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A history of the most underrated British science fiction of the 1970s is, largely, just a history of British science fiction of the 1970s. It gets a bad rap. Think “1970s British Sci-Fi” and your mind will be flooded with associations of dodgy special effects, less-than-perfect gender politics, and so much knitwear. That, and a certain time traveller with a predilection for scarves and jelly babies.

But the truth is the 70s was a golden age for British science fiction stories with ideas and ambition, completely unrestrained by any concept of production values. While even the most pedestrian attempt at modern science fiction telly feels it has to go toe to toe with the MCU’s latest CGI eyeball-blaster, a year after Star Wars was on our screens the Doctor was still routinely facing off against dressed like this, and it was better for it.

Blake’s 7 (1978 – 1981)

Stream on: Itvx...

Nigel Kneale, creator of the cult science fiction serial Quatermass, has been commemorated by a brand new set of stamps from his native Isle of Man.

The set of six Kneale Archives postage stamps is available from the Isle of Man Post Office and covers his career right from his beginnings in the theater, and his 1949 anthology Tomato Cain and Other Stories, to his iconic science fiction work, including the dystopian The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968), ghost story The Stone Tape (1972), and horror anthology Beasts (1976).

Naturally, Quatermass looms large (although it’s confined to a single stamp). The influence of the six-part Quatermass Experiment (1953), Quatermass II (1955), and Quatermass and the Pit (1959) – and their Hammer adaptations – can be seen in everything from Doctor Who to Stephen King.

Jane Asher, who has a small role in 1955’s The Quatermass Xperiment before going on to star as Jill Greely in 1970’s The Stone Tape,...

Exclusive: Summer’s going to be a scorcher in London. Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & the Tyranny of Evil Men is coming to town in June.

The cabaret-style stage show, a huge hit in Los Angeles where it’s still running after 13 years, heads to the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith from June 6 for a 10-week season through August 13.

Definitely fair to point out that there are as many Tarantino aficionados here in Blighty as there are in Tarantino’s manor in LA. Spend any time in the less trendy parts of Hackney in East London or across the river in Peckham and you’ll hear teens discuss their attire or their fast-food snacks while referencing a line from a Tarantino movie. Some of these kids weren’t born when some of these movies first came out yet they know them. They know them scene-by-scene, line-by-line. They’ll be queueing, in an orderly fashion,...

Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rules of the Game (1939)

Le Boucher (1970)

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)

Topaz (1969)

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)

Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)

The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Going My Way (1944)

Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary

M*A*S*H (1970)

Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Nada Gang (1975)

Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...

Hello again, dear readers! We’re back with our weekly horror and sci-fi home media releases rundown, and tomorrow’s assortment of titles is an interesting bunch, to say the least. Blue Underground is showing some love to Lucio Fulci’s Manhattan Baby this Tuesday, and Scream Factory has put together a Special Edition Blu-ray for Night Creatures as well. And if you’re looking to catch up on some recent horror, V/H/S/94, Richard Bates Jr.’s King Knight, Bleed With Me, and The Exorcism of God are all being released this week as well.

Other titles headed home on April 19th include Alive, Snuff Tapes, and Ghosts of the Ozarks.

Alive

From director Ryuhei Kitamura For the brutal revenge killing of his girlfriend’s rapists, Tenshu is sentenced to die in the electric chair. Resigned to his fate and unremorseful for his crime, he amazingly survives his high voltage execution!

CineSavant reaches back to a U.K. disc released in 2014, because the subject is (what else) a semi-obscure science fiction effort. Favorite John Neville stars as a scientist opposite newcomer Gabriella Licudi, a beauty who may be an invader from outer space. This is the one with the teardrops that burn; not having seen it since 1966 or so, evaluating a ‘new’ Blu was an imperative. The main takeaway is that it’s awfully small-scale and the fantastic content is almost entirely confined to dialogue. But the performances are exemplary and actress Jean Marsh is terrific.

Unearthly Stranger

Region B Blu-ray

Network-bfi

1963 / B&w / 1:66 / 80 min. / Street Date November 3, 2014 / Available from Amazon / 14.99

Starring: John Neville, Philip Stone, Gabriella Licudi, Patrick Newell, Jean Marsh, Warren Mitchell.

Cinematography: Reg Wyer

Art Director: Harry Pottle

Film Editor: Tom Priestley

Original Music: Edward Williams

Written by Rex Carlton based on an idea by Jeffrey Stone...

