"We don't have time for subtle," says Brendan Fraser, the star of The Mummy Returns, neatly encapsulating the relentless pace and hammerheaded tone of the film. As is the way of sequels here we have more, more, more of the same formula: more explosions, more action and more mind-numbingly endless CGI effects. Once again borrowing shamelessly from the Indiana Jones series, The Mummy Returns, like its predecessor, has boundless energy but lacks the stylish verve and charm of Spielberg's trilogy. All the original cast are reunited, this time joined by WWF star the Rock in a cameo role designed to plug his spin-off vehicle, The Scorpion King, and young actor Freddie Boath who plays an English eight-year-old in the 1930s whose dialogue borrows from Bart Simpson ("Get a room" and "My dad's gonna kick your arse" are two of his choice phrases). Other cinematic thefts include a Jurassic Park-style creatures-in-the-long-grass sequence and a lengthy triple-threat finale along the lines of Return of the Jedi. Still, despite the wearying relentlessness of its computer-generated effects, endless chases and fights, this is undeniably fun popcorn fodder and provides some memorable scenes along the way, notably Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez battling it out for the affections of nasty old Imhotep. On the DVD: This two-disc "Special Edition" is a treat for fans of the franchise. The first disc has an anamorphic widescreen print of the movie in its 2. 35:1 CinemaScope ratio, and a choice of Dolby 5. 1 or DTS for the headache-inducing soundtrack. [+]

Made in 1922, FW Murnau's Expressionist masterpiece Nosferatu-A Symphony of Horrors is an unofficial but reasonably faithful condensation of parts of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Alongside Metropolis (1926) it is one of the very few European features from the 1920s that is still regularly shown, and apart from being the first great horror film it laid the foundations of the vampire genre to the present day. Wearing astonishing rodent-like make-up Max Schreck cuts such an iconic figure as the undead Count that the 2001 comedy-horror Shadow of the Vampire suggested he wasn't acting at all! Although Murnau's film was revolutionary and technically adventurous for the time, a modern audience will have to make some allowances for the fact the movie now seems both dated and technically primitive: Murnau's stylised lighting and camera effects have been endlessly imitated and improved upon since, and even its greatest defenders generally admit the film barely raises a shudder, let alone a full-blooded scare. Nevertheless, Nosferatu holds a strange dreamlike grip on the imagination and its incalculable influence on fantasy and horror cinema means this is essential viewing for anyone seriously interested in the development of motion picture art. On the DVD: Presented in Academy at 1. 37:1 and with James Bernard's new orchestral score in well-recorded stereo Nosferatu looks and sounds as good as it has in decades. Bernard, composer of Hammer's Dracula (1958) among others, has written a superior score that captures the film's subtitle, "A Symphony of Horrors", and truly brings the images alive in a way previous scores have not. This restored version presents for the first time on video or DVD the blue and brown tints of the original cinema prints and replicates the original hand-designed inter-title cards which with their distinctive designs make the film much more of a compete visual experience. More importantly, this DVD offers approximately another quarter of an hour of material over the usually distributed American version. However, the restoration has not extended to repairing the many lines, scratches, variations in brilliance and other evidence of print damage present throughout. [+]

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

Directed by stylemaster David Fincher, who went on to greater things with Seven and Fight Club, Alien 3 was the least successful of the Alien series at the box-office. Ripley, the only survivor of her past mission, awakens on a prison planet in the far corners of the solar system. As she tries to recover, she realises that not only has an alien got loose on the planet, the alien has implanted one of its own within her. As she battles the prison authorities (and is aided by the prisoners) in trying to kill the alien, she must also cope with a distinctly shortened life span that awaits her. But the striking imagery makes for muddled action and the script confuses it further. The ending looks startling but it takes a long time-and a not particularly satisfying journey-to get there. -Marshall Fine, Amazon. com On the DVD: The clarity of the digital picture throws light into some of Fincher's darker recesses, but is unkind to the primitive computer animation (the CGI alien is never convincing). Compared to the Alien DVD there are few extras, although a "making of" featurette that covers all three movies is included.

Made in 1984, The Hitcher is an update-in spirit at least-of Steven Spielberg's first feature film, 1971's Duel. Here C Thomas Howell plays a guy taking a drive-away car from Chicago to San Diego. On a whim, in the rain, and against his better judgment, he picks up a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer). The hitcher quickly admits to being a murdering psychopath and once Howell finally gets him out of his car, he is pursued with all the vengeance of the ancient furies. We're never sure if the hitcher is a figment of his imagination, making Howell a schizophrenic killer, or if he's real and Howell is the random victim of a wandering madman, which is how his potential new girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) thinks of him. Either way, The Hitcher is great fun, kinda scary and teetering on the brink of "must see". -Andy Spletzer.

Since movies began, thrillers have depended on a door just slightly ajar, with a narrow slit of darkness that promises to hold your worst fears. In the first five minutes of Boogeyman, a young boy's father is violently sucked into a closet, scarring the boy so badly that he grows up to be blank-faced Barry Watson, who plays Tim, an editor at a newspaper. Tim, to impress his girlfriend's parents, wears a coat and tie but doesn't shave his sexy stubble. A premonition of his mother's death drives him back to his childhood home so he can exorcise his phobias. From there. well, there's lots of atmospheric cinematography, regular jolts of loud music, and many quick edits. What actually happens is pretty obscure and, really, not worth unobscuring. The obsession with doors and doorknobs verges on the avant-garde. [+]