Horror Channel raises hell in August

August is a wicked month on Horror Channel, as the UK’s number 1 destination for genre films revives some horror, sci-fi and fantasy classics – including Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER trilogy, which has one of the most stylish and ferociously original horror fantasy franchises ever and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990), Tom Savini’s colour remake of George Romero's original Night Of The Living Dead, which transcended the world of horror movies to become a film classic

Other highlights include RE-ANIMATOR, the late Stuart Gordon’s darkly comic classic, that has been acknowledged as one of the most celebrated, outrageous and original horror films of all time, TREMORS, Ron Underwood’s affectionate throwback to 1950s creature features, which is still seen as the king slacker of monster movies and ROLLERBALL (2002), the head-slamming remake of the 1975 Sci-Fi hit, directed by John McTiernan,

Also making a return is Sci-fi TV series THE 4400. The highly rated cable drama, originally slated to run only as a five-part miniseries, eventually ran for four seasons Producers included Francis Ford Coppola.

 

Full film details in transmission order:

 

Sunday 1 August @ 21:00 - ROLLERBALL (2002)

Jonathan Crossis the most popular player in the fastest and most extreme sport of all time: Rollerball. But things go wrong when Rollerball’s creator, Petrovich (Jean Reno), realises that serious on-court accidents bring higher ratings. Soon, the players are trapped in Petrovich’s manipulations, playing for their lives in a new game without any rules.

 

Tuesday 3 August @ 22:50 – HELLRAISER (1987)

Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) has solved the mystery of the Lament Configuration puzzle box, a sort of evil Rubik’s cube. Unfortunately he inadvertently opens a doorway to Hell and, in death, enters the world of the Cenobites, a race of sadistic supernatural beings led by a bald Cenobite (Doug Bradley).

 

Friday 6 August @ 21:00 –NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990)

A brother and sister visit their family cemetery. The first attack comes without warning, forcing Barbara (Patricia Tallman) to leave her brother lying bloodied and unconscious while she runs for refuge in a nearby farmhouse. Soon, she is joined by others - seven people with nothing in common but their terror of the hideous cannibals who claw at their windows and doors with an insatiable appetite for living human flesh.

 

Tuesday 10 August @ 22:50 - HELLRAISER II: HELLBOUND (1989)

Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) has witnessed too many horrific images for her young mind to take and is placed in the care of Doctor Channard (Kenneth Cranham). No one believes Kirsty’s wild and weird tales, except the Doctor who has secretly been searching for the pleasures the dark side can bring. Soon the walls at the institute begin to crack and bleed and once dead faces from Kirsty’s recent past return to haunt her. And a Cenobite known as Pinhead (Doug Bradley) vows to tear her soul apart.

 

Tuesday 17 August @ 22:50 - HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH (1993)

Pinhead (Doug Bradley) has been caged in the Torture Pillar, his evil secured for all eternity. But a club owner J.P. Monroe (Kevin Bernhardt) buys this bizarre sculpture and accidentally cuts himself during its installation, dripping blood onto the ancient monument. This resurrects Pinhead, but this time he’s up against a reporter Joey Summerskill (Terri Farrell) who battles Pinhead into facing his own, tortured past.

 

From Wednesday 18 August @ 18:00, weekdays – THE 4400 (2004)

This classy sci-fi TV series revolves around the sudden reappearance of 4400 missing people. All were presumed dead or reported missing over several decades, and many return to their former lives on Earth - but with startling powers. Among those assigned to unravel their mystery is an earnest crime investigator whose nephew is one of the returned.

 

Tuesday 24 August @ 22:50 – RE-ANIMATOR (1985)

A medical student returns from Austria after working in regenerative experiments with a well-known scientist who died under mysterious circumstances. He enrols at Miskatonic University where he differs with his professor on issues of the time of death, and eventually enlists his roommate to help him continue experiments on re-animating the dead

 

Thursday 27 August @ 21:00 – TREMORS (1990)

Kevin Bacon stars in this revved up monster movie made with an enthusiastic nod to classic 1950s monster flicks. Two handymen must battle must battle giant carnivorous sandworms that threaten their small Nevada town. The eccentric and resilient townspeople must do everything in their powers to survive this new man-axing species.