Nobody did better with horror franchises than Wes Craven, who reinvigorated the genre in this relentlessly bloody thriller. Its self-referential gimmick should have been exploited decades before: what if the teenagers in movies were like real teenagers that watch horror movies. . . and that must rely on their movie knowledge when confronted with R-rated carnage? 25 years later the show holds up well, at least until the final revelations. Kevin Williamson’s screenplay and Mark Irwin’s camerawork make Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and Rose McGowan the most attractive and intelligent horror scream queens since Peggy Cummins tried to kick some sense into Dana Andrews.

Scream 4K

4K Ultra HD + Digital

Paramount/Miramax

1996 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 111 min. / 25th Anniversary Edition / Street Date October 19, 2021 / Available from Amazon

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Joseph Whipp, Lawrence Hecht,...

Lock the doors. Turn on the lights. Check under the bed. Crank up the volume. It’s time for another Halloween Parade!

Please help support the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Click here, and be sure to indicate The Movies That Made Me in the note section so Josh can finally achieve his dream of showing Mandy to his wife!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Scream Blacula Scream (1973)

Mandy (2018)

Carnival of Souls (1962) – Mary Lambert’s trailer commentary

Night Tide (1961) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

A Bucket Of Blood (1959) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s DVD review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dementia 13 (1963) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Region B Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s director’s cut Blu-ray review

The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

The Conversation (1974) – Josh Olson...

During a three-hour discussion on a recent episode of “The Empire Film Podcast,” Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino revealed the existence of their makeshift quarantine movie club over the last 9 months. As Wright explained, “It’s nice. We’ve kept in touch in a sort of way that cinephiles do. It’s been one of the very few blessings of this [pandemic], the chance to disappear down a rabbit hole with the hours indoors that we have.” Tarantino added, “Edgar is more social than I am. It’s a big deal that I’ve been talking to him these past 9 months.”

A bulk of the film club was curated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who sent Wright a recommendation list of nearly 50 British films that Scorsese considers personal favorites. In the five months Wright spent in lockdown before resuming production on “Last Night in Soho” — and before he received the...

By Lee Pfeiffer

British actress Barbara Shelley has passed away from Covid-19 related ailments. She was 88 years-old. Shelley became popular with horror movie fans in the 1960s when she became one of the resident leading ladies at the legendary Hammer Films where she made several movies with another studio legend, Christopher Lee. Among Shelley's Hammer films were "The Camp on Blood Island" (a rare non-horror entry), "The Gorgon", "Dracula: Prince of Darkness", "Rasputin: The Mad Monk" and "Quatermass and the Pit". Shelley played the lead female role in the 1960 MGM cult classic "Village of the Damned" opposite George Sanders. She also played a recurring character in the 1984 "Doctor Who" television series. She appeared in other iconic British television shows including "Blake's 7", "The Avengers", "EastEnders", "Danger Man", "The Saint" "Man in a Suitcase" and "The Two Ronnies" as well as international favorites including "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "Route 66". For more,...

One of the all-time greats from the horror genre is no longer with us as Hammer Horror legend Barbara Shelley has passed away. The veteran actress, who was still consistently receiving fan mail praising her classic work, was admitted to the hospital in December and subsequently caught Covid-19. Shelley managed to beat the disease, but "underlying issues" led to her passing soon after. She was 88 years old.

"She really was Hammer's number one leading lady and the technicolour queen of Hammer," said Thomas Bowington, Shelley's agent. "On screen she could be quietly evil. She goes from statuesque beauty to just animalistic wildness. She was a regular favourite of Hammer events and autograph shows but also performed on stage with the RSC. She adored Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and loved working with them, that was very dear to her."

Actress Nicola Bryant, who worked with Shelley on Doctor Who, also...

Barbara Shelley, a renowned British horror movie actress and Doctor Who star, has died at the age of 88 after contracting coronavirus.

Shelley was best known for her work in horror films made by British production outfit Hammer. She starred alongside Christopher Lee in 1966’s Dracula: Prince of Darkness, while other notable films included Rasputin: The Mad Monk and Quatermass And The Pit.

Shelley also did plenty of TV work, most notably appearing in a string of 1984 Doctor Who episodes, in which she played Sorasta in the Planet of Fire story. Peter Davison was playing the Doctor during her time on the show. Co-star Nicola Bryant tweeted:

So very sad to hear of the passing of #BarbaraShelley. A darling person and a talented actress. When we worked together on Planet of Fire she was so kind to me. She gave me a little owl, still in my possession and some good advice.

Last month saw a clutch of cult British sci-fi TV added to the UK’s Britbox streaming service under the ‘Out of this World’ banner. From Thursday the 10th of September, a choice crop of new additions will be joining the likes of The Prisoner, Space 1999, Sapphire and Steel, UFO and the selection of Gerry Anderson treats already available.

