Off Balance (aka The Phantom Of Death) is a decidedly wacky & often camp euro-horror/Giallo crossbreed from the late 80s helmed by Ruggero Deodato. It regards a ‘handsome’ & talented pianist played by Micheal York been diagnosed with a rapid ageing disease- who then goes on a killing spree. He’s been tracked by a bewildered-to-ranting police investigator played by the wonderful Doland Pleasence. With the whole thing topped off with Giallo legend Edwige Fenech, as the film's love interest. The film is a blend of hamming-it-up acting, ridiculous/ erratic plotting, arterial spray-bound murders, and a big dose of 80’s camp. Here from Cauldron Films is a Blu-Ray release of the picture- featuring a new/ fully uncut scan of the film, a commentary from genre experts, and an interview with the director.

Confessions Of A Serial Killer was made in the mid 80’s, but due to its similarity to Herny: Portrait Of A Serial Killer didn’t appear until the early 90’s. The film is a blend of police interaction, and flashbacks to the murders/ crimes- with a fairly creepy lead, who does look like the real Henry Lee Lucus, and a few moments of nastiness. Here from the Unearthed Classics series is a new region A release of the film- taking in a commentary track, and a few other extras.

The cycle of the Buck Moon passed a few days ago, and while most of us set our clocks (both internally and externally) to the standards provided by GMT, Harvestman (aka Steve Von Till) follows the lunar cycle, which, unlike the green laser beam in Greenwich, projects its own light over the planet. This subtle but important re-orientation is central to Harvestman's work, which takes its departure from such natural cues as the moon, in evidence on the second instalment of this Triptych series. Like film, music is bound to the forward march of time -sequential or purely abstract – which means that finding a measure for the temporal horizon and structural organization of a given composition is something that might otherwise go unnoticed when we listen. In lieu of a click track or other artificial beat, Harvestman, like Martin Heidegger before him, distinguished between the measurements offered by technical or mechanical time, and those offered by the larger network instantiated by nature and honored by earlier societies. If all of this sounds rather luddite; it is not. Harvestman is well at home in the field of modern production, even if he deploys its media to counter the standard. 

'Miniatures in the form of ethereal experiences or sound trinkets; timbres in perpetual morphing from the rawest to the most delicate and the voices, coming from the bowels or from the heavens, interlaced into a single hyper instrument.' There is probably no one better placed to describe their inimitable and unique explorations of sound than avant-improvisational musicians Fanny Meteier and Andrea S Giordano themselves. While the definition of music can be exceptionally broad and all-encompassing, the duo’s first release sorry babe, I have weird legs, is irrefutably focused on sound, Meteier and Giordano using just their voices, electronics and wind instrumentation to create something rather astonishing in its innovation and vision.

Loop Track is an original, at points subtly awkward humour-lined New Zealand psychological thriller from 2022. It’s a decidedly paranoid-fed affair, which finds a very nervous/on-edge man going for a hike convinced that someone or something is following him. The film manages to make the most of both its simple concept & clearly small budget- to create an engaging, tense, at times lightly amusing thriller which blends in subtle action & horror tropes. Here from Arrrow Video is a new Blu Ray release of the film- taking a commentary track, and a good selection of other extras.

Remembrance is an early 80’s UK drama regarding a group of Royal Navy ratings, spending their last few days in Plymouth before they get shipped off to the US for six months. The film is an interesting/ if a point frustratingly darting study of the hopes, fears,  and boozed-up interactions of the sailors. It’s notable for a few reasons- it was the first production from the Film Four brand, and it features early performances of notable British actors Gary Oldman, Timothy Spall, and John Altman. Here from the BFI’s Flipside is a reissue of this rarely seen drama- taking in a new HD scan of the film, and a good selection of extras.