Horror Channel (UK) brings murder and mayhem to Saturday nights in July

Horror Channel has five prime-time Saturday night film premieres in July including the UK premiere of Brad Parker’s chilling disaster horror CHERNOBYL DIARIES. The film is written and produced by Oren Peli, who first terrified audiences with his ground-breaking thriller Paranormal Activity. 

There are also network premieres for Todd Lincoln’s supernatural spine-tingler THE APPARITION, starring Tom Felton, Don Coscarelli’s surreal cult classic PHANTASM, David Jung’s paranormal found-footage soul-shaker THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING and Andrew Paquin’s murderous home-invasion debut OPEN HOUSE co-starring his sister Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

Full details of premieres in transmission order:

Sat 1 July @ 21:00 –CHERNOBYL DIARIES (2012) *UK TV Premiere

A group of young tourists (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Jonathan Sadowski, Devin Kelley), hoping for an adventure off the beaten path, hires an extreme-tour guide. In spite of warnings, the tour guide takes the sightseers to the town of Pripyat, Ukraine, once home to workers at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant but abandoned after the 1986 nuclear disaster. After briefly exploring the ghost town, the tourists find themselves stranded -- and worse, they are not alone.

Sat 8 July @ 21:00 –THE APPARITION (2012) *Network Premiere

Plagued by frightening occurrences in their home, Kelly (Ashley Greene) and Ben (Sebastian Stan) learn that a university's parapsychology experiment produced an entity that is now haunting them. The malevolent spirit feeds on fear and torments the couple no matter where they run. Desperate, Kelly and Ben turn to a paranormal researcher (Tom Felton), but even with his aid, it may already be too late to save themselves from the terrifying presence

Sat 15 July @ 23:00 –PHANTASM (1979) *Network Premiere

The residents of a small town have begun dying under strange circumstances, leading young Mike (Michael Baldwin) to investigate. After discovering that the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm), the town's mortician, is killing and reanimating the dead as misshapen zombies, Mike seeks help from his older brother, Jody (Bill Thornbury), and local ice cream man Reggie (Reggie Bannister). Working together, they try to lure out and kill the Tall Man, all the while avoiding his minions and a deadly silver sphere.

Sat 22 July @ 23:00 –THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING *Network Premiere

Michael King (Shane Johnson) doesn't believe in God or The Devil. Following the sudden death of his wife, the documentary filmmaker decides to make his next film about the search for the existence of the supernatural. Michael decides to make himself the centre of the experiment in the hope of proving that religion, spiritualism, and the paranormal are nothing more than myth. But something does happen. An evil and horrifying force has taken over Michael King. And it will not let him go. Also stars Dale Dickey, Tomas Arana and Julie McNiven.

Sat 29 July @ 22:45 –OPEN HOUSE (2010) *Network Premiere

Alice (Rachel Blanchard) is just going through a divorce from Josh (Stephen Moyer) and has her house on the market. Unknown to her, a murderous couple, David (Brian Geraghty) and his accomplice Lila (Tricia Helfer), has sneaked in and hidden. When Alice returns, instead of killing her, David takes her captive, locking her up in the crawlspace in the basement. He wants to keep her alive but doesn’ttellLila. Whilst the psychotic couple engage in a sex and kill-spree with anyone visiting the house, Alice begins to understand the strange bond between her captors and David's interest in her…

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70

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AMERICAN GODS - Available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download on JULY 31ST

One of the most striking, controversial and utterly absorbing TV events of the year becomes the home entertainment hit of the summer as AMERICAN GODS comes to Blu-ray and DVD from July 31st, 2017, courtesy of STUDIOCANAL.

When Shadow Moon is released from prison, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday and a storm begins to brew. Little does Shadow know, this storm will change the course of his entire life. Left adrift by the recent, tragic death of his wife, and suddenly hired as Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard, Shadow finds himself in the centre of a world that he struggles to understand. It’s a hidden world where magic is real, where the Old Gods fear both irrelevance and the growing power of the New Gods, like Technology and Media. Mr. Wednesday seeks to build a coalition of Old Gods to defend their existence in this new America, and reclaim some of the influence that they’ve lost. As Shadow travels across the country with Mr. Wednesday, he struggles to accept this new reality, and his place in it. 