Coming to Britbox in the UK will be all four seasons of Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7 plus all three seasons of Nation’s post-apocalyptic Survivors joining at the later date of Thursday the 17th of September. There’ll also be 1967’s Quatermass and the Pit, plus a good portion of 1961’s The Avengers, Hammer’s 1966 One Million Years BC, with the terrific, weird Nic Roeg/David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth thrown in for good measure.

Doctor Who-wise, UK subscribers will be able to stream 1965 Peter Cushing...

Don’t run away because we use the word ‘profound’ to describe this 1967 sci-fi classic — some call it the best of the Hammer Quatermass films, this time fully written by Nigel Kneale and acted by a terrific cast — Andrew Kier, James Donald, Barbara Shelley and Julian Glover. A subway excavation uncovers strange human skulls, and then a huge bluish craft that the Army dismisses as a secret German V-weapon… until it begins to emanate psychic storms and supernatural phenomena. Sci-fi fans wanting ‘more’ will be intrigued by author Kneale’s incredible ‘origin story’ for the human race as an intelligent, aggressive and literally haunted species. The disc is loaded with extras, information, history and great opinions from a half-dozen qualified film experts. Plus we can hear Nigel Kneale discuss it himself.

Quatermass and the Pit

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1967 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / Available from Shout! Factory / 27.99

Starring: James Donald,...

Don’t run away because we use the word ‘profound’ to describe this 1967 sci-fi classic — some call it the best of the Hammer Quatermass films, this time fully written by Nigel Kneale and acted by a terrific cast — Andrew Kier, James Donald, Barbara Shelley and Julian Glover. A subway excavation uncovers strange human skulls, and then a huge bluish craft that the Army dismisses as a secret German V-weapon… until it begins to emanate psychic storms and supernatural phenomena. Sci-fi fans wanting ‘more’ will be intrigued by author Kneale’s incredible ‘origin story’ for the human race as an intelligent, aggressive and literally haunted species. The disc is loaded with extras, information, history and great opinions from a half-dozen qualified film experts. Plus we can hear Nigel Kneale discuss it himself.

Quatermass and the Pit

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1967 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / Available from Shout! Factory / 27.99

Starring: James Donald,...

Out this week from Scream Factory comes Scars of Dracula, another old favorite in Hammer Film's back catalog. I was happy to receive this disc for review, since I'd never been able to catch this movie anywhere before.  Directed by Hammer stalwart Roy Ward Baker, Scars of Dracula is essentially (in my humble opinion) a reboot of the tried-and-true Dracula story, but with a shocking (and hilarious) 1970s sensibility. And what an interesting film it is. I mean... have you ever seen Dracula stab anyone? Oh, but you will, and it's insane. Christopher Lee is back as Dracula, and in a very strange iteration of the character. Unlike the previous incarnation, Dracula is far more talkative, for one. But there's...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

This week’s horror and sci-fi home media releases feature a stellar array of new and old. Scream Factory is showing some love to a trio of classic titles—Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, Circus of Horrors and Scars of Dracula—and for those who may have missed it in theaters a few months back, Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die is shambling its way home on various formats. We’re also getting several modern classics released in 4K this Tuesday—Daybreakers and Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, and for all you Supernatural fans out there, season 14 arrives on both Blu-ray & DVD, just in time for the final season.

Other Blu-ray & DVD releases for September 10th include Nekrotronic, John Wick: Chapter 3, Paranormal Activity 6-Movie Collection, and Hex.

Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb

A British expedition in Egypt discovers the ancient sealed tomb of the evil Queen Tera.

Guys, this is probably not a shock to anyone who knows anything about Nicolas Cage, but in case you ever had any doubt, the guy is a weirdo. Fun, interesting, decent actor, and so weird. In a recent in-depth interview with the New York Times, Cage talked a bit about his acting methods, being brought up in the family business of show business, and his own quest through spirituality over the course of his life.

While chatting about his unfortunate and strange investments, Cage kind of ventured off and began telling the interviewer that he went through a period of time where he was meditating multiple times a day, and spending all his spare time reading philosophy and mythology, which led him to lead his own grail quest. Here’s what he had to say about it:

It was almost like “National Treasure.” Of course, that didn’t sustain. On top of which,...

I'm very excited for Scream Factory's continued release of the Hammer catalog. Scars of Dracula had been out-of-print on DVD for ages and hasn't had a stateside Blu-ray release, but that's changing on September 10th. Here's a look at the official cover art and the list of bonus features:

"The legendary Christopher Lee is back as Dracula, bringing unspeakable horrors upon a local village that defies his evil reign. But when a young man and his luscious girlfriend unwittingly visit the Count's castle, they find themselves trapped in a face-to-face frenzy of bloodthirsty vixens, religious blasphemy and sadistic henchmen. The prince of darkness has returned like never before, but will his horrific mark remain forever? On September 10, 2019, Scream Factory™ is proud to present Hammer horror cult classic Scars Of Dracula on Blu-ray™. Directed with bloody bravado by Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker, this 1970 shocker stars Christopher Lee with Dennis Waterman (The Sweeney), Jenny Hanley,...

