Frankenhooker UK Blu-ray

Coming to UK Blu-ray this December.

Finding a girl when you’re a nerdy science geek can be hard. But what happens if that special someone dies in a bizarre gardening accident and it’s all your fault?

Meet Jeffrey Franken. He’s just killed the love of his life and now he’s going to rebuild her... From the body parts of the dead streetwalkers who exploded when he introduced them to a lethal new drug – Supercrack! Little does he know that a good recipe requires the correct ingredients. Jeffrey isn’t putting his life back together; he’s building... a FRANKENHOOKER!

From the twisted imagination of Frank Henenlotter (Basketcase) and starring James Lorinz (Street Trash), comes a movie that pays a loving tribute to the worst excesses of the American Grindhouse.

THIS EDITION CONTAINS
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphries
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Exclusive collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Calum Waddell
BLU-RAY CONTAINS:
- Brand New High Definition Transfer of the film (1080p)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- UK exclusive audio commentary with director Frank Henenlotter and star James Lorinz
- UK exclusive introduction to the film by actor James Lorinz (1080p)
- Your Date’s on a Plate: The Making of Frankenhooker: UK exclusive 'making of' documentary featuring director Frank Henenlotter, star James Lorinz and special effects artist Gabe Bartalos (1080p)
- A personal UK exclusive tour of the Gabe Bartalos effects lab in Los Angeles, California (1080p)
- A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth: Patty Mullen Remembers Frankenhooker
- A Stitch In Time: The Make-Up Effects Of Frankenhooker
- Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker
- Original theatrical trailer

Frankenhooker is released to UK video shelves 5th December, in time for Xmas!

The Horror Channel gets HAMMERED this October (UK)

Voluptuous vampire vixens, high society diabolists, meandering mouldy mummies, rapacious reptiles, and zillions of zombies ...yes, it’s Horror Channel heaven as the UK’s number one television destination for all things scary presents Hammer Horror Halloween Season, which broadcasts from Oct 1 – Oct 31 @ 23.10pm.

Author, broadcaster and critic Kim Newman, who introduces the season said today: “I recommend everyone who loves horror to tune into the Horror Channel this October for their season of classic Hammer Films.  Where else would you find proper British acting, low-cut nighties, Cushing and Lee, ripping excitement and a touch or two of proper creepiness.  These films, forty years on, are endlessly rewatchable in a way that the contemporary product isn't.”.

Sat Oct I @ 23:10
Scars of Dracula (1970) was Christopher Lee’s fifth Dracula picture and was directed by Roy Ward Baker who was determined to do it in as gory a style as possible. The film’s greatest innovation, however, was to present a surprisingly verbose Count as Lee had been given very little dialogue in the previous Dracula movies, Bereft of an American pre-sale, Scars of Dracula and its support feature, The Horror of Frankenstein, were both produced on relatively low budgets

Sat Oct 8 @ 23:10

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), was one of the last films to be completed by Hammer at Bray Studios, and reunited Peter Cushing with director Terence Fisher. Although the title was a spoof of Brigitte Bardot’s And Got Created Woman the film was essentially a revenge thriller with some surprisingly brutal scenes, with the ill-fated Austrian actress Susan Denberg as the ‘Woman’ of the title, Martin Scorsese cites this as one of his favourite films.

Sat Oct 15 @ 23:10
Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb (1971) was the swan song for director Seth Holt, who died just before filming finished. After the first day’s filming, Peter Cushing pulled out to be with his wife, who was dying of emphysema. He was replaced by Andrew Keir and replacement director Michael Carreras completed the film as best he could, it was released as the support feature to Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde but does boast a great performance from the erotically-charged Valerie Leon.

Sat Oct 22 @ 23:10

Plague of the Zombies (1966), directed by John Gilling, is Hammer’s sole foray into the Zombie genre and attracted the scrutiny of the British Board of Film Censors, who expressed concerns over the fire at the end and the scene where a lumbering corpse (Jacqueline Pearce) is decapitated with a spade. The support feature to Dracula Prince of Darkness may have been a B movie with no star names, but it is widely regarded to be a superior film.

Sat Oct 29 @ 23.10

The Reptile (1966) was filmed back-to-back with The Plague of the Zombies, and also set in Cornwall, The director - John Gilling - was so dismayed by Anthony Hinds’ script that he rewrote it more or less as he went along. The reptile make-up worn by Jacqueline Pearce and applied by Roy Ashton was also difficult to perfect, and Pearce was recalled for a number of reshoots. Subdued lighting and sharp editing saved the day, and the film was released as the support feature to Rasputin the Mad Monk.

