Saturday 1 February 2020

SITE ANNOUNCEMENT - TAKING A BREAK

Owing to a number of personal issues and a hectic working life, I've decided I need to take a break from maintaining the website for a while.

This is not permanent, I will return. But for the forseeable future I will not be updating the news page, or adding new reviews to the site.

I may still make the odd post over on the sites Facebook and Twitter pages. I may even make an odd video on my YouTube channel. But I've decided to free up some time to pursue other interests.

That's all for now. Friday night chat sessions will continue as normal in the chat room if you want to stop by.

Best Wishes
Simon!

Arrow Video - April 2020 releases

There’s no fooling around from Arrow Video this April, with the Blu-ray debut of a stormy cult slasher, a deliriously violent slice of splatterpunk madness from Russia, and a sumptuous limited edition release of a superbly effective horror debut. Each film has been given the Arrow treatment with a wealth of extras, including short films, soundtracks, and commentaries, as well as striking new sleeve artwork, collector’s booklets featuring specially-commissioned writing, and much more.

The Wind - on Blu-ray on 13 April


When mystery novelist Sian Anderson arrives in the remote Greek town of Monemvasia, Elias Appleby, the pompous British landlord of the house she’s renting warns her of two dangers: the wind, which gets dangerously strong at night, and Phil, his sleazy and suspicious American handyman. 

As night falls and the wind starts howling, Sian witnesses the shocking sight of Phil burying Elias’s dead body in a shallow grave in his front garden. Trapped indoors from the raging, tree-branch-breaking wind, Sian must play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the murderous Phil, who’ll stop at nothing to silence this inconvenient witness!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative, approved by writer-director Nico Mastorakis
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Optional Greek subtitles
Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and LPCM Stereo 2.0 Audio
Blowing The Wind - Brand new interview with Director Nico Mastorakis
The Sound of The Wind - The complete soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers
A collection of trailers for the films of Nico Mastorakis
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic and author Kat Ellinger 

Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk


Why Don’t You Just Die! - On Blu-ray on 20 April

Matvey has just one objective: to gain entry to his girlfriend’s parents’ apartment and kill her father Andrey with a hammer to restore her honour. 

But all is not as it initially seems, and Matvey’s attempts to bludgeon the family patriarch to death don’t quite go to plan as Andrey proves a more formidable – not to mention ruthless – opponent than he anticipated… and Matvey, for his part, proves stubbornly unwilling to die.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM 2.0 stereo soundtracks
Optional English subtitles
Brand new interview with author and critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don’t You
Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema
Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from rehearsals and the film set
Four short films by Kirill Sokolov: Could Be Worse, The Outcome, The Flame and the award-winning Sisyphus is Happy (Best Director and Gold Frame awards, 2013 Unprecedented Cinema International Festival of Short Film)
Theatrical trailer
Kirill Sokolov’s complete original storyboard for the film (BD-ROM content)
Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of artwork

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Neil Mitchell 

Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk


Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse - On Limited Edition Blu-ray on 27 April

In an isolated Alpine hut at the turn of the 15th Century, Albrun is a young girl growing up alone. As an adult, she is a single mother and a marked woman, outcast by a society twisted in deep-rooted superstitions and misogyny. 

Still haunted by the death of her own mother and increasingly abused by the community around her, Albrun starts to defy the role she has been dealt in life and embarks on a path of self-empowerment – the price of which may be an even greater darkness than she has ever known before.

2-DISC DIRECTOR APPROVED LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:

Limited Edition Blu-ray and Soundtrack CD collection (2000 copies)
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and LPCM Stereo 2.0 Audio
Optional English subtitles
Reversible sleeve featuring artwork by Adrian Baxter
Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kier-La Janisse and press book extracts, illustrated with original stills
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring two artworks
Slipcover featuring original artwork by Adrian Baxter 


DISC 1 [BLU-RAY] - HAGAZUSSA

Audio commentary by critic and author Kat Ellinger
Select scene audio commentary by writer-director Lukas Feigelfeld
“Beton” [Concrete] (2013, 55 mins) and “Interferenz” (2013, 48 mins), two short films by Lukas Feigelfeld
Deleted scene with optional commentary by Feigelfeld
MMMD Music Video
Theatrical trailer
Teaser

DISC 2 [CD] - HAGAZUSSA SOUNDTRACK [Limited Edition Exclusive]

CD containing the complete Hagazussa Soundtrack by MMMD
 
Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk




UNDER THE SHADOW - out on Limited Edition BD

Coming to UK BD, part ghost story, part social thriller with cutting political commentary, Iranian director Babak Anvari’s Sundance 2016 hit "Under the Shadow" is set for its UK Blu-ray debut on 10 February, in a feature packed Limited Edition box set, courtesy of Second Sight.