July’s home entertainment releases are ending on a high note this week, as we have tons of great horror and sci-fi titles coming our way this Tuesday. Scream Factory is keeping busy with a handful of Blu-rays on their docket this week, including Quatermass and the Pit, Quatermass 2, The Leopard Man, Lust for a Vampire, and a Steelbook edition of Humanoids from the Deep.

Roxanne Benjamin’s feature film debut, Body at Brighton Rock, is also being released this Tuesday on various formats, and Vinegar Syndrome is resurrecting both Hellmaster and Play Dead as well. And, if you happened to miss it in theaters, Deon Taylor’s The Intruder is set to invade your home media shelves this week as well.

Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for July 30th include What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hotel Inferno and The Reptile.

Body at Brighton Rock

Wendy, a part-time...

Rosie Fletcher Jul 29, 2019

When is it ok to start getting young people into adult horror and what’s safe to watch? Here are a few thoughts…

This article contains spoilers. It comes from Den of Geek UK.

Everyone remembers their first horror movie. Or for me, horror adjacent movie – it was Quatermass and the Pit and I was about 10. I loved it completely, was slightly terrified, completely fascinated, totally inspired, and it marked the start of a lifelong love affair with the genre.

At a little older (circa 13), I fell in love with Poltergeist, then with The Omen trilogy, then a little later with BBC2 series Moviedrome and selections from Doctor Terror’s Vault of Horror recorded off the TV on a VHS player, watched back on a Saturday morning. A little later, I was introduced to Don’t Look Now, my mother’s favorite movie, an absolute masterpiece of foreshadowing with a strange,...

…And not all Frankensteins were created equal. Case in point: Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), the fourth film in the series from Hammer and one that’s decidedly different and sufficiently weird enough to set itself apart from the pack. This isn’t your granddad’s Frankenstein.

Now, I’m still playing catch up with Hammer, especially the Frankenstein series; but the biggest recurring theme seems to be the Baron (once again assayed by Peter Cushing)’s assholery, and his utter disregard for existing human life while chasing his re-animating dream. Fear not; Created Woman does not disappoint on this front, in fact it introduces new colors into the Hammer lexicon that prevents it from being a musty retread.

Released Stateside in March with a U.K. rollout in June, Created Woman was not a hit with critics or filmgoers, although Martin Scorcese is a big fan, so it’s got that...

Scream Factory™ Presents Two Highly Anticipated Hammer Film Cult Classics Arrive on Blu-rays™! Quatermass 2 Starring Brian Donlevy With Sidney James, John Longden, Bryan Forbes, Vera Day, and William Franklyn And Quatermass And The Pit Starring Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley, and Julian Glover Available July 30, 2019 From Scream Factory™ Hobbs End, Knightsbridge, …

The post Quatermass 2 and Quatermass And The Pit – Two Highly Anticipated Hammer Film Cult Classics Arrive on Blu-rays appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Just as there have been many spooky villains in Hammer movies over the years, there have also been many protagonists who protect our world from unholy horrors. Having appeared in several British serials and three movies, Professor Bernard Quatermass is one such hero, and Scream Factory is celebrating the iconic character by releasing Quatermass 2 and Quatermass and the Pit on respective Blu-rays. Originally slated to come out in May, the Blu-rays are now scheduled for a July 30th release, and we've been provided with the full list of special features.

Press Release: Hobbs End, Knightsbridge, London. While working on a new subway tunnel for the London Underground, a group of construction workers uncover a strangely shaped skull. Nearby, another discovery: a large, mysterious and impenetrable metal object. Initially mistaken for an unexploded bomb, the object and its strange power turn out to be far more horrific than anybody could have possibly imagined.

While Scream Factory is bringing enough horror movies to Blu-ray this summer to keep you entertained after countless barbecues and bonfires, they also have a bunch of titles to look forward to this September, as they've now announced three more Hammer horror films coming to Blu-ray (including the Christopher Lee-starring Scars of Dracula), as well as 1972's Fright!

From Scream Factory: "If you’re a fan of Hammer Films (like we are) then save up for this Sept when we release three films from them on Blu-ray for the first time in North America! (**Correction: We originally included Fright as in the Hammer library. Our "Oops!" on that. Sorry! Its still releasing though.)

