Logan Marshall-Green stars in 'The Invitation'

From acclaimed director Karyn Kusama (Girl Fight, Jennifer’s Body, Destroyer) comes taut psychological thriller The Invitation, which premiered to great acclaim at London Film Festival and now gets a Blu-ray release from Second Sight on 4 November 2019.

Reluctantly accepting a dinner party invitation from his ex-wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard – Into the Woods) at the house they once shared, Will (Logan Marshall-Green – Spider-Man: Homecoming, Prometheus) and his new partner Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi – Roots, Ballers) gather with old friends to toast new beginnings.

But Will and his ex-wife share a tragic past, and as paranoia mounts and tensions build, he begins to wonder what is real and what is imagined. As the claustrophobic evening grows increasingly sinister, Will starts to realise the lives of everyone he loves might be in danger…will they make it through the night?

The gathering is also attended by John Carroll Lynch (Fargo, American Horror Story), Michelle Krusiec (Hawaii 5-0), Lindsay Burge (Her Smell, Frances Ha) and Mike Doyle (Jersey Boys, Green Lantern), while long-time collaborators of Kusama’s, Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi (The Boys, Clash of the Titans) pen the electric script. 

Get your RSVPs in now for The Invitation, but be warned: it’ll be a night to remember until the day you die…

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Commentary with director Karyn Kusama and Writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi

• Making of The Invitation

• Going Back Home – a new interview with director Karyn Kusama

• There Is Nothing to Be Afraid Of – a new interview with producer Nick Spicer

• Tonight’s the Night – a new interview with writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi

• Playing Sadie – a new interview with actor Lindsay Burge

• English subtitles for the hard of hearing

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

THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART 2 - UK BD Spec Ed review...

Wes Craven’s entertaining, though oft maligned, sequel THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART 2 makes it’s UK Blu-Ray debut this month, in an extras laden, limited special edition release from Arrow films.

Several years after the events of Part 1, a group of motocross bikers encounter a similar fate to that which befell the Carter family, when they decide to take their tour bus on a shortcut across the desert, so they can get to their race meet on time.

Subsequently breaking down near to an old mine complex in the middle of nowhere, as night falls, they are quickly set about by another group of cannibals, lead this time by a chap called Reaper (John Bloom – Dracula Vs Frankenstein) and of course Pluto, who it seems wasn’t killed at the end of the last film after all (with Michael Berryman reprising his role). Who proceed to pick them off one, by, one.

Typical 80s slasher movie fare, the film was hastily shot after Wes Craven decided he needed to make some fast cash, after a period of inactivity, and hoped to capitalise on the success of the original, which had been a huge hit on home video in the early 80s.

The film is kind of goofy, in which the teens continue to lark about and play jokes on one another, even after they’ve been attacked and some of them have gone missing, and the films low budget is rather apparent, with the run time being padded out with flashback footage of the films returning characters (including the dog, believe it or not). 

But despite its flaws, the film still proves to be wildly entertaining, albeit for the wrong reasons. With Robert Houston and Janus Blyth also reprising their roles as Bobby and Ruby. Whilst Kevin Blair (Friday the 13th Part 7 : The New Blood) and Willard Pugh (The Guyver, Robocop 2) turning up in supporting roles. 

Extras include…

Brand new audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues podcast

Blood, Sand, and Fire: The Making of The Hills Have Eyes Part II - brand new making-of documentary featuring interviews with actor Michael Berryman, actress Janus Blythe, production designer Dominick Bruno, composer Harry Manfredini and unit production manager/first assistant director John Callas

Stills gallery

Original Theatrical Trailer

6 Postcards

Reversible fold-out Poster

Limited Edition 40-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Amanda Reyes and an archival set visit from Fangoria

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper

The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 might not be to everybody’s tastes, indeed when the original was remade in 2006, they chose a totally new plot for the 2007 sequel. So one might question the necessity of a special edition release of this.

However, Arrow films seem to have made a pretty good job of it and makes a great companion piece to their earlier Hills Have Eyes special edition.

Buy the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

Fright-Rags' Release 3 FROM HELL, CREEPSHOW, & HAUNT apparel

Fright-Rags commemorates the upcoming release of Rob Zombie’s 3 From Hell with four tees from the highly-anticipated sequel to The Devil's Rejects. The evil returns with official artwork and original designs. 

Fright-Rags’ Creepshow apparel is the most fun you’ll ever have being scared. The line includes three T-shirts and an enamel pin from Shudder's reboot of George A. Romero and Stephen King's classic horror anthology, which premieres on September 26. 

 From the writers of A Quiet Place and producer Eli Roth, Haunt is a new Halloween-themed horror movie. Fright-Rags’ shirt features all four of the creepy masks from the film.

3 from Hell, Creepshow, and Haunt collections are on sale now at Fright-Rags.com.

Rob Zombie's "3 From Hell" on Digital and Disc from 14 Oct

First there was House of 1000 Corpses. Then there was The Devil’s Rejects. Now, writer-director Rob Zombie presents the next blood-soaked chapter in the most violent crime saga in movie history, 3 from Hell.

After barely surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis’ half-brother Wilson (Richard Brake), the demented Firelfly clan are back to unleash a whole new wave of death and depravity. A firestorm of murder, madness and mayhem will be released in this terror ride to Hell and back.

Starring Sheri Moon Zombie (Lords of Salem, The Devil’s Rejects), Bill Moseley (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2, The Devil’s Rejects), Sid Haig (Bone Tomahawk, The Devil’s Rejects), Richard Brake (31, Mandy), Dee Wallace (Critters, The Howling) and Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn). 3 From Hell is written and directed by Rob Zombie.