Based on the critically acclaimed international best-selling book by Neil Gaiman (‘The Sandman’, ‘Coraline’), AMERICAN GODS comes to Blu-ray, DVD and digital download via TV powerhouse showrunners Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Michael Green (Heroes, screenwriter of Logan, Alien: Covenant and Blade Runner 2049). 

With an all-star cast that includes Ricky Whittle (The 100, Hollyoaks) as Shadow Moon; Ian McShane (Deadwood, Ray Donovan) as Mr. Wednesday; Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, Legend) as Laura Moon and Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is The New Black) as Mad Sweeney.

An epic tale rooted in an alien and yet familiar landscape, AMERICAN GODS represents a perfect storm of creativity that sees Fuller and Green at the dizzying height of their powers. Alongside Gaiman himself, they’ve brought a world to screen that is the stuff the most fantastical, shocking and absolutely riveting box set dreams are made of.

Bonus features include...

-San Diego Comic-Con Panel Footage (53:24) 
-Ian McShane Interview (11:32) 
-Ricky Whittle & Emily Browning Interview (12:53) 
-American Gods Origins with Neil Gaiman (15:00) 
-Bruce Langley Interview (7:08) 
-Ian McShane & Ricky Whittle Interview (10:30) 
-Book Vs Show (4:17)
-New Gods (5:13) 
-Old Gods (7:23) 
-What is American Gods? (4:43)  

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

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

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

"From A House On Willow Street" on UK DVD & Digital 17th July

The Last Exorcism meets Don’t Breathe in this tense and terrifying horror film that sees a criminal gang discovering that hell hath no fury like a kidnapped woman who’s been possessed by an ancient, demonic force.

After a young woman, Katherine, is kidnapped, her captors videotape her and send the tape to her parents asking for a ransom. Getting no reply, they go back to Katherine’s house where they find her parents are dead.

Unfortunately there is more to Katherine than meets the eye - she has been possessed by an ancient evil which is now intent on turning the tables on her tormentors, who soon come to realize that, in fact, they may be the ones in danger. 

Starring Carlyn Burchell as the formidably fearsome Katherine, a hapless victim turned horrific foe, and genre favourite Sharni Vinson, star of You’re Next and the brilliant 2013 remake of Patrick. "From A House On Willow Street" mixes the thrills of Don’t Breath and The Collector, with the supernatural chills of The Last Exorcism, and the weird and wild single location terrors of The Void - and is executed with devilish assurance by horror director Alastair Orr, the man behind the cult 2011 creature feature Indigenous.

"From A House On Willow Street" is released to UK DVD and Digital outlets July 17th from Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.

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

 

THE UNTAMED - Coming to UK Cinemas 18th Aug from Arrow

Celebrated filmmaker Amat Escalante follows up his critically lauded features Heli and Los Bastardos with the award-winning The Untamed, which critics have called “ferociously intelligent” (Jonathan Romney, Screen) and “brilliant, frightening” (Rory O’Connor, The Film Stage).

 Alejandra is a housewife, raising two boys with husband Angel in a small city. Her brother Fabian works as a nurse in a local hospital. Their provincial lives are upset with the arrival of the mysterious Veronica. Sex and love can be fragile in certain regions where strong family values, hypocrisy, homophobia, and male chauvinism exist. Veronica convinces them that in the nearby woods, inside an isolated cabin, dwells something not of this world that could be the answer to all of their problems. Something whose force they cannot resist and with whom they must make peace or suffer its wrath. 

Escalante’s film mixes Lovecraftian science fiction with social commentary as he tackles themes including corruption and social injustice, a mix that has won acclaim including the Silver Lion at the prestigious Venice Film Festival and Best Director at Austin’s Fantastic Fest.

