Wednesday 31 May 2023

Interview with Tim Lucas - By David Kempf



When did you first become interested in writing?

I was always interested in books and reading, but for the first twelve or so years of my life, I was focused on drawing, on art. I won some awards, a trophy and two blue ribbons. When I got into junior high school, my art teacher noted that my talent was in representational art so I would likely go into commercial or advertising art if I made a career of it. For some reason, this offended me and I realized it was true that I was only recreating things with my art; I wasn’t using it to express myself.

It was around this same time that my reading graduated from comic books to film criticism and serious fiction. In my late teens I was working as the editor of the film section of a Cincinnati entertainment paper and became friends with one of our contributors, Robert Uth. Bob and I went to movies together and afterwards we would go to a coffee shop and talk about what we had seen. One night in 1974, he said, “I’m working on something; would you mind if I told you about it?” He was thinking about writing a novel - thinking about it, but already in the thick of imagining it, mapping it out. And that night changed my life because it presented me with a viable way of not only creating original art but living it.

I started writing my own “novel” shortly thereafter, a collection of surreal short stories based on some of the extreme dreams I was having at the time, which I called THE AUDIENCE BECOMES FLESH. I still think of cleaning it up a bit and publishing it someday, especially as the short fiction I’m writing now seems to have brought me full circle. After AUDIENCE I continued to write novels that were too strange and personal to publish commercially; I was very influenced by writers like Alain Robbe-Grillet, Raymond Radiguet and Anaïs Nin. They had titles like THE ART OF CONVERSATION, TRANSLUCENT SKIN, THE COMFORTS OF THE SMALL, CASSIE EFFLER (an insane unfinished work that, more than anything, showed off the influence of James Joyce on me, which no one needs to know about!), and then THE DEVIL’S GOOD LOOKS, which showed me at least starting to come out the tunnel of my own bottom with a halfway commercial spy novel about the Elizabethan playwright and spy Christopher Marlowe reincarnating as a 20th century spy. I then spent years writing a science fiction novel called T.V. HEAVEN, which I sent to St. Martin’s Press. I got back the most splendid rejection letter from an editor there, who compared my writing to Thomas Pynchon… but she complained that the causal links between chapters were unclear, so I spent another few years working on it - and when I sent it back in, to the same editor, it was quickly returned with a form letter rejection. It broke my heart and I became a full-time film journalist working mostly for CINEFANTASTIQUE magazine.

My biggest trouble with those early manuscripts was that I was using them to teach myself how to write; I rewrote each page a great deal but I could never address myself to editing the whole, so they never quite became anything - at least not anything salable. I was spending that time acquiring influences through my reading and doing away with them until I found my own voice. It wasn’t until my first published novel, THROAT SPROCKETS (1994), that I approached the task of novelizing from the correct direction and created something designed to entertain, and not just express myself. THROAT SPROCKETS had started out as a graphic novel serialized in Stephen R. Bissette’s horror comic anthology TABOO, and this basis meant that I had to approach it from a story standpoint. It became a traditional novel because I couldn’t get along with the artists I was working with - they were supremely talented but we were personally incompatible. Steve recommended that I try writing THROAT SPROCKETS as a traditional novel, which I did - and it quickly landed me an agent. Then, tragically, that agent died of an aneurysm but her office recommended me to Lori Perkins, an agent who got me a wonderful contract and advance. Lori is now one of my publishers; her Riverdale Avenue Books imprint just published the newly revised version of my novel THE BOOK OF RENFIELD: A GOSPEL OF DRACULA (2005, rev. 2023).


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror?

