VICIOUS FUN comes to SHUDDER

In VICIOUS FUN, Joel (Evan Marsh), a caustic 1980’s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in with his homicidal surroundings or risk becoming the next victim.

Directed by Cody Calahan (The Oak Room), the award-winning VICIOUS FUN stars Evan Marsh (Shazam!), Amber Goldfarb (Appiness), Ari Millen (Orphan Black), Julian Richings (Shudder’s Anything For Jackson), Robert Maillet (Sherlock Holmes), Sean Baek (Killjoys), David Koechner (Anchorman), Alexa Rose Steele (Jann), Mark Gibson (Exit Humanity), Kristopher Bowman (Deep River: The Island) and John Fray (The Silence).

A riotously exhilarating neon-soaked ride of nostalgia, self-aware laughs and gory thrills, VICIOUS FUN more than lives up to its name and arrives on SHUDDER on 29 June 2021. The film has been a hit with festival critics, and it recently won the Audience Award and the Golden Raven at the 2021 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

View the trailer on YouTube. 

Visit https://www.shudder.com/

 

Splatstick Puppet Horror Comedy SNORE - available online

“SNORE”, an award winning “splatstick” horror comedy featuring a cast of Muppet style puppets is now available to view online following an international run at film festivals over the last two years.

Hard nosed businesswoman Karen has gone bankrupt yet again, forcing her and Callum, her toyboy lover/ PA to stay in a grotty halfway house run by equally grotty landlord Frances. A strange noise catches their attention in the middle of the night, leading them into a battle for survival with "the Jip", a small pig like creature. 

Who will survive and, most importantly, what will be left of Callum's designer manbag?

Snore is an over the top rollercoaster ride of a film, featuring a variety of puppets, miniatures and green screen action to bring the cavalcade of ridiculous splaststick action to life.

Part funded with help from the Adur And Worthing Trust, Snore was somewhat of a local affair, with writer/ director Luther Bhogal-Jones living in the region and utilised the help of local artist Garry Robson for the designs of the cast, brought to life by local prop maker Charlotte Regan and featuring a voice cast including local actor Andrew Calverley. It was predominantly shot in the basement of the (now closed) Beechwood House Hotel in Worthing (now the Brewhouse and Kitchen) with additional green screen work shot at the practice space of Zodiac Allstars Cheerleading in Lancing.

View the film online on YouTube. 

Visit Faster Productions Vimeo Channel.

CRAZY SAMURAI : 400 vs 1 - on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital this July

When a master samurai arrives to duel the disgraced Yoshioka dojo, he walks into an ambush, in the world’s first feature length, one-take action film sequence, which comes to Disc and Digital this July from Dazzler Media.

In 1604, Miyamoto Musashi (Tak Sakaguchi -Versus, Re:Born) attacked the Yoshioka family at their dojo and defeated master Seijuro and his younger brother Denshichiro in two duels. 

To save their reputation, the Yoshioka family decides to fight back with all 100 family members along with an additional 300 hired samurai. Now Musashi must fight for his life against 400 warriors, earning him a place in history as the “Crazy Samurai Musashi” 

From director and famed action coordinator Yûji Shimomura (The Warrior’s Way, Death Trance), CRAZY SAMURAI : 400 vs 1 is a thrilling slice of action cinema and a must-see for genre fans. 

Dazzler Media presents Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1 on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital 5th July

View the trailer on YouTube. 

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

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

THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS - On Limited Edition 4K UHD Blu-ray from Arrow

Following the success of his debut feature, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, distributor Titanus tasked writer/director Dario Argento with delivering a follow-up in short order. The resulting film, granted a greatly enhanced budget and heralded in its US marketing campaign as “nine times more suspenseful” than its predecessor, was THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS .

 

When a break-in occurs at a secretive genetics institute, blind puzzle-maker Franco Arnò (Karl Malden - Patton, One-Eyed Jacks), who overheard an attempt to blackmail one of the institute’s scientists shortly before the robbery, teams up with intrepid reporter Carlo Giordani (James Franciscus - Beneath the Planet of the Apes) to crack the case. 

 

But before long the bodies begin to pile up and the two amateur sleuths find their own lives imperilled in their search for the truth. And worse still, Lori (Cinzia De Carolis - Cannibal Apocalypse), Franco’s young niece, may also be in killer’s sights…

 

This second entry in the so-called “Animal Trilogy” found Argento further refining his distinctive style and cementing his reputation as the master of the giallo thriller. Co-starring Catherine Spaak (Il Sorpasso) and Rada Rassimov (Baron Blood), and featuring another nerve-jangling score by the great Ennio Morricone (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS remains one of Argento’s most suspenseful and underrated films.

 

 

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• New 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
• English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Audio commentary by critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
• Nine Lives, an interview with co-writer/director Dario Argento
• The Writer O’ Many Tales, an interview with co-writer Dardano Sacchetti
• Child Star, an interview with actress Cinzia De Carolis
• Giallo in Turin, an interview with production manager Angelo Iacono
• Script pages for the lost original ending, translated into English for the first time
• Original Italian, international and US theatrical trailers
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring an original essay on the film by Dario Argento, and writing by Barry Forshaw, Troy Howarth and Howard Hughes
• Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
• Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
• Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring originally and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative 4K UHD Blu-ray

 

 Pre-order the UK UHD Box Set from Amazon.co.uk

MOSQUITO STATE joins SHUDDER's Summer Lineup this August

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired exclusive rights to the psycho-thriller MOSQUITO STATE, from director Filip Jan Rymsza and co-written by Rymsza and Mario Zermeno, for release in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on Thursday, 26 August.