Scars Of Dracula (1970) - The legendary Christopher Lee is back as Dracula, bringing unspeakable horrors upon a local village that defies his evil reign. But when a young man and his luscious girlfriend unwittingly visit the Count's castle,...

It’s a spooky, snowy train ride across thousands of miles of Siberian rails — trapped on board with a victim-possessing creature from outer space, with eyes that kill! Actually, ‘Pánico en el transiberiano’ is a fine show for Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, a Spanish-made chiller with a smart script and some effective shocks.

Horror Express

Blu-ray

Arrow Video

1972 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date February 12, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video

Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Tortosa, Julio Peña, Ángel del Pozo, Helga Liné.

Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa

Original Music: John Cacavas

Written by Arnaud d’Usseau, Julian Zimet

Produced by Bernard Gordon

Directed by Eugenio Martín

Dedicated horror fans look to the past to uncover forgotten chillers, or just to complete their lists of rare items unseen. For instance, although no release date has been given, we’re told that Kino Lorber will be giving...

If the recent news of a new Quatermass movie being in the works got you in the mood to watch the original horror sci-fi movies featuring the daring professor, then you're in luck, because Scream Factory announced that they will release the Hammer's Quatermass II and Quatermass and the Pit on Blu-ray this May.

From Scream Factory: "Our love for Hammer Films this year continues as we announce today that we are prepping Quatermass II and Quatermass And The Pit for Blu-ray releases on May 14th!

Quatermass II (1957): The sequel to The Quatermass Xperiment! Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) is Britain's most clever scientist. Investigating a series of bizarre incidents that have been reported from a deserted area, he finds a group of soldiers and government officials that appear to be controlled by aliens from another world. When a close friend is brutally murdered by these beings, Quatermass leads a...

Legendary Entertainment said it haas partnered with Hammer Films for Quatermass, a film based on the British mid-20th-century sci-fi hero Bernard Quatermass.

David Farr, who penned the script for The Night Manager and the sci-fi pic Hanna, is adapting. Hammer’s Simon Oakes is producing. Jon Silk and Jay Ashenfelter will oversee production for Legendary.

The character Professor Bernard Quatermass is a rocket scientist originally created by writer Nigel Kneale, As a pioneering force of the British space program, he encounters terrifying extra-terrestrial lifeforms and must draw from science to save humanity. He appeared in a 1950s BBC series and in three Hammer Film movies in the mid-’50s and -’60s including the 1967 pic Quatermass and the Pit (known as Five Million Years to Earth in the U.S.). Andrew Keir played the lead role.

Farr, who also wrote and produced the...

Indicator follows up The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Volume One: 1955-1960 with, wait for it, Volume 2: 1961-1964, featuring three of Harryhausen’s most ambitious productions. Good news for fans, the UK company delivers another robust box set with beautiful transfers and an abundance of extras including newly produced interviews, a small treasure trove of promotional ephemera and a limited edition 80-page book with essays from Kim Newman and Tim Lucas. The set is region free, playable on Blu-ray devices worldwide.

The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Volume 2: 1961-1964

Blu-ray – Region Free

Indicator/Powerhouse

Street Date November 13, 2017

Starring Herbert Lom, Joan Greenwood, Niall MacGinnis, Nigel Green, Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd

Cinematography by Wilkie Cooper

Produced by Charles Schneer, Ray Harryhausen

Directed by Cy Endfield, Don Chaffey, Nathan Juran

Raging thunderstorms and a tempestuous score from Bernard Herrmann kick off 1961’s Mysterious Island as a water-logged crew of Union...

All hail Bert I. Gordon, who singlehandedly carved out his own niche in ‘fifties monster folklore, and even won a battle or two against those sharpies at A.I.P.. His puppet people were originally just ‘Fantastic,’ but they had to be made into a menace with the “A” word usually reserved for icky poo Giant Leeches, Crab Monsters and 50-Foot Women.

Attack of the Puppet People

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / The Fantastic Puppet People, Six Inches Tall, I Was a Teenage Doll, War of the Puppet People / Street Date November 14, 2017 / 27.99

Starring: John Agar, John Hoyt, June Kenney, Susan Gordon, Michael Mark, Kack Kosslyn, Marlene Willis, Ken Miller, Laurie Mitchell, Scott Peters, June Jocelyn, Hank Patterson.

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo

Special Effects: Bert I. Gordon, Flora M. Gordon

Original Music: Albert Glasser

Written by George Worthing Yates

Story, Produced & Directed by Bert I. Gordon

It’s easy...

Ryan Lambie Oct 17, 2017

This year's The Mummy reboot shares a surprising amount with the 1985 sci-fi horror classic, Lifeforce...