The Untamed comes to selected UK cinemas 18th August from Arrow Films

Also releasing on DVD and Blu-ray September 25th from Arrow Academy

A new horror icon rises with "Bonejangles" this July

This July, Wild Eye Releasing lets loose the next iconic movie monster!

While transporting the legendary killer Bonejangles, a group of police break down in a town cursed with monsters, and must release him to survive!

Reggie Bannister, Elissa Dowling, Kelly Misek, Jr., Julia Cavanaugh, Devin Toft, Jamie Scott Gordon, Lawrence Wayne Curry, and Hannah Richter star in a Brett DeJager film, written by Keith Melcher.

View the trailer...

Bonejangles stalks US VOD outlets from July 18.

LIFE - on UK BD & DVD from July 31

Experience extraterrestrial life like you’ve never seen before, in the heart-pounding sci-fi thriller LIFE, debuting on digital July 17 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD July 31 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Skydance Productions. 

Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) star as a team of scientists aboard the International Space Station who discover a rapidly evolving life form that threatens the crew and all life on Earth. 

Also starring Hiroyuki Sanada (Wolverine), Ariyon Bakare (Rogue One), and Olga Dihovichnaya (House of Others), the film was directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and written by Deadpool screenwriters, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Hailed by critics as a “non-stop thrill ride, with high stakes, terror, and intense moments around every corner” (Brandon Davis, ComicBook.com), LIFE also features the ultimate twist ending.

Packed with bonus materials, the Blu-ray, DVD and digital releases of LIFE include deleted scenes, three behind-the-scenes featurettes and the never before seen “Astronaut Diaries”. In “Claustrophobic Terror: Creating a Thriller in Space,” director Daniel Espinosa and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick take fans through their dynamic approach to creating the tense cinematic thriller. 

Fans dive deep into the scientific reasoning behind the creation of Calvin and learn why it inspires wonder and fear in “Creating Life: The Art and Reality of Calvin.” In “Life: In Zero G,” the cast and crew dive into the challenges of filming an entire film mimicking zero gravity. Finally, in “Astronaut Diaries,” Rory Adams, Miranda North and Hugh Derry reveal their inner most feelings about their mission and life, in video diaries pulled directly from the station.

Buy the UK UHD BD from Amazon.co.uk

Buy the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk

The Autopsy of Jane Doe - UK DVD review

CSI meets The Conjuring in director Andre Ovredal’s “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” which comes to UK digital outlets and on BD and DVD this month from Lionsgate.

Set in a small town in Virginia, the Sheriff drops off the body of an unknown girl at the funeral home of Tommy Tilden (Brian Cox – Manhunter, Red, Trick r Treat), who also happens to be the town’s coroner.

Found at the scene of a mass murder, with no obvious sign of death, they ask if he can work late and try to identify her and find out what killed her. But as the examination gets underway Tommy and his son Austin (Emile Hirsch – Killer Joe, Alpha Dog) find this is no ordinary case.

The body seems perfectly preserved, but appears to have been dead for some time. Also, whilst the outside of the body has no visible marks, the inside appears the have been carved up and burned.

But these anomalous findings turn out to be the least of their worries. As the autopsy continues, strange things start happening at the morgue. The lights go out, bodies go missing from the cooler, strange figures are glimpsed in the next room, only to find no one there upon closer inspection and they find themselves trapped in examination room with something attacking them in the dark. Is there something evil at work, or is it in there imaginations?

A decidedly chilling horror tale, featuring a good cast, which is part cop drama, part supernatural thriller. If you liked The Conjuring, Insidious or Ouija, you should love this.

I was sent the DVD to review which, extras wise, included a 5min interview with director Andre Ovredal, conducted by Journalist Alan Jones, recorded at the 2016 Frightfest. Which is the same that can be found on the BD release.

"The Autopsy of Jane Doe" is released to UK Disc and Digital outlets June 26th from Lionsgate.

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

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