The winter deep freeze has arrived my friends but thankfully the videostore is keeping warm with new cinema rolling in to warm your hearts. Old school, new school, and WTF school we have a little bit of everything hitting the racks this week so let’s take a look shall we?
Unleashed from the dungeon of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), a senses-shattering compilation of the most spine-ripping, slime-slinging, soul-shredding horror trailers that you’ve never seen!
Fantastic Five Movie set Of some of Hitch’s best including personal favourite Strangers On A Train.
In deep space, the crew of the commercial starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryo-sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel.
A group of aliens steal a highly advanced weapon called a “Death Sphere” but crash-land on Earth during their getaway. The sphere (which looks exactly like a volley boll) ends up on a beach where teens are having a party.
Encountering a ghost in his family’s vacation home, a modern artist and his wife hire an “industrial-grade exorcist” named to get rid of the beings, but ridding the home of evil won’t be as simple as it seems. Carson D. Mell (2016)
Molly is top of her class at her prestigious high school, but what her classmates and teachers don’t know is she works nights as a prostitute on Hollywood Blvd. Robert Vincent O’Neil (1983)
A young man fronts a reggae sound system based in west London. The movie captures the trials and tribulations of young black youths in troubled London in the early eighties. Franco Rosso (1990)
Special double-feature of Mexican made cult films: The Batwoman [La mujer murcielago 1968] / The Panther Women [Las mujeres panteras (1967)]
Special edition blu-ray release with soundtrack of the insane gorefest masterpiece by Italian gore auteur Lucio Fulci. 1981.
The plot revolves around a team of American martial artists facing a team of South Korean martial artists in a martial arts tournament. Several subplots pop up in the story — moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity and the meaning of life are some themes.
The cult sensation in a deluxe DVD edition. The film is an astonishingly incompetent and bizarre romantic thriller from first-time director James Nguyen.
Bob Clark’s cult Canadian slasher classic about series of Christmas-time murders in a sorority house. Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin.
Violent Blaxploitation trash with a misleading title about a group of extremist Black militants who decide to clean up their streets of the predatory white vice merchants! Lee Frost, 1975.
A stage magician, rather than have an open mic night at his failing New York theatre, resorts to black magic in order to turn his fortunes around. From cult director Onur Tukel, 2017.
A bizarre blend of the female Yakuza film and traditional Japanese ghost story. Meiko Kaji, Teruo Ishii, 1970.
William Fruet directs this Canadian horror riff on the nuclear radiated giant creature films 1950s. Don Lake, Steve Railsback, John Vernon, Sarah Polley, 1987.
A young actor’s obsession with spying on a beautiful woman neighbour leads him into a tangle of murder where he must prove his own innocence while battling crippling claustrophobia. Brian De Palma (1984)
An ongoing feud between punk rockers and a more affluent clique in a small Texas town leads to a hate crime.
Legendary Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis star as elderly Elvis and geriatric JFK, who end up in the same old age home, but the two must join forces to battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy and save the souls of their fellow residents. Don Coscarelli (2002)
Frank Darabont directs this TV movie about a man, who seemingly dead, awakes in his own grave and rises to get his revenge on his cheating wife who killed him. Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hoyt Axton, 1990.
Dean and Colin, two working-class carpet fitters, are called on a job in the middle of nowhere by a sweet elderly lady Mrs Hanning. However, the house has its own secrets and the two quickly realise that this maybe the last job they ever go to.
A loving father dons a clown outfit and makeup to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover that the costume – red nose and wig included– will not come off, his own personality changing in horrific fashion. Jon Watts (2016)
After purchasing a doll, Lane’s life takes a turn for the worse when close friends and family begin vanishing
Back In Stock! The first two seasons of the surprisingly hit show Cobra Kai.
Insane adaptation of the H.P Lovecraft story from the producers of Mandy, directed by reclusive cult director Richard Stanley and featuring “the Klaus Kinski of Southern California” Nicholas Cage. 2019.
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II. Elem Klimov, 1985.
Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is the prince of a wealthy African country and wants for nothing, except a wife who will love him in spite of his title. To escape an arranged marriage, Akeem flees to America accompanied by his persnickety sidekick, Semmi (Arsenio Hall), to find his queen. Disguised as a foreign student working in fast food, he romances Lisa (Shari Headley), but struggles with revealing his true identity to her and his marital intentions to his king father (James Earl Jones).