Nb: The following contains spoilers for 2017's The Mummy and 1985's Lifeforce.

See related  The Snowman review

When Universal Studios made The Mummy back in 1932, it was in the wake of Tut-mania: the fascination with Ancient Egypt following the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb a decade earlier. As Egyptian-inspired symbols and designs began to appear on everything from jewellery to cigarette ads, stories began to circulate that the pharoah's tomb was cursed - and thus The Mummy, about a group of archaeologists who provoke the wrath of a long-dead Imhotep (Boris Karloff, hypnotic as always) emerged.

The Mummy's success was such that it became a long-running franchise: Universal made four direct sequels between 1940 and 1944, with a comedy spin-off, Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy, joining them in 1955. The UK's Hammer Film...

Robot roll call! This also-ran robotic fantasy from the 1950s is precisely the kind of movie one would expect from Republic, a two-fisted anti-Commie tract for juveniles. The studio comes up with an impressive robo-hero, but short-changes us when it come time for action thrills. Still, as pointed out in Richard Harland Smith’s new commentary, Tobor filled the the kiddie hunger for sci-fi matinees, at least until Robby the Robot came along.

Tobor the Great

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1954 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 77 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin, Taylor Holmes, Steven Geray, Hal Baylor, Alan Reynolds, Peter Brocco, Robert Shayne, Lyle Talbot, William Schallert

Cinematography: John L. Russell

Production Design: Gabriel Scognamillo

Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker

Film Editor: Basil Wrangell

Original Music: Howard Jackson

Written by Philip MacDonald, Carl Dudley

Produced by Richard Goldstone

Directed by Lee Sholem...

Ryan Lambie Jul 7, 2017

To tie in with the Into The Unknown exhibition, on now at London's Barbican, we look at how sci-fi has become a major cultural force...

It's not always easy being geeky. The celebrated genre writer Ray Bradbury knew this all too well; as a kid growing up in the 1920s and 30s, he was intoxicated by all things otherworldly and imaginative: classic horror movies, pulp sci-fi stories about Mars, comic strips detailing the exploits of Buck Rogers. Eventually, Bradbury's peers teased him mercilessly, until, in a bid to fit in, he ripped his Buck Rogers comics to shreds. But far from helping the young Bradbury draw a line under his obsessions, the destruction of his beloved comics left him feeling unhappy and soulless.

See related Twin Peaks season 3 episode 8 review: Gotta Light? Twin Peaks season 3 episode 7 review: There’s A Body All Right Twin Peaks season 3 episode...

In the latest in his “Great British Horror Films” interview series, host Stuart Wright talks to producer and director Jen Handorf about five of her favourite Great British Horror films, which include:

The Innocents (1961) Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth) (1967) Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971) The Stone Tape (1972) The Day Of The Triffids (1981 TV Series)

Twitter: @jhandorf

Use #askjen for filmmaking advice...

Who?

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1974 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 93 min. / Street Date , 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring Elliott Gould, Joseph Bova, Trevor Howard, Edward Grover, John Lehne, James Noble, Lyndon Brook, Michael Lombard, Kay(m) Tornborg, Joy Garrett, John Stewart.

Cinematography: Petrus R. Schoömp

Film Editor: Norman Wanstall

Original Music: John Cameron

Written by John Gould from the novel by Algis Budrys

Produced by Barry Levinson

Directed by Jack Gold

Today’s filmgoers say they want more cerebral science fiction films, and some moviemakers make an effort to comply. This year’s Arrival is quite ambitious, and last year’s Ex Machina is as good as any sci-fi movie since 2001.

But back in the 1950s producers quickly discovered that the audience wanted little more than monsters and mounting disaster in their sci-fi. Although some wonderful work snuck through, killer robots and alien invaders became the norm. From the 1970s forward, even with Stanley Kubrick aboard,...

Federico Fellini’s best non-narrative feature is an intoxicating meta-travelogue, not just of the Eternal City but the director’s idea of Rome past and present. The masterful images alternate between nostalgic vulgarity and dreamy timelessness. Criterion’s disc is a new restoration.

Fellini’s Roma

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 848

1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 120 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date December 13, 2016 / 39.95

Starring Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses, Renato Giovannoli, Dennis Christopher, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elliott Murphy, Anna Magnani, Gore Vidal, Federico Fellini.

Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno

Film Editor Ruggero Mastroianni

Original Music Nino Rota

Written by Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi

Produced by Turi Vasile

Directed by Federico Fellini

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Federico Fellini stopped making standard narrative pictures after 1960’s La dolce vita; from then on his films skewed toward various forms of experimentation and expressions of his own state of mind. Most did have a story to some degree,...

