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Sean Baker returns in the first trailer for “Red Rocket,” which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival and has since played top festivals like Telluride and NYFF. “Red Rocket” is Baker’s follow-up to “The Florida Project,” which also had the backing of A24 and went on to earn Willem Dafoe an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This go-around Baker once again is working with nonprofessional actors and at least one semi-recognizable face in “Scary Movie” actor Simon Rex.

“Red Rocket” stars Rex as Mikey Saber, a porn star who winds up back in his hometown of Texas. It’s here where Mikey clashes with with his estranged wife (Bree Elrod) and connects with a young local named Strawberry (Suzanna Son) who might just be Mikey’s big ticket back into the adult film business. A24 bills the movie as “a darkly funny,...

Former porn star Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) might be “blessed” — at least according to the sore underage girl he’s grooming during a post-coital chat in the flatbed of her pickup truck — but the reality of the situation is that the guy is nothing less than a living curse. He’s a big-dicked, self-obsessed, hyper-opportunistic hex of a man whose puppy dog con artist schtick is so transparent that even naive teenagers can see right through it, which is exactly why people lower their guard and let him. Into their houses; into their panties; into their dreams for the future that Mikey incepts into their heads for his own benefit. And he doesn’t stop trying to weasel his way deeper into any of those things for a single minute of Sean Baker’s utterly singular and weirdly lovable “Red Rocket,” .

It begins with the blaring shriek of Nsync’s...

They may not be terribly prolific, but when Grindhouse Releasing announces a new release, it's definitely worthwhile to listen up. Grindhouse, purveyors of quality horror and exploitation cinema since the late '90s, have recently announced that they've completed a 4k restorations of Umberto Lenzi Eurocrime classic The Tough Ones, also known by the incredibly badass title, Rome Armed To The Teeth. This upcoming Blu-ray will not only include the brand new restoration, but also a host of special features including an audio commentary from Eurocrime expert Mike Malloy, interviews with many of the cast and crew, Roberto Curti liner notes, a CD of the soundtrack and much more! This 3-disc set is going to be a scorcher! The first 2,500 copies...

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

Even after all of your presents are unwrapped and your tree is packed away (or put on the curb), Arrow Video will continue to give the gift of new horror Blu-ray releases for fans looking to expand their collections. The company just announced their impressive February 2018 slate of Blu-rays, including a limited edition version of Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case, The Gruesome Twosome, and much more!

From Arrow Video: "Time for our new announcements! First up two titles coming from Arrow Records and Books this December…

New Arrow Book: The Hitcher (Book)

Pre-order now: http://bit.ly/2BqKmWx

Release date: 29th December

Robert Harmon’s 1986 film The Hitcher is a complex beast: reviled at the time of its release, it has been adored in the long term as one of the most intoxicating, unrelenting highway cult films ever made. Starring Rutger Hauer in the title role whose alluring villainy...

As the summer continues to roll on, that means we have another great week of horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to. The folks at Scream Factory are keeping themselves plenty busy this Tuesday, as they’re resurrecting both The Lawnmower Man and Island of Terror on Blu-ray, as well as their high-def The Paul Naschy Collection, and Arrow Video has put together an incredible two-disc limited Blu-ray set of Dario Argento’s directorial debut, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, that any fan of the Master of Horror will want to add to their collections. And, if you missed it in theaters, the horror/sci-fi thriller Life will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD formats, too.

Other notable releases for June 20th include the Hack-o-Lantern limited edition Blu-ray, Patchwork, Under the Dome: The Complete Series, Ten Little Indians,...

“I can hear it now: ‘Go to Italy. It’s a peaceful country, nothing much ever happens there’.”