PLUS
 

The Hammer House of Horror Series - Every Saturday @ 21.00 and 22.05 plus Sun Oct 30 @ 21.00 & 22.05 and Mon Oct 31 @ 21.00

Horror Channel presents all thirteen spine-chilling episodes of mystery, suspense and the occult from the classic Hammer House of Horror TV series, which made a huge impact on the public when first broadcast on British television in 1980.

Starring an eclectic mix of actors such as Peter Cushing (pictured left), Delholm Elliot, Prunella Gee, Brian Cox, Pierce Brosnan, Diana Dors and Christopher Cazenove, this is the scariest horror TV series you are ever likely to see.

For more info visit the horror channel's website at http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/

Horror at the BFI this October

The BFI London film festival will be running from 12th - 17th October, among the many films being shown this year horror fans may be interested in the following.

THE AWAKENING is the directorial feature debut from BAFTA-winning director Nick Murphy and features in the Film on the Square strand of the festival. Set in 1920s London, the plot revolves around the suspected haunting of a boys’ boarding school in which a child has recently died. With panic amongst the students and parents, schoolmaster Robert Mallory (played by The Wire and 300 star Dominic West) calls in scientist and realist, Florence Cathcart (Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Hall) to investigate. Unnervingly chilling and with plenty of surprises, this supernatural story is a key British horror film at the London Film Festival: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1631

LAST SCREENING is a unsettling, psychological horror from award-winning French writer/director Laurent Achard. Centred around the manager and projectionist of a small-town cinema that’s facing its final days, the film takes a dark turn when the mild-mannered manager reveals his other self – a dangerous marauder with a grisly fetish. Featuring in the French Revolutions strand and starring Pascal Cervo, this is a truly unnerving film with thought-provoking and haunting tones: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1728

HARD LABOUR is one of the two Brazilian films in this year’s programme, made by debut directors Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra. Following a classic ‘haunted-house’ structure, the film tells the tale of a female shop-owner and family breadwinner who is disturbed when mysterious markings begin appearing on walls, and strange noises fill the building. Juggling horror with social observation, this horror film deals with both the Brazilian class structure whilst keeping you on the edge of your seat: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1704

For more info on these and other films in the festival, and to book tickets online visit the BFI's official website at http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/

Paranormal Activity 3 - UK poster

Poster artwork for the upcoming "Paranormal Activity 3" has just been released (see below), the film hits UK cinemas October 21st, in time for Halloween.

Visit the official website at http://www.paranormalmovie.com.

NO RETREAT

Psychological thriller Retreat, starring Thandie Newton, Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell and directed Carl Tibbetts comes to UK cinemas this October.

In a last-ditch attempt to save their failing marriage after the stillbirth of their first child, Kate (Thandie Newton) and Martin (Cillian Murphy), escape London for a retreat to the beautiful, yet remote and unpopulated Blackholme Island, which is off the west coast of Scotland.  Fairweather Cottage is a place where they once shared a romantic holiday and the island holds fond memories of happier times.

Their relationship is already fragile but anxieties are pushed higher when they lose all contact with the mainland and after a heavy storm, an injured man is washed up on the shore. Dressed in military fatigues and carrying a gun, the mysterious stranger regains consciousness and identifies himself as a British soldier called Private Jack Corman and he soon reveals that an airborne virus is sweeping Europe and all their lives are under threat unless they seal themselves in the cottage. 

In a series of tense twists, the captive couple are forced to use their ingenuity to outwit the equally volatile and charismatic Jack in an attempt to unravel the real truth.  Loyalties divide and merge and paranoia sets in, culminating in a violent and shocking conclusion.

Retreat hits UK cinemas October 14th. 

View the trailer (Windows Media).

Mimic - Directors Cut - UK Blu-Ray

Science fiction and horror combine in time for Halloween as MIMIC: SPECIAL EDITION, from superstar director Guillermo Del Toro, is released on UK Blu-ray for the first time on 31 October, 2011, courtesy of Studiocanal.

Originally released in 1997, this effectively creepy sci-fi horror was Del Toro’s first foray into American cinema and provided English-speaking audiences with an early glimpse of the genius that was to follow in modern classics as diverse as Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy and Blade II.  This brand new version, re-cut by Guillermo Del Toro himself, is a revelation!

Cockroaches are spreading a deadly disease around Manhattan, claiming the lives of the city’s children. Entomologist Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino - Mighty Aphrodite, Reservation Road) and her husband Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam – Enigma, Gosford Park) use genetic engineering to create the Judas Breed to kill off the deadly cockroaches.

