spawned numerous sequels. The first three films–Halloween, Halloween II, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch–are all available in multiple 4K Blu-ray options, including recently launched Limited Edition Steelbooks. The first two are available now at Amazon, while the third film is available to pre-order ahead of its launch on October 28. All three cost $45 apiece. These new Steelbook editions are packed with bonus content like audio commentary tracks, interviews with the cast and crew, and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

If you want to save a few dollars, you can also grab Collector’s Edition versions of all three movies for between $20 and $38 each. These versions replace the premium steelbook cases with standard 4K Blu-ray packaging with slipcovers.

• Halloween (1978) Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) — $45
• Halloween: Collector’s Edition (4K Blu-ray) — $20
• Halloween II (1981): Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) — $45
• Halloween II (1981): Collector’s Edition (4K Blu-ray) — $20
• Halloween III: Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) — $45 | Releases October 28
• Halloween III: Collector’s Edition (4K Blu-ray) — $38

Directed by Carpenter and written by Bill Lancaster, The Thing (1982) adapts the 1938 novella, Who Goes There, by author John W. Campbell Jr. Starring Kurt Russell and Keith David, the film is set at a remote research station in Antarctica, where a team of scientists discovers a strange lifeform frozen in the ice. When it thaws, it begins killing and mimicking the humans in the facility, sending the rest of the group into a paranoid panic while they try to survive. While it was initially a commercial failure, its gripping story and haunting special effects gained it a cult following, and it’s now considered one of the best entries in the sci-fi horror genre. This 4K Blu-ray version includes the 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray versions of the film, plus a few bonus features.

• Special Features:
  • Feature commentary with Carpenter and Kurt Russell
  • Outtakes
  • Terror Takes Shape (Featurette)

The Prince of Darkness Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Blu-ray includes the 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray versions of the film with support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos spatial audio. It also includes a selection of special features and a unique Steelbook case. The film follows physics Professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) and a group of graduate students after they discover a strange canister tucked away in an abandoned church. Of course, they decide to pop the canister open–accidentally unleashing the evil force lurking within. Now they must race to defeat the ancient horror.

• Special Features:
  • Audio commentaries
  • 5 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Alternate Opening
  • Still Gallery

The standard edition Prince of Darkness 4K Blu-ray is available for $19.

Written, directed, and scored by Carpenter, Ghosts of Mars is a B-movie action horror flick set in a future where humans have terraformed most of Mars. Police Lieutenant Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge) leads an operation to a remote mining facility to apprehend escaped criminal James “Desolation” Williams (Ice Cube), only to discover the facility has succumbed to a supernatural affliction that now threatens the entire planet. The Ghosts of Mars Limited Edition Steelbook includes the 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray versions of the movie, plus a few special features. If you want to save a few bucks, you can also grab the Ghosts of Mars: Collector’s Edition on 4K Blu-ray for $24. It doesn’t have a steelbook, but it shares many of the same bonus features.

• Special Features:
  • Audio commentaries
  • 4 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Image Gallery

Starman is pretty different from Carpenter’s other work. Instead of a gory, horror flick, this is a romantic sci-fi adventure. An alien (Jeff Bridges) stranded on Earth meets a widow named Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), and takes the form of her deceased husband. The pair then journeys to the Barringer Crater in Arizona, where the alien’s mothership is scheduled to pick him up, while trying to avoid pursuit by the US army. Despite it being a departure of style for Carpenter, the film still earned favorable reviews.

You can grab the Limited Edition Steelbook version for $38, or pick up the film as part of the Columbia Classics 4K Collection (Volume 4), which also includes His Girl Friday, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Sleepless In Seattle, and Punch-Drunk Love.

• Starman Limited Edition Steelbook Special Features:
  • Audio commentary
  • 21 deleted scenes
  • “All I Have to Do Is Dream” music video
  • Making-Of Featurette

Escape from New York takes place in a world overrun with crime, and the entirety of Manhattan has been converted into a prison. However, when a plane carrying the US president (played by Donald Pleasence) crashes inside its borders, outlaw Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is tasked with his rescue. To ensure Plissken complies, police commissioner Bob Hauk (Lee van Cleef) plants explosives in Plissken’s neck, which are set to detonate after 24 hours. It’s a wild concept, but the film is highly regarded for its dystopian vibes, tight pacing, and memorable performances from its cast. It’s even cited as a major influence on Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid video game series, including Snake Plissken inspiring the name and appearance of Metal Gear’s protagonist, Solid Snake.

