This week we start with horror, the horror.

The catalogue of Universal Studios Home Entertainment contains an endless supply of horror films, from pioneering silent days up to the blood-splattered present. From now until Halloween, Universal will release 31 films, in eight products, from their vault. A few of these notables now arrive:

John Carpenter: Master of Fear Collection Four R-rated films from the now-legendary Carpenter make up this two-disc set. Conveniently packaged together are his ghoulish landmarks The Thing (1982, 104 minutes), Prince of Darkness (1987, 101 minutes), They Live (1988, 95 minutes) and Village of the Damned (1995, 98 minutes).

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Next week, horror mastermind Wes Craven will release a collection of three of his films, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Shocker and The People Under the Stairs.

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The Wes Craven Horror Collection Not to be outdone, the great Craven, with his bizarre stories and striking effects, also receives a tribute with three of his more stylish works: The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988, 98 minutes), Shocker (1989, 110 minutes) and The People Under the Stairs (1991, 102 minutes). All rated R.

An American Werewolf in London — Full Moon Edition (***) John Landis’ seminal 1981 work returns and also makes its Blu-ray debut in this darkly humorous tale about two young Americans (Griffin Dunne and David Naughton) traveling to London, where their vacation takes an unexpected detour.

Rated R, 98 minutes.

The new double-disc edition includes commentary from Dunne and Naughton, outtakes, an interview with Landis and two new featurettes, including a “making of” segment, and more.

Army of Darkness — Screwhead Edition Before Spider-man, Sam Raimi directed this outrageous time-travel horror flick, the third in his Evil Dead trilogy and starring his frequent collaborator Bruce Campbell. The new edition includes a featurette on the special effects and an alternate ending.

Rated R, 81 minutes.

*

Elsewhere, outside of the horror genre:

O’Horten (***1/2) Deadpan drollery dominates this measured work from Bent Hamer. The title character (Baard Owe), a train conductor, stands on the edge of retirement. As he approaches his finale, he encounters several minor dilemmas that initially look like they could bring disaster (and would, in a Hollywood film). Instead, O’Horten navigates his way through his obstacles with glacial stoicism and a Jacques Tati-like lack of dialogue. This minor jewel lacks huge laughs, but long after watching, small moments will return to delight and amuse.

Rated PG-13, 90 minutes.

The DVD includes an 11-minute interview with Hamer and music composer John Erik Kaada.

*

Adam Resurrected (***) Jeff Goldblum stars in this unsettling film from reliably provocative Paul Schrader. As told mostly in flashbacks from the early 1960s, Adam Stein (Goldblum), a patient in an Israeli insane asylum, once performed as a nightclub entertainer in pre-World War II Berlin. When he and his family land in a Nazi death camp, Stein escapes the ovens by becoming a personal jester for a former customer, now a Nazi military officer (Willem Dafoe). Stein finds existence only at the tortured price of humiliation, resentment and guilt.

Rated R, 106 minutes.

The DVD also includes commentary by Schrader, a 24-minute “making of” featurette and 10 minutes of deleted scenes.

*

Hero — Special Edition (*****) Zhang Yimou’s brilliant martial arts epic returns in a new edition. The director renders a succession of some of the most striking images seen in the last decade.

Rated PG-13, 99 minutes.

The bonus-filled DVD also debuts on Blu-ray, while Disney has also packaged Hero with new Blu-ray editions of martial arts favorites Iron Monkey, The Legend of Drunken Master and Zatoichi.

*

Silent Light (***) Carlos Reygadas (Japon) wrote and directed this bleak tale about a married Mennonite farmer who finds unexpected romance with another woman. His guilt so consumes him, he talks over his infidelity with his wife, father and mother. Any resolution must come with pain.

Not rated, 127 minutes.

The DVD includes a 36-minute “making of” featurette, seven minutes of deleted scenes and a seven-minute interview segment.

*

Youngsters will also have plenty to enjoy this week:

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death Aardman Animations returns with the latest saga in its Oscar-winning stop-action series about Wallace and his silent dog, Gromit, as they open the Top Bun bakery. Wallace becomes smitten with a local celebrity, the Bake O Lite model, who turns out to have a dastardly secret. Naturally, Gromit comes to Wallace’s rescue.

Not rated, 30 minutes.

The DVD offers another hour or so of extras, including commentary from creator-director Nick Park and editor David McCormick. Plus, a 20-minute “making of” featurette and a bonus episode of Shaun the Sheep, “Off the Baa.”

*

Zorro: Generation Z — Volume 3 In episodes 12 through 16, this modern animated Zorro, a descendant of past Zorros, fights crime and rides a motorcycle, not a horse.

Not rated, 110 minutes.

*

Scruff’s Adventures Five adventures of the adorable puppy Scruff come on two discs in this family-friendly offering.

Not rated, 340 minutes.

*

Animated Adventure Pack — Triple Feature Three animated adventures come on one disc in this all-animal affair that features takeoffs on The Prince and the Pauper, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers.

Not rated, 144 minutes. Each segment runs about 45 minutes.

*

This week also sees a few more TV series arriving:

Ugly Betty — Season 3 America Ferrera plays Betty Suarez in this unexpected ABC hit about a Queens native working in Manhattan’s posh world of high fashion. The season’s guest stars include Christine Baranski, Bernadette Peters and Ralph Macchio.

Rated TV-14, 1032 minutes. The six discs contain 24 episodes.

The DVD collection includes bloopers, deleted scenes and two new featurettes.

*

30 Rock — Season 3 This week’s top TV-series-to-DVD arrives with a record 22 Emmy nominations. This hilarious series about creating a Saturday Night Live-like comedy show, starring creator Tina Fey, will make a late-fall season debut.

Twenty-two episodes come on three discs, along with copious bonus materials, including commentary, deleted scenes, the season finale table read and a behind-the-scenes segment with the Muppets.

*

Also coming to DVD: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Observe and Report, Shaun of the Dead (Blu-ray), Castle — The Complete First Season

DR. BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.