1988 Tehran, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) is rejected by her medical school as a consequence of her politically active history. Her husband is sent off to serve in the Iran-Iraq War. Iraqi air raids are drawing perilously close to their own apartment. 

As neighbours and friends flee from a city in chaos, Shideh and her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) are left on their own. But Dorsa starts to become increasingly ill and disturbed. Tantrums sparked by a missing doll are initially dismissed, but as they worsen Shideh becomes terrified that they’ve been targeted by a djinn – a malevolent spirit that steals from those it seeks to possess.

Drawing comparisons to Jennifer Kent’s breakout hit The Babadook for its nuanced exploration of motherhood through horror, Under the Shadow also unflinchingly examines the female experience of war and of everyday suppression and the demons it creates.

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Two & Two – Babak Anvari’s BAFTA Award nominated short film
- Escaping The Shadow: a new interview with director Babak Anvari
- Within the Shadow: a new interview with actor Narges Rashidi
- Forming the Shadow: a new interview with producers Lucan Toh and Oliver Roskill
- Shaping the Shadow: a new interview with cinematographer Kit Fraser
- A new audio commentary with Babak Anvari and Jamie Graham
- Limited Edition of 2,000
- Rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Christopher Shy
- Soft cover book with new essays by Jon Towlson and Daniel Bird plus behind-the-scenes photos and concept illustrations
- Poster featuring new artwork

Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk


HARPOON - out now on UK BD.

Having premiered last year on Arrow videos streaming channel, festival hit HARPOON, from director Rob Grant (Alive, What Doesn’t Kill You), is now available to buy on UK BD.

With his perfect family and perfect upbringing, Richard (Christopher Gray) appears to have it all. So when he thinks that his long-term girlfriend, Sasha (Emily Tyra), and best friend, Jonah (Munro Chambers), are having an affair, it sends him into a fit of rage that leaves Jonah a bloody mess. Once Jonah and Sasha convince Richard the allegations are false, Richard tries to buy back their trust by taking them out for a day-trip on his family’s yacht.

Tension boils over once out at sea, and to make matters worse, the yacht’s engine fails. Stranded without food and supplies, the trio must set aside their differences in order to survive. One-part post-modern Edgar Allan Poe adaptation, one-part Knife in the Water with the cast of Seinfeld, Harpoon is a wickedly humourous and bloody deconstruction of friendship and love.

You can read my review of it HERE.

The Disc comes with the following special features...

- Director and Producer Audio Commentary
- Director;s Psychedelic Audio Commentary
- Making of feature
- Deleted scenes with audio commentary
- Diving Deeper : B-roll footage with audio commentary
- Interview with director Rob Grant at the Frightfest UK Premiere
- Introdction and Q&A from the UK's Frightfest Premiere
- Frightfest TV interview with Director Rob Grant4
- Theatrical trailer




Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

 

LITTLE MONSTERS - UK BD review

A school trip to a petting zoo goes seriously awry in the Ozzie zombie comedy, LITTLE MONSTERS, which comes to UK disc and Digital Download this month from Altitude entertainment,

Dead-beat musician Dave (Alexander England – ALIEN COVENANT) has fallen on hard times, kicked out by his girlfriend and forced to crash on the couch at his sisters place, where he reluctantly agrees to help her with childcare and domestic duties.

But after a chance encounter with his nephews music teacher Miss Caroline (Nupita Nyong’o – US), he quickly becomes infatuated and volunteers to help out on their upcoming school trip, in order to try and chat her up.

Their trip to the zoo subsequently runs into trouble though, when a horde of zombies from the military facility next door break out and go on the rampage. Devouring the animals, then the other visitors. As Dave and Miss Caroline are forced to battle their way through he hoardes of undead to try and get the children to safety.

Lots of wildly inappropriate humour ensues, as the zombies start tearing apart and eating everyone around the startled children and Dave and Miss Caroline have to use their musical instruments to club the zombies to death as well as encountering an extremely foul mouthed kids entertainer, who hates children.

Exceptionally gory, the film is terrific fun. The film puts a whole new shine on the phrase “Feeding time at the zoo”. If you like zombie comedies like Shaun of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead, you should love it.

Little Monsters is released to Disc and Digital Download February 10th from Altitude Entertainment. 

Pre-order the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

Pre-order the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk