Avatar: The Way Of Water and John Wick: Chapter 4 lead June's best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases

Plus the Brendan Fraser inThe Mummy trilogy, Nic Cage in Renfield, and Evil Dead Rise—all for fans who still love physical media (we know you're out there)

Avatar: The Way Of Water and John Wick: Chapter 4 lead June's best Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases
Avatar: The Way Of Water (20th Century Studios) Image: The A.V. Club

Physical media may be devalued by some in our streaming-dominated world, but you’d be surprised how many great titles are only available on disc. Maybe you’ve forgotten how rewarding some DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD offerings can be, especially when they’re loaded with special packaging and bonus features. With that in mind, here’s a look at all the best films and shows you can spin starting in June, including the physical debuts of Avatar: The Way Of Water, John Wick: Chapter 4, Evil Dead Rise, Renfield, and The Covenant. Also on tap are the 4K UHD debuts of The Mummy trilogy starring Brendan Fraser, Insidious, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Creepshow, and many more.

Renfield | Final Trailer

Available June 6 may not have caught fire at the box office, but the horror-comedy about the dysfunctional relationship between Dracula (Nicolas Cage) and his long-abused servant Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) doesn’t suck—it’s actually a dead man’s party! Few details about bonus features are known about the upcoming except that it comes with a digital copy and there is no 4K edition as of yet. We’re hoping for some behind-the-scenes footage of Cage getting into the character he was born to play.

The Mummy (1999) - Theatrical Trailer (4K)

Available June 6Brendan Fraser is enjoying a comeback since winning an Oscar for his performance in The Whale, so it makes sense that Universal wants to dust off and repackage movies in which he starred for this set. The collection includes 1999’s The Mummy, 2001’s , and 2008’s , the latter of which costars fellow Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh. Extras include deleted and extended scenes, outtakes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, “Unraveling The Legacy Of The Mummy,” and much more.

CHILD’S PLAY (1988) | Official Trailer | MGM

Available June 6Chucky, the killer doll voiced by Brad Dourif, has been on a deadly rampage since 1988 in several movies and even a TV series. contains all seven movies: , , , , , and . Bonus features include “Evil Comes In Small Packages” featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, “Spotlight On Location,” “Chucky: Building A Nightmare,” “Good Guy Gone Bad: The Incarnations Of Chucky,” and much more. We wish Universal would have given the series a 4K UHD upgrade, but this set is still an excellent jumping-off point before you watch the Chucky TV series, which takes place after the events in Cult Of Chucky.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023 Movie) Official Trailer – Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård

Available June 13John Wick (Keanu Reeves) must turn old foes into friends if he wants to defeat the High Table in . The sequel with insane action sequences arrives on with Dolby Vision HDR. The disc comes fully loaded with an arsenal of extras, including a featurette about the partnership between Reeves and director Chad Stahelski, as well as featurettes about Reeves’ training, the psychology of a killer, costumes, special effects, an incredible single-take shot, lighting, cinematic inspirations, and much more. There is also an with a more handsome cover and a bonus disc with exclusive “World Of Wick” content.

THE POPE’S EXORCIST – Official Trailer (HD)

Available June 13Oscar winner Russell Crowe stars as the real-life demon-banishing priest Father Gabriele Amorth in this horror movie directed by Julius Avery. Based on two memoirs by Amorth—who passed away in 2016 at the age of 91— arrives on only with a digital copy included. There are two listed bonus features on the back of the packaging: “Introducing Father Amorth” and “What Possessed You?”

Avatar: The Way of Water | Official Trailer

Available June 20Physical media enthusiasts have many reasons to get excited about the release of James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel . The visually groundbreaking blockbuster will be available on , Blu-ray, and even , which you don’t see much of anymore. If you are one of those people like yours truly who procured a 4K OLED 3D-capable TV in the short window that they were available, prepare for your new benchmark disc. All versions are swimming with bonus features, including “Inside Pandora’s Box,” which includes many featurettes about the challenges faced by the cast and crew as the filmmakers devised new technologies to push the limits of cinema. There are also featurettes on casting the new young actors, stunts, the Lightstorm Lab, “The Troupe” of actors, and the Weeknd’s “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)“ music video.

Insidious (2010) Official Trailer #1 - James Wan Movie HD

Available June 20A few weeks before Insidious: The Red Door tries to scare up some box office money in theaters by taking fans back into the terrifying world between worlds known as the Further, Sony is releasing a of 2010’s starring Patrick Wilson. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation of the film was approved by director James Wan. An included Blu-ray has all of the bonus features, including “Horror 101: The Exclusive Seminar,” “On Set With Insidious,” and “Insidious Entities.”

GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT | Official Trailer

Available June 20Guy Ritchie’s stars Jake Gyllenhaal as U.S. Army Sergeant John Kinley and Dar Salim as an Afghan interpreter to whom Kinley is indebted. The includes a digital copy, but not a single bonus feature is listed on the back of the packaging. You would think either Ritchie or Gyllenhaal would have done at least a commentary track, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. There is also no 4K UHD edition—bare-bones or otherwise—at this time.

National Lampoon’s Vacation | 4K Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment

Available June 27For 40th anniversary, Warner Bros. is celebrating the classic Harold Ramis-directed comedy starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and Anthony Michael Hall with a debut. Go down that “holiday road” with the Griswold family and enjoy the brand-new 4K restoration (the new 4K trailer is embedded above) as they try to get to Walley World. The only bonus feature is a commentary track with Chase, Hall, Ramis, Randy Quaid, Matty Simmons, and Dana Barron.

EVIL DEAD RISE - Official Trailer - (Redband)

Available June 27 is the fifth film in the Evil Dead horror series that began in 1981 with Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. The requel takes the action out of the woods and into the city where a mother (Alyssa Sutherland), her three kids, and sister (Lily Sullivan) are trapped in a building after Deadites are summoned by a newly found Book Of The Dead. The unbelievable gore effects will seem to ooze out of your TV on the edition, which also comes packaged with a Blu-ray and digital copy. Like a lot of movies nowadays that make the scary-fast transition from theaters to disc, no special features are included.

Creepshow (1982) Official Trailer - Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen Movie HD

Available June 27 is a classic horror-comedy anthology directed by Night Of The Living Dead director George A. Romero, written by Stephen King, and starring Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, and many more. The Shout Factory Collector’s Edition features a 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It’s scary how many bonus features are included with this 4K debut, including several commentary tracks, a roundtable on the making of Creepshow, the “Collecting Creepshow” featurette about the film’s props and collectibles, the “Horror’s Hallowed Grounds” featurette about the film’s locations, deleted scenes, and several interviews with Creepshow’s filmmakers.

Mallrats Official Trailer #1 - Ben Affleck Movie (1995) HD

Attention Kevin Smith fans: Arrow Films is offering a limited edition of the director’s cult-classic comedy starring Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, and Ben Affleck. The Arrow Store exclusive includes a 4K restoration of both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, supervised by Smith and cinematographer David Klein. Bonus features include audio commentaries, an introduction by Smith, interviews with the cast and crew, deleted scenes, outtakes, Easter eggs, an animated making-of documentary, and much more. In addition, Mallrats comes packaged with an illustrated collector’s booklet and fold-out poster. With all the bare-bones releases this month, it’s cool to see a company give collectors the extras that they will treasure.

 
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