Escape From New York is available in two 4K Blu-ray releases–a $26 Limited Edition Steelbook and the Escape From New York Collector’s Edition, which is on sale for $20. Despite the differences in packaging, both include the same selection of bonus materials.

• Special Features:
  • Audio Commentaries
  • 6 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Deleted scenes
  • Photo galleries

One of Carpenter’s most iconic films, They Live is a sci-fi action-thriller set in a world where aliens mask themselves as humans and are slowly taking control of the planet. However, a random guy named John Nada (Roddy Piper) finds a pair of glasses that reveals the alien impostors, kickstarting his mission to free the planet from its hidden alien overlords.

You can pick up They Live with the Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Blu-ray for $17.49 that includes a selection of bonus features.

• They Live Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Blu-ray Special Features:
  • Audio commentary with John Carpenter and Roddy Pider
  • 6 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Thrailers & TV Spots
  • Still Gallery

Not to be confused with The Mist (which is based on a Stephen King book), The Fog is a 1980 horror film starring Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Atkins. It’s set in Antonio Bay, a seaside village that’s suddenly consumed by a mysterious fog concealing the ghosts of sailors who died in a shipwreck 100 years ago and now seek revenge on the town’s citizens.

The Fog Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Blu-ray comes with the 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray versions of the film, and supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. You also get the special Steelbook case and several special features. It’s available for $22. A 4K Collectors Edition is also available for $20, offering most of the same bonus features but lacking the cool steelbook.

• Special Features:
  • Audio commentaries
  • Intro by John Carpenter
  • 9 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Outtakes
  • Photo Gallery

While The Fog only sounds like a Stephen King book, John Carpenter’s Christine actually is an adaptation of a King story. The film follows high school student Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) after he picks up a 1957 Plymouth to restore–only for the car to come alive and hunt down people in town.

The Christine 35th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray gets you both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray versions of the film on disc, along with a few special features. You can grab it for $19 at Amazon. It’s also available in a standard Blu-ray version for $11.69.

• Special Features:
  • Audio commentary
  • 3 Featurettes
  • Deleted Scenes

In the town of Midwich, six women have mysteriously become pregnant–and when they all give birth at the same time, the town knows something is amiss. The children seem to age remarkably fast, developing a unified intelligence and supernatural abilities that quickly become an existential threat to the town. The Village of the Damned Collector’s Edition has both the 4K and standard Blu-ray versions, with support for Dolby Vision HDR and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.

• Special Features:
  • Audio commentary
  • 5 Featurettes and Interviews
  • Image Gallery

While the Halloween series has seen numerous follow-ups and reboots over the years, the Halloween trilogy that premiered between 2018 and 2022–which includes Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends–is a modern revival that ignores everything else in the series except for the Carpenter’s 1978 original, and serves as a new set of sequels. While Carpenter did not write or direct the movie, it sees the first movie’s star, Jamie Lee Curtis, reprise her role as Corey Cunningham, and offers a new take on the Halloween mythos. If you want to revisit these movies, you can pick up the Halloween Trilogy 4K Blu-ray for $49.79. It includes 4K cuts of all three films, plus bonus features like extended and deleted scenes and a gag reel.

While the Halloween Trilogy 4K Blu-ray is the easiest way to grab all three films at once, you can also pick up each movie as standalone 4K Blu-rays:

• Halloween (2018) (4K Blu-ray) — $15.42
• Halloween Kills (4K Blu-ray) — $17
• Halloween Ends (4K Blu-ray) — $19.87

While the above films are all 4K Blu-ray editions, many of John Carpenter’s other movies are also available on Blu-ray and DVD. This includes everything from his earliest films like Dark Star and Assault on Precinct 13, to other iconic entries in his catalog like Big Trouble In Little China. Check the list below for even more options.

• Assault on Precinct 13: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray) — $10
• Big Trouble in Little China (Blu-ray) — $10
• Black Moon Rising (Blu-ray) — $25
• Dark Star (Blu-ray) — $10
• Elvis (Blu-ray) — $23
• Eyes of Laura Mars: Special Edition (Blu-ray) — $12.49
• Firestarter (Blu-ray) — $9
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man (Blu-ray) — $16
• Someone’s Watching Me (Blu-ray) — $16
• The Ward (Blu-ray) — $15