Horror and fantasy films were somehow my main and dominant interest as far back as I can remember. The first film I saw at a drive-in was probably THE HOUSE OF USHER and my first indoor theater experience was THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN; the giant spider in the basement terrified me and I literally ran out of the theater screaming - twice! Two TWILIGHT ZONE episodes (“The Eye of the Beholder” and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”) also made me scream, so much so that I wasn’t allowed to watch anymore after a certain point. I remember lying in bed in the dark and hearing its scary theme music filtering in from the living room. The pizzicato violins sounded like the Devil Himself tip-toeing toward my bedroom. I had a vivid imagination, and as you can tell from the titles I’ve mentioned, Richard Matheson was responsible for most of my nightmares. Strangely enough, I didn’t get around to actually reading Matheson till I was middle-aged because I had a staunch belief that horror was a filmic genre; I had little interest in reading horror fiction, especially anything new. I read the classics but the contemporary stuff mostly didn’t attract me. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and those people held no appeal for me because I was (and still am, to a degree) interested foremost in literary style. King, Koontz, etc. are idea men who spin a tale - not just that, but they are aimed at appealing to large numbers of people, and my tastes are more marginal. Story isn’t what interests me and, with the exception of certain masters like Matheson, I am especially not interested in stories that replicate the real world as a setting for a “more believable” tale. If I’m on page 1, I’m buying in and I want the writer to turn the world as I know it on it’s head, in ways that haven’t previously occurred to me.


How would you classify the genre you write?

When I sold my first novel THROAT SPROCKETS to Dell, they were going to include it as part of their “dark fiction” imprint Abyss, but it wasn’t an easy fit because it was - in their eyes - a more stylish, experimental, literary work. So they came up with a “dark literary imprint” called Cutting Edge and sought to define this brave new territory by bringing out a previously published novel, THE BUTCHER BOY by Patrick McCabe. THROAT SPROCKETS had received wonderful praise from THE COMICS JOURNAL in its comics incarnation and the novel was even better received, and the keyword being used at that time was “dark,” even though I saw THROAT SPROCKETS as at least partly satirical in its intentions. I also was interested in writing a novel whose central figure was an object (in this case, a film) rather than a character. This seems to be consistent with my other novels: THE BOOK OF RENFIELD tells a story made up of found documents, so it is about the book identified by the title; THE MAN WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES (2022) opens with a chapter about 1966 Los Angeles rather than introducing the main character, and I suppose the book actually is most of all about that time, place and state of mind; another fantasy novel I’ve written, THE ONLY CRIMINAL (forthcoming), is literally obsessed with a character whom we never encounter. The fiction I’m writing now is increasingly focused on making narrative and psychological sense of dreams, which is rather where I started. With all this in mind, I’d have to classify my work as dark fantasy or even Surrealist.


Why do you think horror and fantasy books remain so popular?

I don’t think there is any great recipe involved. I think popular books are the books people are told to buy; they are products of aggressive promotion initially, and then word of mouth. Once writers develop of trusted name, they are read in great numbers and collectors begin to collect them, as this sustains them. Horror and fantasy are commercial genres because horror is an outsized emotion, a sensational form of storytelling, and people also feel it prepares them in some ways for danger or other catastrophic eventualities that could befall them. Fantasy is just pure escape, and historically it has also provided us with blueprints that we’ve applied to shape our own future.


What inspires your stories?

As much as I would like to be principally known as a novelist, I am best-known as a film critic and historian, as the former editor of VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine (which I co-published with my late wife Donna for almost 30 years), and as the audio commentator on more than 150 DVD, Blu-ray and UHD releases. I’ve written fairly few stories and what has amounted to only a new novel every decade. I live with any number of unrealized stories and novel premises in my head, but the difference between the ones I write and those that never get written down is that, with the former, I’ve made a point of making myself available to them. What I’ve learned is that the ideas I massage in my mind never move on beyond the original spark; it becomes a fetish I stroke. But occasionally one will come along that makes me sit down at my keyboard and type out everything I have on this idea… and then other things surprise me by revealing themselves. So what really inspires my stories is taking the time to move beyond that first “love at first sight” stage and inviting a deeper relationship with the ideas at hand.


What do you think the difference between American horror and British horror is?

I really haven’t read enough of either to know, but based on what I have read, I’d venture to say that American horror is more about the relationships between people or the status quo or their national identities, while British horror tends to be more about the relationships between people and their land. Stephen King gives us television commercials and billboards, Nigel Kneale is always digging things up from the ground. The British isles are a much richer potting soil for “folk horror” than anything I’ve seen come from America.


What are your favorite horror books?