Easily one of the most brainbreaking sensory overloads in exploitation history! Includes the never before released original Spanish language horror version, LA VENGANZA DEL SEXO!
Hammer’s lurid remake of Universal’s classic monster movie Frankenstein. Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher, 1957.
A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies. George A. Romero, 1985.
A fun triple feature Blu Ray of goodness right here!
A group of heavily armed hijackers board a luxury ocean liner in the South Pacific Ocean to loot it, only to do battle with a series of large-sized, tentacled, man-eating sea creatures who have taken over the ship first. Stephen Sommers (1998)
Special edition re-release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s 1991 post-apocalyptic cannibal comedy.
Rock-loving teens and aspiring musicians Hawk (Edward Furlong), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews), Trip (James DeBello) and Jam (Sam Huntington) can’t wait to see their favorite band, KISS, perform at an upcoming concert. However, when Jam’s pious mother (Lin Shaye) finds the tickets to the event, she incinerates them, leaving the boys desperate for a way to see the show. In their attempts to see KISS, the lads endure misunderstandings, humiliation and violence, all just to see their beloved idols.
On his seventeenth birthday, Michael unwittingly unlocks the evil forces of a Ouija board, as one does. Jon Michael Bischof, Gabriela Hassel, Helena Rojo, Rubén Galindo Jr., 1988.
A double bill of Mark Hartley documentaries on B-movie legends! ELECTRIC BOOGALOO (Mark Hartley 2014), MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED (Mark Hartley 2010)
Members of a family fight for survival when zombies invade their once-peaceful town.
In this cult classic, a shy, lonely film buff embarks on a killing spree against those who browbeat and betray him, all the while stalking his idol, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike. Dennis Christopher, Tim Thomerson, Gwynne Gilford, Vernon Zimmerman, 1980.
Award winning awesomely ultraviolent and sleazy Moby Dick homage about a ruthless vigilante who stops at nothing to track down a depraved serial killer. In the same vein as Hobo With a Shotgun. Directed by Winnipeg film collective Astron-6. 2011.
A group of forest rangers go camping in the woods, and trespass into an area where a backwoods mama likes to kill people who come onto her turf. John Friedrich, Adrian Zmed, Ernest Harden Jr., Andrew Davis, 1983.
Complete set of TV movies based on V.C. Andrews Gothic novels. Deborah Chow, 2014
Excellent collection of rare Giallo: THE KILLER IS ONE OF 13 (1973) / THE POLICE ARE BLUNDERING IN THE DARK (1975) / León Klimovsky’s TRAUMA
One day, a widowed blue-collar worker has a revelation: he must destroy those revealed to him as demons. He then begins the serial killings of `God’s Hand Killer’ across Texas, but he also has two young sons, the younger of whom idolises him and believes in the cause, while his older brother is revolted but cannot bring himself to stop his father. Twenty years later, the elder son walks into a police station and confesses.
A teenager discovers that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire, so he turns to an actor in a television horror show for help dealing with the undead. Tom Holland (1985)
13 Chapter serial about the efforts of law enforcement personnel to defeat the so-called League of Murdered Men criminal organisation. Kent Taylor, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan, 1942.
Psychopath Charles Scavolini escapes the mental institution and returns to his home. Now occupied by a gang of partying teenagers, Scavolini takes back his property with brutal blood lust.
A giant murderous 500 year old Spanish conquistador is freed from suspended animation by lightning and goes on a killing spree in a small town (as one does). 4k Transfer from the original camera negative! Bob Steele, 1958.
In the tiny town of Brixton, Georgia where nothing is private, a woman with supernatural clairvoyance, a young beautiful socialite who has mysteriously disappeared, and an assortment of colorful characters all collide. A haunting psychological thriller, “The Gift” is ultimately a profound celebration of the human spirit.
Starring Gabriel Byrne, five famous friends spend a hallucinogenic evening confronting their fears in a frenzy of shocking lunacy and horrifying visions as Mary Shelley conceives Frankenstein on a night in Lord Byron’s home. Ken Russell (1986)
Sergio Martino directs this Jaws rip off about an angry alligator god who gets revenge on the developers destroying his habitat. Barbara Bach, Mel Ferrer, 1979.
