Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children review (4K UHD)

Director Tim Burton’s movie adaptation of author Ransom Riggs’ popular young-adult novel arrives to home theaters for those looking for a dose of the bizarre in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Rated PG-13, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, $24.96).

A troubled young boy named Jake (Asa Butterfield) travels though time and meets an unusual group of mutant children who are living in the Peregrine mansion in Wales and being hunted by eyeball-munching monsters.

The story touches upon elements from the “Harry Potter” and “X-Men” mythologies, if seen through the eyes of David Lynch.

A pipe-smoking headmistress Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) protects the youngsters by not only turning into a falcon when needed but also has her peculiars stuck in a time loop.

Specifically, the group relives Sept. 23, 1943, over and over again to stall Nazi bombers from attacking the mansion and to hide from a pack of creatures called Hollows (think a “Slender Man” with sharp teeth). The creatures are led by a crazed scientist named Mr. Barron (Samuel L. Jackson chewing up the scenery).

Of course, Mr. Burton applies plenty of visual flair and effects in bringing the strange world and powerful children to cinematic life.

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The peculiar group — led by an air-manipulating, floating girl named Emma (Ella Purnell), the pyrokinetic Olive (Lauren McCrostie), the invisible boy Millard (Cameron King) and bee-spewing Hugh (Milo Parker) — will enchant younger viewers.

My other favorites were Claire (Raffiella Chapman), a girl with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth on the back of her neck; Enoch (Finlay MacMillan), a taxidermist who can reanimate humans and creepy dolls; and the mysterious masked twins. I won’t disclosure their unusual powers, but they are worth the price of admission.

Besides the work of Miss Green and Mr. Jackson, notable performances also include Terrance Stamp as Jake’s peculiar grandfather Abe and Judi Dench as an elder peculiar.

Despite the Herculean task of balancing the back stories of too many characters on screen, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” succeeds by falling in Mr. Burton’s imaginative wheelhouse, often playing out like a visual smorgasbord plucked from one of his forgotten sketchbooks.

4K UHD in action: If ever there was a reason to upgrade to an ultra high-definition experience, enjoying Mr. Burton and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel’s visual wizardry in this screen-filling experience makes a strong case.

An immersion into shadows and sharp, picturesque color schemes, combined with enormous attention to detail, truly come to light once viewers look in and around Miss Peregrine’s Victorian mansion.

Bluish tints highlight the monochromatic fog of night during the Luftwaffe raid over the abode while greens of the lush foliage burst from the screen during sunlit afternoons as characters walk around the grounds.

Key moments to savor range from Enoch’s grotesque puppet animation fight, a fish swimming through the eye of an underwater skeleton’s skull, Miss Peregrine’s daily encounter with a Hollow in an open field near the sea and a snowball battle at Blackpool Tower.

Scenes to watch multiple times include the transformation of Mr. Barron’s associates into the grisly Hollows and a computer-generated battle between a skeleton army and a group of Hollows that is clearly a splendid homage to stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen.

Best extras: An over hourlong look at the peculiars focused on the 15 key characters leads the way. Each peculiar gets a promotional vignette that explores his adaptation from book to movie with each piece supplemented by actor as well as production staff interviews.

Viewers may find a bit too much gushing going on between cast and crew, but fans will enjoy all of the production information that offers screen tests with the young actors, a look at costumes and stunt rehearsals and the special effects used to create Emma’s underwater room in a sunken ship.

Other featurettes include a 13-minute overview of the production focused on the author and director; a 9-minute introduction to the fantastic villains; and a 17-minute overview of the movie’s main locations, the Peregrine mansion and Blackpool Tower.