 

FrightFest thirsts for 'new blood' in talent search

As Arrow Video FrightFest stalks the dark recesses of the big screen again, the search resumes for new writers in the horror genre through its New Blood initiative. New Blood reunites FrightFest with Giles Edwards of Queensbury Pictures with its mission to find emerging UK-based writers dedicated to the genre and nurture their projects from script to screen. Queensbury is ultimately interested in buying the finished script rather than the idea, and so, this year all successful final candidates if selected should be able to send even a rough draft of the first ten pages of their script through with their acceptance.

Already the scheme has delivered two new projects: Broadcast Signal Intrusion, written by Phil Drinkwater and Tim Woodall and directed by Jacob Gentry (The Signal) which World Premiered to enormous acclaim at SXSW 2021 and will come home to screen at FrightFest this August and The Change, written by Carina Rodney and optioned by acclaimed producer Jennifer Handorf (The Borderlands, The Chamber).

The successful shortlisted applicants will workshop their ideas in a group setting under the guidance of top industry professionals and genre experts. Among this year's panel are 2021 Variety Magazine 'Director to Watch', recipient Prano Bailey-Bond and acclaimed writer / director of CENSOR, Jed Shepherd, co-writer of 2020's genre sensation HOST and Rob Savage's upcoming secret Blumhouse project, Najarra Townsend, actress and producer, THE STYLIST and Queensbury Pictures' Giles Edwards.  

Giles Edwards of Queensbury Pictures said, "Having already achieved the initial aim of New Blood, with the discovery of the phenomenal script Broadcast Signal Intrusion from Phil and Tim which then exceeded our wildest expectations as a finished feature, and the amazing Jennifer Handorf falling for Carina's *absolutely wild* The Change, we're more adamant than ever that the cream of UK genre writing talent is out there, just waiting for the opportunity to wrench our collective gut with their visions of true terror."

Greg Day, co-director of FrightFest added, "For FrightFest to be continuing to support and enable aspiring scriptwriters to have this opportunity is very gratifying, especially as Giles and Queensbury Pictures have proved that they really mean business and are not just playing industry lip-service. Good luck to the New Blood class of 2021."

The New Blood networking and workshop event will be held on Thursday 26 August, the opening day of this year's festival, in a Central London venue

Applications are open from Monday 12th July with potential participants asked to submit a 400 word proposal through the dedicated New Blood page on the FrightFest website and if selected, each writer is expected to submit the first ten pages of their script idea. The deadline is Sunday 26th July.  All successful applicants will be notified by the 31st of July and then will be requested to send over their sample script pages. All participants are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation.

For full application requirements and to apply:

https://www.frightfest.co.uk/newblood/newblood.html

Arrow Video FrightFest 2021 runs 26th to 30th August at the Cineworld, Leicester Square.

COMPETITION: Win Alone on Blu-ray

Alone  - Released on Blu-ray from 12th July

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

Synopsis: 

Alone is a tense and tightly-wound thriller from John Hyams, director of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning and the upcoming Maniac Cop remake. Jessica (Jules Willcox, Bloodline) drives on a long, lonely stretch of road in the Pacific Northwest. Attempting to rebound from a tragic loss, she's packed up her belongings and is headed back to her hometown to restart her life. Also on this stretch of road is a Man (Marc Menchaca, Ozark) who, at first, seems harmless enough, but keeps showing up in the same places as Jessica. It’s no coincidence. The Man has hostile plans for her, and once in his clutches she has to fight her way out to safety somewhere in the wilderness, away from civilization, away from any help and away from the devious psychotic out to destroy her. And she'll have to face it all alone.

Signature Entertainment presents Alone on Blu-ray from 12th July

Pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3hzVvKq

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

Competition Closed 

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 19-07-21
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.

FULL MOVIE - Intruders (2015) Starring Beth Riesgraf, Martin Starr, Jack Kesy, Rory Culkin

 

Anna is isolated from human contact in nearly every way, which is exactly how she likes it. Suffering from crippling agoraphobia and holed up in an old Victorian on the outskirts of town, the people in Anna’s life can be counted on two fingers: her terminally-ill love, Conrad, and the charismatic Meals-on-Wheels driver, Dan. when a trio of criminals break into her house, she cannot bring herself to flee. But what the intruders don’t realize is that agoraphobia is not her only psychosis.