I don’t read (and am actually very disturbed by) “true crime” books, but I find that crime is a major draw for me in creative literature, especially when it is playful and imaginative. I am drawn to the Fantômas novels of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain; the psychological thrillers of Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (LES DIABOLIQUES, VERTIGO); the often exotic works of Sax Rohmer; the Arsène Lupin novels of Maurice Leblanc; and the many beautiful and terrifying novels of Gaston Leroux, who wrote so much more of value than just THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. I am very drawn to that 1910-1950s period, just before I was born, but my earliest favorites in this vein actually come from novels not seen as horror by most people, most of them published here in the States by my favorite imprint, Grove Press: the works of Alain Robbe-Grillet (LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD, THE VOYEUR, PROJECT FOR A REVOLUTION IN NEW YORK), Marguerite Duras (THE RAVISHING OF LOL STEIN), Pauline Reàge (THE STORY OF O), and Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues (THE MARGIN, THE MOTORCYCLE). Last year, I started reading the amazing works of Maurice Renard (THE HANDS OF ORLAC), and I am now spellbound by the first book I’ve read by Hanns Heinz Ewers: THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE. Much of what I read and love most seems to be of European origin, in English translation. One of the major exceptions is J.G. Ballard, whose CRASH and THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION I consider stunning achievements in horror.


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU (1922); Tod Browning’s THE UNKNOWN (1927); Fritz Lang’s THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933); James Whale’s THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935); Roy William Neill’s THE BLACK ROOM (1935); Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960); Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY (1960), BLACK SABBATH (1963), BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964), KILL… BABY, KILL! (1966), HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1969), BAY OF BLOOD (1971) and LISA AND THE DEVIL (1973); SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968) by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini; Roger Vadim’s BLOOD AND ROSES (1960); Willard Huyck’s MESSIAH OF EVIL (1973); Walerian Borowczyk’s DR. JEKYLL AND MISS OSBOURNE (1981); Andrzej Zuławski’s POSSESSION (1981) and SZAMANKA (1996), to name a handful.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

If I take your adjective seriously, it would have to be my magnum opus MARIO BAVA - ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK (2007), which weighs 12 pounds and has a greater word count than WAR AND PEACE (literally). At the same time, I put great stock in my 2021 novella THE SECRET LIFE OF LOVE SONGS which is less than 80 pages but they are very dense pages, dense with meaning and experience, and occupied me for the better part of a decade. It’s amorphous and genre defying - being equal parts essay, autobiography, novel, dream, erotica, poetry and song - and I was able to attract the collaboration of one of my musical heroines, Dorothy Moskowitz, in developing my poems into actual songs for a soundtrack CD to accompany the book, so it stretched me in many ways. Of everything I’ve published, it has the highest ceiling and the deepest cellar. It’s not horror but is arguably fantasy or at least fantastic.


Do you have any advice for new writers?

Don’t just give us more of the same. Identify your heroes, take them in, and then throw them out one by one until you’re left with your own voice. And always write what you know, or at least what you dream.


What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

Self-publishing has allowed a lot of commercially marginal work to see the light of day and bring recognition to those writers who have some business savvy and don’t mind applying themselves to the printing and promotional sides of the business. Self-publishing also means self-promoting, so Id don’t know how advisable it is for writers who haven’t acquired visibility by at least getting some stories published beforehand. Unfortunately mainstream publishing only promotes what they pay millions to acquire, and “midlist” fiction hasn’t existed since 9/11, so a well-run self-publishing enterprise is no different - and in some cases may be better - than signing with a major that ignores you and never seems to earn back your advance.


What are your current projects?

My most recent short story, “Brenda and Stiletto Go Boating,” is appearing later this month in PARSEC #7, a digital science fantasy fiction magazine from PS Publishing, whose imprint Electric Dreamhouse will be publishing my book-length monograph on Jess Franco’s film SUCCUBUS aka NECRONOMICON (1967) later this year. I am currently working on a two-volume study of the psychosexual cinema of Joe Sarno (SIN IN THE SUBURBS, INGA), which I hope to finish within the coming year. My research on this should be as ground-breaking as my Bava book was, and I hope it will draw particular attention to the fantasy streak in Sarno’s work, found in such occult films as SIN YOU SINNERS (1962), THE SEX CYCLE (1966), and YOUNG PLAYTHINGS (1972). I was unfortunately widowed late last year, when Donna - my business partner and wife of nearly 48 years - unexpectedly passed away, and I’ve been keeping a diary of my grieving process. I think this may turn into another kind of SECRET LIFE OF LOVE SONGS book, if I let it.


Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

Tim Lucas was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in May 1956. His writing was first published in 1972 so he is now in his sixth decade as a professional writer. Roughly half of that time he spent as the editor, co-publisher and chief critic of the award-winning VIDEO WATCHDOG magazine (1990-2017). His work has encompassed novels, short stories, screenplays, literary/film/music criticism, editorials, articles, text and audio essays, comics, poetry, songs, blogging, even eulogies - and 150+ feature-length audio commentaries for various DVD, Blu-ray and UHD releases. He is the recipient of a record number (21) of Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards (including their Hall of Fame and Legacy Awards), two Saturn Awards (one for Special Achievement), the International Publishers Bronze Medal Award, and the International Horror Guild Award. Now widowed, he is now focusing on different book and commentary projects, writing new songs with Dorothy Moskowitz, and looking forward to whatever happiness may still lie ahead.

Tuesday 30 May 2023

Interview with Howard J Ford - Director of Never Let Go

 


Ahead of Legend’s UK TV Premiere of horror revenge thriller NEVER LET GO on Saturday June 3, director Howard J Ford reflects on a near family tragic experience, the importance of locations and returning to his horror genre roots.


Your nail-biting revenge thriller NEVER LET GO is having its channel premiere on LEGEND on June 3. Excited or what?

It’s always exciting to know one of your movies is going to be on the telly and watched by thousands at one time rather than one streamer at a time! I fine I feel totally different when I watch a broadcast of my film, it accentuates my cringe at all the things I could have done better! Ha.


Looking back at the making of the movie, what memories stand out for you?

It was a hell of an experience shooting Never Let Go amongst the twisty, turns of the Marrakesh streets. I recall running round with a fully laden Steadicam following our wonderful star Angela Dixon and dripping with so much sweat I almost could not see anything and that I might die of heatstroke at any minute!


You’ve gone on record as saying the film was inspired by a near-tragic experience with your son. Can you tell us more?

Yes – to say I was ‘Frantic’ is an understatement. I thought my 3 year old son had been abducted from a holiday resort I was at. I was running around looking for him shouting like a lunatic and I was convinced he has been taken.  I remember seeing a guy loading something into the back of a small open back car, like a lump in a sack and I was going to leap on him from a huge height, that turned out to be vegetables. My mind was going at 1000 miles an hour. In the end, he was at the bottom of the swimming pool and I only just found him in time. The ‘miss’ was so near, it affected me greatly and I wanted to make a film where a mother had everything against her in a race against time to get her child back. I even cast my son as a kidnapped kid!

The casting of Angela Dixon as Lucy is inspired. How did you discover her?

Angela Dixon is an amazing talent and a lovely lady to boot. We had met at a networking event in Cannes and I checked her showreel and realised she was talented and we were both into fitness and 5 years later I needed someone for this part and BOOM, Angela sprang to mind and off we went to Morocco… I love meeting actors and you just never know when you can cast them.


The locations are pretty spectacular, as in all of your films. Is this an important element of the filmmaking process for you?

Thanks. It really is and the locations are a huge part of the adventure I want to take audiences on. Just like Africa in The Dead, India in the Dead 2, I really like to take my audiences somewhere very different from their living room with a couch in it. I want them to ‘feel’ it and sense it and locations are a huge part of that.

You wrote and produced, as well as directed NEVER LET GO. Do you think having independent creative freedom was crucial to what you wanted to achieve with this film?

I did, I also camera operated and all sorts and that ‘hands on’ element was important to me. It’s an indie film. No one commissioned it or financed it, I just went and did it as I was desperate to turn that awful feeling I had experienced into something real that could be seen and somehow exorcised from me. It was a scramble with a small band of crew but everyone did a super job both on and off screen.


As an independent filmmaker, what do you find are the greatest frustrations?