 

In MOSQUITO STATE, isolated in his austere penthouse overlooking Central Park, obsessive Wall Street data analyst Richard Boca (Beau Knapp) sees ominous patterns: His computer models are behaving erratically, as are the swarms of mosquitos breeding in his apartment, an infestation that attends his psychological meltdown.

 

An official selection of the Venice Film Festival in 2020, where it was awarded the Bisato d’Oro for Best Cinematography, MOSQUITO STATE joins Shudder’s previously announced “Summer of Chills” lineup, which features new film premieres every week through August, alongside the best library of curated streaming horror films. 

 

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney described the film as “Cronenberg meets Kafka.” A “commandingly creepy psycho-horror… that multiplies into a nightmarish infestation before vengefully claiming its sacrifice, in a poetic surrender that evokes Virginia Woolf." Variety’s Guy Lodge wrote that “it swaggers with slick nasty formal showmanship designed to get under the viewer’s skin,” The Wrap’s Steve Pond added that “the movie promises that it’s going to take us for a ride, and Rymsza delivers on that promise,” and Indiewire’s David Ehrlich concluded that it “holds your attention like a bite that you can’t stop yourself from scratching even though you know it’s only going to make things worse.”

In addition to Knapp (The Good Lord Bird, Seven Seconds), the film stars Charlotte Vega (Wrong Turn, American Assassin), Jack Kesy (The Outpost, Deadpool 2), and Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful, Before Night Falls).

MOSQUITO STATE arrives on SHUDDER on 26 August 2021

Visit... https://www.shudder.com/

 

MONSTER HUNTER - at UK Cinemas June 18

Ahead of its June 18 cinema release, Sony Pictures UK is pleased to make available a new clip for MONSTER HUNTER, starring Milla Jovovich. Check it out below...

Behind our world, there is another: a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When an unexpected sandstorm transports Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her unit (TI Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) to a new world, the soldiers are shocked to discover that this hostile and unknown environment is home to enormous and terrifying monsters immune to their firepower. 

In their desperate battle for survival, the unit encounters the mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa), whose unique skills allow him to stay one step ahead of the powerful creatures. As Artemis and Hunter slowly build trust, she discovers that he is part of a team led by the Admiral (Ron Perlman). Facing a danger so great it could threaten to destroy their world, the brave warriors combine their unique abilities to band together for the ultimate showdown.

MONSTER HUNTER, starring Milla Jovovich, is released to UK Cinemas June 18

 

THE SERGIO MARTINO COLLECTION - Coming from Arrow Video this August

One of Italian cinema’s most celebrated and prolific filmmakers, Sergio Martino worked across a range of genres, but is arguably best known for his giallo thrillers. THE SERGIO MARTINO COLLECTION, which comes to BD this August, brings together three of his finest.

 

In THE CASE OF THE SCORPIONS TALE, recently widowed Lisa Baumer is summoned to Athens to collect her husband’s generous life insurance policy, but soon discovers others are willing to kill to get their hands on it. 

 

In the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND I HAVE THE ONLY KEY, abrasive drunk Oliviero amuses himself by holding drunken orgies and abusing his long-suffering wife… but when a series of grisly murders shakes the local community, Oliviero finds himself in the frame. 

 

Finally, THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR combines giallo and crime thriller tropes as undercover cop Paolo pursues the Milanese criminal outfit responsible for the brutal murder of an underage prostitute, but finds himself up against a killer-for-hire who’s bumping off witnesses before they have a chance to talk.

Featuring sensational casts of genre stalwarts, including Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Anita Strindberg and Luigi Pistilli, with scripts by giallo master Ernesto Gastaldi and sensuous scores by maestro Bruno Nicolai, this is an essential collection for any Italian cult cinema fan.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• Three films from Sergio Martino: The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, and The Suspicious Death of a Minor, restored in 2K from the original camera negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation for all films
• Original uncompressed mono Italian and English audio tracks
• Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for English audio
• Newly commissioned artwork by Marc Schoenbach

THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL:

• Audio commentary with writer Ernesto Gastaldi, moderated by filmmaker Federico Caddeo (in Italian with English subtitles)
• Under the Sign of the Scorpion – an interview with star George Hilton
• The Scorpion Tales – an interview with director Sergio Martino
• Jet Set Giallo – an analysis Sergio Martino’s films by Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
• The Case of the Screenwriter Auteur – a video essay by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon

YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY:

• Through the Keyhole – an interview with director Sergio Martino
• Unveiling the Vice – making-of retrospective featuring interviews with Martino, star Edwige Fenech and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi
• Dolls of Flesh and Blood: The Gialli of Sergio Martino – a visual essay by Michael Mackenzie exploring the director’s unique contributions to the giallo genre
• The Strange Vices of Ms. Fenech – film historian Justin Harries on the Your Vice actress’ prolific career
• Eli Roth on Your Vice and the genius of Martino
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin

THE SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF A MINOR:

• Audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films
• Violent Milan – an interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon

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