Starring Beth Riesgraf, Martin Starr, Jack Kesy, Rory Culkin

FULL MOVIE - Cherry Tree (2015) - Starring Anna Walton, Naomi Battrick and Sam Hazeldine

 

Faith’s world is turned upside down after she finds out that her beloved father is dying. When the mysteriously alluring Sissy Young becomes the village’s newest inhabitant, Faith finds a compassionate spirit and much-needed mother figure. Little does she know that Sissy is the head of a centuries-old witches’ coven that uses the fruit of an ancient cherry tree in a secret ritual that restores life to the dead and dying.

Offering to cure her father in exchange for a child, Sissy strikes a bargain with Faith, who suddenly finds herself pregnant with a baby that’s growing at an alarming rate. But with the clock to the child’s birth ticking down and the true intention of Sissy’s plans for humanity becoming more apparent, Faith and her father must stand together in order to save both their lives.

Starring Anna Walton, Naomi Battrick and Sam Hazeldine

Also available on DVD for a few pounds at Amazon - https://amzn.to/3ApckjF

COMPETITION: Win The Dark and the Wicked on DVD

The Dark and the Wicked - Released on Blu-ray and DVD from 5th July

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

Synopsis: 

FROM THE director of the renowned, hit horror The Strangers, Bryan Bertino, comes his latest critically acclaimed feature The Dark and The Wicked, which makes its UK Blu-ray debut from Acorn Media International in conjunction with Shudder, following its success on the streaming service. This the first of many exciting Shudder titles Acorn will be releasing on physical formats this year.

 

Bertino has been garnering huge international praise and has been lauded by Esquire as ‘There’s no filmmaker working today more adept at generating scares via the sudden appearance of shadowy background figures’. His latest film is an extremely disturbing, tense, atmospheric chiller.

 

The Dark and The Wicked features a stellar cast that sees The Umbrella Academy’s breakout star Marin Ireland (The Irishman) and Fear the Walking Dead’s Michael Abbott Jr. as siblings who must return to the family home to say their goodbyes to their dying father, but are met with a situation beyond their wildest nightmares. The film will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and on digital to download and keep on 5 July 2021.

 

On a secluded farm, a father (Michael Zagst – Divine Access) is bedridden and fighting through his final breaths while his wife slowly succumbs to overwhelming grief. Siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) return home to help, but it doesn’t take long for them to see that something’s terribly wrong with their mother (Julie Oliver-Touchstone – Preacher) —something more than her heavy sorrow. Gradually, they begin to suffer a darkness similar to their mother’s, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that an evil entity is taking over their family.

 

The Dark and the Wicked will jangle your nerves and either keep you on the edge of your sofa… or running for safety behind it.

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3w1Ger1

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

Competition Closed 

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 12-07-21
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.

COMPETITION: Win The Babadook Limited Edition Blu-ray

The Babadook Limited Edition Blu-ray - Released on DVD from 26th July

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and a copy to give away.

Synopsis: 

Internationally renowned horror The Babadook saw The Nightingale’s Jennifer Kent make a huge impact with her feature film debut. Now Second Sight Film brings this acclaimed chiller back to life with a brand-new Limited-Edition dual format release featuring the world premiere on 4K UHD plus Blu-ray which will ensure you won’t want to get rid of The Babadook.

This standout film sees Essie Davis, star of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, as a grief-stricken mother who is desperately trying to bring up her troubled son the best she can, will a new book be the answer to his sleep woes, or is it the beginning of an unimaginable nightmare?

Following the violent death of her husband on the day their son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) was born, Amelia struggles with his erratic behaviour, and is still battling with the never-ending grief. Refusing to celebrate Samuel’s birthday as it’s inextricably linked to such a traumatic time, life is a struggle and the one person who’s always been there for her, her sister Hayley McElhinne’s patience is wearing thin.

As Samuel’s seventh birthday approaches his fears get worse, he’s convinced a monster is coming to get them, and he won’t settle, no matter how many bedtime stories he’s told. When an intriguing storybook appears on the bookshelf,  Samuel becomes convinced that the Babadook is the monstrous creature he’s always feared and as Amelia senses the ominous presence herself, she slowly begins to unravel.

The stunning Limited Edition is released on 26th July and is presented in a stunning rigid slipcase with new artwork by Peter Diamond.  Full of outstanding special features it includes brand-new and archive interviews, audio commentaries, a short film and a 150-page hardback book with brand new essays and collectors' art cards, please find full details below.

Pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gG2p1t

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

Competition Closed 

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 26-07-21
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.