However, this deadly strain of insect evolves over time, growing as big as people and learning to mimic their movements. The perfect killer is born and humanity is its hunting ground...

A success in its own right, MIMIC: SPECIAL EDITION nevertheless transforms Del Toro’s original into a new feature, much closer to his original vision What’s more, packed with brand new extra features, MIMIC: SPECIAL EDITION is a genuine gift to horror and Del Toro fans this Halloween.

Extras: Video prologue with Guillermo Del Toro, Audio commentary with Guillermo Del Toro, ‘Reclaiming Mimic featurette, ‘A Leap In Evolution – The Creatures of Mimic’ featurette, ‘Back Into The Tunnels – Shooting Mimic‘ featurette, Deleted scenes, Storyboard animatics, Gag reel, Theatrical Trailer

Pre-order from Amazon.co.uk

Dream House UK quad and trailer

Warner Bros have just released the new UK quad artwork for their forthcoming release "Dream House" starring DANIEL CRAIG (Cowboys & Aliens, James Bond), NAOMI WATTS (The Ring)and Oscar winner RACHEL WEISZ (The Lovely Bones).

A family that unknowingly moves into a home where grisly murders were committed…only to uncover even darker mysteries within its walls.  Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a high-power job in Manhattan to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town.  But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children.  And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates, he’s not sure if he’s starting to see ghosts or if the tragic story is just hitting too close to home.  His only clues come from Ann Patterson (Watts), a mysterious neighbour who knew those who were lost.  And as Will and Ann piece together the haunting puzzle, they must find out who murdered the family in Will’s dream house before he returns to kill again

Dream House is released to UK cinemas November 25th.

You can view the trailer on YouTube "HERE".

Visit the official website at http://www.dreamhousemovie.co.uk/.

HENRY GETS THE BLUES

Studio Canal to release HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER on Double Play Blu-ray here in the UK on October 24^th

Directed and co-written by John McNaughton, the film is loosely based on the story of confessed murderer Henry Lee Lucas. The film follows Henry (MICHAEL ROOKER) as he selects innocent victims - occasionally with his roommate Otis (TOM TOWLES) - and kills them, capturing their murder on videotape.

Many of these murders rank among the most brutal and violent ever portrayed on film.

New extras! Commentary with Director John McNaughton / Interview with Director John McNaughton / John McNaughton in conversation with Nigel Floyd / Censorship History (The Opening Sequence, Otis and the Broken TV, The Home Invasion Scene) / Portrait: The Making of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer / The Serial Killers: Henry Lee Lucas / Deleted Scenes and Outtakes with commentary by John McNaughton / Original Storyboards / Trailer

Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk



INNER CITY VS OUTER SPACE

Attack the block – hits UK video shelves today

The guys at think jam were good enough to send me a screener of Joe Cornish’s critically acclaimed directorial debut “Attack the Block” which is released to DVD and Blu-ray from Optimum Home Entertainment.

Its Inner City vs Outer Space, set on Bonfire night, in South London, Sam (Jodie Whittaker - ST TRINIAN'S) and a gang of hooded youths encounter a meteor which crash lands near their housing block. Sam flees the scene, but the gang are attacked by a small vicious alien. 

Having killed the ghoulish invader, their triumph is short lived as more aliens invade, and they’re bigger, stronger and out for blood. The gang’s only chance of survival is to tool up and take refuge within the concrete walls of the block.

Also starring Nick Frost, and produced by Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, Hot Fuzz) , this is a hugely enjoyable sci-fi, horror, action, comedy. If you liked Shaun of the Dead then you should love this.

Packed full of extras, this 2-disc release contains the following special features…

Disc 1

Commentary with Joe Cornish, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Simon Howard and Leon Jones

Commentary with Joe Cornish, Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadway and Nick Frost

Commentary with Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright.

Disc 2

Behind the Block feature

Creature feature

Meet the Gang

It’s a Rap

Trailer

Unfilmed Action

Buy the UK DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Buy the Blu-ray at Amazon.co.uk

Trilogy of the Dead

The original gut-munching Zombie classics (Land of the Dead NOT included thankfully)!

The dead will walk and the living will be eaten - alive and screaming - in George Romero’s original trilogy of ground-breaking, genre defining, zombie cinema.