When she was assaulted by her doctor, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) reported him to the police, and rather than go to prison for his crime, he killed himself. The shock of the accusations and suicide caused the doctor’s pregnant wife, Peyton (Rebecca De Mornay), to have a miscarriage. Driven mad with rage, Peyton poses as a nanny for the Bartel family. Her plan: to tear Claire’s life apart, seduce her husband (Matt McCoy) and eventually murder the woman she blames for ruining her life.
An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld. Clive Barker (1987)
The sisters of the Delta Omega sorority won a free weekend at a luxurious hotel & spa. Things go from steamy to bloody when an escaped serial killer checks in to the hotel and crashes their party. Chris Greenaway (2016)
Fleeing the authorities after attending a political rally, a group of conscientious coeds takes shelter inside an abandoned shack. Now that they’ve done their patriotic duty, the protesters decide to get some “free love” action with one another until the coast is clear.
Starring Christopher Lambert, a New Yorker on business in Nagoya sees a woman killed by ninja’s, but new samurai friends help, hide and train him. J.F. Lawton (1995)
During an interview, British Cabinet Minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) delivers an off-the-cuff remark that war in the Middle East is “unforeseeable.” Profane political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) tries to cover up Foster’s faux pas, but the ill-conceived comment is picked up by a warmongering American official. Foster is invited to Washington, D.C., where a war of words brews as politicians maneuver, manipulate and deceive each other before a U.N. vote on military action.
Russian erotic drama about a successful obstetrician who suspects her husband may be having an affair. Nigina Sayfullaeva, 2019.
Nicolas Cage & Tony Jaa star in this martial arts fantasy film that is totally not rip off of the movie Predator. Dimitri Logothetis, 2020.
When Terry Griffith (Joyce Hyser) loses her high school’s writing competition, she’s convinced that it’s because she’s a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy (Billy Jacoby), helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick (Clayton Rohner), who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.
Bruce LaBruce’s latest is a hyper-sexual analysis of contemporary gay culture via the sexual encounters of an alien zombie as played by model & porn star Francois Sagat.
Double feature of early 80s serial killer horrors: Lady Stay Dead (1981) / Pranks (1982 – AKA The Dorm That Dripped Blood)
A 35-foot white shark terrorizes beach-goers at a coastal town.
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s
Documentary, On December 7, 1993, 25 people were shot on a commuter train headed from New York City to Long Island. 6 people were killed, 19 people were injured, and many continue to be affected by it to this day. Charlie Minn (2013)
Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson, along with the rest of humanity, has been living underground ever since giant creatures took control of the land. After reconnecting over the radio with his high school girlfriend, Aimee, who is now 80 miles away at a coastal colony, Joel begins to fall for her again. As Joel realizes that there’s nothing left for him underground, he decides to venture out to Aimee, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way.
Academy Award nominee Tim Roth (RESERVOIR DOGS, PULP FICTION) made his unforgettable film debut as Trevor, a ferocious teenage skinhead whose random acts of racism, vandalism and violence send him on a snarling spiral through England’s justice system.
The host of a lowbrow talk show, Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield) goes out of his way to shock and offend his fans, but he eventually goes too far and begins to lose his audience. Tasked with finding a way to boost ratings by network head Lenny Spencer (Burt Reynolds), Wally must win back his viewers. When Wally sets out to get one of his chief critics, the Southern governor Floyd Preston (David Ogden Stiers), on the show, misadventures ensue for the tactless TV personality.
All three Mimics in one sexy package.
Solitary marine-biology student Siobhán endures a week on a ragged fishing trawler, miserably at odds with the close-knit crew. But out in the deep Atlantic, an unfathomable life-form soon ensnares the boat. As members of the crew now succumb to a strange infection, Siobhán must overcome her alienation and win their trust — before everyone is lost.
Following a failed marriage and a gang rape, Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol) arrives in New York City and soon begins a career as a model and an aspiring actress. She becomes a celebrated pinup girl but experiences a series of missed opportunities and failed relationships.
Spanish horror-mystery about the pandemonium unleashed when the count of a cursed Eastern European village dies mysteriously. Features beefy genre heavyweight Paul Naschy in a supporting role. Stelvio Rossi, José Luis Merino, 1973.
Mario Bava’s influential horror-sci fi film about a team of astronauts who begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants. Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, 1965.
In this gory and disturbing thriller assassins use a mind-control device which shunts the consciousness of the victim in a dark recess when taken over. Brandon Cronenberg, 2020.