Normally it’s the fact you don’t have the money to make the film so indie film makers spend 90% of their time chasing money and not actually making films which is the thing they fell in love with. Also you don’t have a ‘money hose’ so to speak to wash away your practical and technical problems so that puts you in the corner all too often. You have to think on your feet, often on your hands and knees!


Fast-forwarding, you’ve returned back to your horror genre roots with your latest films ESCAPE and DARKGAME.  Tell us what you can about both films?

Yes, DarkGame has its first screening this Cannes and has an amazing cast headed by Ed Westwick who was the star of Gossip Girl. A super performance; he plays Ben a detective in a race against time to stop the presenter of a warped online live murder show on the dark web. Producer Tom George did a super job of developing the film so on this one I had his great support and an amazing team.

Escape which is my 10th feature film as director – again we’re back to my indie roots and it’s shot on a desert island. A Beautiful holiday destination where ten young women ( a lovely ensemble headed by ‘Scream Queen’ Sarah Alexandra Marks and Sophie Rankin)  kidnapped for sex trafficking by a heinous gang -  their lead villain played by Sean Cronin who was in Mission Impossible and a Bond movie to name but a few. It’s a revenge thriller and the girls are not going to take it lying down. It should be a real heart pumper and somewhat of a blast!


When can we expect to see them?

Both DarkGame and Escape should be out before the end of the year. We don’t have the release dates yet and you generally have to wait for the US to release first but as soon as we have them I’ll shout it loud!


Finally, what else does 2023 hold for you?

I’m working on another film from the team we worked with on The Ledge. Writer Tom Boyle and Producer Fred Hedman of GFM Films. We’re very excited about this one and I hope it’s another nail biter  - about a family on an adventure trip in an RV that turns nasty when an altercation with a gang of hells angles becomes a fight to the death! News on this soon.

NEVER LET GO airs on Legend on Saturday 3rd June, 9pm.

TV: Sky 148 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 41 / Freesat 137

Monday 29 May 2023

COMPETITION: Win The Changeling on Blu-ray



Peter Medak’s 'The Changeling' gets Limited Edition 4K UHD /Blu-ray Box Set and Standard Edition Releases from Second Sight Films on 5 June 2023

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on standard Blu-ray to give away.

Synopsis:
The Changeling has been described as one of the scariest films ever made and is included in Stephen King’s list of favourite movies … now more than 40 years after it premiered on the big screen, Peter Medak’s (The Krays) masterwork gets the release it deserves with Second Sight Films’ The Changeling Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box set.

Influencing renowned filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese – who included in his ‘11 scariest films of all time’ (The Guardian) – Alejandro Amenabar, Guillermo Del Toro and many more, the film is lauded by horror aficionados and audiences alike.

One of the most chilling horrors of all time is set for an auspicious collector’s Box set release and will also be on 4K/UHD Standard Edition and Blu-ray Standard Edition. The film is presented in a 4K scan and restoration presented in HDR and all three editions come stacked with special features including an audio commentary with the director Peter Medak and producer Joel B. Michaels, interviews and much more. They will be available on 5 June 2023 or to pre-order now.

The Limited Edition is presented in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Christopher Shy and comes with a 108-page book with brand new essays plus an archive interview with Peter Medak, it also includes the original soundtrack CD, please see full details below.

Purchase the limited edition at https://amzn.to/3INffZs

Oscar®-winning actor George C. Scott (Patton, The Hustler) gives a standout performance as respected New York composer, John Russell, who relocates to Seattle following the tragic loss of his wife and daughter. He hopes for a fresh start, but the new home harbours a terrible secret and nothing can prepare him for the terror he’s about to face…

Scott stars alongside his wife Trish Van Devere (Where's Poppa?) and double Academy-Award® winner Melvyn Douglas (Being There).

For the ultimate cinematic chiller, experience The Changeling with Second Sight Films’ unmissable, ultimate edition of this seminal classic.