In Night of the Living Dead, the outbreak begins as Romero mixes previously unseen levels of gore with a stark social message. Dawn of the Dead turns its camera on the audience when consumers are recast as shambling, brain-dead corpses with a taste for human meat. Then the sun rises over the undead apocalypse and the last survivors turn on each other for a frenzy of splatter in Day of the Dead.

See the films that absolutely defined modern horror, paving the way for the hard-gore of today. Get your zombie escape plan together, it’s going to be messy...

ARROWDROME IS A FLEAPIT SELECTED LIBRARY OF CULT FILMS; VIOLENT, HORRIFIC, SLEAZY, EXPLOITATIVE. TO EXPLORE STEP IN TO THE CULT ARENA! EVERY ARROWDROME RELEASE INCLUDES A REVERSIBLE SLEEVE OF ORIGINAL ARTWORK AND A COLLECTOR’S BOOKLET!

ALSO INCLUDES 2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES WITH GEORGE ROMERO, TOM SAVINI AND MORE, JOE OF THE DEAD AND TRAVELOGUE FEATURETTES + COLLECTOR’S BOOKLET

Buy online from Amazon.co.uk



NUTS, SLUTS, BUTTS, AND BOLTS, ON BLU-RAY

Frank Henenlotter's cult classic comes to Blu-ray in the US with this feast of fiendish 42nd Street fleshpots!

From Frank Henenlotter, the creator of the BASKET CASE trilogy and BRAIN DAMAGE, comes FRANKENHOOKER, a gory horror-comedy twist on the Frankenstein legend.

When Jeffrey Franken’s fiancée is chopped to pieces by the blades of a remote-controlled lawnmower, he uses his dubious medical knowledge to try to bring her back to life.  He reassembles his beloved Elizabeth using the body parts of New York City’s finest prostitutes, and resurrects her during a heavy lightning storm. 

Unfortunately for Jeffrey, his dear Elizabeth’s brain is scrambled and she runs amok on 42nd Street, turning tricks and bringing high-voltage death to her customers!

Synapse Films is proud to present the uncut version of FRANKENHOOKER in an all-new 2K high-definition transfer created from original vault materials and digitally re-mastered 5.1 surround sound!

Special Features and Disc Info:

Audio Commentary with Director Frank Henenlotter and 
Make-Up Effects Designer Gabe Bartalos

A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth – Patty Mullen Featurette

A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects of Frankenhooker – Featurette

Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker – Featurette

Theatrical Trailer

Director: Frank Henenlotter
Starring: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Louise Lasser, Jennifer Delora
Run Time: 85 minutes
Release Date: November 8, 2011
Language: English (DTS-HD MA English 5.1 Surround / DTS-HD MA English 2.0 Stere0)
Aspect Ratio: High-Definition 1080p Widescreen (1:78:1)

This US release can be ordered from Amazon.com

My thoughts on "Fright Night 3D"

OK, just got in from seeing this one.

Overall, I liked it, its got that lad who played Kyle Reese in "Terminator 4" in it, along with Colin Farrel and David Tennant.

Wasn't too sure about Farrel's vampire character though, seemed a bit too "quirky"?
Then there was David Tennant's character, who was basically, playing it as David Tennant (or rather, a drunken David Tennant). Though admittedly his character did seem to have all the best lines.

Good fun, but being "old school" I think I liked the original 1985 film best out of the two. But don't let that put you off, see it and decide for your self.

Anyway, here's the trailer...

Cheggers does Horror!!!!!!

A "Horror" film about KEITH CHEGWIN??????

Dude, seriously. WTF????????

GRIMM UP NORTH FESTIVAL 6-9 OCT 2011

GRIMM UP NORTH RETURNS FOR A THIRD YEAR!

OCTOBER 6TH TO 9TH 2011, AMC CINEMAS, MANCHESTER UK

Grimm Up North is back this October, bigger, better, bloodier, more brutal than ever.

Manchester’s Festival of Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Strangeness celebrates its third year with an unholy four-day carnival of the darker, edgier, more extreme aspects of cinema. There will be special guests and seminars, cast and crew Q&As, exhibitions of art and props, cutting edge computer gaming, and of course a pulse-pounding programme of films.

The festival will run from October 6th to 9th 2011. The Festival will be building on its reputation for bringing national and international premieres of confrontational and challenging films to the North West; and with new venue partner AMC Cinemas offering high performance digital screens and Dolby 5.1, this is going to be the most shocking, spectacular - and sumptuously presented - Grimm Up North yet.

