Romantic drama The Bookshop, starring Emily Mortimer, leads the way for this week’s small-screen action

THE Bookshop, starring Emily Mortimer, tops the bill in this week's Sun DVD reviews. But there's solid support from horror flicks The Dark, Down A Dark Hall and the newly-restored Deadbeat at Dawn.

And if you really want to get into the Halloween spirit, then the 40th anniversary Blu-ray re-release of John Carpenter's original Halloween, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, will give you all the fright you need.

The Bookshop

(PG) Out Oct 22

Emily Mortimer plays determined war widow Florence Green, who defies the advice of her bank manager, solicitor and locals to open a bookshop in the 1950s seaside town of Hardborough. So far, so much like Chocolat, only with books.

For some inexplicable reason, local bigwig Mrs Gamart (Patricia Clarkson), a doyenne of the pearls and twinset brigade, is determined to derail her because she wants the shop, known as the "Old House", for a local arts centre.

Everyone in Hardborough assures Florence they don't read and her business is a very brave move - but when the doors open the shop is packed with curious browsers.

A letter arrives from Mr Haversham-ish widower Mr Brundish (Bill Nighy), who lives as a recluse but loves books. He becomes her first customer.

Soon the locals are introduced to radical new works and they are queuing round the block.
But there are dark forces at play as Mrs Gamart plots against the shop.

The dialogue is very slow and stilted at times but this is a touching, enjoyable drama with a whiff of romance too.

★★★★☆

Lucy Shersby

The Dark (15)

Out Oct 23

A kidnapper flees into the Devil's Den woods, unaware of the monster that lurks within, killing and devouring its victims.

The criminal soon falls foul of the undead Mina - a young woman whose face is ravaged by gaping wounds - but his victim is spared.

And the two form an unlikely bond, one that offers redemption to the beast, who has a tragic backstory.

Nadia Alexander, buried under inches of make-up as the monster Mina, is excellent, and ably supported by kidnap victim Alex, played by Toby Nichols.

It's an unusual film - a strange mix of bloody gore and touching relationship-building.

It makes an interesting addition to the zombie genre, but hardcore fans are likely to lose interest.

It's not quite horror, but enjoyable enough.

★★★☆☆

David Bullock

Down A Dark Hall (18)

Out Oct 22

Spooky Gothic mansion in the middle of nowhere? Check. Filled with assorted weirdos? Check.

Spirits of the dead lurking in the shadows? Check.

And when the electricity cuts out there's a plentiful supply of candles? Check.

It's fine for a film to use stock items like this but only if it is done well. Sadly, there is nothing new in this movie, despite having a top name like Uma Thurman.

She plays Madame Duret, the creepy headteacher of Blackwood Boarding School.

It selects five wayward girls who have been kicked out of their own schools for various misdemeanors and promises to reform them.

Soon the girls, led by stroppy Kit (AnnaSophie Robb), discover they have remarkable talents in music, art and maths.

But these gifts have come at the cost of their sanity.

Kit goes in search of the school's dark secrets and we end up with a fairly obvious conclusion which seems a bit rushed.

Fans of the genre may find nothing to distinguish this film from any other horror movie.

But it might be worth an hour and a half of your fright time in the run-up to Halloween.

★★☆☆☆

John Maskey

Deadbeat At Dawn (18)

Out Oct 22

Written, edited and directed by its star, Jim Van Bebber, this 80s revenge movie, newly restored for Blu-ray, ticks all the boxes.

After being given an ultimatum to choose between his girlfriend and gang life, Goose attempts to put his past behind him.

But when he finds his girl brutally butchered, it sparks a violent gang war.

This great restoration of a blood-soaked and gory movie is definitely one to watch to get into the spirit of Halloween.

With four additional restored short films, the blood and violence doesn’t stop.

★★★★☆

Emma James

Halloween (18)

Out now

While Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre certainly cut an influential path for the slasher movie, Halloween took the genre and pinned it to the door with a bloody kitchen knife.

This 40th anniversary Blu-ray re-release comes in ultra blade-glinting 4k.

John Carpenter’s classic became the blueprint for a golden age of late-70s, early-80s horror.

Imitated countless times but never equalled, this low-budget horror created a visceral menace in Michael Myers that left audiences as jarred and unsettled as its nerve-jangling synthesizer score.

With a new sequel out in cinemas, it’s a good time to get reacquainted with a seasonal classicMyers is a psychopath without reason or logic, relentlessly hunting down a group of babysitters in the suburban and seemingly idyllic fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois.

A man who in the words of his psychiatrist, the brilliant Donald Pleasence has 'no reason, no conscience, no understanding'.

Jamie Lee Curtis makes her brilliant film debut as the innocent Laurie Strode, taking up the scream queen mantle from mother Janet Leigh (Psycho).

The only discernible motive behind Myers‘ murderous fixation with Laurie and her teenage friends is slasher movie law (have sex and you’ll die), leaving the innocent Laurie as the 'final girl'.

With a new sequel out in cinemas, it’s a good time to get reacquainted with a seasonal classic.

★★★★★

Tony Brannon