Dario Argento’s The Bird With The Crystal Plumage 2-disc limited edition will be available on Blu-ray + DVD June 20th From Arrow Video

In 1970, young first-time director Dario Argento (Deep Red, Suspiria) made his indelible mark on Italian cinema with The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, a film which redefined the ‘giallo’ genre of murder-mystery thrillers and catapulted him to international stardom.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante, We Own the Night), an American writer living in Rome, inadvertently witnesses a brutal attack on a woman (Eva Renzi, Funeral in Berlin) in a modern art gallery. Powerless to help, he grows increasingly obsessed with the incident. Convinced that something he saw that night holds the key to identifying the maniac terrorizing Rome, he launches his own investigation parallel to that of the police, heedless...

By Darren Allison

“Omaggio al Maestro Ennio Morricone”- CD sleeve.

Cineploit Records launches two new releases“Omaggio al Maestro Ennio Morricone” (Cine 20) and “Omaggio a Joe D´Amato e Marcello Giombini” (Exploit 01) 7″ Ep to mark their 5 year anniversary.

Cinema Retro picked up on Cineploit’s talents very early in the day. I've been reviewing their releases now since those very first humble beginnings. When it comes to labels that are dedicated in keeping retro genre film music alive - Cineploit are arguably the very best. Never afraid to explore new avenues or indeed breathing new life into classic Giallo or Poliziotteschi film scores, the label has decided to celebrate their anniversary with the release of a tribute album ‘Omaggio al Maestro Ennio Morricone.’

“Omaggio al Maestro Ennio Morricone”- LP sleeve.

This highly impressive compilation of the Maestro's work is performed by various groups and artists from the Cineploit stable,...

Arrow Video is already looking to make this a summer to remember for fans of Italian horror, as they recently revealed that their June Blu-ray / DVD releases will include Ovidio Assonitis' Madhouse (1981) and Dario Argento's first feature film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

From Arrow Video: "New UK/Us Title: Madhouse (Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD)

Fuses slasher elements with the over-the-top excess of ‘80s Italian terror.

Pre-order your copy in the UK: http://bit.ly/2nN0nOK

North American pre-orders links should be live soon!

Release Dates: 12/13 June 2017

Many People Visit … No One Ever Leaves.

Helmed by legendary producer/director Ovidio Assonitis, the man behind such cult favourites as The Visitor and Piranha II: The Spawning, Madhouse is a crimson-soaked tale of sibling rivalry taken to a terrifying and bloody extreme.

Julia has spent her entire adult life trying to forget the torment she suffered at...

Gian Maria Volonté has a big part in this prime quality Italo crime thriller blessed with a great score by Ennio Morricone. But the movie belongs to Robert Hoffman as the real-life public enemy who earned the alias 'The Machine Gun Soloist.' Director Carlo Lizzani's realistic treatment glamorizes nothing and implicates the police in shady policies as well. Award-winning co-star Lisa Gastoni is the woman who loves Hoffman, and is tempted to betray him. Wake Up and Kill Blu-ray + DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1966 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 124 98 min / Svegliati e uccidi; Lutring; Wake Up and Die / Street Date November 24, 2015 / 29.95 Starring Robert Hoffmann, Lisa Gastoni, Gian Maria Volonté, Claudio Camaso, Renato Niccolai, Ottavio Fanfani, Pupo De Luca, Corrado Olmi. Cinematography Armando Nannuzzi Film Editing Franco Fraticelli Original Music Ennio Morricone Written by Ugo Pirro, Carlo Lizzani Produced by Jacques Bar, Joseph Fryd, Carlo Lizzani Directed by Carlo Lizzani  

Reviewed by...

The scariest horror films don't just make you want to cover your eyes, but your ears, too. Stephen Thrower on movie music with real menace

Please note: some of the links in this article point to gory or graphic horror movie scenes

There are two schools of thought when it comes to film music: some say you should scarcely notice it, while others are attuned to every flattened fifth. Being a musician as well as a film journalist, I've always been staunchly in the latter camp (although I did have to look up "flattened fifth"). It seems inconceivable to me that we should fail to notice something as profoundly affecting as a movie soundtrack, and that goes double for the horror genre.

From the moment Bernard Herrmann's violins assaulted the shower-loving public in Psycho, horror soundtracks have rarely been content as mere background gloop. James Bernard's music for...