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger officially become ‘The Archers’ for this sterling morale-propaganda picture lauding the help of the valiant Dutch resistance. It’s a joyful show of spirit, terrific casting (with a couple of surprises) and first-class English filmmaking.

One of Our Aircraft is Missing

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy /103 82 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Arnold Marlé, Robert Helpmann, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, Robert Beatty, Michael Powell.

Cinematography Ronald Neame

Film Editor David Lean

Camera Crew Robert Krasker, Guy Green

Written by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Produced by The Archers

Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

There are still a few more key Powell-Pressburger ‘Archer’ films waiting for a quality disc release, Contraband and Gone to Earth for just two.

Ryan Lambie Jul 26, 2016

They cost millions and they’re very, very odd. We take a look at 12 expensive and eccentric Hollywood films from the past 40 years...

The risk-averse nature of filmmaking means that the world’s more maverick and outrageous writers and directors have to make do with relatively low budgets. Nicolas Winding Refn drenched the screen in all kinds of sordid, violent and startling imagery in such films as Only God Forgives and this year’s The Neon Demon, but the combined budget of those probably didn’t even match the catering budget for something like Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Every so often, though, a truly bonkers film slips through the Hollywood studio system - often by accident. From horror sequels to original sci-fi adventures, here are 12 incredibly expensive and gloriously eccentric Hollywood movies from the past 40 years.

The Exorcist II (1977)

Budget: $14 million

Like most films made for purely financial reasons,...

★★★★☆ 1967 was the year of Carry On Doctor, Quatermass and the Pit and two James Bond movies. It also saw the feature debut of acclaimed television director Kenneth Loach with Poor Cow, starring Terence Stamp, fresh from his first brush of Hollywood fame and Carol White, who had starred in the television drama Cathy Comes Home that had propelled both its star and director into the national limelight. Based on Nell Dunn's novel - Loach had used her work before in another Wednesday Play Up the Junction - Poor Cow tells the story of Joy (White), a working class young mother whose progress through life seems beset with woes.

The icon-establishing performances Marilyn Monroe gave in Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959) are ones for the ages, touchstone works that endure because of the undeniable comic energy and desperation that sparked them from within even as the ravenous public became ever more enraptured by the surface of Monroe’s seductive image of beauty and glamour. Several generations now probably know her only from these films, or perhaps 1955’s The Seven-Year Itch, a more famous probably for the skirt-swirling pose it generated than anything in the movie itself, one of director Wilder’s sourest pictures, or her final completed film, The Misfits (1961), directed by John Huston, written by Arthur Miller and costarring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift.

But in Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) she delivers a powerful dramatic performance as Nell, a psychologically devastated, delusional, perhaps psychotic young woman apparently on...

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From Quatermass to The Year Of The Sex Olympics, the voice of classic British screenwriter Nigel Kneale is still resonant and exciting...

Conflict drives drama. What people want and how they set out to get it makes for the best entertainment: Chief Brody wants to make Amity Island a safe place for his kids; Indiana Jones wants to find the Ark of the Covenant; Mark Watney wants to survive on Mars, A giant shark, a bunch of Nazis, and a planet without an atmosphere respectively stand in their way.

But conflict isn't only a device from which to hang big action sequences. The tension between ideas can make for brilliant drama - the kind of film and television that you think about for years afterwards - and one of the best screenwriters for this conflict of ideas was Nigel Kneale.

Kneale was born in 1922 in Barrow-in-Furness and,...

Curious about all those Region B Hammer Blu-rays from overseas, the ones requiring a region-free player? As a public service, Savant has solicited an expert opinion (you'll have to take my word for that) of a film restoration/transfer specialist who is also an informed fan of the filmic output of the little horror studio at Bray. I know, real Hammer fans buy first and worry about quality later, but this little guide might be of help to the rest of us budget-conscious collectors.

A 'Guest' article Written by a trusted Savant correspondent.

(Note: I receive plenty of emails asking for advice about the quality of Region B Blu-rays, most of which I don't see. I have access to industry people qualified to compare and judge the discs, but they stay off the record, because their employers forbid them to go online with their opinions. They must sometimes simmer in...

If you see a movie for the first time and swear you've heard the score before, it may not be your imagination...

Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.

But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.

The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...

Iconic Hammer actresses Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro. (All photos copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)

Retro-active: The Best From Cinema Retro's Archives

(The following article was originally run in November, 2014)  

By Adrian Smith 

With around sixty special guests in attendance, the Westminster Central Hall on Saturday the 7th of November was packed to its domed roof with excited Hammer film fans.

