The Visitor Limited Edition 4K UHD Review

4 star restoration of a barmy good vs. evil extravaganza.

The Visitor is a 1979 science fiction horror film. An Italian / American co-production, it is directed by Giulio Paradisi (Spaghetti House, My Sweetie) who also co-wrote, along with Luciano Comici (Outback Bound) and Robert Mundi (Rough Magic). With the fantastic Ovidio G. Assonitis (Tentacles, Beyond the Door) acting as producer, as well a stellar cast, you know you are in for a crazy couple of hours.

It has enjoyed a full 4K restoration from the original European version of the film and is available to own in the UK on Limited Edition 4K UHD from 16th February 2026, courtesy of Arrow Video.

“Once, far away. Light years. Distances beyond thought, a great slender ship slid through the black reaches of space. On that ship was Sateen.”

As the film opens, we see a very ernest fellow (Franco Nero – The Ninja Trilogy, Off the Rails) explaining the tale of the evil Sateen to a room full of young students. He tells of his evil deeds and how he mated with Earth women to pass down his heinous ways to future generations. These progeny are to be hunted whenever and wherever they appear, for they shall wreak chaos upon the world.

They are interrupted by Jerzy Colsowicz (John Huston – The African Queen (director), Chinatown), who has grave news, a new descendant has been located, an eight year old girl named Katy Collins (Paige Conner – Fast Food). We first see Katy at a basketball game, where a mysteriously exploding hoop leads to a win for Atlanta, owned by Raymond Armstead (Lance Henriksen – House III: The Horror Show, Aliens) who happens to be the boyfriend of her mother Barbara (Joanne Nail – Switchblade Sisters, The Gumball Rally).

Barbara is well aware that something is very wrong with her child and is dead set against having any more. Katy is strange and cruel and goes everywhere with an attack trained bird of prey (as you do). When a birthday gift from her Aunt Susan (JA Townsend) leads to the accidental shooting and paralysing of Barbara, Detective Jake Durham (Glenn Ford – Human Desire, Superman) is sent to investigate. Meanwhile a mysterious new housekeeper arrives, Jane (Shelley Winters – The Initiation of Sarah, The Poseidon Adventure) and pressure is being applied to Raymond by a shadowy organisation run by Dr Walker (Mel Ferrer – Lili, War and Peace). Can Jerzy stop Katy before it is too late?

“Before he was killed, he mated with Earth women, procreating numerous children, thereby transmitting his wicked spirit and evil powers through new generations.”

The Visitor is a very enjoyable film to watch, albeit completely bonkers and a bit of a wild ride. The cast is incredible and they all do a great job with a script and story which is frankly baffling for most of the film, but certainly never boring. It gives off strong vibes of The Omen, The Birds and The Exorcist and with a healthy dose of Close Encounters of the Third Kind thrown in for good measure, there’s something for everyone in here somewhere.

It looks great in 4K, and it’s great to see these films remastered and preserved for future generations to marvel at, however it’s fair to say that most of the special effects don’t really benefit, they just look more fake than ever. That’s to be expected of course, everything else looks excellent.

With lots of new special features and a special Collector’s booklet, this one is well worth adding to your collection.

“Here’s my babysitter. But one of these evenings, I’m really going to kill her. She’s always asleep.”

The Visitor is available now on Limited Edition 4K UHD

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration of the 109-min European version of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by film critics BJ & Harmony Colangelo
• A Biblical Battle for the Cosmos, a brand new visual essay by film critic Meagan Navarro
• A Cosmic Right to Choose, a brand new visual essay by film critic Willow Catelyn Maclay
• Archive interview with actor Lance Henriksen
• Archive interview with screenwriter Lou Comici
• Archive interview with cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Erik Buckham
• Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Marc Edward Heuck, Richard Kadrey, Craig Martin and Mike White