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/43tXk1R

Enter now for a chance to win.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 12-06-23
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

Tuesday 23 May 2023

LEGEND reveals slate of horror and thriller premieres for June 2023

 
Female avengers, waring brothers and a coffin-bound Ryan Reynolds spearheads an dangerously heart-racing May line-up on LEGEND, highlighted by the UK TV premieres of Howard J. Ford’s award-winning child-abduction horror drama NEVER LET GO , revenge Western ANY BULLET WILL DO, action thriller ACTS OF VENGEANCE, starring Antonio Banderas and British action-adventure war film MERCENARIES,

Plus, there are Channel premieres for English-language Spanish survival thriller BURIED, starring Ryan Reynolds, and INTERVIEW WITH A HIT MAN, starring Luke Goss as a deadly hitman with a secret past.

THE VINTAGE VAULT continues to chill Sunday nights with its popular classic genre double-bills, which, this month, include the channel premieres of Robert Young’s erotic masterpiece VAMPIRE CIRCUS and THE UNCANNY, a gruesome, blood-curdling collection of horror short stories, starring Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Susan Penhaligon and Donald Pleasence.

Full film details in transmission order:

Thurs 1 June @ 21:00 – ANY BULLET WILL DO (2018) *UK TV Premiere
During the great American Civil War, two brothers find themselves on opposing sides. Ten years later, Hollis Ransom, now a ruthless head hunter, sets out on a bloody path through Montana and Wyoming, fighting outlaws, evading Indians, and finally meeting his brother in an epic battle that will seal both men’s fates once and for all.


Sat 3 June @ 21:00 – NEVER LET GO (2015) *UK TV Premiere
Lisa Brennan (Angela Dixon), a single mother on vacation in a foreign land, takes the law into her own hands when her child is abducted. Trusting no one, and stopping at nothing, she weaves her way through the murky backstreets and barren landscapes in an epic journey to find her daughter against incredible odds.

Sun 4 June @ 21:00 – THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Adapted by Psycho author Robert Bloch from his own short stories, this Amicus horror anthology is set in an English country home where. Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) is called on to investigate the bloody deaths of four tenants. Directed by Peter Duffell, this superior anthology stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Ingrid Pitt and Jon Pertwee.

Sun 7 May @ 23:00 – BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (1971)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
When a mysterious corpse is accidentally dug in a small town, a group of local teens starts acting very strangely. The adolescents, led by a girl named Angel (Linda Hayden), are convinced the corpse was once possessed. They start to act out a series of demonic rituals, with devastating consequences. This 17th century British supernatural horror film is directed by Piers Haggard and stars Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, and Barry Andrews.


Sat 10 June @ 21:00 – ACTS OF VENGEANCE (2017) *UK TV Premiere
Action speaks louder than words when a fast-talking criminal lawyer, Frank Valera (Antonio Banderas) takes a vow of silence - transforming his body and his mind to embark on a quest to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter.


Sun 11 June @ 21:00 – VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1971)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
A circus arrives at a Serbian village to perform a show for the local inhabitants. Many of them believe that the plague that has gripped their village is the result of a curse inflicted on them years before by Count Mitterhouse, a vampire. Unbeknown to them, the leader of the circus is the Count’s cousin intent on reviving his relative and having his revenge.

Sun 11 June @ 22:45 – DEATH LINE (1968)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Set on the London Underground, this moody shocker features brilliant horror icon Donald Pleasance in the lead role as a cockney copper. Hammer Horror star Christopher Lee also shows up in a small cameo. Directed by Gary Sherman this is one of Guillermo del Toro’s all-time favourites.


Thurs 15 June @ 21:00 – MERCENARIES (2011) *UK TV Premiere
When the Serbian Prime Minister is assassinated, an elite special ops team, led by ex-British S.A.S serviceman turned mercenary Andy Marlow (Robert Fucilla) is called in to pull Europe back from the brink of war. Also stars Billy Zane.


Sat 17 June @ 21:00 – INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN (2012) *Channel Premiere
After his final mission goes wrong, an elite hitman known as Viktor (Luke Goss), travels to London in an attempt to erase his past, and being a new life. But he encounters a deadly threat and is forced to confront buried secrets.