Special features

‘To Hell and Back: The Making of 3 From Hell’ (95 mins)

Audio commentary with writer-director Rob Zombie (116 minutes) 

Buy the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk

 

STRANGE BUT TRUE - Official UK Trailer

Trailer for upcoming thriller STRANGE BUT TRUE released. Check it out below...

Laid up with a broken leg, Philip is living with his mother Charlene in upstate New York. It’s been five years since the death of Philip’s brother Ronnie, a devastating blow that has torn the Chase family apart. 

When they receive a visit from Melissa, Ronnie’s former girlfriend at the time of his death, wounds are re opened. Heavily pregnant, Melissa is under the belief that her unborn baby belongs to Ronnie. Leaving Charlene angry and Philip incredulous, Melissa returns home to the cottage she rents from Gail and her husband Bill, a former police officer who now owns the hardware store where Melissa works. 

When Philip suggests that Melissa’s revelation isn’t impossible, Charlene calls Richard, her ex-husband - and father to Philip and Ronnie – now living in Florida with his new wife. Could it be that Melissa is giving birth to Ronnie’s child? Stranger things have happened. But the truth is altogether more alarming… 

STRANGE BUT TRUE comes to UK DIgital Outlets 27th September 

Mayhem Film Festival announces Short Film Showcase line-up for 2019

With just under a month to go until its 15th edition, Mayhem Film Festival have just revealed the line-up for their Short Film Showcase, which will screen on the Saturday of the festival. 

This year’s line-up include the following films (in alphabetical order):

A LITTLE TASTE (UK PREMIERE) // Dir. Victor Català, Spain, 5m12

BILL // Dirs. Dan Gitsham & Sophie Mair, UK, 3m14

CREAKER // Dir. Vidar Aune, Norway, 4m

DEAD QUIET (WORLD PREMIERE) // Dir. Alex Withers, UK, 8m50

EL CUENTO // Dirs. Lucas Paulino & Ángel Torres, Spain, 9m40

FROST BITE (UK PREMIERE) // Dir. Andrew Hunt, US, 10m2

IT’S NOT CUSTARD // Dir. Kate McCoid, UK, 6m24

LIMBUS (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) // Dir. Sekander Sharifi, Germany, 3m

NOM // Dir. Angel Hernandez Suarez, Spain, 10m25

ONE LAST MEAL // Dir. Jill Gevargizian, US, 11m

SOUVENIR (UK PREMIERE) // Dir. Luis Orti, Spain, 12m

THE DISTURBERS (EUROPEAN PREMIERE) // Dir. Michael Vermaercke, Belgium, 1m35

THE PROCEDURE 2 (UK PREMIERE) // Dir. Calvin Lee Reeder, Canada, 3m

TOE // Dirs. Charles Thurman & Neal O'Bryan, US, 7m

UNMADE (WORLD PREMIERE) // Dir. Steven Sheil, UK, 10m

WILD LOVE // Dirs. Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Maryka Laudet, Léa Georges, Zoé Sottiaux & Corentin Yvergniaux, France, 6m59 

 This year’s Short Film Showcase is made possible with the support of MIYU Distribution.

Mayhem Film Festival originally started as a single collection of short films before growing into the four-day weekend it is now, and so its Short Film Showcase remains at the heart of the festival with its traditional Saturday slot, and one of the most popular and beloved events of the programme each year. 

Mayhem’s full line-up was revealed last week and individual tickets, Frankenstein Ticket Packages and full festival passes are now on sale. For more information, please visit www.mayhemfilmfestival.com

Mayhem Film Festival takes place on 10-13 October 2019 at Broadway, Nottingham. 

FRIGHT & AND SOON THE DARKNESS - on UK BD October

Two genre-defining British horrors from the 70s, both fully restored and on Blu-ray for the first time, FRIGHT and AND SOON THE DARKNESS will be released courtesy of Studiocanal’s Vintage Classics Collection on 14TH October 2019

FRIGHT (1971)

Directed by Peter Collinson (The Italian Job, Straight on Till Morning), this original British slasher film from 1971 stars Honor Blackman (Goldfinger), Susan George (Straw Dogs), Ian Bannen (The Flight of the Phoenix), George Cole and Dennis Waterman (Minder)

Young babysitter Amanda (Susan George) arrives at the Lloyd residence (Honor Blackman and George Cole) to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.

Pre-dating the release of Halloween by seven years, FRIGHT was the groundbreaker for the ‘terrorized babysitter’ variation of the ‘home invasion’ horror genre

EXTRAS:

Interview with critic Kim Newman

Interview with star Susan George

Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery 

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

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970)

Directed by Robert Fuest (The Abominable Dr. Phebes, Wuthering Heights) AND SOON THE DARKNESS is a unique and suspenseful thriller starring Pamela Franklin (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and Michelle Dotrice (The Blood on Satan’s Claw).

Two young English nurses, Jane (Pamela Franklin) and Cathy (Michele Dotrice) embark on a cycling holiday in the French countryside. They happen upon a mysterious man, Paul (Sandor Eles), who seems interested in them. Cathy is intrigued by the man, but suspicious Jane wants to continue on the journey. The two split up but when Jane returns to the village where they are staying, her friend is nowhere to be found. Frantic, she searches for Cathy, but who can she trust, and will she find her in time.

AND SOON THE DARKNESS cleverly confounds expectations and extracts the maximum amount of suspense, sustaining jeopardy and a sense of claustrophobia despite the story all taking place in wide open spaces in complete daylight.

EXTRAS:

Interview with critic Kim Newman

Audio commentary with Writer Brian Clemens & Director Robert Fuest

Audio commentary with Film Historian Troy Howarth

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