New to Blu: October 26 – November 1

This week’s releases go beyond the latest Star Trek to Halloween curtain raisers Ash vs Evil Dead – The Complete First Season, The Purge 3: Election Year and Green Room.

Star Trek: Beyond goes on sale here in 4K, Blu-ray and 3D versions a week ahead of the US.

“Paramount’s Blu-ray release of Star Trek Beyond features upper-tier video and audio to go along with a nice allotment of extra content,” Blu-ray.com said in what seems to be the first online review. “Highly recommended.”

“Ash vs. Evil Dead Season One comes with a great 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

“The image here looks great on all levels. We are used to our Evil Dead movies coming with a very filmic look with tons of debris, dirt, warps, and an overall very aged look.

“That is not the case here with this new TV series from Starz. This is a digitally shot show and looks very crisp, clean, and clear.”

“Ash vs. Evil Dead looks really slick in high-def. The only thing is that, for my money, it’s a little too slick.

“As much as the series tries to carry over the frenetic visuals of the original movies, a good chunk of the photography is sparklingly clean, bright, and glossy in a way that just … doesn’t seem right to my eyes.”

“It’s nearly everything that fans wanted for years, and even though the extras are a little slim (besides the commentaries), it’s still a great release to pick up.”

“The Purge: Election Year features a good, and fairly straightforward, 1080p transfer. The digital source material holds up well in 1080p. Details are clean and the image rather smooth.”

“This is the most action-heavy Purge film yet, so be prepared to have your surround system get a workout during the many intense shootout scenes.

“The DTS-HD 5.1 transfer has great range and is surround heavy.”

“Green Room comes with an excellent 1080p HD transfer presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The film looks amazing, visually speaking.

“Detail is very sharp and vivid throughout. Close-ups reveal all of the grime and dirt of the club walls, as well as each freckle, wrinkle, and gory wounds on the actor’s faces.”

“Boasting a striking DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (and a more restricted but still impressive 2.0 alternative), Green Room is an intense, constantly thrumming animal at an aural level, coming alive during its live punk performances, but also benefiting from a LFE rumble that helps heighten the tension almost throughout.”

Two of Warner Bros’ biggest franchises are being reissued in shiny new Blu-ray box sets — Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection – Limited Edition (titles also for sale separately), Middle-Earth Collection and Middle-Earth Limited Edition Collector’s Set — while also new are Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and Log Horizon: Season 2 – Part 2 (episodes 14-25).