The full festival line up is now online at http://www.grimmfest.com/ , but here’s what you can expect to see:

Kicking the festival off in suitably shocking style, on Thursday October 6^th, the Opening Gala Premiere will be the gripping, gruelling, paranoid thriller RETREAT, starring Thandie Newton, Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell.

On Friday October 7^th, British music and screen icon Martin Kemp will be attending, along with cast and crew for a special screening of his directorial debut, STALKER. Sure to be a controversial festival talking point, the film reworks - and totally re-imagines - infamous mid-seventies sex-and-slash shocker, and banned “video nasty”, THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL into a tense psychological thriller about memory, identity and the creative imagination, and features cult horror icon (and star of the original film) Linda Hayden in a supporting role. Commenting on the film, Producer Jonathan Sothcott said: "Stalker is the slickest, best-directed film we've made to date and a genuinely well-made, creepy horror film in its own right. We feel it is strong enough to stand a theatrical release in selected UK cinemas and we're looking forward to unleashing it on the world."

Also on Friday - the regional premieres of visceral Spanish home invasion thriller KIDNAPPED and claustrophobic German horror URBAN EXPLORER, a rare chance to catch David Cronenberg’s classic film version of Stephen King’s THE DEAD ZONE on the big screen, and the world premiere of full-on Faustian revenge fantasy ADAM CHAPLIN, a new benchmark in demented mayhem and a guaranteed Grindhouse cult hit of tomorrow....

Saturday 8^th October, sees the premiere of THE REVEREND, a British Vampire-vigilante Horror with an all-cult-star cast headed by Rutger Hauer and Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley. Director Neil Jones, as well as cast and crew TBC will be attending, for what promises to be another lively Q&A. Saturday also sees the regional premiere of Lucky McGee’s THE WOMAN, which has been generating huge controversy since its screening at Sundance. There will be a brace of pitch black comedies in slacker zombie road movie DEADHEADS, from Sam Raimi associates the Pierce Brothers, and the John-Landis-produced charmer SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE, featuring THE OFFICE star Lucy Davis and another cast of cult favourites. There’s a slice of extreme Asian cinema in the harrowing REVENGE: A LOVE STORY, cerebral Mexican Science Fiction, in the acclaimed BY DAY BY NIGHT and a chance to explore the “lost” Halloween film, HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH with our resident expert, Stef Hutchinson.

Sunday 9^th,  has the regional premiere of THE WICKER TREE, Robin Hardy’s long-awaited sequel to legendary cult classic THE WICKER MAN. There’s more cinematic controversy in nihilistic post-apocalyptic shocker THE DIVIDE, the UK premiere of a startling film version of Weird Tales maestro HP Lovecraft’s lunatic epic THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS, African Zombies on the rampage in THE DEAD, and a surreal new spin on the classic portmanteau horror film, THE THEATRE BIZARRE.



For more info visit their website at http://www.grimmfest.com/

The Dead - Sneak Peak

Anchor Bay today released brand new behind the scenes action from THE DEAD ahead of its UK DVD release on Oct 3

Ahead of its UK release on DVD and Blu-ray on Oct 3 The Ford Brothers and lead actor Rob Freeman reveal even more candid details of what really happened during the making of their epic African zombie flick.

Producer/Director Howard J. Ford reveals: “Seeing some of this new footage, a lot of which I had no idea was even being shot, takes me right back to the horrors we faced getting it in the can.  Everything from my knifepoint mugging on the very first day of production to watching my own Brother Jon whither away to a near skeleton with dysentery & severe food poisoning while our lead actor Rob Freeman lay in a local hospital dying of cerebral Malaria..

But now, with the film about to come out, Jon and I are starting to feel a sense of excitement that we haven’t felt before and if the release goes the way it looks like it will, we will owe it to those who supported us to get our asses back out to Africa and bring back ‘The Dead 2’ – whether we survive it or not!!”

Footage can be downloaded here: Click HERE

Shot on locations across Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa on 35mm including many never before committed to celluloid locations, THE DEAD is unlike anything horror audiences have ever experienced - an apocalyptic, savage journey to the heart of Africa.

The story is centered around the journey of American Air Force engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy (ROB FREEMAN), the sole survivor of a plane crash, who has to run the gauntlet across Africa, battling with the living dead. He joins forces with local military man Sergeant Daniel Dembele (PRINCE DAVID OSEI) who is desperately searching for his missing son. They must fight together if they are to survive the flesh-eating horrors of the bush.

Buy the DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Welcome to my news blog!

OK, I've decided I needed something a little more fast moving for a news page, so I've set this blog up which will be linked to my main website.

Enjoy!