Familiar faces including Caroline Munro, Valerie Leon, Madeline Smith and Martine Beswick were providing some glamour, but the organisers managed to make the event extra-memorable by securing the presence of Edina Ronay, George Cole, Freddie Jones and others who had not signed autographs at a fan event before. At times queues to meet them ran out of the building and down the street! Other rare UK appearances were made from Veronica Carlson and Linda Hayden, flown in from the Us to meet their fans. It was...

The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley have announced that Kim Newman will be presenting Giulio Paradisi’s fantastically bizarre 1979 sci-fi horror The Visitor - which stands as a completely unique fusion of horror films like The Omen and Birds with sci-fi such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars - on Friday 5th September at 11.45pm. The screening is part of the Scalarama series in September and the ongoing Phoenix Nights series at the Phoenix Cinema.

John Huston stars as an intergalactic warrior who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic 8-year-old girl, and her pet hawk, while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. Multi-dimensional warfare, pre-adolescent profanity and brutal avian attacks combine to transport the viewer to a state unlike anything they’ve experienced… somewhere between Hell and the darkest reaches of outer space.

A novelist, critic and broadcaster, Newman...

Humankind’s collision with otherworldly life forms can make for unforgettable cinema.

This article will highlight the best of live-action human vs. alien films. The creatures may be from other planets or may be non-demonic entities from other dimensions.

Excluded from consideration were giant monster films as the diakaiju genre would make a great subject for separate articles.

Readers looking for “friendly alien” films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and the comically overrated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are advised to keep watching the skies because they won’t find them here.

Film writing being the game of knowledge filtered through personal taste that it is, some readers’ subgenre favorites might not have made the list such as War of the Worlds (1953) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).

Now let’s take a chronological look at the cinema’s best battles between Us and Them.

There are monsters out there. Scary, big ones. And they’ll haunt our dreams and crawl on our bodies for eternity. Nothing will ever make us comfortable knowing they exist, even in fiction. Then, there are some that are just Goddamn ridiculous. Here are ten of such monsters.

The Fiend Without a Face (1958)

Though ultimately, they’re just crawling brains and spinal columns, the most interesting aspect of the fiends is their invisibility for the majority of the runtime as they slowly gain their terrifying form.

The Creeping Terror (1964)

A giant, moving rug. Due to the extremely low-budget, this largely-narrated alien invasion tale amounts to little more than a big, badly dilapidated wool rug laying on top of its victims.

Prophecy (1979)

John Frankenheimer’s nature-gone-wrong turns into more of a nature-film-gone-wrong and features a bizarre, giant fetus-like bear terrorizing a mountainside.

Murders in Rue Morgue (1932)

Robert Florey’s Universal picture...

Even though Godzilla saw a 67% drop off at the box office this weekend with X-Men: Days of Future Past dethroning the big guy, the flick is still incredibly popular. It has raked in $156.8 million domestically thus far and is on pace to finish between $205 and $225 million. But what would those numbers be like if Hammer had made an installment in the franchise?

YouTuber Sanjid Parvez wondered the same thing...

"Have you ever wondered... What if Hammer somehow bought the rights from Toho and launched a Godzilla franchise back in 60s??

Here I present you my fan made mashup & fake movie trailer for Hammer's Godzilla Must Be Destroyed!"

Background Score: Hammer Films Soundtrack

Clips used from the following original movies:

Gojira (1954), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Island of Terror (1966) A Non-Hammer Britt film, directed by Terence Fisher

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On Friday, October 25th, we took a trip to Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to enjoy three days of premier horror programming at the Celluloid Screams film festival. Take a look in here for some of the fear-filled sights and sounds to come from the Sheffield Showroom Workstation this year.

Nestled next to Sheffield Hallam University, the Showroom Workstation cinema offers a haven for local film buffs, students and artists, and also sports one of the most impressively relaxed café bars of any film screening establishment we've been to thus far. Real ale on tap – kudos! Upon walking through the doors and approaching the box office, your attention was immediately drawn to the selection of severed body parts and cobwebs hanging at head height. This also extended to the bar and concessions stand, lending a nice kooky, spooky feeling to the weekend's events.

Pass holders for the festival also received a complimentary goodie bag on arrival,...

The hardest part about choosing my favourite horror films of all time, is deciding what stays and what goes. I started with a list that featured over 200 titles, and I think it took me more time to pick and choose between them, than it did to actually sit down and write each capsule review. In order to hold on to my sanity, I decided to not include short films, documentaries, television mini-series and animated films. I also had to draw the line at some point in deciding if certain movies should be considered horror or not. In such cases where I was split down the middle in deciding, I let IMDb be the judge for me. And in some cases, I’ve included these titles as special mentions. Long story short, I can’t include every movie I like, and I have to draw the line somewhere. With that said,...