A dedicated Soviet cop arrives in Chicago, where he reluctantly teams up with a foul-mouthed American detective to comb the streets of the Windy City for the Russian drug dealer who killed both their partners.
Fifteen year old Aila, a Mi’kmaq Indian living on the Red Crow Reservation, has had to grow up quickly, ever since a tragic incident in and of itself in 1969 led to her mother committing suicide and her father, Joseph, being sent to jail.
A truck driver builds a special, eight-ton truck to help get revenge against the rednecks who killed his family and raped his girlfriend. Steven Hilliard Stern (1987)
A group of fascists round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to a 120 days of physical, mental and sexual torture.
Mexican Horror. A young nun is tempted by visions of forbidden sexual fantasies to cross over to Satan. Gilberto Martínez Solares (1975)
When the indomitable CEO of the Mother Knows Best Toy Company, Mother (Julie Newmar) sees her sales slipping, she goes to extremes to find the next big toy to save her company. She finds her salvation in nerdy toy designer Clyde King (Wally Cox, Mr. Peepers, Underdog).
Gonzo arthouse exploitation film from about an aging porn star who is roped into making an “art” film which proceeds to have him commit increasingly demented and depraved acts. Srdjan Spasojevic, 2010.
An ingeniously engineered slash of thoroughly modern horror, arguably the most important film of the Canadian Tax Shelter era, which charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos. David Cronenberg, 1975.
One of the few slashers produced during the short-lived, early 80s revival of 3D movies! Remarkably well shot and rarely available in its original 3-D anaglyph version. Howard Johns, Simon Nuchtern.
Adapting a science-fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Andrei Tarkovsky’s final Soviet feature is a metaphysical journey through an enigmatic post apocalyptic landscape. 1979.
After his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him, a fry cook (Rainn Wilson) emulates a TV superhero and transforms himself into a costumed vigilante.
In his finest performance, Burt Lancaster stars as a man who confronts his destiny by swimming home, pool by pool, through the suburban nightmare of upper-class East Coast society. Based on the acclaimed short story by John Cheever. 1968.
Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster).
Uncut, restored and remastered in High Definition for the first time, Tex Avery Screwball Classics Collection Volume 2 is another must-own collection from the master of hand-drawn mayhem.
Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost. Christian Nyby (1951)
Young men have to stop an ancient shark after it attacks people in a small beach community.
A suburban, upper-middle-class, semi-retired gangster who desperately tries to keep his criminal life a secret from his staid, conservative wife. Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhart, Mickey Rourke, Paulina Porizkova, 1998.
2010 American rape and revenge exploitation film written and directed by Israel Luna. The film follows a trio of trans women who exact revenge on the men who brutally assault them and murder two of their friends. The film is split into five chapters, one of which is a missing reel.
Three American late teens travel to Japan to escape a sad past and have some fun but end up trapped in a house with a demented Japanese host family who plans to offer them to their gods in a sick ancient Japanese ritual.
Oddball double feature – the rare giallo The Weapon, the Hour & the Motive [L’arma, l’ora, il movente (1972)] and Terence Young’s Amazon sword & sandal epic War Goddess [Le guerriere dal seno nudo – 1973]
A family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive. Bo Mikkelsen (2015)
Starring Matt Berry. A look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of three vampires, who’ve lived together for over 100 years, on Staten Island. TV Series (2019)
Spanish horror, a couple of English tourists arrive on an island where all the children have gone crazy and are murdering the adults. Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (1976)
Harry Valentini and Moe Dickstein are the most hopeless mob members ever. After losing $250,000 at the track using a credit card stolen from their boss, he orders them to kill each other, but instead they run away. Hilarity ensues.
A private investigator returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend’s kidnapped daughter – and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia. Robert Mitchum, Takakura Ken, Brian Keith, Sydney Pollack, 1974.
Zombie 3: When a terrorist’s body, infected with a stolen chemical, is cremated by the US military, a virus is unintentionally released into the atmosphere over a small island. Lucio Fulci, Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei, 1988. Zombie 4: A woman searching for answers to her parents deaths unknowingly angers a voodoo priest and his unleashes an army of zombies. Jeff Stryker, Candice Daly, Massimo Vanni, Claudio Fragasso, 1989.
And there we go guys. A solid end to the month with movies coming to the shop. Movies that actually show up subject to change but overall this is what’s coming. Remember the videostore loves you. Cheers!