Sun 18 June @ 21:00 – BEWARD MY BRETHREN (1972)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Led by a sinister minister (Patrick Magee), zealous religious sect The Brethren have taken control of widow Birdy Wemys, sending her unstable son, Kenny, into a descent of madness and murder. No woman is safe when Kenny’s religious mania overpowers him and leads to a rampage of carnage and chaos. This gritty story of lust, murder and terror, now a favourite cult horror, is directed by Robert Hartford-Davies

Sun 18 June @ 22:50 – HORROR HOSPITAL (1973)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Jason Jones (Robin Askwith), a disillusioned songwriter, checks into Brittlehouse Manor, a 'health resort' where people are supposedly cured of all their hang-ups. It is run by the sinister Dr Storm (Michael Gough). who performs lobotomies on his young patients, and It isn’t long before Jones realises that his life is in danger.


Sat 24 June @ 21:00 – BURIED (2009) *Channel Premiere
Imagine waking up in the dark and realising that you've been buried alive with nothing but a lighter, a mobile phone and only 90 minutes of oxygen left. Ryan Reynolds delivers a compelling performance as everyman, Paul Conroy who has to that his fears, frustrations and dark emotion in order to remain focused on staying alive.


Sun 25 June @ 21:00 – THE UNCANNY (1977) *Channel Premiere
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Author Wilbur Gray (Peter Cushing), who is convinced that cats are conspiring to replace the human race as masters of the earth, narrates three bizarre tales of feline terror. This blood-curdling collection of horror short stories also stars Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Susan Penhaligon and Donald Pleasence.

Sun 25 June @ 22:50 – TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (1976)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) asks occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) to protect his young daughter, Catherine (Natasha Kinski), who, although in the sanctuary of the Order of the Children of the Lord. has attracted the attention of ex-communicated priest Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee), who wants Catherine to become the incarnation of one of the crowned princes of Hell, Astaroth. Pitted against black magic, ancient rituals and a clan of Satanists, Verney battles to save the young girl from a diabolical fate.

TV: Sky 148 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 41 / Freesat 137

Friday 12 May 2023

COMPETITION: Win Knock at The Cabin on Blu-ray



M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN’S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW FILM IS NOW YOURS TO OWN WITH EXCLUSIVE DELETED SCENES, BEHIND-THE-SCENES FEATURETTES AND MORE!

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on Blu-ray to give away.

Synopsis:
Critically acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan returns with his seventh #1 movie debut, KNOCK AT THE CABIN, yours to own with bonus content, available to Download & Keep May 1 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on May 15 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Based on the book “The Cabin at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay, the suspenseful apocalyptic thriller is “a white knuckle thrill ride” (NME) that “commands your attention at every reveal” (Comicbook). KNOCK AT THE CABIN comes home with more than 40 minutes of exclusive bonus content, including deleted scenes and featurettes that dives deep into the film’s layered and multi-dimensional themes, Shyamalan’s visionary filmmaking process, and more.

KNOCK AT THE CABIN is a thriller about a tight-knit family who are taken hostage by four armed strangers while vacationing at a remote cabin. The visitors, led by Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Dune), demand that the young girl and her parents make an unthinkable choice: to save their family or save humanity.

Showcasing outstanding performances from a talented and diverse ensemble cast alongside Bautista, KNOCK AT THE CABIN stars Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, “Mindhunter”), Ben Aldridge (“Fleabag,” “Our Girl”), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Old, “Avenue 5”), Abby Quinn (Little Women, “Mad About You”), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise, “Servant”), and Kristen Cui in her feature film debut.

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3IrSwlF

Enter now for a chance to win.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 22-05-23
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

Tuesday 9 May 2023

COMPETITION: Win an Official Scream VI hoodie!


To celebrate the digital release of Scream VI, available to Download & Keep now, at https://apple.co/3oPKGLu, we’re offering you the chance to win an official Scream VI hoodie to cosy up in, away from Ghostface! 

Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In Scream VI, Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter”), Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Mindy Meeks-Martin”), Mason Gooding (“Chad Meeks-Martin”), Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), Hayden Panettiere (“Kirby Reed”) and Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving.

Scream VI is available to Download & Keep now and on DVD, Blu-ray™ & 4K Ultra HD™ from 10th July at https://amzn.to/3M8J3ln

Enter now for a chance to win.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 22-05-23
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.